Source: USA Today

WASHINGTON – The Senate on Friday confirmed Lloyd Austin as the nation's first Black defense secretary, the second Biden nominee to be confirmed by the chamber.

Austin's confirmation process wasn't without bumps. Controversy flared over a law barring recently retired military officers from serving as the defense secretary, but top Democrats lined up behind Austin's nomination, citing the need for Biden to have his national security team in place after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The law requires that troops be retired for seven years before taking the post.

The House passed a waiver from the law for Austin on Thursday afternoon, and the Senate followed suit shortly after.

Some lawmakers had expressed concern about granting another waiver for Austin after they had done so for Trump’s first defense secretary Jim Mattis, but they ultimately supported Austin. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., said on the House floor he had “no concern whatsoever about Lloyd Austin upholding civilian control of the military.”

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/01/22/lloyd-austin-becomes-nations-first-black-defense-secretary/6661471002/

https://twitter.com/diegoebarros/status/1351961808664485896?s=21

Why isn’t that asshole off with Trump? Or even better, expelled and charged for inciting sedition.

“I wish them success. We laid a great foundation, they have a great base to build on.”

Source: AXIOS

Google has pulled Parler, a social media app for conservatives and far-right extremists, from its app store following the company's role in the deadly U.S. Capitol siege this week.

What they're saying: “In order to protect user safety on Google Play, our longstanding policies require that apps displaying user-generated content have moderation policies and enforcement that removes egregious content like posts that incite violence," José Castañeda, a Google spokesperson said. "In light of this ongoing and urgent public safety threat, we are suspending the app’s listings from the Play Store until it addresses these issues.”

Read more: https://www.axios.com/capitol-mob-parler-google-ban-826d808d-3e06-4468-a7c6-6157557818b3.html

The 25th Amendment allows Congress to designate a body instead of the Cabinet to invoke the 25th. It’s clear we cannot count on the Cabinet with the news that some are resigning rather than making the tough decision. It would still require the VP, but we can at least do something.



It should be a bipartisan commission — 5 Democrats and 5 Republicans — plus two lawyers, a medical doctor, and some sort of mental health expert. The question is who should appoint them? And how long are their terms?

https://twitter.com/monicalewinsky/status/1345875168762052609

https://twitter.com/markgongloff/status/1326149833791582208