Trump has a type. We can see it in his cabinet picks.
Trump, Take Two
Are Trump voters having buyer’s remorse?
Trump’s legal cases for mishandling classified documents, interfering with the 2020 election, inciting the January 6 insurrection, and paying hush money to a porn star are all slowly, but surely going away.
Trump created a new-but-fake Department of Government Efficiency, giving Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy full rein to give the government a makeover in their image. With this new responsibility, Elon plans to cut government spending by 33% and Vivek intends to fire 75% of federal employees.
Here’s the latest on Donnie’s real cabinet selections:
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and Matt Gaetz was not trying to get burned. Trump’s first pick for Attorney General backed out after new sex trafficking claims surfaced last week. Donnie’s new nominee is Pat Bondi, a former AG in the State of Florida.
One sexual predator down, another one (allegedly) to go. Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth is still in the running despite an accuser coming forward in 2017. While investigators couldn’t prove that any harm was done without a shadow of a doubt, Hegseth paid the woman an undisclosed amount in a settlement in 2023.
Linda McMahon, a former WWE executive, is qualified to lead the Department of Education? How Sway? Beyond her lack of obvious qualification, why should someone who allegedly enabled the sexual abuse of children have a say in how they’re taught in the classroom?
Picked at last: One Black person may be in Trump’s cabinet and of course he’ll be leading Housing and Urban Development. Why? Because Black people–regardless of their experience–are always knowledgeable about everything urban and public housing-related. Meet Scott Turner.
For the much-anticipated Treasury Secretary nomination, Donnie picked Wall Street investor Scott Bessent
Keeping Up with Biden & Harris
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza and the Zionist in Chief (aka yall’s POTUS) decided it was outrageous to hold a war criminal accountable. This is just after the US vetoed another unconditional and permanent ceasefire resolution for Gaza because it didn’t demand the release of any remaining hostages. Lesson learned: when a warmonger tells you who they are, believe them.
Russian officials say Biden’s decision to give Ukraine long-range missiles (which they wasted no time using, btw) could lead to the next world war.
Some experts say there are actions Biden can take to limit Trump’s mass deportation aspirations. Here’s what they suggest.
Congress, What’s Good
In disappointing news, House Republicans (plus 15 Democrats) got the vote they were looking for with the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act. This is the act we mentioned that would allow the Treasury Department to claim a nonprofit is funding terrorist ventures (which is already illegal) and remove its tax-exempt status. Is “terrorism” clearly defined in this bill? Nope. Would the government need proof that actual “terrorism” is being funded by a nonprofit org? Nah, not really. Critics of the bill say this type of legislation grants unilateral power to quell protests and general dissent against government policies. It still must pass in the Senate, and while that’s unlikely in this term, the bill can be reintroduced next year when the GOP has control of both chambers and pass then.
In the Senate, Dems said they were going to grind to confirm more judicial nominees before Donnie took office again and they weren’t kidding. They’ve taken advantage of GOP absences in the chamber and have confirmed 8 judges since the election. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has also arranged with Republicans to consider up to 14 more judges with an expedited process, potentially allowing Biden to nominate 235 judges. (Trump had nominated 234 as POTUS #45.)
There are no committee meetings this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday. They’ll be back in December.
Social Justice Round Up
The family of Botham Jean was awarded nearly $100M after a civil trial found the former officer that killed Jean liable. Unfortunately, the last part of the previous sentence may be the reason his family never sees much, if any, of this award. Only the officer has been held liable, but she’s in prison. Had her employer also been held accountable, Botham Jean’s family would have surely received this settlement.
One government entity that’s taking some accountability is that of Palm Springs, CA. The city council voted to give $6M to Black and brown families that were intentionally displaced from the city, losing their homes and personal property by fire or other methods of destruction in the ‘60s. Descendants of the impacted families will also have a $10M first-time home buying grant created exclusively for them.
The Florida woman who murdered Ajike Owens was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Owens was knocking on the woman’s door to address a dispute when the neighbor fired from inside of the house, killing Owens in front of her child.
What the Health
A recent study found that a bout of COVID-19 could increase one’s risk of a severe cardiovascular event for up to 3 years afterwards.
Despite the repeal of affirmative action nationwide, there is still a push for more Black doctors.
Does the holiday season give you anxiety? Here are 6 signs that it does.
Around the Diaspora
A “major scale up” of food deliveries is happening in the areas hit hardest by famine in Sudan. The World Food Program has dispersed 700 trucks in the country with the aim of delivering a month’s supply of food for 1.5M people.
Ghana welcomed another set of cousins home last week. 524 African Americans and Afro-Caribbean people were granted citizenship in the West African nation as part of the country’s effort to strengthen ties between Africa and her children across the diaspora.
Belize officially raised its legal age for marriage to 18 years and removed a law that allowed parents to grant consent for minors to marry. This law was passed thanks to the pressure of young people throughout the country who saw this as a human rights issue.
Our Black Jobs & Our Black Money
Black Friday is approaching, and the scammers have resorted to creating entire websites to try to get your money. Here’s how to spot a fake.
Speaking of scams, seasonal job scams are also upon us. Stay vigilant and don’t get caught up.
Culture that Pops
Hip Hop’s “boogeyman” Kendrick Lamar dropped a surprise album (or mixtape??) called “GNX.” Have you listened yet?
Pusha T has a new product hitting the streets in 2025: coffee.
If you know that music coming out of Washington, DC has a bounce to it that can neither be resisted nor replicated, you know the power of go-go music. An 8K square foot museum and cafe was just opened to highlight the genre’s history and impact on DC culture.
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