Although Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) could always find areas of agreement with President Donald Trump, his libertarian streak apparently left him unable to deliver an official endorsement ahead of Election Day. Now that Trump has been in office for a month and has a string of early second-term successes behind him, however, Paul is reconsidering his reticence to board the Trump Train earlier. As Fox News reported: “A few people may have noticed that I resisted an enthusiastic endorsement of Donald Trump during the election. But now, I’m amazed by the Trump cabinet (many of whom I would have picked). I love his message to the Ukrainian warmongers, and along with his DOGE initiative shows I was wrong to withhold my endorsement,” Paul declared in the tweet. “So today, admittedly a little tardy, I give Donald Trump my enthusiastic endorsement! (Too little too late some will say, but, you know, it is sincere, there is that.),” he added. “Don’t expect this endorsement to be fawning. I still think tariffs are a terrible idea, but Dios Mio, what courage, what tenacity. Go @realDonaldTrump Go!” The senator enthusiastically supported Trump’s choice to tap former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence and former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Paul received generally positive responses to his announcement: Because yours is real. Support won is support unwavering. — Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 20, 2025 You are at least 100x better than your colleague Mitch McConnell. — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 20, 2025 At least you are man enough to admit you were wrong, and I think your endorsement still matters because you’re highly respected, but I don’t think having reciprocal tariffs is wrong, it’s a matter of fairness and equal trade. — Jericho (@JerichoXVI) February 20, 2025 Well said. A lot of us had reasonable hesitation and thought we supported, stopped short of endorsing. Now we are GRATEFUL to be enthusiastically championing Trump 2.0!! AND, as you said, it’s not fawning. That’s the balance! — Jenna Ellis (@realJennaEllis) February 20, 2025 Semafor reported on Paul’s not-quite-endorsement of Trump ahead of November’s election: Sure, Paul said, “there’s no question” that Trump is better than Vice President Kamala Harris and he’s generally supportive – but he still has hesitation about a full endorsement. “My enthusiasm has flagged a little,” Paul said of Trump. “One, because I think the debt will be about the same under Biden that it was under Trump.” Paul’s second concern, befitting his record as a frequent critic of American military intervention abroad, was that “if there’s a Trump victory, that there’s not, like, a John Bolton in the administration, who’s for eternal war.” He added that “I don’t think Trump” shares the foreign policy inclinations of Bolton, a former Trump national security adviser and staunch hawk. “But Bolton was a bad pick.” It’s worth noting that Paul expressed support for Trump’s first-term accomplishments during his remarks at the Republican National Convention ahead of the 2020 election:

As Gandalf once said, “You shall not pass!” And the same thing was told to J6ers at 2025 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) ?! Now that’s something you wouldn’t expect to hear. Are RINOs running that operation? Is this more exposure on those that aren’t truly for the people? There’s also an exhibition hall features a January 6th-themed pinball machine. So that’s allowed but not the actual J6ers? Is CPAC just a grift? CPAC is representative of the ‘old guard’.. the ones that got US into this mess. — Cynthia Holt (@Ghostofcynthia) February 19, 2025 I just went down to pick up my preapproved #CPAC credentials and was kicked out. #J6ers are being denied entry! Here is the video ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩ pic.twitter.com/X6OMHm7RFe — Richard Bigo Barnett (@BigoBarnett) February 20, 2025 Daily Mail reports: There was fury at CPAC as January 6 defendants say a handful of then got turned away weeks after getting pardoned by President Trump – only to have the conservative conference turn into a virtual reunion for them. Among those blowing up about the initial exclusion was Richard Barnett, who was famously photographed with his feet on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s inside her Capitol office as rioters ransacked the building. ‘They are targeting pre-registered J6,’ he fumed online, while saying his valid credentials weren’t accepted. ‘They escorted me out of CPAC this morning,’ he told DailyMail.com. But he says event officials later permitted him to enter. Former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio said he, too, was turned away Wednesday night – but the situation has now been resolved. ‘It’s already been lifted. I can go get my ticket,’ he told DailyMail.com by phone from the Capitol. His 22-year sentence was wiped away by the pardon. After Barnett’s posts started circulating online, the group denied there was any such policy in place and celebrated their cause. ‘It is untrue that we are not allowing people to come to CPAC because of their involvement with J6. In fact, CPAC has been a constant supporter of this persecuted community and we support wholeheartedly President Trump’s pardons of the J6 victims. The registration link is active,’ CPAC posted. On Thursday morning inside the convention center of the Gaylord Hotel in National Harbor Maryland, it was clear there was no such ban in place. Among those formerly incarcerated who made it to the huge venue on the Potomac River was Michael Curzio – who calls himself a member of the ‘J6 OG’ as one of the first locked up. On Thursday, he posed inside CPAC’s exhibit hall in front of a fake ‘Deportation Center’ that had images of President Trump and border czar Tom Homan. Curzio served a six month sentence after pleading guilty to shooting his ex girlfriend’s new boyfriend. He pleaded guilty to unlawfully protesting inside the Capitol when lawmakers met to count the electoral votes for president. Asked about pardons for those who were captured on video battling with police, sometimes with sticks and poles, he countered: ‘You don’t know what those cops did.’ He said he was thrilled to have received a pardon for federal crimes from President Trump, although he still does not have his voting rights restored from a prior conviction in Florida. “Kick ’em out!” Jake Lang has had his credentials revoked from @CPAC while he was walking up to claim the 22 tickets he bought for fellow J6ers. Jake Lang was held for 1,467 days, more than 900 of them in solitaire confinement, with NO TRIAL. @mercedesschlapp and @mschlapp need to provide an… pic.twitter.com/t4GJpUrZd0 — CannCon (@CannConActual) February 19, 2025 “But…but… its not true!” says CPAC. Explain this then @BigoBarnett pic.twitter.com/rdLPkT4vJV — itsme_JD_ (@its_me_jd_again) February 20, 2025

San Antonio Spurs star center Victor Wembanyama is expected to miss the rest of teh NBA season after being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder. Deep vein thrombosis is a form of blood clot. The blood clot was discovered after Wembanyama returned to San Antonio after attending the All-Star game. Point guard Christ Paul shared, “It’s tough, tough more than anything, I think, for all of us, knowing how much he means to our team, but more so knowing how much he means to the game and how much he loves to play.” Reporting for @SportsCenter on Victor Wembanyama sidelined for the season with what the Spurs believe is an isolated blood clot and will bring full recovery: pic.twitter.com/BWOOJXYl6C — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 20, 2025 Here’s what ESPN reported: San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is expected to miss the remainder of the season with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder, the team announced Thursday. The Spurs said in a statement that the condition, a form of a blood clot, was discovered after Wembanyama returned to San Antonio after the All-Star Game. The condition is typically treated with blood-thinning medication, which usually precludes a player from participating in a contact sport such as basketball. A team source told ESPN that the Spurs are optimistic that Wembanyama will make a full recovery by the beginning of the 2025-26 season. Wembanyama, the reigning Rookie of the Year and a first-time All-Star this season, was averaging 24.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and a league-leading 3.8 blocks in 46 games for the 23-29 Spurs. “It’s tough,” Spurs point guard Chris Paul said. “Tough more than anything, I think for all of us, knowing how much he means to our team, but more so knowing how much he means to the game and how much he loves to play.” Victor Wembanyama out for the season after blood clot discovery https://t.co/TDIWvet8kq pic.twitter.com/JUoXS3EELS — New York Post (@nypost) February 20, 2025 BREAKING: Victor Wembanyama expected to miss remainder of season after blood clot diagnosis, San Antonio Spurs announce. https://t.co/LUr8pLMAzH — The Associated Press (@AP) February 20, 2025 Per AP: San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama is not expected to play again this season after a blood clot condition was found in his right shoulder, a massive blow to the league and the second major health-related hit for the Spurs this season. Wembanyama’s condition — deep vein thrombosis — was diagnosed this week after he returned from the All-Star Game, the Spurs said Thursday. It is almost always treated with blood-thinning medication, which typically precludes a player from participating in a contact sport such as basketball. Athletes who are involved with contact sports are typically advised to avoid using such medication because of the heightened chance of bleeding. Wembanyama’s situation comes about 3 1/2 months after Spurs coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke and was forced to take a leave from the sideline.

Elon Musk might be receiving most of the attention, but he’s not the only one working with DOGE to cut costs at the federal level. After four years of Joe Biden’s spending spree, a number of Republican lawmakers are using their newfound control of the executive and legislative branches to restore some fiscal sanity to our debt-plagued nation. One such program ripe for cuts, if not outright elimination, involves Biden’s multibillion-dollar program to establish electric vehicle infrastructure. In reality, the results were dismal at best — and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) wants to put it out to pasture, as Breitbart reported: The program, despite its lofty goal of creating a network of charging stations across the nation, only built 59 stations in three years despite $7.5 billion in funding. “Joe Biden’s green dreams short-circuited, and it is time to pull the plug,” Ernst said in a statement to Breitbart News. “The EV charger boondoggle is a textbook example of wasteand inefficiencythat needs to be eliminated. Instead of spending hundreds of millions per charging station, I am doing something truly revolutionary in Washington – putting taxpayers first.” Ernst, as the Senate DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] chair, unveiled a $2 trillion plan, which includes the bill to scrap the funding for electric vehicles, to slash federal spending and reduce the size of the federal government. The Trump administration in early February had halted the program. Joe Biden’s $7.5 billion EV charger programs resulted in just 59 stations built in three years. The green dream has short-circuited, and it is time to pull the plug and defund this Biden boondoggle.https://t.co/s7ZbVwC7Ig — Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) February 20, 2025 The ineffective program has also been roundly pilloried on social media: Any way you fact check Biden’s EV charger program, it’s a failure: Three years after being given $7.5 billion install EV charging stations, the Biden regime has installed a total of 214 charging ports in 12 states — a charging port serves one car at a time.… pic.twitter.com/Rh9JJD42lM — Steve Milloy (@JunkScience) November 29, 2024 President Trump is going to inherit a huge pile of from the failed Biden presidency. One of the worst? Seniors are facing the biggest Medicare drug premium spike in history this month because Democrats took money from the program to fund EV tax credits – then tried to cover… pic.twitter.com/CCifZU7TMg — Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) January 13, 2025 Even Politico was reporting on the utter lack of progress in the Biden administration’s EV program way back in 2023: Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country, aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change. Two years later, the program has yet to install a single charger. States and the charger industry blame the delays mostly on the labyrinth of new contracting and performance requirements they have to navigate to receive federal funds. While federal officials have authorized more than $2 billion of the funds to be sent to states, fewer than half of states have even started to take bids from contractors to build the chargers — let alone begin construction. Consumer demand for electric vehicles is rising in the United States, necessitating six times as many chargers on its roads by the end of the decade, according to federal estimates. But not a single charger funded by the bipartisan infrastructure law has come online and odds are they will not be able to start powering Americans’ vehicles until at least 2024. Here’s some relevant “Fox & Friends” commentary from last year:

Senator Mitch McConnell has announced he will not seek re-election in 2026. McConnell, the longest-serving leader in the upper chamber’s history, announced his retirement on Thursday morning. McConnell’s retirement announcement comes after the aging U.S. Senator has suffered numerous health episodes, including falling just last week. BREAKING: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will not seek re-election in 2026. McConnell is 83 years old. pic.twitter.com/7I5Yoh4uyF — Fox News (@FoxNews) February 20, 2025 Here’s what The New York Post reported: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the longest-serving leader in the upper chamber’s history, will not seek re-election in 2026, the Associated Press reported Thursday. McConnell, 83, will have served seven terms by the time he retires in January 2027 and had already stepped down as the Republican leader after the 2024 elections. The Kentucky Republican leaves behind a legacy of having completely remade the US Supreme Court, handing it a conservative majority during the first Trump administration with the installment of three justices — after having blocked Merrick Garland’s appointment under former President Barack Obama. But he broke with President Trump over his “rigged” election claims that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot — and has voted down some of the 47th commander-in-chief’s cabinet officials at the start of his second term. BREAKING: Mitch McConnell will NOT be seeking reelection in 2026. GOOD. FREAKIN. RIDDANCE! Now, let’s make sure his replacement isn’t just another Uniparty swamp creature.pic.twitter.com/auNiU6isEm — George (@BehizyTweets) February 20, 2025 Per Politico: Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the former majority leader and the most consequential Republican senator of his generation, will announce Thursday he will not seek reelection next year, according to people briefed on his plans. The announcement is expected in a midday floor speech. It will not come as a major surprise in Washington or his home state: After stepping down as GOP leader last year, he gave few indications he would pursue an eighth term in the Senate. The news of McConnell’s retirement was described by three people with direct knowledge of the matter. They were granted anonymity to share the news ahead of a formal announcement. McConnell turned 83 on Thursday. He has recently suffered several health challenges, including a fall taken while leaving the Senate chamber earlier this month that has left him using a wheelchair.

President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda has been laser-focused on issues like preserving American culture and cutting government waste. Both priorities converged when he announced earlier this month that he would be taking over as the chairman of the Kennedy Center board and removing a number of members: President Trump is going to make the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, Great Again! Trump removes several Kennedy Center board members and appoints himself as the new chair! pic.twitter.com/tCg4wN2ipF — LynneP (@LynneBP_294) February 8, 2025 Among the first major decisions following the overhaul was one involving the cancelation of a controversial performance, as Breitbart reported: The Kennedy Center has canceled an upcoming LGBTQIA+ Pride performance by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW), shortly after President Donald Trump took the reins as chairman of the venue’s board. The GMCW, a 250-member singing group of gay men that has performed for the Bidens, Clintons, and Obamas, announced that they are “deeply disappointed” with the Kennedy Center’s decision in a Tuesday night Facebook post: “We are deeply disappointed with the news that our upcoming Pride performance with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) has been canceled. The piece was intended to be a part of the Kennedy Center’s Pride celebration and we were very excited to be collaborating with the NSO as their guest chorus on the piece titled “A Peacock Among Pigeons,” the chorus said in a statement. Going on to say how they “regret” that the opportunity to perform an LGBTQIA+ pride song with the NSO was “taken away,” the GMCW said they are “committed” to continuing their mission of furthering “equality” and “diversity.” This and similar choirs have made headlines for releasing objectionable content in the past: Never forget the ‘San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir’ sang a song about ‘coming for your children’…and don’t forget that in 27 more days…this garbage is OVER… pic.twitter.com/6kSUQDGncH — Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) December 24, 2024 Another controversial performer opted to cancel her own sold-out event at the venue in response to Trump’s move: Actress Issa Rae just canceled the event she scheduled at the Kennedy Center because Trump got elected as the center’s new chairman. “Unfortunately, due to what I believe to be an infringement on the values of an institution that has faithfully celebrated artists of all… pic.twitter.com/noVYM3SDbA — George (@BehizyTweets) February 13, 2025 And some activists have even resorted to disruptive protests because they don’t like who is leading the Kennedy Center board: The Democrats protesting at the Kennedy Center doing another tribal dance of desperation. What taxpayer funded entity paid for those buses to get them there? pic.twitter.com/fEftW8C1HD — • ᗰISᑕᕼIᗴᖴ • (@4Mischief) February 20, 2025 The Hill also reported on Trump’s decision to take charge of the Kennedy Center board as well as the subsequent decision to cancel the pro-LGBT performance: The event, “A Peacock Among Pigeons: Celebrating 50 Years of Pride,” was removed last week from the Kennedy Center’s website, The Advocate reported, just days after Trump terminated the cultural center’s board of trustees and installed himself as chair. Trump wrote on Truth Social that the decision to take over the Kennedy Center was made, in part, because of a drag performance held there last year. He called drag shows “anti-American propaganda” in another post announcing his selection of Richard Grenell to lead the center as executive director. Grenell, also serving as an envoy for special missions, became the first openly gay Cabinet member when he was appointed acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term. In an emailed statement, Jean Davidson, executive director of the NSO, said the Kennedy Center’s decision to cancel the performance preceded Trump’s takeover. Here’s some additional coverage of the recent development:

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Kash Patel to serve as FBI Director. Patel secured the nomination in a razor-thin 51-49 vote. Two Republicans voted against Patel – Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). #BREAKING: Kash Patel has been CONFIRMED as FBI Director by the U.S. Senate The Deep State is COOKED! CONGRATS Director @Kash_Patel pic.twitter.com/Ycds1p9KU6 — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 20, 2025 CONFIRMED: @Kash_Patel as the 9th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation pic.twitter.com/LAEZVGVhQL — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 20, 2025 Per NBC News: Kash Patel, a longtime loyalist to President Donald Trump, was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation — an agency he has talked about drastically restructuring while echoing Trump’s claims of the “weaponization” of the bureau’s powers in its Capitol riot investigations and other recent cases. Patel was opposed by a pair of Republican senators: Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski and Maine’s Susan Collins. But he won support from every other Republican, including Sen. Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky, who had opposed some of Trump’s other nominees. The final vote was 51-49, with all Senate Democrats opposing Patel. Patel’s confirmation comes at time of significant turmoil and turnover at the FBI. Since Trump took office a month ago, an Elon Musk affiliate was among those brought into the bureau, sparking worries about partisan political figures taking the reins of the powerful law enforcement agency. The head of the Washington Field Office — which oversaw the sprawling Jan. 6 probe — was forced out, as were six of the FBI’s most senior executives and multiple heads of FBI field offices around the country. Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll sparred with Trump-appointed Justice Department superiors over an order that he said would ultimately help them fire FBI agents involved in Jan. 6 cases. The FBI ultimately handed over the names of FBI employees who worked on Jan. 6 cases as requested, and Trump has said he will fire “some” FBI personnel who worked on Capitol riot cases. BREAKING: Kash Patel has been CONFIRMED as FBI Director. pic.twitter.com/rdQlPFCZvq — Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 20, 2025 Congratulations to our new FBI Director Kash Patel! pic.twitter.com/mwhLKAaJz4 — House Republicans (@HouseGOP) February 20, 2025 From The Hill: FBI directors are confirmed to a 10-year term, but Patel was nominated shortly after President Trump was re-elected, a sign the returning executive planned to fire former FBI Director Christopher Wray ahead of the end of his term in 2027. A former public defender, Patel got his start in the political realm as a staffer to then-House Intelligence Chair Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Patel played a key role there in seeking to discredit the committee Democrats’ investigation of Trump’s ties to Russia. That included authoring a report analyzing FBI and Justice Department responses in their own investigations of Russian election interference.

A Republican candidate has already thrown his name into the race to replace retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY). Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s former attorney general, announced his candidacy for the Senate seat shortly after McConnell’s announcement. Cameron unsuccessfully ran for governor of Kentucky in 2023. Just in: Daniel Cameron has announced that he is running in the 2026 Kentucky Senate Race Daniel Cameron was the Republican nominee for Governor of Kentucky in 2023. Andy Barr and Nate Morris are expected to announce they are running in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/F2b5SRhYQI — The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) February 20, 2025 From The Courier-Journal: McConnell announced Thursday morning he would not run for reelection, with Cameron’s announcement coming minutes later. The senator won seven terms in office, beginning in 1984, and served as the GOP’s chamber leader from 2007 through 2024. Cameron, who was the first Black attorney general in state history, came up under McConnell’s wing and has deep ties to the senator, who has emerged in recent years as a frequent foil to President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican. Cameron served as McConnell’s legal counsel for about about two years before he won the attorney general’s race in 2019, where he frequently stood in opposition to Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat. Beshear beat Cameron in the 2023 gubernatorial race, the lone statewide office not won by the GOP. BREAKING: Daniel Cameron runs for U.S. Senate in Kentucky after Mitch McConnell announces retirement. Cameron is the former attorney general of Kentucky. He was a Trump 2024 surrogate. He also supports Kash Patel's nomination for FBI today. pic.twitter.com/jbob9JzHTC — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) February 20, 2025 “Kentucky, it’s time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate. Let’s do this,” Cameron said. Kentucky, it's time for a new generation of leadership in the U.S. Senate. Let's do this. pic.twitter.com/YRXAm4Busv — Daniel Cameron (@DanielCameronKY) February 20, 2025 POLITICO reports: Former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, announced Thursday he is seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by former GOP leader Mitch McConnell. Cameron, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2023, enters the Republican primary with high name ID and ability to mount a formidable statewide campaign, after becoming Kentucky’s first Black attorney general in 2019. He is widely seen as the heir apparent to McConnell, the longest-serving Senate party leader in U.S. history, and launched his Senate bid within hours of his mentor announcing he would not seek reelection.

Kash Patel was confirmed as the new Director of the FBI in a narrow 51-49 Senate vote on Thursday, overcoming fierce opposition from Democrats and two defecting Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski [...] The post Kash Patel Confirmed as FBI Director, Vows to Expose Epstein and Diddy’s Powerful Clients appeared first on The People's Voice.