Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is outraged after being skewered in a recent episode of South Park, the UK Guardian reported. Noem shared her dismay about the jokes during an interview on the Glenn Beck Program podcast on Thursday.
The writers of the satirical cartoon portrayed Noem as an enthusiastic puppy killer after she admitted in her memoir to killing a family dog that had to be put down. The show also mocked Noem's looks and purported plastic surgery as well as her enthusiasm for Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
In a clip shared to YouTube by the show, Noem is depicted shooting puppies in a training video used by ICE officials. At one point, it shows her face melting and then being rearranged to its current state to suggest Noem has had cosmetic surgery on her face, which the former South Dakota governor has denied.
While speaking to host Glenn Beck, Noem admitted that she hadn't viewed the episode yet because she was too concerned with "going over budget numbers and stuff." However, Noem said that she thought the show's writers lacked creativity and went for the low-hanging fruit with their jokes about her.
"It’s so lazy to just constantly make fun of women for how they look," Noem told Beck. "If they wanted to criticize my job, go ahead and do that. But clearly they can’t – they just pick something petty like that," she added.
The premise of the satire leaned heavily on her public image as an official who is tough on illegal immigration, including her penchant for posing for photos during official business. Noem recently staged a photo op at El Salvador's CECOT prison, where several illegal immigrants from the U.S. have been deported under President Donald Trump.
The episode wrecked her for her admission in her autobiography "No Going Back" that she had to shoot her dog Cricket after it got loose and killed her neighbor's chickens and disrupted their pheasant hunt. She also admitted doing the same to a goat on her farm, which outraged the woke animal rights activists.
Noem is rightly upset as it is difficult to be treated like a joke, especially when the writers were using her looks as fodder. However, the fact that she and others in the Trump administration are getting the South Park treatment means they have reached a high level of cultural status.
In fact, as Fox News reported, the DHS used a still from the episode as a recruitment tool for ICE. The show's creators did not like it and responded with a crude remark, "Wait, so we ARE relevant? #eatabagofd----," the show's account replied to the post.
Undeterred, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin used South Park's remark once again to the agency's advantage. "We want to thank South Park for drawing attention to ICE law enforcement recruitment: We are calling on patriotic Americans to help us remove murderers, gang members, pedophiles, and other violent criminals from our country," McLaughlin said.
"Benefits available to new ICE recruits include an up to $50,000 signing bonus, student loan forgiveness, and retirement benefits. Apply today at join.ice.gov," the post added.
The culture is paying attention to what is happening in the Trump administration, which is why the show felt it could poke fun at its policies and figures and have its audience understand the jokes. It was lazy to focus on Noem's appearance, but the episode remains a net positive for the Trump agenda as it demonstrates the conservative movement's arrival at prominence.
President Donald Trump accused Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of "extortion" after Democrats held out on hundreds of Senate confirmations over $2 billion in funding, Newsmax reported. The Senate broke for summer recess without confirming the executive appointments after a deal couldn't be reached.
More than 140 of Trump's picks are awaiting confirmation as Schumer maneuvers to delay or block them until he gets his way. Among the nominees are 30 ambassadors, including Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece, and Mike Walz as United Nations ambassador.
Many of them have already been approved with bipartisan support in their respective committees. However, Schumer has set into motion a procedural requirement for the Senate to agree on voting rules for candidates as Democrats ask for their pet causes to be funded, including $1 billion for the Global Fund and $50 million to fight HIV in developing countries.
This process would have forced Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the Senate in session and lawmakers in Washington, D.C., through the rest of the summer to get each one through. Instead, Schumer held out to secure billions in wasteful spending, and both sides walked away from the table for now.
Trump was not about to take this lying down, of course. The president struck back at Schumer and the Democratic Party on a post to Truth Social on Wednesday, calling them "extortionists" and "thugs" over the scheme to delay the confirmations.
"Politically embattled Senator, Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, wants the Republicans to pay, as EXTORTION, TWO BILLION DOLLARS in order for the Radical Left Democrats to approve the hundreds of Trump Appointments who have been waiting for months, and are raring to go. This has never happened before," Trump wrote.
"There has never, in U.S. history, been such a delay. THEY ARE EXTORTIONISTS! Republicans must create legislation in order to get out of the grasp of these Country hating THUGS," Trump continued.
"Move quickly!!! MAGA." Trump concluded. The president urged the lawmakers to come to a decision to get the nominees through. Unfortunately, Trump ended the standoff in a draw as both sides backed off. Perhaps this means Schumer learned after taking several lashes from his party earlier this year for giving in to Trump.
In March, Schumer backed away from blocking a GOP-led funding bill because he wanted to avoid a government shutdown, NBC News reported. Many in his party were outraged that he'd give an inch to Trump, and perhaps he's worried about the same thing happening this time.
Even former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was outraged and urged fellow Democrats in the Senate to vote against the bill that would fund the government for another six months. Instead, Pelosi wanted a continuing resolution, which does the same for a shorter term to keep the government operating but forces more legislation. "Democratic senators should listen to the women," Pelosi said in a statement at the time.
"Appropriations leaders Rosa DeLauro and Patty Murray have eloquently presented the case that we must have a better choice: a four-week funding extension to keep [the] government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement. America has experienced a Trump shutdown before — but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse," the California Democrat added.
Schumer also drew the ire of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). "I think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal. And this is not just about progressive Democrats. This is across the board. The entire party," Cortez said. It seems that being on the wrong side of his party is not where Schumer wants to be again.
Trump is correct that the Democrats in the Senate were wielding their power to obtain funding for their causes in a way that seems underhanded. However, they will have to continue the fight after the recess, and Trump has a way of getting what he wants in the end.
President Donald Trump has kept his campaign promise and once again donated his presidential salary to the White House Historical Association, Breitbart reported. The president famously gave away his $400,000 annual earnings during his first term as well, breaking with the majority of his predecessors who kept their pay.
Trump shared the news on his Truth Social on Wednesday. "I am proud to be the only President (with the possible exception of the Late, Great George Washington) to donate my Salary. My first 'Paycheck' went to the White House Historical Association, as we make much needed renovations to the beautiful 'People’s House,'" Trump wrote.
"Great improvements and beautification is taking place at the White House, at levels not seen since its original creation. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" the president concluded.
As with his first term, Trump pledged to give away his presidential salary after his reelection. This immense act of charity is another way to make not only America, but also the nation's capital, great again, without taking more from the taxpayers.
There are many projects underway in Washington, D.C., thanks to Trump, including adding a flagpole on the North Lawn near the new Rose Garden patio and another on the South Lawn. Each flagpole is nearly 100 feet high and will proudly fly the Stars and Stripes, thanks to the personal generosity of the president.
Trump has also announced plans for a grand ballroom to be added to the White House, a project which he and other private donors will fund. The new addition is planned for the East Wing off the East Room and will be used as the Reception Room upon completion.
In a surprise move on Tuesday, Trump fielded questions from reporters about the plan as he made an appearance on the White House roof, according to the Associated Press. "Anything I do is financed by me, so you don't have to worry. It's contributed just like my salary is contributed," Trump said, making it clear that taxpayers wouldn't be footing the bill.
LOL! Trump is on the White House roof inspecting his improvement projects while taking questions from the press…
"Anything I do is financed by me, so you don't have to worry. It's contributed just like my salary is contributed."
pic.twitter.com/Gtlx40f2oJ— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) August 5, 2025
Meanwhile, the president has also worked on sprucing up the Oval Office by adding his signature gold trim throughout and gilded decor pieces to the mantelpiece. Trump hung portraits that were previously long in storage, including those of past presidents, adding gravitas and more ornamentation to the historic space.
This means a great deal to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who frequented the White House as a child. "I’ve been coming to this building for 65 years, and I have to say that it has never looked better," said Kennedy, who is the nephew of President John F. Kennedy and son of Robert F. Kennedy, who served as attorney general at the time.
"I’ve spent some time in the Oval Office, which really has – it’s been transformed," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said. "I was looking at a picture of the Oval Office the other day when I was there, when I was a kid with my uncle," he added..
"And you know… it’s always extraordinary to go into that, that sacred space, but I have to say that it looked kind of drab in the pictures, and they’re black and white pictures, but it looked drab, and it looks the opposite of drab today," he added. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also said that inhabiting beautiful spaces "elevates the human spirit. And this building, of all buildings, should look beautiful. And under your stewardship, it looks extraordinary today."
A federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration's plan to reallocate $4 billion from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, CBS News reported. The funds would come from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which the agency had eliminated in April.
U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns of Boston issued his ruling on Tuesday that halted the plan. The case was brought in July by Massachusetts and 19 other Democrat-led states, which sued over FEMA's ability to dispense with funds meant for fortifying infrastructure against natural disasters.
Before its elimination, BRIC set aside funding for flood control, including stormwater management infrastructure, or elevating or relocating buildings in areas that experience repeated floods. The judge contended that using funds from the canceled program on anything but disaster relief would cause "irreparable harm" to areas prone to flooding.
"The BRIC program is designed to protect against natural disasters and save lives," Stearns wrote of the since-eliminated program. Stearns is also "not convinced" that the money Congress had set aside for BRIC should be reallocated to other projects based on how it was awarded.
According to Newsweek, FEMA said in a news release published April 4, 2025, that BRIC was being eliminated as "yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program." It said that the program was "more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters."
The agency has since walked back that position, including removing that news release from the website. FEMA's acting administrator, David Richardson, said that the "BRIC program provides technical and financial assistance to States and local governments for cost-effective pre-disaster hazard mitigation measures that reduce injuries, loss of life, and damage and destruction of property," in a reversal of April's news release.
"The Secretary of Homeland Security [Kristi Noem] has not made a final decision to end the BRIC program," Richardson said, adding that "no grants have yet been canceled." Still, the states that brought the lawsuit against the Trump administration over the funds say Trump is playing politics.
"The president keeps breaking the law, and we keep holding him accountable in court. Shuttering this program would do nothing to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse or improve government efficiency," California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of the lawsuit's lead plaintiffs, said in July.
"This is a program with bipartisan support that is focused on protecting lives and livelihoods from flooding, wildfires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters," he added. However, like many government programs, suspected partisanship in FEMA seems to cut against Republicans, including one high-profile case in Florida.
As the Daily Wire reported at the time, employees of FEMA were fired after it was revealed that officials in the agency told disaster relief workers to skip houses with Trump signs in Florida. The news outlet shared a screenshot of an internal message in a bombshell exclusive on November 8.
EXCLUSIVE: Internal messages obtained by The Daily Wire show a FEMA official ordered relief workers in Florida not to help houses with Trump signs pic.twitter.com/o73ejUuYUG
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) November 8, 2024
At least 20 homes with Trump signs in the Lake Placid, Florida, area were not offered aid following Hurricane Milton, as per the directive. In a letter to Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) in March, FEMA's then-acting director Cameron Hamilton explained that three employees in supervisory roles were fired over the issue.
"As you know, FEMA terminated that crew lead’s employment with the agency on November 9. Since then, in cooperation with the Office of Inspector General and the Office of the Special Counsel, FEMA’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) — which reports directly to me — conducted an exhaustive investigation of this incident to determine the full extent of any further inappropriate behavior or misconduct," Hamilton noted.
The White House has been blindsided by judicial decisions that are reversing agenda items. Whether the BRIC program was politicized or not, it seems that each agency should be able to make decisions about where its funds end up, regardless of who is in the White House.
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest for an alleged attempted coup meant to keep him in office after his 2022 electoral defeat, NPR reported. This decision comes as President Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on the nation over its handling of Bolsonaro's case.
Bolsonaro was put under restrictions on what he could say publicly after his defeat. However, the 70-year-old allegedly used his three sons, who hold elected office, to amplify his message to the people, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in his decision Monday.
The former president allegedly said "good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom" through the cell phone of one of his sons during a protest in Rio de Janeiro. Attorneys for Bolsonaro said that this message could not "be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act," but the judge disagreed.
Attorneys for Bolsonaro have promised to appeal his conviction. Meanwhile, Trump is using the power of the American government in pursuit of justice for Bolsonaro, including the tariff leveled against the South American nation as part of his trade war and other sanctions.
The Trump administration believes the case against Bolsonaro is dubious. When the Treasury Department announced sanctions against Brazil, it claimed that de Moraeas imposed "arbitrary" pre-trial detentions and used his authority to stifle the free speech of his political enemies, according to Fox News.
"Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies. De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro," Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in the notice.
"Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to hold accountable those who threaten U.S. interests and the freedoms of our citizens," Bessent added. In addition to the hefty tariffs, the sanctions imposed on the judge included freezing any assets in the U.S. held by de Morae in a 50% or more share, including property.
Moreover, the Treasury Department warned that any entity or person who engages in activities or completes transactions with de Morae in violation of the sanctions may also be subject to the sanctions. Trump was able to impose sanctions based on an executive order he issued in his first term, combating "serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world," which "constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
Passed in 2017, Executive Order 13818 added to the existing 2016 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, giving the president the right to declare sanctions against entities that violated those rights. The use of this was already in the works, as last month the White House was rumored to be working with the Brazilian ex-president's son, Eduardo.
The Brazilian Supreme Court's case against Bolsonaro accused him of orchestrating a coup attempt through criticism of the voting system and an effort to get top military officials on board with his plan, including a riot at the nation's capital. The court even alleged that there was a plan to assassinate a Supreme Court judge and Bolsonaro's successor.
Predictably, the left has drawn strong parallels between Bolsonaro and Trump. According to a CNN report in 2023, many claimed that Bolsonaro's rhetoric about election rigging and the ensuing riot mirrored the Jan. 6, 2021, incursion at the U.S. Capitol.
Leftist news outlets called the Jan. 6 riot an "insurrection" that Trump incited by giving a speech and then waiting at the White House while it unfolded, a claim which has since been debunked in court. Bolsonaro was not even in Brazil during the riot, but both were roundly criticized for these events, which took place allegedly at their behest.
Then-President Joe Biden took to X, formerly Twitter, to denounce such actions. "I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil. Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support, and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined," Biden wrote at the time.
It's difficult to separate fact from fiction in the U.S., let alone in a foreign country. However, Trump's defense of Bolsonaro and the actions against him speak volumes, especially since Trump has been vindicated in defending himself against his own witch hunt.
Biden-appointed U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled Friday to temporarily block the Trump administration from rapidly deporting migrants who entered the country legally through humanitarian programs, pending a final ruling on a lawsuit filed by the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and other civic groups.
Since taking office, President Donald Trump has been trying to get as many illegal immigrants back on their own soil as possible, which requires expedited deportations because of the millions his predecessor, Joe Biden, let in.
The case has shown a contrast between two vastly differing views on immigration.
Trump and conservatives want the border to be respected and laws to be followed. Having millions of illegal immigrants and temporary migrants in the country is causing chaos and costing taxpayers billions of dollars every year.
They ask how illegal immigrants can have rights to be in the country, and if they don't, they favor getting them out ASAP.
On the other hand, Democrats believe migrants should have the same rights as citizens even though they broke the law to come into the U.S.
However, even migrants who entered through these humanitarian programs would have entered the country illegally by crossing the border if the programs didn't exist.
Trump ended the humanitarian migration program for those coming from some Latin American countries--namely Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela--and the Supreme Court upheld his right to do so. The end of CHNV parole means that migrants who entered under that program are now illegal immigrants, and the Trump administration has every right to deport them.
The Trump DOJ was apparently summoning migrants to court and dismissing charges against them, with ICE agents outside the courtroom waiting to detain them for deportation.
Cobb's rationale for the order was snotty and partisan--no surprise coming from a Biden appointee.
"This case's underlying question, then, asks whether parolees who escaped oppression will have the chance to plead their case within a system of rules. Or, alternatively, will they be summarily removed from a country that -- as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers -- may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape," Cobb wrote.
What about a system of rules that doesn't just legalize mass illegal migration rather than try to stop it?
Trump wants to see the mass chaos of immigration under Biden brought back under control so that we are not overrun by potentially billions of migrants who want to leave their countries of origin for what they see as the Promised Land--the U.S.
Democrats prefer the chaos because it gives them more leverage to expand social programs and eventually, gain enough new voters to ensure they remain in power forever.
The last several weeks have been replete with revelations about the efforts of prior administrations to undermine Donald Trump, both while a candidate and as president.
Now, several veterans of Trump’s first term in the White House have stepped forward to claim that they were informed by Google that they had been under investigation by the Biden FBI, a disclosure the company was previously prevented by court order from making, as Fox News reports.
Details of the scrutiny faced by members of Trump’s first administration emerged on Friday in a post on X from Dan Scavino, who now serves as White House deputy chief of staff.
Scavino explained that he had been “proudly and patriotically serving in the first Trump White House” but, upon departing in January 2021, was targeted by what he called “Biden lawfare.”
The high-level Trump aide noted that five weeks before returning to the White House for the president’s second term, he received a troubling email from tech giant Google.
That message said, “Google received and responded to legal process issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation compelling the release of information related to your Google account.”
It continued, “A court order previously prohibited Google from notifying you of the legal process… .”
Scavino made the situation public last week, in an effort to underscore what he said was a “small taste of the INSANITY that many of us went through – right here in the United States of America. LAWFARE at its finest. A Complete and Total Disgrace!!!!”
Soon after Scavino recounted the story on X, current FBI Director Kash Patel posted in response, writing, “I got one of those too… .”
Another former -- and current -- Trump official, Jeff Clark, chimed in as well, saying that he also received the notification from Google, noting, “Indeed, a whole [former special counsel] Jack Smith team was assigned to go through my emails after there was a privilege review.”
Clark lamented the expansive scope of the probe, adding, “But that group of lawyers ignored my religious pastor privilege, and other privileges and basically shipped all they could to Jack Smith.
Echoing the financial and personal ramifications of Democrat lawfare of which so many Trump allies -- such as Carter Page -- in recent years have complained, Clark added, “But it still cost me tens of thousands to try to protect my communications” and blasted “thugs with law degrees” who ignored the fact that “medical records and other private communications had nothing to do with the 2020 election. They were no one’s business.”
With so many now calling for accountability for perpetrators of the Russia collusion hoax and the related lawfare to which Scavino and others have brought renewed attention, the pressure is on the Justice Department to produce results, and it remains to be seen whether any indictments are on the horizon.
For now, however, some of those victimized during the Biden years can perhaps take a small degree of solace in the recent announcement that the Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal agency, has launched a probe of Jack Smith for potential violations of the Hatch Act, a statute designed to limit political activities of federal employees.
U.S. Track and Field superstar Sha'Carri Richardson, an Olympic gold medalist, may be faster than most of her competition, but she can't outrun the law.
Richardson was arrested last Sunday and charged with domestic violence following an altercation with her boyfriend at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, USA Today reported.
The arrest and criminal charge is just the latest career blemish for the world champion sprinter, who was infamously disqualified from competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, which she was heavily favored to win, after she tested positive for marijuana use.
The Associated Press reported that, according to a copy of the police report, the 25-year-old track star Richardson was arrested Sunday evening at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and spent the night at the South Correctional Entity in Des Moines, Washington, before she was eventually released shortly after noon on Monday.
Per the report, a Transportation Security Administration supervisor notified local police to the situation after they witnessed Richardson in a prolonged verbal and physical altercation with her boyfriend, fellow sprinter Christian Coleman, after they passed through a TSA checkpoint.
A responding officer reviewed surveillance camera footage and similarly observed Richardson making repeated physical contact with Coleman, including yanking his backpack and shoving him into a nearby column. She is said to have continued to make physical contact with Coleman and get in his way even as he repeatedly attempted to walk around and away from her.
Richardson also reportedly threw a set of headphones at Coleman, who later told officers that he "did not want to participate any further in the investigation and declined to be a victim."
In response to questions about the arrest, the U.S.A. Track and Field organization said that it "is aware of the reports and is not commenting on this matter."
Richardson's arrest for domestic violence last Sunday did not stop her from competing this week at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, according to AFP.
The 100m world champion was on the track on Thursday for preliminary heat races and advanced to the semifinals round on Friday, but later withdrew herself from contention for the finals.
She remains automatically qualified for the upcoming World Championship event in September in Japan, however, given her status as the current defending world champ.
USATF said that Richardson still intends to compete in Sunday's 200m event, though, after initially withdrawing from and then reentering that race.
USA Today noted that Richardson, after missing the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games because of the positive marijuana test, returned to the world stage with a vengeance and something to prove in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where she earned a silver medal in the 100m along with a gold medal as part of Team USA's 4x100m relay squad.
According to the AP, she also won the 100m event at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan attempted to block Admiral Daryl Caudle's confirmation as Chief of Naval Operations to try to strong-arm the Pentagon to reopen the state's Adak Naval Air Station, Just the News reported. Sullivan eventually caved, allowing Caudle to be confirmed on Thursday.
On Tuesday, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved Caudle in a vote that should have secured an easy confirmation for him. The position was left vacant after President Donald Trump's administration removed then-Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti from her post in February.
However, Sullivan held out on the final confirmation, stating that he would do so until the Pentagon agreed to reopen the strategic Naval base located on the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. The base has been closed since 1997, but Sullivan is sounding the alarm that it's a vital stronghold to protect Alaska from China and Russia.
This is not the first time Sullivan has used such tactics in an attempt to convince the Pentagon to go his way. In 2020, Sullivan blocked Pentagon nominees during then-President Joe Biden's administration, including Gen. C.Q. Brown’s promotion to Air Force chief of staff.
The Alaskan senator's urgings about the importance of reopening the Naval base hold more weight, considering Russian war planes have been performing exercises just off the coast of Alaska in recent weeks. While speaking on Fox News' Faulkner Focus on Thursday, Sullivan shared how Russian aircraft have recently been spotted near American airspace.
"The Russians have been very aggressive. You know, Billy Mitchell, the father of the US Air Force, called Alaska the most strategic place in the world," Sullivan continued.
"Well, our adversaries know that, which is why they're testing us up there. And we've even had joint Russian naval task forces in our waters and joint Russian strategic bomber task forces in our airspace," Sullivan went on. The lawmaker later explained that Trump is pouring money into military infrastructure in Alaska, including a possible American version of a Golden Dome anti-missile system to protect against attacks from Russia and China.
"We have the technology. We have the ability with a great military, and now with presidential leadership. That's why Russia and China are so scared of this, and I think when they speak out against it, it shows that we're on target," Sullivan said.
After initially holding out, Sullivan later changed his mind after speaking with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday. "Sen. Sullivan had a very constructive conversation with the secretary of Defense, with whom he has a strong relationship," said his spokesperson, Amanda Coyne, in a statement.
"After the conversation, Sen. Sullivan lifted his hold on Adm. Caudle," Coyne added. While Sullivan didn't receive any formal concessions, the White House said in a statement that Trump has "repeatedly stressed the importance of the Senate quickly confirming all of his nominees," suggesting the president was fuming and his intolerance for the gesture swayed Sullivan's acquiescence.
Still, it doesn't seem Sullivan will abandon his advocacy for the military base any time soon, even if Trump wasn't happy with his tactics. According to the Washington Examiner, the lawmaker was banging the drum about the Naval base as recently as May.
"This is part of a broader strategic repository that our military needs to really think hard about, and in the Indo-Pacific, to be honest, their strategic thinking has been lazy," Sullivan said. The base at one time had as many as 90,000 troops in the Aleutian Islands during World War II and was instrumental in an offensive attack against Japanese-held Kiska and Attu islands in 1943.
Holding up the appointment of personnel is not the best tactic for getting things done, and Sullivan was correct in giving up. However, it's clear that the current threats to the U.S. are best addressed from Alaska.
Two former White House aides testified about then-President Joe Biden's mental decline in front of the GOP-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform this week, Breitbart reported. Former Biden counselor Steve Ricchetti and former senior adviser Mike Donilon have agreed to appear before the committee voluntarily.
The committee, headed by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), is investigating whether there was a concerted effort to keep Biden's cognitive problems under wraps. Now that he's left office, Democrats are stunned that journalists are willing to admit what they saw and how Biden's staffers closed ranks to protect him.
If his problems were this obvious to the public, it's nearly impossible for his closest advisers to deny that they knew what was happening. The committee has called some of them as witnesses, but has had a hard time getting them to testify, including Dr. Kevin O'Connor, who was the White House physician under Biden.
The committee was forced to subpoena O'Connor to get him to speak about Biden's condition. Others, including Biden's former special assistant, Annie Tomasini, and first lady Jill Biden's former senior advisor, Anthony Bernal, have asserted their Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Meanwhile, Biden's former chief of staff, Ron Klain, said that the president was mentally sharp during his time in the White House.
During his testimony Wednesday, Ricchetti claimed that Biden was "fully capable of exercising his presidential duties" while in office, The Hill reported. The news outlet had obtained prepared remarks Ricchetti used for his transcribed interview with the committee. Ricchetti seemed to deny the obvious fact that Biden was deteriorating in front of everyone's eyes.
"Let me be clear: At all times during his presidency, I believed that President Biden was fully capable of exercising his Presidential duties and responsibilities, and that he did so. Neither I, nor anyone else, usurped President Biden’s constitutional duties, which he faithfully and fully carried out each and every day," Ricchetti claimed, according to the transcription.
The former counselor to Biden said there was "certainly no conspiracy to hide the President’s mental condition from the American people" and that he was "not aware of any effort by any member of the White House staff to usurp the President’s authority to make decisions or to sign important documents without his knowledge." Ricchetti did concede that Biden had some problems but minimized their impact.
"Did he stumble? Occasionally. Make mistakes? Get up on the wrong side of the bed? He did — we all did. But I always believed — every day — that he had the capability, character, and judgment to be president of the United States," Ricchetti claimed.
Predictably, Ricchetti railed against Republicans for orchestrating a witch hunt. He claimed the committee's investigation "is part of a concerted effort by the Administration and its congressional allies to diminish the record of the former president by advancing the false narrative that President Biden was mentally unable to perform his constitutional duties and that members of his staff usurped the president’s Article 2 powers."
According to Fox News, Donilon was expected to appear before the committee after arriving on Thursday morning. In the past, Donilon defended Biden, including his campaign-ending debate performance in July 2024. "Now, lots of people have terrible debates," Donilon said at the time.
"Lots of people have terrible debates. Usually, the party doesn't lose its mind, but that's what happened here. It melted down," Donilon claimed. Biden stepped down from the presidential race shortly after the botched debate, where he appeared confused, tired, and unable to string together coherent thoughts.
This defense drew criticism even from rabid leftists like David Axelrod, a CNN contributor and former Obama adviser. Axelrod shared the clip of Donilon's remarks defending Biden at a Harvard University event, which he simply captioned, "Delusional."
Delusional https://t.co/7zWQ7liINN
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) February 22, 2025
Biden's mental deterioration was increasingly difficult to hide, even before the debate performance that caused the problem to become undeniable. Still, all of the people who were around Biden shielded him and continue to do so even after the truth is stunningly apparent.