President-elect Donald Trump tapped New York Congressman Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Trump confirmed the news in a statement Monday afternoon, writing in part:
“Lee, with a very strong legal background, has been a true fighter for America First policies. He will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet. He will set new standards on environmental review and maintenance, that will allow the United States to grow in a healthy and well-structured way.”
Trump said Zeldin has “brilliantly” handled some “extremely difficult and complex situations.” He said he is sure Zeldin will “quickly prove to be a great contributor!”
“It is an honor to join President Trump’s Cabinet as EPA Administrator,” Zeldin wrote on X. “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI. We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water.”
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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America,
Trump lawyer Alina Habba passed on the opportunity to serve as President-elect Donald Trump’s White House Press Secretary, days after she emerged as a front-runner for the job.
Reports emerged earlier this week that Trump’s senior advisor and attorney was the favorite for the position, according to four sources. Habba traveled to Mar-a-Lago on Tuesday for discussions about a role, before announcing Thursday morning that she would not serve as press secretary.
“While I am flattered by the support and speculation, the role of Press Secretary is not a role I am considering,” Habba wrote. “Although I love screaming from a podium I will be better served in other capacities. This administration is going to be epic! So proud of the Trump team, the latest appointments and 47!”
While I am flattered by the support and speculation, the role of Press Secretary is not a role I am considering. Although I love screaming from a podium I will be better served in other capacities.
This adminstration is going to be epic! So proud of the Trump team, the latest…
A source said the Trump team lobbied Habba to take the job but she turned it down for reasons related to her family — Habba has three children and is based in New Jersey — and her law practice.
Sean Hannity pressed Habba on his Fox News show on Tuesday over whether she would take on the position. Habba said, “I am very loyal to President Trump. I would think about it very seriously.”
I hear Alina Habba is being considered for White House Press Secretary. STOP all considerations and give it to her immediately.
President-elect Donald Trump revealed what candidates for Senate Majority Leader will have to do if they hope to gain his endorsement.
Trump released a statement on X on Sunday where he claimed that any candidate seeking the position must agree to recess appointments so that his appointments can be approved in a “timely manner.”
“Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more,” Trump wrote to his followers.
Any Republican Senator seeking the coveted LEADERSHIP position in the United States Senate must agree to Recess Appointments (in the Senate!), without which we will not be able to get people confirmed in a timely manner. Sometimes the votes can take two years, or more. This is…
He added, “This is what they did four years ago, and we cannot let it happen again. We need positions filled IMMEDIATELY! Additionally, no Judges should be approved during this period of time because the Democrats are looking to ram through their Judges as the Republicans fight over Leadership. THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. THANK YOU!”
Recess appointments sidestep the Senate’s confirmation process and could be used to temporarily install unpopular or unqualified nominees.
Florida Senator Rick Scott responded to Trump’s request just minutes later via X, where he vowed to push through his nominee’s “as quickly as possible.”
100% agree. I will do whatever it takes to get your nominations through as quickly as possible. https://t.co/GlrHx2zJXh
Former CNN commentator Angela Rye revealed that she believed President Donald Trump and the Republicans cheated to win the 2024 election and are planning to do the same in the 2026 midterms.
“I think me and [Tiffany Cross] really might feel a way about telling y’all how many days are left till the midterms because I don’t really know this thing’s going to damn happen,” Rye said on her “Native Land Pod” podcast recently.
She added, “Even if they are going to happen, are they going to cheat like they did, I still feel like they did, in the 2024 election? I don’t have data. I got a gut feeling, but I’m going to tell you about the Black woman and the Holy Ghost. We be spot on.”
Her podcast co-star and former MSNBC host Tiffany Cross stopped short of outright accusing the 2024 election of being stolen, though she felt that the election may “require some investigation” based on arguments she has heard. (RELATED: MSNBC Rising Star Blames Joe Scarborough For Her Departure)
She agreed with Rye, however, that she didn’t see a point in looking forward to the midterm elections.
“Even if they did, okay it’s here now,” Cross said. “Like what, they’re not going to say ‘okay takesies backsies we stole it.’ Like they have already instituted this authoritarian regime, and I don’t know any post-industrialized country that has come this far into authoritarianism and turned around.”
She continued, “So why we think all of a sudden we’re going to have free and fair elections in this country for midterms, which we’ve never really had, as Black folks know all too well and, as women know all too well. We’ve never really had that, but we think somehow in 480 days that we’re going to have a better chance at democracy. I just don’t think so.”
Rye’s baseless claims come amid a time when the threat of political violence appears to be reaching a fever pitch.
Democrat lawmakers say their voters are enraged at the lack of ability to counter President Donald Trump‘s agenda, with some sounding the alarm that they could potentially resort to “violence,” Axios reported last week.
The outlet says it spoke to over two dozen House Democrats to measure the temperature of the Democrat base and what it uncovered was red-hot anger and a desire to circumvent the rule of law.
“We’ve got people who are desperately wanting us to do something… no matter what we say, they want [more],” Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) told the outlet.
Another said their constituents are convinced that “civility isn’t working” and that they should prepare for “violence… to fight to protect our democracy.”
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America - Pete Hegseth, CC BY-SA 2.0
This Trump nominee could already be on his way out…
President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has reportedly been drafting a list of alternative nominees for Defense Secretary in case Trump rethinks his choice of, Fox & FriendsWeekend co-host Pete Hegseth.
According to Vanity Fair, which spoke to two unnamed Republican sources “close to Trump,” the president-elect’s transition team has been “quietly preparing a list of alternative defense secretary candidates should Trump abandon Hegseth,” following news of a 2017 sexual assault allegation.
“It’s becoming a real possibility,” claimed one of the sources. The other source said, “People are upset about the distraction. The general feeling is Pete hasn’t been honest.”
Shortly after Trump announced his decision to nominate Hegseth for secretary of defense this month, the Trump transition team was informed about a 2020 payment Hegseth reportedly made to a woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her at a hotel and spa in 2017.
In a statement, Hegseth’s lawyer Timothy Parlatore insisted, “Mr. Hegseth is completely innocent. Not only did she take advantage of him, but we believe she then extorted him knowing that at the height of the #MeToo movement the mere public allegation would likely result in his immediate termination from Fox News.”
The New York Timesreported last week that Trump had “not moved off supporting Mr. Hegseth, despite claims that his team was reassessing the pick, according to several people close to the incoming president.”
Hegseth’s nomination took Senate Republicans by surprise.
Asked for his thoughts on the nomination, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) reportedly remarked, “Really? I’d have to think about it.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) on Hegseth DefSec nomination: Really? I’d have to think about it
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) reacted, “Wow… I’m just surprised because the names that I’ve heard for Secretary of Defense have not included him,” while Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) asked, “Who?”
GOP Sens on Pete Hegseth as SecDef:
Murk: “Wow…I'm just surprised because the names that I've heard for Secretary of Defense have not included him.”
Nancy Pelosi’s daughter, Christine Pelosi, announced she is tossing her hat into the ring for the California state senate, just days after her mom announced her highly anticipated retirement from Congress.
The younger Pelosi, a longtime political consultant and former chairperson of the California Democratic Women’s Caucus, announced her campaign on social media on Monday morning.
“Hi, I’m Christine Pelosi. Attorney, author, advocate, wife, mom, and today, a candidate for California State Senate,” she says in a campaign video accompanying the post.
In courtrooms, campaigns and corridors of power, I’ve fought to build Power For The People. And that’s why I’m running for California Senate. pic.twitter.com/jncXmCCx6l
Christine Pelosi, 59, is one of the former House speaker’s five children with her husband, Paul.
Pelosi, 85, announced on Thursday that she would not run for reelection after a historic congressional career that spanned four decades.
The retirement reveal was celebrated by President Donald Trump, who later relayed through Fox News reporter Peter Doocy that she was “evil, corrupt, and only focused on bad things for our country.”
“She was rapidly losing control of her party and it was never coming back. I’m very honored she impeached me twice and failed miserably twice,” Trump said.
President Trump responds to Nancy Pelosi's retirement: "The retirement of Nancy Pelosi is a great thing for America. She was Evil, Corrupt, and only focused on bad things for our country. She was rapidly losing control of her party and it was never coming back. I'm very honored… pic.twitter.com/7ZtNpJknCq
Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi’s rivalry has been one of the defining political dramas of recent years, symbolizing the deep partisan divide in Washington. From Trump’s first impeachment—driven by Pelosi’s Democratic House—to their public clashes over the State of the Union address, the two leaders turned political disagreement into personal enmity. Trump often cast Pelosi as the face of establishment obstruction, accusing her of putting party politics ahead of American progress. For many Republicans, her approach epitomized the D.C. elite’s refusal to respect the voters who put Trump in office.
Even after Trump left the White House, the feuds continued to shape both figures’ legacies. Pelosi frequently invokes Trump as a threat to democracy, while Trump uses her name as shorthand for what he sees as the failures of liberal governance.
Former President of the United States Donald Trump speaking with attendees at the 2022 Student Action Summit at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. [Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]
A new report from The Daily Caller indicates that former President Trump believes the FBI was after documents that would exonerate him.
The report says that the FBI was seeking documents that Trump believes would exonerate him from Russian collusion claims.
Governor Kathy Hochul and MTA Chair & CEO Janno Lieber make a subway safety announcement at the NYCT Rail Control Center (RCC) on Wednesday, Mar 6, 2024.
(Marc A. Hermann / MTA)
Gov. Kathy Hochul called New Yorkers who vote for Republican House candidates “anti-American” and “anti-women” over the weekend, triggering immediate rage from people across both sides of the political aisle.
“If you’re voting for these Republicans in New York, you are voting for someone who supports Donald Trump and you’re anti-women, you’re anti-abortion, and basically, you’re anti-American,” Hochul said on MSNBC.
Watch:
“You just trashed American values and what our country is all about — over and over.”
First, they called us “Deplorables.” Then, they called us “Nazis.” Then, Joe Biden called us “garbage.” Then, they said no “strong intelligent” women support Trump.
Now Kamala Harris’ top surrogate Kathy Hochul – the Worst and most unpopular Governor in America – calls voters… pic.twitter.com/mChLNyusKG
Republicans immediately blasted the governor over her latest insults and even Democrat strategists said demonizing a large segment of voters as anti-American was not helpful to their candidates.
“This is about as helpful as a severe migraine. It’s never a good thing to identify a large segment of voters as un-American,” said New York ex-Democratic Rep. Max Rose, who is aiding Democrats in House races.
“Kathy Hochul doesn’t represent a majority of Democrats — anywhere,” said Rose, who served one-term representing Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn.
State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox fumed, “She’s smearing at least one half of American voters and all Trump voters.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-Hudson Valley) told The Post, “Governor Hochul has once again disgraced herself and the state of New York by calling supporters of some of the most bipartisan members of Congress ‘anti-American.’
“It’s shameful and wrong and shows exactly how much of a partisan hack Kathy Hochul really is. She must be voted out in November of 2026, but only after Republicans hold the House thanks to our New York GOP delegation.”
Republicans said the statement is so offensive and outrageous that it appears as if Hochul is angling for a future job in a Kamala Harris Administration because it is sure to hurt a re-election bid in 2026.
A Siena College poll released last month showed that only 36% of New Yorkers gave Hochul a favorable rating, while 51% viewed her unfavorably.
The White House from Washington, DC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley responded President-elect Donald Trump’s social media post over the weekend…
Haley replied on X by highlighting her previous service, saying, “I was proud to work with President Trump defending America at the United Nations. I wish him, and all who serve, great success in moving us forward to a stronger, safer America over the next four years.” The reply received harsh criticism from Trump critics, which Haley noted as she said her family was frustrated that she didn’t make clear at the time she had told Trump aides she was not interested in a job.
“I had no interest in being in his cabinet. He knew that,” Haley said on her SiriusXM show, Nikki Haley Live, adding:
But to go a little further, his best friend, Steve Witkoff, came to our house in South Carolina, spoke to me and my husband, and basically wanted a truce between me and Donald Trump. And I told him at the time, there was no truce needed, that I had, that Trump had my support, there was no issue on my end.
And at that point he was like, ‘What do you want? Tell me what you want. Is there anything you want?’ And I said, ‘There’s nothing I want.’ And there wasn’t anything I wanted. And then several weeks back I talked to Howard Lutnick, his transition director, and he asked, you know, if I knew of people that would be good in the cabinet, if there was any insight. And what I said is, I think it’s really important that Trump surround himself with people that are going to tell him the truth.
And I, you know, mentioned someone that I thought would be good for Commerce Secretary and mentioned that I thought the UN Ambassador should be a cabinet pick. But I did not ask anything for me. And I have made it clear to everyone that I was not interested in the administration. So my husband and son were upset and said, ‘Why didn’t you say that in the tweet? Instead of just wishing him well?’
Haley concluded by noting Trump’s social media post was nothing new to her, “And the truth is, I know the game he was playing. I don’t need to play that game.”
“But more importantly, we have to look at the bigger picture. It is time to move on. It is time for us to focus on what America needs to do to be strong again, what America needs to do to be safe. The American people have spoken and spoken very loudly, and at this point, we should pray that President Trump does well. We should pray that everyone that he appoints does well. We should hope for the sake of our kids and generations to follow us, that all of this goes forward. So, you know, do I take it personally? No. That’s who he is. He can be shallow at times and I think he showed that. But I don’t have to be shallow. And at the end of the day, I’m very comfortable with where I am, and I’m comfortable with what happened,” she added.
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy says he won’t open an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden without a floor vote. “If we move forward,” it “would occur through a vote” on the House floor, the speaker explained to Breitbart’s Matthew Boyle.
McCarthy’s announcement confirms that moving forward with an impeachment inquiry will require 218 yes votes.
Appearing on Charlie Kirk’s podcast, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said that she believed the House Republican Conference has the votes to initiate formal proceedings against Biden.
🚨BREAKING: Speaker Kevin McCarthy has confirmed that an impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden would happen through a formal vote on the House floor requiring 218 yes votes to initiate the process. @RepMTG confirmed on my show today that she believes House GOP now has the votes.
“To open an impeachment inquiry is a serious matter, and House Republicans would not take it lightly or use it for political purposes. The American people deserve to be heard on this matter through their elected representatives,” McCarthy told Breitbart News in a statement. “That’s why, if we move forward with an impeachment inquiry, it would occur through a vote on the floor of the People’s House and not through a declaration by one person.”
McCarthy’s position is a departure from how his predecessor Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., handled the first impeachment inquiry against former President Donald Trump. In 2019, Pelosi unilaterally proclaimed that the House would advance an impeachment inquiry against Trump after the controversy over his infamous phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“This week, the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take actions which would benefit him politically,” Pelosi said on Sept. 24, 2019. “Therefore, today, I’m announcing the House of Representatives is moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry. I’m directing our six committees to proceed with their investigations under that umbrella.
“The president must be held accountable,” she continued. “No one is above the law.”
A McCarthy spokesperson has not responded to Fox News’ request for comment.
