Tom Boggioni

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may have been disbanded months ago, but some of the staffers who were on board by billionaire Elon Musk to make good on his promise to dramatically slash government spending are reportedly still hard at work at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

According to Politico’s Sophia Cai, the “task of overhauling the federal workforce continues" despite reports the fact that DOGE came up woefully short of its goals, with the Wall Street Journal reporting it had a negligible impact.

Nonetheless, the ethos of DOGE has carried over to OPM, with director Scott Kupor claiming there is much work still be done when it comes to revamping hiring and firing in the government ranks.

"The president has been very clear that our job is to be stewards of taxpayer dollars and deliver services in the most efficient way,” he explained before adding, “There's no question in my mind that we are not at maximum efficiency. We have incredibly old technology in all kinds of places.”

Kupor noted that future hirings will be handled in new ways, telling Cai, “Historically, we haven’t used, for example, coding assessments as a way to analyze peoples’ skill sets. So where there are skill-based assessments that make sense — like a coding job or an accounting job — we want to use those. We think those are better and more objective measures than resume reviews, which we know have lots of variability and inherent biases.”

He also indicated that there is a desire to change hiring standards that could impact longtime federal employees.

“What we can do is reclassify jobs and eliminate degree and tenure requirements in the GS schedule,” he explained. “If there’s some 19-year-old developer who is functioning at the level of a GS-13 or GS-14 in terms of productivity, historically we couldn’t hire that person because they don’t have a college degree and don’t have minimum tenure requirements. We’re redoing those requirements, starting with the IT job classification.”

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A “workout” video posted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to X late Tuesday was greeted by gales of laughter and no small measure of disgust and bafflement on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday morning.

With no introduction, the video of the controversial RFK Jr. and aging rocker Kid Rock taking off their shirts and exercising, with Rock’s “Bawitdaba” from 1999 as a soundtrack, was shown, before the “Morning Joe" producers cut to the panel, most of whom were laughing.

Co-host Mika Brzezinski, who opened her mouth and acted like she was gagging, was the first to comment, telling her colleagues, “I don't –– I can't unsee this.”

“Vladimir Putin has met his match,” co-host Joe Scarborough joked while the shirtless Donald Trump appointee did sit-ups while curiously clad in denim jeans.

As the panel continued to laugh, co-host Willie Geist reported, “RFK Jr writes that the two have teamed up to deliver a pair of simple messages to the American people: ‘Get active and eat real food.’ So much there, Joe.”

“Again, can we start with the jeans?” Geist continued. “What's with the jeans?“

Scarborough agreed. “And now he's taking a cold plunge in a hot tub with Kid Rock in a pair of Wranglers? What's going on?”

"That’s sick,“ Brzezinski chimed in.

As the panel continued to laugh and talk over each other, Scarborough observed, “Oh, man. I don't, I — there are no words to express. Just the lunkheads in this administration. It's just unbelievable.”

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Corporate executives are being warned of a "tsunami" of potential high-profile investigations related to Donald Trump and his administration, should Democrats gain House control following the November midterms.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) maintains a narrow majority threatened by Republican retirements and Trump's declining popularity. If Democrats assume House control, they would gain the chairmanships and majority control of the powerful Oversight and Judiciary Committees.

According to Axios, communications firm Vianovo is alerting corporate clients to prepare for subpoenas and congressional inquiries into any dealings they have had with the current administration following a power shift. DC insiders and partners Matthew Miller and Tucker Eskew have issued warnings that Democrats will aggressively pursue corruption allegations against the president and Trump administration officials, potentially leading to a third presidential impeachment trial, which the president has publicly fretted over.

Miller and Eskew advised clients, "Companies that prepare in advance stand a much better chance of emerging with their reputations intact. The subpoenas are coming. The only question is whether companies will be ready."

Miller, a former State Department spokesperson and National Security Council adviser, emphasized the severity: "It's going to be so much worse than they expect."

The advisory noted intensifying corporate vulnerability. "Due to two key changes in Congressional Democrats' thinking, the focus on corporations is likely to be more intense than ever, and executives who are not prepared risk being swamped by a legal, political, and media onslaught."

Larger corporations face heightened risk as Democratic investigators' targets. Democrats recognize that obtaining information from the Trump administration presents significant obstacles, making corporations with reputations to protect more vulnerable investigation subjects.

You can read more here.

A well-regarded Pentagon official slated for promotion to brigadier general is instead being forced out, according to the Washington Post.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove Colonel David Butler, who previously served as senior spokesman for General Mark A. Milley, the former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and prominent Trump critic.

Butler has been serving as spokesman and media strategist for Driscoll, and Hegseth has sought his removal for weeks — though his reasons remain unclear.

Driscoll said in a statement: "We greatly appreciate Col. Dave Butler's lifetime of service in America's Army and to our nation. Dave has been an integral part of the Army's transformation efforts. He will be missed and I sincerely wish him tremendous success in his upcoming retirement after 28 years of service."

Butler's forced departure represents another Pentagon removal orchestrated by Hegseth, the former Fox News personality now serving as Defense Secretary. The action has generated concern among military colleagues.

According to the Washington Post report, current and retired Army officials expressed surprise at Butler's ouster, characterizing him as a steady, thoughtful strategist who earned trust across military and civilian leadership. One retired colonel remarked, "He's about the most nonpartisan guy I know. That's really too bad."

Hegseth has systematically removed other officers who worked for Milley on the Joint Staff, frustrating those who viewed them as evenhanded leaders caught in political disputes. These removals include General James Mingus, the Army's vice chief of staff who was bypassed to command U.S. Central Command, and Lieutenant General Douglas Sims, whose expected four-star promotion was rescinded by Hegseth last year.

You can read more here.

Not all of Donald Trump’s fans agreed with the president’s uncharacteristically gracious response to the death of civil rights icon Jesse Jackson on Tuesday.

Just hours after it was announced Jackson, 84, had passed away peacefully while surrounded by his family, Trump took to his Truth Social account to recall his long time relationship with Jackson in glowing terms, writing in part, “He was a good man, with lots of personality, grit, and ‘street smarts.’ He was very gregarious - Someone who truly loved people!”

He added, “He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!”

That did not sit well with some of the president’s more ardent MAGA supporters, who attacked the late Jackson and criticized the president for not doing the same.

“Well, as much as I love you DJT, I have to disagree with you on this statement. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are 2 of the most predjudice (sic) pieces of s--t on this planet,” wrote KAT 4DJT. “All they did was stir up bull---t so that there was complete total unrest. Those two sons of bitches caused more racial strife than anyone.This guy being gone isn't a bad thing at all. Next is that other piece of garbage Al Sharpton. That a-----e needs to go too. Good riddance to bad rubbish.”

Blue GI also mentioned current MS NOW host Sharpton while writing, “President Trump is being far too gracious regarding Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jackson was a racist, an adulteror (sic), and stole from charity. He preyed on the misfortunes of his own people for personal aggrandizement. He was a hypocrite and has become a forgettable figure in history. With any luck, the equally despicable and hypocritic Al Sharpton will soon be with Jesse Jackson. The term ‘Reverend’ when used in referring to these men is a misnomer for the term ‘con artist.’"

Noting that Trump recalled providing financial support to Jackson, Merka1st, complained, “I'm tired of all the crap built on race. Giving and giving to a so called special interest group is bulls--t!!”

“Sorry Mr. President, I will not even pretend to think supportively of a man that ran all over our country stirring up Racism with lies and deceit such as he did. Nothing but a grifter out to threaten ANY organization out there that did not pay him a stipend to leave their business alone. NO SIR, not me….” wrote SemperFi.

A commenter going by just “Tommy” –– who reposted Trump’s controversial Obama’s as apes video — took the Jackson tribute really hard and wrote, “HEY TRUMP YOU LOST YOUR MIND???? JESSES JACKSON WAS A RACIST POS! REMEMBER THE TAWANA BRAWLEY CASE????”

“Good man? Lol. Please,” offered Floridian David Kite.

Politicalspitfire raged, “Yet jackson was a racist. And a puppet for jewish democrats. Seriously. Yet you trash rob riener. MTG and massie?????????”

Attorney General Pam Bondi's efforts to manage the Jeffrey Epstein files crisis have proven to be disastrous as public scrutiny and outrage has only intensified with each new revelation, a Republican congressman said Tuesday.

Last week, Bondi attempted to blow off concerns about the Epstein files by snapping at House Judiciary Committee lawmakers on both sides of the aisle while furiously insisting time would be better spent applauding stock market gains under the president. Then over the weekend, the Department of Justice released a comprehensive list of names found in the Epstein documents that did nothing to shed light on any possible investigation and only ramped up more criticism.

According to Politico reporter Meredith Lee Hill, Rep. Tom Massie (R-KY) assessed Bondi's performance as strategically flawed in a recent interview. Massie characterized Bondi's defensive posture and over-the-top personal attacks as signs her approach has exhausted itself.

Massie noted her unexpected comments about stock market performance as particularly damaging. "Overall I think she looked weak and frustrated when she started talking about the Dow Jones, which has literally nothing to do with her job. I thought that looked bad.

"She kind of had this stack of insults that were pre-prepared—in politics you might call it oppo research—and you could see her shuffling through them to try and find which one matched the person who was trying to ask her a question at the time."

Massie concluded, "I think the public consensus is that she didn't do a great job."

When asked about pursuing court action to enforce compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act, Massie declined to escalate immediately. "I don't think it's necessary to proverbially pull a knife right now in this argument because we're winning it. When the attorney general is reduced to a stack of pre-prepared insults to deliver, and then the DOJ is responding to my every tweet with additional unredactions, I don't think I'm going to change what I'm doing just yet. We're at a stage right now where we still have steam."

He also warned the GOP that it's likely to get more opposition from inside its ranks.

“On any given day, I would just need one or two of my own co-conspirators to get something done,” he told Politico. “I think you’re going to see more defections.”

You can read more here.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s gushing praise of Viktor Orbán, the authoritarian prime minister of Hungary, on Monday was called out on MS NOW as nothing more than an attempt to stay in the good graces of Donald Trump and the far-right MAGA base.

During their joint appearance in Budapest, the former Florida senator exclaimed, “I can say to you with confidence that President Trump is deeply committed to your success because your success is our success, because this relationship we have here in Central Europe through you is so essential and vital for our national interests in the years to come.”

That led “Morning Joe’ co-host Joe Scarborough to point out that, until Rubio joined Trump’s administration, Orbán was the type of leader that the secretary of state publicly loathed.

Speaking with “Morning Joe” regular Katty Kay, Scarborough noted, “What is good for Orban is bad for America, is bad for freedom, is bad for Ukraine, and is only good for Vladimir Putin. And I suppose Donald Trump.”

“It is screwed up that any American president would want anything to do with that autocratic thug,” he said. “And for Marco Rubio, a guy caddie for Marco Rubio, a guy who is this, you know, anti-communist hawk and against autocracy and supporting freedom and liberty, for him to be embracing Orbán and saying those things about Orbán, which he does not believe, it is a new low.”

Kay observed, “Yeah. I was listening to that speech that he gave in Hungary, and I felt like you that it came off as somebody who was desperately trying to say something they believed in, but it was pretty obvious that they didn't.”

“I mean, there is Marco Rubio,” she elaborated. “He's sort of straddling this world where he's looking to 2028 thinking, ‘I have to shore up the MAGA vote. I can't have them abandon me. I have to make sure that Donald Trump is happy.’ Although, apparently, he wasn't with the speech that he [Rubio] gave in Berlin. And make sure the Europeans are also happy, because that's actually what I believe. I still do believe in this world order where America leads.

"And he tried to reconcile [with] Europeans and have them in a better position with America at the Berlin Security Conference, at the Munich Security Conference. But then he goes on, and where does he go and visit? The two countries that are the most Russia-aligned in all of Europe. He goes to Slovakia and he goes to Hungary.”

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A decision by Donald Trump’s administration to ice out Minnesota authorities from having access to evidence in the shooting of 37-year-old nurse Alex Pretti in late January by Department of Homeland Security agents was thoroughly trashed on MS NOW Tuesday.

On Monday, Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) issued a statement saying the FBI made a formal notification that it would not share any of the accumulated information or evidence related to Pretti’s shooting.

That led Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) to respond, “Trump’s left hand cannot investigate his right hand. The families of the deceased deserve better.”

On MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” there was unanimous agreement among the panelists that there is a cover-up that stretches from the FBI to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to the White House itself.

As co-host Mika Brzezinski put it, “In one case, Stephen Miller called Alex [Pretti] a ‘would-be assassin.’ This seems even more brazenly corrupt with the appearance of zero interest in accountability. Zero. Absolutely none.”

“These renegade agency heads who have been lying through their teeth from the very beginning, have these agents who behaved like thugs, behaved improperly. And that, of course, we heard that actually at a Senate hearing earlier this week from people in the department themselves that they acted in an extraordinarily unprofessional way,” co-host Joe Scarborough contributed.

Co-host Willie Geist suggested, “They're saying inside [state officials] that this is hampering their own investigation, because the FBI is holding so much of the evidence that they can't actually get. They think they know what happened, they've seen the videos, but they don't have all the evidence. They need to bring it to trial. So this is clearly the federal government saying we have something to hide here. Therefore, we're not going to share all of our evidence with the state.”

According to Scarborough, Minnesota officials need to take the next step, assemble what evidence they have, and approach a Minnesota judge to put the federal government on the spot.

“I think the state of Minnesota, if they believe there are charges, they need the information that they have, and they have a lot of information, they have a lot of eyewitnesses, they have a lot of video,” he advised. “I think they need to go ahead and bring the charges and then go to a judge and have the judge, through the discovery process, make the feds give up the evidence that they have because they do not have a legitimate cause that will stand up in court for covering up these two killings.“

"In fact, that's really the only justification they're going to have to go in front of a Minnesota judge and say, ‘Your honor, we at this time cannot turn the evidence of these two killings over to the state because we, the federal government, are actively involved in a cover-up of their killings’,’” he predicted.

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A massive list of names discovered in the Jeffrey Epstein files, which was released over the weekend by Attorney General Pam Bondi, contained a handful of celebrities, including one who died when the accused sex trafficker was still a child.

That led to rolled eyes from MS NOW host Alex Witt on Monday afternoon when she joined the pile-on of the Donald Trump appointee for yet another effort to muddy the waters as she drags her feet on doing anything for the Epstein victims.

Less than a week after Bondi turned in a nationally-televised abrasive performance before the House Judiciary Committee, where she avoided eye contact with victims who have yet to be interviewed by the DOJ, her office released the list that curiously included, among others, Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe and Janis Joplin.

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) complained, “To have Janis Joplin, who died when Epstein was 17, in the same list as Larry Nassar, who went to prison for the sexual abuse of hundreds of young women and child pornography, with no clarification of how either was mentioned in the files is absurd. Release the full files. Stop protecting predators. Redact only the survivor's names.”

MS NOW’s Ken Dilanian explained, “They're doing what commercial litigants do all the time. They dump people in, they dump information on their opponents and say, ‘You guys sort it out.’ So we are left not knowing the meaning of some of these names, why they're included. They didn't have to do that, they could have been more specific, they chose not to.”

“Nonetheless, the Justice Department is arguing that they have been fully transparent here, and they're doing the best they can under some very difficult circumstances,” he added.

“I don't know, man,” the obviously skeptical Witt replied. “Marilyn Monroe? She died in 1962. I mean, Jeffrey Epstein was 9 years old. Really? That one is really quite extraordinary, that one.”

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An attempt to curry favor with Donald Trump and his administration is off to a rough start for right-wing network Nexstar as the hiring of a former Fox News personality looks like a failed experiment.

According to Oliver Darcy's "Status" newsletter, Nexstar's flagship news network NewsNation is undergoing significant programming changes to align with Trump administration preferences. The network has shifted from presenting itself as an unbiased news alternative toward more ideologically conservative content to assist in it's multi-billion effort to merge with Tegna.

NewsNation recently hired former Fox News personality Katie Pavlich as a marquee prime time host, with one network insider admitting, "A lot of people within the network believe that the network has gone hard right to appeal to Trump and [FCC commissioner] Brendan Carr.”

Status reporter Natalie Korach noted that Pavlich "has largely delivered exactly the kind of programming her critics anticipated: reliably Trump-friendly and conservative commentary-heavy." However, the strategy has fallen flat with current NewsNation viewers.

Pavlich's program performance has been more than disappointing. From January 19 through February 11, "Katie Pavlich Tonight" averaged 107,000 total viewers and 17,000 in the advertiser-targeted 25-54 demographic — approximately 24% below NewsNation's prime time average of 140,000 viewers.

A high-profile exclusive Trump interview on Pavlich's second broadcast drew only 75,000 total viewers, significantly under-performing typical Fox News viewership which is in the millions nightly without presidential interviews.

Despite NewsNation's shift toward conservative programming, the strategy has not improved overall network performance. Nielsen data shows NewsNation's total-day audience averaging 68,000 viewers in early 2026, is essentially flat compared to previous periods. The network experienced an 18% year-over-year decline among adults 25-54, dropping to just 9,000 viewers in that demographic.

Insiders characterized the Pavlich programming as "pro-Trump garbage," reflecting viewer dissatisfaction with the network's editorial direction.

You can read more here.

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After a second disastrous weekend drop in ticket sales for the much-maligned “Melania” movie, executives at Amazon Studios are pinning their hopes on new Prime Video sign-ups when the box office disaster becomes available for streaming.

The controversial documentary, which has been viewed by tens of thousands of empty seats in three weeks of release, came in a dismal 15th place with an estimated $886,000 over the Valentine's Day weekend on 1,204 screens, far behind new release ‘Wuthering Heights,” which made an estimated $34,800,000 in three days.

With the “Melania” movie making only $15,432,071 after three weekends following its release, there is growing anxiety among studio executives that the film, which cost Amazon a reported $75 million including promotional costs, is light years from coming close to breaking even.

After back-to-back weeks of attendance dropping over 60 percent each weekend, the Daily Beast is reporting that Amazon MGM distribution chief Kevin Wilson attempted to downplay fears by telling reporters the documentary about Donald Trump’s third wife passed “a critical first moment that validates our holistic distribution strategy, building awareness, engagement, and provides momentum ahead of the film’s eventual debut on Prime Video.”

That said, the report notes that Amazon execs are hoping the devastating ticket shortfall will be mitigated by new customers signing up and paying for Amazon Prime for the express purpose of watching the film after it makes it streaming premiere.

According to the Beast’s Julia Ornedo, “Amazon MGM has maintained that Melania will muster strong numbers on streaming to make up for its poor box office showing. The studio said it plans ‘to recoup some of the cost of the film when it streams on Prime Video through advertising and Prime signups,’ though it has not yet announced a streaming release date.”

Amazon’s Wilson said, “Together, theatrical and streaming represent two distinct value-creating moments that amplify the film’s overall impact.”

You can read more here.

As state, local and federal officials continue to come up empty-handed as they try to find out what happened to Nancy Guthrie, the elderly mother of television personality Savannah Guthrie, a local Democratic lawmaker pounced on YouTubers and influencers who have flooded the community trying to make names for themselves.

In a post on X and an appearance on CNN, State Rep. Alma Hernandez (D-Tucson) lashed out and claimed outsiders pretending to be journalists are making the jobs of investigators more difficult as they spread rumors and provide uninformed speculation about what appears to be a kidnapping.

Her message to the intruders: “PLEASE STOP. Go home.”

On X, she wrote, “As someone who lives & represents Tucson/ Pima County, I am so sick of watching the ‘reporting’ grifting, insane speculation, lies, and BS by random wannabe journalists and YouTubers who have now caused more harm than good to this entire situation and put this serious case in jeopardy. Please GO HOME.”

Short of that, she implored, “Let law enforcement do their jobs. Stop following them during swat operations and playing detectives. I am sick of the constant LIES from those who can't even spell Tucson and clearly have never been to our city.”

‘This home is not near downtown or midtown, so posting random videos of people walking in yards ain't it y'all, no, Mexicans don't all look the same, yes, our sheriff should probably stay off social media and not speak to the press anymore,” she continued. “Yes, this is sad, and we all want Nancy home. But seriously, PLEASE STOP. Go home.”

Appearing on CNN on Sunday, she confessed to host Fredricka Whitfield she is “extremely frustrated” with the true crime YouTubers, explaining, “They’re trying to find anything at this point to stay relevant and get the clicks on social media and it’s extremely frustrating.”

“And I felt like I needed to call it out because every single day when I log on to social media … it’s a random ‘reporter’ if you want to call it that who’s saying, ‘Oh, I’m following FBI. I’m on the mission to go and find these individuals that they’re serving a warrant on,’ and I just think that’s extremely inappropriate,” she added.

As former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) prepares for retirement after serving in the Senate since 1985, the three leading Republican hopefuls to replace him are limiting ties as they seek Donald Trump's favor.

According to Washington Post reporter Hannah Knowles, McConnell's Republican detractors are using him as a political punching bag, attacking his record despite his success in securing more than $65 billion in additional federal funding for Kentucky throughout his career.

The Republican primary field includes businessman Nate Morris, who has backing from billionaire Elon Musk, former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY).

The Post reports, "The Senate primary to replace 83-year-old McConnell shows how profoundly the GOP base in his home state has soured on one of the most powerful and significant political figures in Kentucky history. McConnell drew low approval ratings for years but fended off challengers by flexing his raw clout and ability to deliver for his state."

Republican voter Julie Jackson, 56, expressed her sentiment directly: "I want him out of there."

Morris, backed by Musk, Trump Jr., and the late Charlie Kirk, has aggressively attacked McConnell's record. "He has had a stranglehold on Kentucky for 40 years, and it is not the easiest thing to challenge the McConnell mafia right here in the Bluegrass State. But we've done it and we've gone straight for the jugular of Mitch and his cronies."

Morris's approach has drawn mixed reactions. The Post reports that he was "roundly booed" at a Kentucky political event when he declared he would "trash Mitch McConnell's legacy."

You can read more here.