Rising: June 10, 2025
Here's why Elon Musk should join the Libertarian Party! Robby Soave | RISING
Robby Soave delivers radar on why Elon Musk should join the Libertarian Party.
Trump, Newsom feud escalates after POTUS supports his arrest | RISING
Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss President Trump suggesting that border czar Tom Homan should arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) over possible obstruction of his administration's immigration enforcement measures, amid protests in the state.
Bannon calls for special counsel probe into Musk's alleged 'drug use', fed contracts | RISING
Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss Steve Bannon expressing on 'Sunday Night with Chuck Todd' that there needs to be a special counsel investigation into Elon Musk's drug use and federal contracts.
Don Lemon Says Kathy Griffin 'Not Far Off' That 2024 Election Wasn't 'Free And Fair' | RISING
Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss former CNN host Don Lemon not totally disagreeing with the comedian Kathy Griffin on her claim about President Trump and the 2024 election.
DNC chair frustrated with David Hogg over party infighting, audio reveals | RISING
Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss the new audio leak from a DNC leadership call that was obtained by Politico over the weekend showing growing tension between factions of the Democratic Party.
Roseanne Barr tells all: Cancel culture, Valerie Jarrett, 'racist' media | Rising interview
Comedian and actor Roseanne Barr talks about her new documentary releasing today, 'Roseanne Barr is America.'
RFK Jr fires entire CDC vaccine panel, cites conflict-of-interests | RISING
Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger react to HHS Secretary RFK Jr. firing all 17 members of the CDC vaccine advisory panel.
Harry Potter star defends JK Rowling after reporter asks about transgender issue | RISING
Robby Soave and Lindsey Granger discuss Harry Potter star Tom Felton expressing support for author J.K. Rowling despite controversy over her views on transgender issues.
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Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bill Cassidy Blew It
The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. It's easy to forget that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s assault on vaccines—including, most recently, his gutting of the expert committee that guides American vaccine policy—might have been avoided. Four months ago, his nomination for health secretary was in serious jeopardy. The deciding vote seemed to be in the hands of one Republican senator: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. A physician who gained prominence by vaccinating low-income kids in his home state, Cassidy was wary of the longtime vaccine conspiracist. 'I have been struggling with your nomination,' he told Kennedy during his confirmation hearings in January. Then Cassidy caved. In the speech he gave on the Senate floor explaining his decision, Cassidy said that he'd vote to confirm Kennedy only because he had extracted a number of concessions from the nominee—chief among them that he would preserve, 'without changes,' the very CDC committee Kennedy overhauled this week. Since then, Cassidy has continued to give Kennedy the benefit of the doubt. On Monday, after Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the vaccine advisory committee, Cassidy posted on X that he was working with Kennedy to prevent the open roles from being filled with 'people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.' [Read: The doctor who let RFK Jr. through] The senator has failed, undeniably and spectacularly. One new appointee, Robert Malone, has repeatedly spread misinformation (or what he prefers to call 'scientific dissent') about vaccines. Another appointee, Vicky Pebsworth, is on the board of an anti-vax nonprofit, the National Vaccine Information Center. Cassidy may keep insisting that he is doing all he can to stand up for vaccines. But he already had his big chance to do so, and he blew it. Now, with the rest of America, he's watching the nation's vaccine future take a nosedive. So far, the senator hasn't appeared interested in any kind of mea culpa for his faith in Kennedy's promises. On Thursday, I caught Cassidy as he hurried out of a congressional hearing room. He was still reviewing the appointees, he told me and several other reporters who gathered around him. When I chased after him down the hallway to ask more questions, he told me, 'I'll be putting out statements, and I'll let those statements stand for themselves.' A member of his staff dismissed me with a curt 'Thank you, sir.' Cassidy's staff has declined repeated requests for an interview with the senator since the confirmation vote in January. With the exception of Mitch McConnell, every GOP senator voted to confirm Kennedy. They all have to own the health secretary's actions. But Cassidy seemed to be the Republican most concerned about Kennedy's nomination, and there was a good reason to think that the doctor would vote his conscience. In 2021, Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump on an impeachment charge after the insurrection at the Capitol. But this time, the senator—who is up for reelection next year, facing a more MAGA-friendly challenger—ultimately fell in line. Cassidy tried to have it both ways: elevating Kennedy to his job while also vowing to constrain him. In casting his confirmation vote, Cassidy implied that the two would be in close communication, and that Kennedy had asked for his input on hiring decisions. The two reportedly had breakfast in March to discuss the health secretary's plan to dramatically reshape the department. 'Senator Cassidy speaks regularly with secretary Kennedy and believes those conversations are much more productive when they're held in private, not through press headlines,' a spokesperson for Cassidy wrote in an email. (A spokesperson for HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) At times, it has appeared as though Cassidy's approach has had some effect on the health secretary. Amid the measles outbreak in Texas earlier this year, Kennedy baselessly questioned the safety of the MMR vaccine. In April, after two unvaccinated children died, Cassidy posted on X: 'Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No benefit to getting measles. Top health officials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies.' Cassidy didn't call out Kennedy by name, but the health secretary appeared to get the message. Later that day, Kennedy posted that the measles vaccine was the most effective way to stave off illness. ('Completely agree,' Cassidy responded.) All things considered, that's a small victory. Despite Kennedy's claims that he is not an anti-vaxxer, he has enacted a plainly anti-vaccine agenda. Since being confirmed, he has pushed out the FDA's top vaccine regulator, hired a fellow vaccine skeptic to investigate the purported link between autism and shots, and questioned the safety of childhood vaccinations currently recommended by the CDC. As my colleague Katherine J. Wu wrote this week, 'Whether he will admit to it or not, he is serving the most core goal of the anti-vaccine movement—eroding access to, and trust in, immunization.' [Read: RFK Jr. is barely even pretending anymore] The reality is that back channels can be only so effective. Cassidy's main power is to call Kennedy before the Senate health committee, which he chairs, and demand an explanation for Kennedy's new appointees to the CDC's vaccine-advisory committee. Cassidy might very well do that. In February, he said that Kennedy would 'come before the committee on a quarterly basis, if requested.' Kennedy did appear before Cassidy's committee last month to answer questions about his efforts to institute mass layoffs at his agency. Some Republicans (and many Democrats) pressed the secretary on those efforts, while others praised them. Cassidy, for his part, expressed concerns about Kennedy's indiscriminate cutting of research programs, but still, he was largely deferential. 'I agree with Secretary Kennedy that HHS needs reform,' Cassidy said. Even if he had disagreed, an angry exchange between a health secretary and a Senate committee doesn't guarantee any policy changes. Lawmakers may try to act like government bureaucrats report to them, but they have limited power once a nominee is already in their job. Technically, lawmakers can impeach Cabinet members, but in American history, a sitting Cabinet member has never been impeached and subsequently removed from office. The long and arduous confirmation process is supposed to be the bulwark against potentially dangerous nominees being put in positions of power. Cassidy and most of his Republican colleagues have already decided not to stop Kennedy from overseeing the largest department in the federal government by budget. Now Kennedy is free to do whatever he wants—senators be damned. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
18 hours ago
- Atlantic
The Senator Who Failed America on Vaccines
It's easy to forget that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s assault on vaccines—including, most recently, his gutting of the expert committee that guides American vaccine policy—might have been avoided. Four months ago, his nomination for health secretary was in serious jeopardy. The deciding vote seemed to be in the hands of one Republican senator: Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. A physician who gained prominence by vaccinating low-income kids in his home state, Cassidy was wary of the longtime vaccine conspiracist. 'I have been struggling with your nomination,' he told Kennedy during his confirmation hearings in January. Then Cassidy caved. In the speech he gave on the Senate floor explaining his decision, Cassidy said that he'd vote to confirm Kennedy only because he had extracted a number of concessions from the nominee—chief among them that he would preserve, 'without changes,' the very CDC committee Kennedy overhauled this week. Since then, Cassidy has continued to give Kennedy the benefit of the doubt. On Monday, after Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the vaccine advisory committee, Cassidy posted on X that he was working with Kennedy to prevent the open roles from being filled with 'people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.' The senator has failed, undeniably and spectacularly. One new appointee, Robert Malone, has repeatedly spread misinformation (or what he prefers to call 'scientific dissent') about vaccines. Another appointee, Vicky Pebsworth, is on the board of an anti-vax nonprofit, the National Vaccine Information Center. Cassidy may keep insisting that he is doing all he can to stand up for vaccines. But he already had his big chance to do so, and he blew it. Now, with the rest of America, he's watching the nation's vaccine future take a nosedive. So far, the senator hasn't appeared interested in any kind of mea culpa for his faith in Kennedy's promises. On Thursday, I caught Cassidy as he hurried out of a congressional hearing room. He was still reviewing the appointees, he told me and several other reporters who gathered around him. When I chased after him down the hallway to ask more questions, he told me, 'I'll be putting out statements, and I'll let those statements stand for themselves.' A member of his staff dismissed me with a curt 'Thank you, sir.' Cassidy's staff has declined repeated requests for an interview with the senator since the confirmation vote in January. With the exception of Mitch McConnell, every GOP senator voted to confirm Kennedy. They all have to own the health secretary's actions. But Cassidy seemed to be the Republican most concerned about Kennedy's nomination, and there was a good reason to think that the doctor would vote his conscience. In 2021, Cassidy was one of seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump on an impeachment charge after the insurrection at the Capitol. But this time, the senator—who is up for reelection next year, facing a more MAGA-friendly challenger—ultimately fell in line. Cassidy tried to have it both ways: elevating Kennedy to his job while also vowing to constrain him. In casting his confirmation vote, Cassidy implied that the two would be in close communication, and that Kennedy had asked for his input on hiring decisions. The two reportedly had breakfast in March to discuss the health secretary's plan to dramatically reshape the department. 'Senator Cassidy speaks regularly with secretary Kennedy and believes those conversations are much more productive when they're held in private, not through press headlines,' a spokesperson for Cassidy wrote in an email. (A spokesperson for HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.) At times, it has appeared as though Cassidy's approach has had some effect on the health secretary. Amid the measles outbreak in Texas earlier this year, Kennedy baselessly questioned the safety of the MMR vaccine. In April, after two unvaccinated children died, Cassidy posted on X: 'Everyone should be vaccinated! There is no treatment for measles. No benefit to getting measles. Top health officials should say so unequivocally b/4 another child dies.' Cassidy didn't call out Kennedy by name, but the health secretary appeared to get the message. Later that day, Kennedy posted that the measles vaccine was the most effective way to stave off illness. ('Completely agree,' Cassidy responded.) All things considered, that's a small victory. Despite Kennedy's claims that he is not an anti-vaxxer, he has enacted a plainly anti-vaccine agenda. Since being confirmed, he has pushed out the FDA's top vaccine regulator, hired a fellow vaccine skeptic to investigate the purported link between autism and shots, and questioned the safety of childhood vaccinations currently recommended by the CDC. As my colleague Katherine J. Wu wrote this week, 'Whether he will admit to it or not, he is serving the most core goal of the anti-vaccine movement—eroding access to, and trust in, immunization.' The reality is that back channels can be only so effective. Cassidy's main power is to call Kennedy before the Senate health committee, which he chairs, and demand an explanation for Kennedy's new appointees to the CDC's vaccine-advisory committee. Cassidy might very well do that. In February, he said that Kennedy would 'come before the committee on a quarterly basis, if requested.' Kennedy did appear before Cassidy's committee last month to answer questions about his efforts to institute mass layoffs at his agency. Some Republicans (and many Democrats) pressed the secretary on those efforts, while others praised them. Cassidy, for his part, expressed concerns about Kennedy's indiscriminate cutting of research programs, but still, he was largely deferential. 'I agree with Secretary Kennedy that HHS needs reform,' Cassidy said. Even if he had disagreed, an angry exchange between a health secretary and a Senate committee doesn't guarantee any policy changes. Lawmakers may try to act like government bureaucrats report to them, but they have limited power once a nominee is already in their job. Technically, lawmakers can impeach Cabinet members, but in American history, a sitting Cabinet member has never been impeached and subsequently removed from office. The long and arduous confirmation process is supposed to be the bulwark against potentially dangerous nominees being put in positions of power. Cassidy and most of his Republican colleagues have already decided not to stop Kennedy from overseeing the largest department in the federal government by budget. Now Kennedy is free to do whatever he wants—senators be damned.
Fox News
18 hours ago
- Fox News
ASRA NOMANI: The familiar hidden hand behind today's #NoKings protests
Yesterday, as protesters readied to descend on city squares across America for a mass demonstration branded #NoKings, California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis took to MSNBC, praising the movement as a righteous stand for democracy. "People are very determined to get out there and be seen. This is the United States. We do not want a king," she said. What she didn't say: The California Democratic Party is itself organizing today's protests — from Orange County to Oakland — with the full institutional weight of the Democratic machine, and the Democratic National Committee is playing a critical role behind the scenes in protests across the country from California to Florida. Already, I established in analysis for the Pearl Project, a nonprofit journalism initiative, that the protests are organized by 197 organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. This network harnesses a machine of about $2.1 billion in total annual revenues toward this cause. That effort alone represents a partisan political enterprise that I call the protest industrial complex. Now, in a new analysis of 148 protest listings uploaded on a Democratic Party organizing platform, I have established that at least 70 Democratic National Committee affiliates are also organizing protests in at least 19 states and the District of Columbia. This is a clear indicator of the partisanship of these protests as an orchestrated, calculated expression of the opposition party, not a spontaneous grassroots outpouring. Despite the rhetoric of populist uprising, it's clear: #NoKings is the Democratic Party staging political theater in the streets of America. As editor-in-chief of the Pearl Project, I have spent the last week building this database of the protest organizers and the findings expose the true architecture of today's "day of defiance." From Mobilize links and protest pages to organizing toolkits, we traced the digital and physical infrastructure behind the June 14 demonstrations. I've added a tab with the Democratic Party events in a public spreadsheet that I invite readers to study. Here's what I found about the hand of the Democratic Party: It's important to recognize: the Democrat Party isn't just supporting these protests — they're leading them, often under the radar. Here's just a glimpse of the geographic footprint of Democratic National Committee club and committee activity. It's dense, but I share it so you can know we have the receipts: What does this list tell us? This is a party infrastructure, not a protest movement. Let's be honest: this isn't about stopping a "king." It's about protecting a political party. Across the country, Democratic Party chapters have flooded local organizing channels with official flyers, water bottles branded with county logos, talking points and coordinated slogans. In Santa Monica, Calif., the local Democratic Club is marching along the boardwalk. In Flagstaff, Ariz., the Coconino County Democratic Party is rallying on the steps of city hall. In Naples, Florida, the Collier County Democratic Executive Committee is mobilizing volunteers with signage pre-approved by national political action committees. In Seminole County, Fla., the advertising is about political canvassing with these details for volunteers: "Signs will be provided to place next to the cooler that say 'Free Water from SemDems.' Consider bringing trash bags to tie to the handle of the cooler to collect used bottles. Email deb4elections@ if you can bring a cooler with water. Passing out SemDems cards. Stand at protest area entry points and make sure people receive a SemDem card so they can connect with us. Passing Out Protest Signs. Hand out signs for people to wave if they didn't bring one. Help people make a sign using SemDems supplies. In this role, you will be too busy to participate in the protest at the street." In total, we tracked scores of unique combinations of state and club, proving that multiple organizations — including groups like Swing Left and Indivisible — are operating across several states with the Democratic Party, deploying scripts, signs, and staff. Here is what you won't hear on most of the media's coverage: These are not the spontaneous actions of private citizens. They are events sanctioned by the Democratic Party dressed up in the language of moral resistance. These are not the spontaneous actions of private citizens. They are events sanctioned by the Democratic Party dressed up in the language of moral resistance. These protests amount to a new chapter of political puppetry. One longtime Democratic volunteer, granted anonymity, described to us the internal pressure they felt to participate: "It feels less like a movement and more like a performance. We are told which graphics to share, what signs to print and even how to answer reporters. It is like the whole protest is a campaign rollout — but in protest clothes." This comment is telling. The Democratic Party is not showing up to these protests as supporters. They are stage managers. The very people warning us against authoritarianism are deploying authoritarian tactics to choreograph outrage. It's political cynicism at its finest—activism from above, not below. Why does this matter? In 2002, my friend and colleague Daniel Pearl was murdered by extremists in Pakistan. The ideology that led to his death — sectarianism, division, moral absolutism — has haunted me ever since. That same dogma is now playing out in American streets, cloaked in slogans like "No Kings" and "Save Democracy." In my 2023 book, Woke Army, I warned of an unholy alliance between far-left radicals and ideological opportunists that undermines institutions from within. Today's protests manifest this alliance and they are the logical next step: not organic resistance, but manufactured dissent designed to influence the next election cycles. This isn't about Donald Trump's flaws or strengths. It's about the weaponization of protest by those already in power. Today's protest is not a revolution. It's a message that refuses the 2024 election results. The message is this: the Democratic Party is willing to use every tool available — PACs, nonprofits, public unions and even street protests — to control the narrative heading into the next elections. Voters should be wary of any party that cries "democracy" while scripting the applause, supplying the signs and managing the stage. Today, as you watch video clips of marchers chanting and waving signs, ask yourself: who paid for the microphone? Who printed the signs? And who benefits when the crowd disperses? The answer is clear with Trump's birthday party for the Army: it's an expression of the ruling Republican administration. That's the kind of transparency we need to have about the street protests. The protests aren't grassroots. They are the political puppeteering of the Democratic Party.
