The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Russell Vought as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Democrats were livid over Vought’s nomination. They couldn’t argue that he was “unqualified.” He held the same position in the first Trump administration.
 
No, what really infuriated Democrats is that Vought played a key role in developing the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for government reform, something Democrats loathe. Nevertheless, they knew they would lose the vote.
 
So, like angry little children, they threw a temper tantrum and delayed the vote for 30 hours. Senate Majority Leader Thune has kept the Senate in session well into the night and over weekends to get past this pointless obstruction.
 
What happened next is a sign of how much the left is back on its heels, but also a warning they are going to do everything they can to stop Trump from governing and to push for an uprising in the streets.
 
When a roll call vote takes place in the Senate, the rules require that all debate must end, and senators must do nothing but vote “Yea” or “Nay.” This is part of what makes the Senate “the world’s greatest deliberative body.” Senators debate like gentlemen, and then they sit quietly like gentlemen during the roll call vote.
 
But as the vote began Thursday night on Vought’s confirmation, many Democrat senators yelled out why they were voting against Vought, which they just spent 30 hours explaining. They were supposed to say only one word, and they were making angry speeches instead.
 
Every time they did, the presiding officer, Senator Ashley Moody (R-FL), gaveled them down, called the senators out of order, and demanded they cast their vote. When Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did the same thing, Moody said to him, “You of all people should know not to speak during a vote.”
 
Trying to shout down people in the House or Senate happens often by protesters in the gallery. They are arrested, removed from the gallery, and kicked out of the building.
 
The Democrats in the U.S. Senate just demonstrated that they have been virtually relegated to the status of protesters trying to shout down efforts to clean up Washington, D.C. Not a good look.
 
After Vought was confirmed on a party-line 53 to 47 vote, he wrote on social media, “God be praised. Grateful to the President and the US Senate. Incredibly thankful for all the many who prayed me through. Now. Let’s. Go.”
 
 
 
Left-wing Lunacy
 
There was another demonstration in Washington by elected Democrats last week. It’s becoming a daily occurrence. (Friday, they were yelling outside the Department of Education.)
 
Standing outside the Treasury building, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) used language that increasingly dominates these leftist demonstrations. It’s language that is calling for a nationwide insurrection against the duly elected Trump/Vance administration.
 
Referring to efforts to downsize the federal government, McIver called on people to rise up and “shut down the city,” meaning Washington, D.C. Then she screamed, “We are at war!”
 
That is similar rhetoric to what House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries said recently when he threatened that Democrats would “fight in the streets” against Trump’s agenda. That’s the kind of language Winston Churchill used against the Nazis.
 
Donald Trump told demonstrators on January 6th to march to Capitol Hill “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” For that, Democrats tried to prosecute him for inciting a riot. But now, these same people are calling for riots in the streets, and everybody just yawns.
 
Here’s another example that shows how unhinged the entire Democrat Party has become. During a demonstration last week at the Michigan state capitol, Rep. Laurie Pohutsky declared:
 
“Just under two weeks ago, I underwent surgery to ensure that I would never have to navigate a pregnancy in Donald Trump’s America… If you know people who are questioning how serious this is, I’m going to repeat myself: A sitting government official opted for voluntary sterilization…”
 
Rep. Pohutsky was so afraid she was going to lose her right to kill her children that she sterilized herself so she can’t have children. (That sounds like something USAID would subsidize.)
 
This is curious because Michigan already passed one of the most pro-abortion state constitutional amendments in the country, effectively guaranteeing that anyone can abort a baby in the eighth month because they’re passing too much gas or have a tummy ache.
 
But for some reason, she’s terrified that Donald Trump will go into Michigan and save her baby’s life.
 
By the way, I wouldn’t be surprised if Elon Musk’s auditors discover that USAID gave a major grant to Sodom and Gomorrah.
 
 
 
Musk’s Intelligence
 
There is no questioning Elon Musk’s brilliance. The man is leading a major car company, a major social media company, a major satellite communications company, a major aerospace company, and he’s also leading the first truly serious effort to reform the size and scope of government. (Have I missed anything?)
 
But the Herculean task of analyzing the sheer volume of transactions and the vast amounts of money the government is spending has people asking how Musk and his team are finding this outrageous spending so quickly. They’re also asking why Congress hasn’t found it after years of “oversight.”
 
Well, don’t be too hard on Congress.
 
It’s been reported that the computer whizzes Musk has with him have taken agency budgets and fed them into an artificial intelligence (AI) program with certain instructions. The AI program, in the blink of an eye, is flagging all this “spending porn.”
 
There are many reasons to worry about AI. But if it ends up being the way we finally bring sunlight to the Swamp, that alone would be worth it. However, we might want to pray that no one gives it to the IRS!
 

 
 
Trump Takes Charge
 
President Trump met with GOP House members Thursday to outline what he wants in the one or two big reconciliation bills on taxes, border security, deregulation, and energy policy.
 
Reconciliation is a process that allows Congress to move major legislative initiatives much faster. But because of arcane rules, there will only be one or two chances to get really big things through the Senate.
 
Referring to Thursday’s meeting, Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) said, “It was probably the most productive day I’ve had in my six years I’ve been in Congress.” President Trump met with Senate Republicans Friday night to discuss the strategy for passing his legislative priorities.
 
 
 
Defending Faith, Family, & Freedom
 
In my latest “Defending Faith, Family, & Freedom” podcast for the James Dobson Family Institute, my good friend, Tom Rose, and I discuss what President Trump’s election means for the U.S.-Israel alliance after four years of hostility from the Biden/Harris regime.
 
Listen to the podcast here.
 
In related news, I am very pleased to report that President Trump just nominated Tom to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Poland. Congratulations, Tom! I’ll be writing a longer item about the “Great” Tom Rose in the days ahead.
 
 
 
Good News 

• President Trump issued an order instructing all departments and agencies to audit all funding to nongovernmental agencies (NGOs), many of which are leftist outfits. Meanwhile, numerous NGOs that facilitated illegal immigration are shutting down. 

• Attorney General Pam Bondi, in one of her first official acts, cut off federal funding to “sanctuary cities.” Bondi also filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago for interfering in ICE enforcement efforts. 

• The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the city of San Francisco to rehire Christian employees who objected to the COVID vaccine. 

• Hospitals across America have stopped performing mutilating surgeries in response to President Trump’s executive order protecting children from the lie that they can change their gender. 

• The left-wing book banners at Amazon finally admitted they were wrong to ban Ryan Anderson’s critique of transgender ideology, “When Harry Became Sally.” The Trump Effect is real!