Today in Politics, Bulletin 122. 5/1/25

… Trump fired his National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and his deputy, Alex Wong today. Waltz was embroiled in controversy after he linked Atlantic reporter Jeffrey Goldberg into Pete Hegseth’s Signal chat on bombings in Yemen.

… Mark Halperin broke the story: “Unhappiness with Waltz's performance has been growing at State, Treasury, NEC, West Wing, and elsewhere. IN as possible replacement: Steve Witkoff, who has backing from many senior officials. Other national security changes coming, as Susie Wiles and others have told SecDef he needs to bring in a team of serious people to help stabilize the Pentagon pronto.”

… Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) told CNN that Hegseth should have been fired: “I think they’re holding the wrong guy accountable - I think they fired the wrong guy.”

… Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA): “What the hell? And Hegseth gets to stay?”

… Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “Pete Hegseth shows real leadership by passing the blame to Mike Waltz. Was it Waltz who set up Signal on Hegseth's office computer and added his wife, brother, and lawyer in a war plan group chat?”

… Trump then announced on Truth Social that he is nominating Waltz to replace Elise Stefanik as UN Ambassador. So he’s not competent for NSA but he’s the most qualified person in the country for UN Ambassador. Makes sense.

… 3 of the 4 House Republicans Trump nominated for senior positions have already been replaced: Waltz, Gaetz, Stefanik.

… CNN reported that several high level foreign officials said they are sad to see Waltz go. One senior western official: “Of all of them, we never thought he would be the first to be fired. But we know he will be the first of many.”

… CNN: “Steve Witkoff has told people close to him he does not want the job, and they do not anticipate he’ll ultimately be selected (or asked by POTUS) as Waltz’s replacement.”

… The firing also came hours after Waltz joined every other senior Trump admin official to lavish praise on Dear Leader at a Cabinet meeting in front of the press. Even right-wing talk show host Ann Coulter was sickened by the sycophancy: “Would it be possible to have a cabinet meeting without the Kim Jong il-style tributes?”

… Reuters: “The government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir has closed all religious seminaries in the region for 10 days, officials said, citing fears they would be targeted by Indian strikes following a deadly attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir.”

… Fox’s Chief Nat Security Correspondent Jen Griffin: “Things heating up between these two nuclear armed neighbors: India and Pakistan. This could be the national security crisis the administration was not expecting. Every administration gets tested in its first year with a national security surprise.”

… At a NewsNation town hall, Trump was asked by an audience member what was the biggest mistake he made during his first 100 days: “I’ll tell you that’s the toughest question I can have because I don’t really believe I’ve made any mistakes.” The audience of Republicans, Democrats and Independents erupted in laughter.

… Meanwhile, Hegseth basically declared war on Iran last night with an unhinged X post: “Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the US Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.”

… Aside from the insanity of the entire thing, a SecDef has no business talking like this about a foreign adversary. Any communications of this nature should come from the Secretary of State in a formal public statement or communicated to his counterpart privately. Not by late night drunk tweet from a bumbling SecDef.

… Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): “I support this administration, but the Secretary of Defense doesn’t have the Constitutional authority to declare war on a sovereign country. A planned military attack on Iran is an Act of War and requires a vote of Congress according to the US Constitution.”

… Hegseth was also whining on X about how unfair the press is to him: “In case you wonder what we, and President Trump, are up against. 100% NEGATIVE coverage from so-called ‘mainstream’ press in the first 100 days. PERFECT SCORE.”

… Disgraced former Rep. George Santos said he is leaving the country as soon as he finishes his 7 year prison sentence: “Once I finish my obligations with the US criminal justice system I will leave and never return. I’d rather take my chances in other countries than live in a country that has a weaponized justice system and is run by the industrial prison complex.”

… Trump was showing off his copy of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office to ABC, and was asked what the Declaration means to him: “Well, it means exactly what it says. It’s a declaration of unity and love and respect and it means a lot.”

… It was a declaration of war on King George III. It is a venomous and aggressive list of grievances from the colonies to the Crown. There is nothing in it that remotely resembles what Trump describes. The experiment of letting the dumbest person in the country run it continues to produce unsatisfactory results.

… Stephen Miller joined Karoline Leavitt for this morning’s press conference: "This Admin's fighting to get Critical Race Theory out of our school districts. Kids will be taught to love America. Children will be taught to be patriots. Children will be taught civic values for schools that want fed taxpayer funding. So as we close the Dept of Education and provide funding to states, we're going to make sure these funds are not being used to promote communist ideology."

… RFK Jr. gave an interview on the measles outbreak and the measles vaccine: "The MMR vaccine contains a lot of aborted fetus debris."

… Newsweek: “The MMR vaccine is produced using human cell lines that originated from two legal abortions in the 1960s but these cells are not present in the final vaccine. The Vaccine Education Center says that ‘the cells used to grow viruses for vaccines are sometimes called fetal cells because they were originally derived from two fetuses in the 60s, but fetal cells are not in the vaccine itself.’ These original cells have been replicated over time, and current vaccine production uses descendant cells, not any tissue from the original fetuses.”

… Trump hosted a National Prayer Day event on WH rose garden this morning: "We're bringing back religion in our country and we're bringing it back quickly and strongly — because for America to be a great nation, we must always be One Nation Under God."

… Trump talked about his WH Faith Office: "They work right out of the White House. That's never been done before. No other president allowed that. They say 'separation between church and state.' I said, alright, let's forget about that for one time."

… Dr. Phil was there. He told the audience: “I have sat with President Trump with no cameras around, nobody watching, and I'm telling you: This is a man of deep faith.”

… After he gives the commencement address at the Univ of Alabama tonight, Trump heads to Palm Beach for another 3-day golf outing. He has already played golf 31 days of his presidency. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY): “The GOP budget has $0 for FEMA’s emergency management funding, yet provides $300M to pay for Trump’s golf trips. Extreme weather doesn’t discriminate between red and blue districts. The GOP is choosing Trump’s golf over the safety and security of their constituents.”

… Politico: “Something is going on with Ed Martin's nomination to be US attorney in DC. But what, precisely, is unclear. Sen. Durbin said this morning: ‘It’s my understanding that we are not going to move forward on the Martin nomination.’ Grassley said he'd have more to say when Martin's nomination was officially on the calendar.”

… CNN: “As controversies pile up, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee met behind closed doors this week to discuss concerns about Ed Martin’s nomination and whether senators should take the extraordinary step of holding a hearing on it.” Martin’s post as interim US attorney runs out on May 20. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) says he has “serious questions” about Martin because of his comments trashing Capitol Police officers’ conduct on J6.

… Martin defended several of the J6 defendants. An admin source told CNN that Trump will be unhappy if Martin is rejected: “Martin is President Trump’s favorite US Attorney.”

… CNBC: “Initial unemployment claims posted an unexpected increase last week in a potential trouble sign for the wobbling US economy. First-time filings for unemployment insurance totaled a seasonally adjusted 241,000 for the week ended April 26, up 18,000 from the prior period and higher than the Dow Jones estimate for 225,000. This was the highest total since Feb. 22. Continuing claims, which run a week behind and provide a broader view of layoff trends, rose to 1.92 million, up 83,000 to the highest level since Nov. 13, 2021.”

Tomorrow is my second of three spring weekend trips as we come out of hibernation in Maine. We are heading to the Berkshires going to the Baby Animals Festival at the Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA, then to a cider farm in Richmond and a Dairy Farm in Lee for some fresh ice cream. Saturday is the Daffodil & Tulip festival at the Naumkeag estate in Stockbridge and the Norman Rockwell Museum. Bed & Breakfast in Stockbridge. Weather isn’t supposed to be great, but we will still have fun.

So that means no Bulletin tomorrow and the next one will be the weekend recap on Sunday night. If you missed the last Bulletin, you can find it here.

… Trump was asked about the impact of his China tariffs on working families: "Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally."

… Greg Ahearn, CEO of the Toy Association representing 850 toy companies: “We have a frozen supply chain that is putting Christmas at risk. If we don’t start