The Deficit Hawks Are Dead

For years, Kash Patel, the MAGA provocateur, conspiracy theory-monger, and seller of pills he claims reverse the effects of Covid vaccines, who Donald Trump has announced as his pick to replace FBI director Chris Wray, has made his mission plain: He wants to crush the supposed Deep State that has conspired against Trump.

On Tuesday, the Department of Labor filed a proposed rule that could end the subminimum wage for disabled people—beginning the process of closing a loophole that can let companies pay disabled employees less than a dollar per hour. When the federal minimum wage was established in 1938, it included a carveout that would permit companies to obtain certificates and pay disabled people less than non-disabled people.

WASHINGTON — Kash Patel has been well-known for years within Donald Trump’s orbit as a loyal supporter who shares the president-elect’s skepticism of the FBI and intelligence community. But he’s receiving fresh attention, from the public and from Congress, now that Trump has picked him to lead the FBI. As he braces for a bruising and likely protracted Senate confirmation fight, Patel can expect scrutiny not only over his professed fealty to Trump but also for his belief — revealed over the last year in interviews and his own book — that the century-old FBI should be radically overhauled. Here’s a look at some of what he’s proposed for the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency.

On January 29, 2009, after Obama took the White House and Democrats gained a 79-seat majority in the House, did Republicans crawl off to lick their wounds? Hell, no. They gathered gleefully at a Virginia resort to hammer home their new strategy: Obstruct, obstruct, obstruct! And it worked, by golly. The Republicans were pumped because they saw a path out of the political wilderness.

The Denver City Council on Monday voted 11-1 to reject a rezoning proposal that would have opened the door for a private pool to be constructed just off of West 38th Avenue in the West Highland neighborhood. A majority of council members found that that request did not meet the criteria for changing the types of structures that could be built on land that today is zoned for housing. “I don’t think this is a close question.

Interesting discussion with Brianna Keilar and Rep. Dan Goldman yesterday about the Hunter Biden pardon and what drove it. Notice that Goldman is not cosplaying indignation about Biden going ahead with the pardon, as some shameless Democrats did. Instead, he pointed out that the nomination of Kash Patel was a red flag. "Kash Patel is a danger because he's unqualified and because he is out for revenge on behalf of Donald Trump," Goldman said. "And that is not who we should have leading what should be a nonpartisan apolitical FBI that has a ten-year term for a reason so that it is not in line with the political process.