Friday, August 29, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
Red-Hot at RedState
Whatever the outcome of the legal maneuvering, the ongoing revelations about Lisa Cook continue to add up—and until she persuasively denies them, with evidence, storm clouds will continue to grow over her reputation.
Bishop Hammers ‘Asinine’ Democrats for Mocking Prayer, Wrecks Their Argument With One Simple Truth
Just an incredibly powerful response to cowardly out-of-touch Democrats who turn even the worst tragedies into opportunities to score political points. In this case, to push their anti-Second Amendment agenda.
They Tried to Emaciate a Beloved Brand and Awakened a Giant
The cultural revolutionaries have been hard at work for well over a century now, the poisoned fruits of their labors becoming apparent in every direction.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Baltimore Jury Hits Gun Shop With $62 Million Verdict in 'Ghost Gun' Lawsuit
Crime was a big problem in Baltimore long before Polymer80 ever distributed its first "buy, build, shoot" kit, but it's easy to scapegoat these companies and blame them for the actions of violent criminals.
We're All Going to Miss the CDC's BDSM Scientist Who Just Quit in Disgust
It may take generations to re-queer our government at this rate, all because the bigots think that our government experts should focus on their jobs rather than their sexual proclivities.
The U.S. and Venezuela: What's Happening and What Comes Next?
And as Rubio has said countless times, everything we do should "make America stronger, it has to make America more prosperous, or it has to make America safer."
Tackling Maduro should do all three.
More of the Minneapolis Shooter's Alleged Manifesto Has Been Released
The media continues to embarass itself trying to claim that there was no motive here.
We're not entirely sure why so many people are opposed to Christianity being a part of America, but here we are. Perhaps they think it makes them look edgier or stronger to rail against our fundamentals and ideas.
Today on Capitol Hill...
I wonder if the critters are excited to return to the Hill next week? Or dreading it? (Probably a mixture of both.) Once they're back, there will be a heavy focus on appropriations and, no doubt, plenty of related drama. And, of course, the midterms are right around the corner. President Trump and the GOP have some ambitious aims on that front — will they come to fruition?
White House What's Up
It's the Friday before a holiday weekend, and President Trump has a quiet day planned according to his official schedule. But...I suspect we'll be hearing from him a time or three today.
Full Court Press...
We had a rather significant decision out of the D.C. Circuit Thursday evening, with the appellate court declining to rehear en banc the USAID funding cases. (A 2-1 panel vacated the lower court's preliminary injunctions earlier in August.) That appears to be a win for the Trump administration. And that largely moots the application for stay pending before the Supreme Court (which I'd predicted they'd rule on yesterday or today).
However, upon closer review, there's a potential twist on the Circuit Court's actions, in that the corrected/amended opinions leave open the door, on remand, for the pursuit of the plaintiffs' claims under the Appropriations Act. (What is clearly foreclosed is their claims pursuant to the Impoundment Control Act.)
So, I must own it: I may have been overly optimistic in my applauding Thursday night's decision. We'll see what Judge Ali does with the case on remand. And if he allows the plaintiffs to thread that needle and proceed with APA claims under the Appropriations Act, I will eat my requisite helping of crow.
READ MORE: Big: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Foregoes Rehearing En Banc in USAID Funding Case
There are further developments in the saga of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. While she filed suit against the administration challenging her removal, there has been an additional criminal referral made regarding her mortgage irregularities.
Speaking of criminal matters, it appears that former National Security Advisor John Bolton may be in deeper doo-doo than originally thought. Streiff's got a great write-up on that here.
The biggest "coming attraction" that we know of is, of course, the return of Congress next week. That will bring with it a flurry of activity.
I will simply add that, as noted above, this is the Friday of a holiday weekend and the ideal time for a massive news dump late in the afternoon. So...I won't be surprised if we see something of that nature.
FOMO (fear of missing out) is a legitimate affliction for a news junkie like me. I knew I needed that vacation last week — and I enjoyed the heck out of it. BUT...I also knew there would probably be big news stories — particularly legal news stories — that I'd miss out on. And sure enough, there were. There was, of course, the decision on Trump's civil fraud case from the New York Appellate Division (one I'd been anxiously awaiting since last September ????). There was also the SCOTUS decision regarding NIH grants.
That SCOTUS decision was 5-4, and there were multiple opinions written, including one by Justice Neil Gorsuch that caught the attention. As streiff noted in his follow-up piece regarding the increasing irrelevance of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, "Neil Gorsuch used a concurring opinion that effectively read the Riot Act to lower courts."
Indeed, he did. And it appears that his message was received. One of Gorsuch's specific observations pertained to the case of D.V.D. v. DHS (involving removal of illegal aliens to third countries), and some of Massachusetts District Court Judge Brian Murphy's rulings in that case.
If the district court’s failure to abide by California were a one-off, perhaps it would not be worth writing to address it. But two months ago another district court tried to “compel compliance” with a different “order that this Court ha[d] stayed.” Department of Homeland Security v. D. V. D., 606 U. S. ___, ___ (2025) (KAGAN, J., concurring) (slip op., at 1).
Having been directly called out by one of the Supremes, Judge Murphy, in an indicative ruling on Thursday, appeared to (snarkily? poutily?) acknowledge his scolding.
In issuing the ruling, Murphy noted:
It has moreover been impressed upon this Court that, notwithstanding the preliminary posture of an emergency docket order and an absence of complete reasoning, "when [the Supreme] Court issues a decision, it constitutes a precedent that commands respect."
So, yes, it seems the lower courts are aware of the Supremes' (or some of the justices', anyway) disapproval of their hijinks and are falling in line. Grudgingly.
Okay, now that's impressive.
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