Thursday, July 31, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
TOP O' THE MORNIN'
Red-Hot at RedState
Trump Takes Putin's Attack Dog to the Woodshed Over War Threats to the US and Gets More War Threats
Bullies and idiots often mistake kindness for weakness. I think Putin is about to discover that Trump had a legitimate passion to end Russia's war on Ukraine, and he was willing to force Ukraine into a disadvantageous peace treaty to accomplish that goal. He is also about to discover that Trump doesn't like to be treated with the contempt and disrespect that Putin and his lackeys have heaped upon him
Secretary of the Army Stops West Point From Hiring Biden's Censor Mastermind
The real lesson of this fiasco is that the Defense Department is still in thrall to leftist interests and must be watched like a hawk if it is to be a reliable member of this or any administration.
Trump Pulls No Punches, Responds to Eurotrash 'Allies' Defying America Over a 'Palestinian State'
In other words, Muslim countries now have more practical sense and moral clarity than American "allies" in Europe and Canada.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Hochul's Bizarre Claim About Alleged Shooter's Carry Permit Gets Much-Needed Fact-check
I sincerely hope that Hochul is used to disappointment, because that's what her and her buddies' current push will ultimately yield for them. A big, fat, steamy case of disappointment.
Rubio specifically mentioned the silencing and bullying of US social media companies--something that also applies to EU officials, who should take heed.
WATCH: Pelosi Panics on CNN When Pressed About Insider Trading
For viewers hoping for a clear, confident denial of wrongdoing, Pelosi’s erratic and defensive performance likely raised more questions than it answered.
Here's What Happened to the Analyst Who Said John Brennan Was Cooking the Intel on Russian Collusion
It paints a nasty picture of intelligence being weaponized against a duly elected president because some people were mad at an election result.
Golden Summer: Dunkin’ Donuts Joins the ‘Gene’ Ad Game and Triggers Woke Wave of Whining Wusses
Hopefully, businesses are learning that if they are to continue, they have to stop treating the vast majority of normal customers as backward and evil and stop catering to non-customers who genuinely are backward and evil.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
The House is out, of course. The Senate it still in and has a handful of meetings on Thursday:
- Senate Armed Services — Hearings to examine the nominations of Michael Powers, of Virginia, to be Deputy Under Secretary, Amy Henninger, of Virginia, to be Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, David Denton, Jr., of Virginia, to be General Counsel of the Department of the Navy, and Benjamin Kohlmann, of Texas, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, all of the Department of Defense
- Senate Appropriations — Business meeting to markup an original bill entitled, "Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026", and an original bill entitled, "Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026"
- Senate Finance — Business meeting to consider the nominations of Jonathan McKernan, of Tennessee, to be an Under Secretary of the Treasury, and Alex Adams, of Idaho, to be Assistant Secretary for Family Support, Department of Health and Human Services
- Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions — Hearings to examine making health care affordable, focusing on solutions to lower costs and empower patients.
- Senate Finance — Hearings to examine the nominations of Bryan Switzer, of Virginia, to be a Deputy United States Trade Representative (Asia, Textiles, Investment, Services, and Intellectual Property), with the rank of Ambassador, and Gustav Chiarello III, of Virginia, to be an Assistant Secretary, and Michael Stuart, of West Virginia, to be General Counsel, both of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Derek Theurer, of Virginia, to be a Deputy Under Secretary of the Treasury, vice Jonathan Davidson
They're continuing to push through cloture and confirmation votes on Trump nominees. And there's still a question of whether they'll get something passed appropriations-wise before the August recess:
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are trying to hash out a multi-bill package of appropriations measures and pass it before the August recess. There’s no deal yet, although it could come today (more below.).
White House What's Up
On Thursday, President Donald Trump will have lunch with Vice President JD Vance. Later in the afternoon, he'll sign an executive order.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt will host a press briefing at 1:00 PM Eastern.
Full Court Press...
We had a few court rulings of note on Wednesday:
- In Pacito v. Trump (refugee admissions/funding), Judge Jamal Whitehead (Western District of Washington) granted plaintiffs' motion to certify class and denied the administration's motion to dismiss.
- In American Foreign Service Association v. Trump (rescission of collective bargaining), the D. C. Circuit Court of Appeals denied plaintiffs' motion for rehearing en banc (basically asking the court to reconsider its stay of the district court injunction pending appeal).
- In Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium v. Dept. of Education (termination of grants), Judge Paul Friedman (D.C.) granted plaintiffs' motion for preliminary injunction.
- In Rona v. Trump (sanctions regarding ICC), Judge Jesse Furman (Southern District of New York) granted plaintiffs' motion for injunctive relief, issuing a permanent (not preliminary) injunction.
- In Perlmutter v. Blanche (removal of independent agency leaders), Judge Timothy Kelly (D.C.) denied plaintiff's motion for preliminary injunction.
- And last, but not least, in Khalil v. Joyce (removal/habeas), the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued a sort of mixed bag order, which I'll leave it to Margot Cleveland to explain:
🚨🚨BREAKING: 3rd Circuit gives Trump Administration partial victory in Khalil case staying injunction ordering Trump administration to require IJ to consider request for waiver of removability. NO stay of order to cause IJ to vacate order based on Rubio's finding. SCOTUS next. pic.twitter.com/mslT08Dm64
— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) July 30, 2025
COMING ATTRACTIONS
I'm stumped on this section this morning, friends — I have no idea what's coming. But...I'm fairly certain it will be interesting, whatever it is.
MORNING MUSING
Long, long ago, I wrote in defense of Karens — not really the archetypal "Karen," but rather, those named "Karen," who really aren't Karens, and also knocking the all-too-human impulse to pigeonhole and project our own flaws onto others. Today, I'm here to throw Susans under the bus. The irony there is not lost on me: Hi, my name is Susan, and I'm probably about to cause you some measure of grief.
Let's take a look at the Susans who've vexed us of late:
- Susan Collins — Now, Senator Collins (R-ME) is a mixed bag. She's a "Republican" sent to Congress from a Northeastern blue state and she does what she needs to do to survive politically — which often means siding with the Democrats. Still, there are times when this Susan comes through for the Republicans, so she's not all bad.
- Susan Rice — I'm sure I was aware of her before then, but my first salient memory of this Susan was her post-Benghazi Mendacity Tour on the cable news shows, where she repeatedly lied about what prompted the uprising/attack that led to the death of our ambassador and three others that fateful September day. I've seen/heard nothing good from her since. And, of course, she's the infamous author of that CYA email/note to herself on the Obama administration's way out the door — the whole bit about handling the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election "by the book." Sure, Susan.
- Susan Miller — This one's relatively new to me, but Suddenly Susan is out there, everywhere, running defense for the Intelligence Community regarding the highly suspect ICA that seemingly bolstered the notion of Russian collusion and hamstrung Donald Trump's first presidency. Matt Taibbi has a spectacular takedown of Miller over at Racket but here's the kicker:
In response to last week’s damning official document release about a now-infamous intelligence document that helped launch years of Russiagate madness, CNN wrote:
Retired CIA official Susan Miller, an author of the agency’s 2017 intelligence report on Russian election meddling…
No, she’s not.
“Not an author. Not involved,” says a senior intelligence official.
“There’s a chance she’s on some emails or something like that,” adds another person familiar with the investigation. “But she’s not the author of the ICA… she wasn’t leading this effort. So it’s just totally bizarre that she claims the opposite.”
Oh. So, this Susan's full of it, too. Go figure.
Now, I will say this: I'm still a fan of Susie Wiles, so maybe there's something to be salvaged of Susans. Or...maybe, at least, the ones who go by "Susie." 😉
LIGHTER FARE
Too cute for words. 🥰
Kitty loves baby deer fren..🐈🐾🦌😍
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) July 31, 2025
📹rexthebuck pic.twitter.com/rk9IZs39t5
Enjoying the "Morning Minute"? You can ensure you receive it in your Inbox every weekday by signing up for our newsletter here.
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy RedState’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join RedState VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member