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This Week’s “Party on the Peninsulas”
✹ Chairperson Barnes
Government of the Billionaires, by the Billionaires and for the Billionaires
✹ Governor Gretchen Whitmer
The Road Ahead
✹ This week’s Trump/GOP outrages
Putting National Security at Risk
In the News
Michigan Politics and Policy
- Governor Whitmer Delivers Road Ahead Address, Laying Out Commonsense, Bipartisan Vision to Grow the Economy and Save Michigan’s Auto Industry – Governor’s Office
- ‘Michigan’s economy is on the line,’ Gretchen Whitmer warns at Detroit Auto Show – Bridge Michigan
- WATCH: Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer speaks on the road ahead at Detroit Auto Show – WXYZ TV via YouTube
- Whitmer vetoes 13 bills passed by Democratic-led Legislature – Detroit News
- Michigan House GOP leader on FOIA reform: ‘Don’t get your hopes up’ – Bridge Michigan
- A DNC For The People: People, Not Billionaires Pledge
- House GOP fast-tracks Michigan minimum wage, paid sick leave bills – Detroit News
- Republicans launch Michigan ‘election integrity’ panel – Bridge Michigan
- Michigan Democrats passed bills which haven’t been sent to Whitmer – Detroit Free Press
- Michigan 2026 governor’s race: Senate GOP Leader Aric Nesbitt jumps in – Bridge Michigan
- Top targets for Michigan GOP reps: EV rules, China, Ed Dept. – Detroit News $$
- Fact check: Trump promised a ‘Michigan miracle.’ Now comes the hard part – Bridge Michigan
- State Police Pilots First Battery Electric Vehicle in Patrol Fleet – Michigan State Police
- Pete Buttigieg on Post-Truth Politics: ‘The Biggest Problem of Our Time’ – POLITICO
The Transition
- Inauguration Day: The pinnacle of a Second Gilded Age – Eugene Robinson/Washington Post
- Team Trump Begins Menacing Loyalty Tests – The New Republic
- Team Trump Suddenly Backtracks on Key Campaign Promise – The New Republic
- Trump tax cuts, if made permanent, stand to benefit highest income earners, Treasury analysis shows – AP News
- Trump Spit on Our Faces…Ready to CRUSH HIM?! – Meidas+
Felonious Trump
- Full Special Counsel Report – Trump’s January 6 Attack on Democracy
- Special counsel defends decision to bring criminal charges against Trump – AP News
- Live updates: Donald Trump spared prison or fine as judge sentences him in historic NY case – BBC News
- Trump Unveils His White House Blacklist – Daily Beast
- Support for Trump’s Policies Exceeds Support for Trump – The New York Times
- Voters Want MAGA Lite From Trump, WSJ Poll Finds – Wall Street Journal
- How Trump’s political and business interests overlap – AP News
- Canada Prepares for Trump Tariff Threat With Three-Stage Plan – The New York Times
- Despite Trump’s win, ‘election integrity’ activists still seek sweeping voting changes – NPR
- Pay (Donald) to Play: Inside Mar-a-Lago, by Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary – Daily Mail Online
The Clown-Car Cabinet
- RFK Jr. Sought to Stop Covid Vaccinations 6 Months After Rollout – The New York Times
- RFK Jr. Admits He Didn’t Come Clean on Anti-Vax Fortune – Daily Beast
- 4 takeaways from Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing – The Washington Post
- The critical question Pete Hegseth dodged in his confirmation hearing – MSNBC
- Trump’s Defense Pick Proudly Admits the Rules Won’t Apply to Him – The New Republic
- VIDEO – Slotkin Questions Hegseth on Following ‘Illegal’ Orders – Wall Street Journal via YouTube
- Patel’s résumé, vows of retribution spark concern among national security veterans – The Washington Post
- Who is Kash Patel? – ACLU
- Trump’s EPA nominee stays vague on plans as senators press him on climate views – AP News
- Trump’s EPA Pick Flunks Science Quiz in Confirmation Hearing – The New Republic
- Trump’s Treasury Pick Vows to Give Back to the Rich in Bleak Hearing – The New Republic
- 4 takeaways from Pam Bondi’s confirmation hearing – The Washington Post
- Pam Bondi doesn’t rule out probes of Trump foes as attorney general – AP News
- After Trump’s Pardon, Paul Manafort Is Back and Looking for Foreign Work – The New York Times
The Nation
- Why Costco Isn’t Joining the Backlash Against DEI – Wall Street Journal
- Inside the Plan to Funnel Taxpayer Dollars to Religious Schools — ProPublica
- Virginia House passes resolutions protecting abortion, voting rights, marriage equality – AP News
- Arkansas governor says professors should be fired if they are ‘indoctrinating’ students – AP News
- Trump Said He’d Solve Ukraine on Day One. Republicans Say He Didn’t Mean ‘Day One.’ – NOTUS (Allbritton Journalism Institute)
- Opinion | Republicans in North Carolina Are Treading a Terrifying Path – Frank Bruni/The New York Times $$
- The GOP plot to bankrupt Planned Parenthood – Slate
- Republicans eye conditions on California wildfire aid after Trump criticism – Reuters
- Calif. Republicans weigh in on Trump allies’ calls for fire aid conditions – The Washington Post
- Medicare to Negotiate Lower Prices for Weight-Loss Drugs – The New York Times
- Speaker Johnson removes Rep. Turner as House Intelligence chairman – CBS News