Congress Returns: What Will Election Year Bring?

On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health, a government agency composed of more than 18,000 employees with an annual budget of $47 billion. Bhattacharya, a professor of economics and health policy at Stanford University, has no leadership experience in either government or large organizations, but, like some other Trump nominees, he is outspoken about what he sees as the tyranny of public health restrictions and censorship on social media platforms.

In recent days, an invitation from people affiliated with American Values 2024, a super-PAC that supported Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign, has been sent to people in his sphere offering “cocktails and dinner” with Kennedy at Mar-a-Lago. The invitation refers to Kennedy as “incoming secretary, Health & Human services,” although Kennedy has not yet been formally nominated, let alone confirmed by the Senate for that position.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy stated the obvious during an interview on Fox "news" about the nomination of Matt Gaetz to head the DOJ. McCarthy, who has had an ongoing feud with Gaetz ever since Gaetz managed to get him ousted as Speaker, made the ridiculous assertion that everything should be smooth sailing for Trump with his cabinet picks now that Gaetz has withdrawn from consideration. Trump suck-up Jesse Watters responded by laughing at the notion that there was something wrong with nominating Gaetz. MCCARTHY: At this moment in time, you look at his poll approval of what he’s doing with this new transition he’s bringing in, got rid of the problem.

Just two years ago, Lady Justice returned to Wisconsin with the election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz. There have already been many improvements in the state, with the most noticeable being the demise of gerrymandering and the return of fair elections for the state legislature. However, the state is again facing the threat of the resurfacing of the right-wing kangaroo court that had plagued the state for 15 years as Justice Ann Walsh Bradley had announced her well-earned retirement. And just like the match up in 2023, the lines couldn't be any clearer. On the side of justice and the Constitution is Susan Crawford.

If she doesn't take care of her staff, does anyone imagine she'd take care of the American people?

Maybe we should have left him in the Amazonian forest where he wouldn’t be able to cause much damage.