The Daily Signal - RFK Tapped to Head HHS, Biden’s Judges, Florida Sues FEMA | Nov. 5

Starting point is 00:00:00 Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated to head the Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily City Bill's top news in 10 for Thursday, November 14th. President-elect Donald Trump tapped Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today to be his secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Trump wrote in the announcement on true social, The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products, and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country. Mr. Kennedy will restore these agencies to the traditions

Starting point is 00:00:56 of gold standard scientific research and beacons of transparency to end the chronic disease epidemic and to make America great and healthy again. Kennedy was expected to have a health-related cabinet appointment following his choice to drop out of the race for president and endorse Trump. More nominations are expected later today or tomorrow, but lawmakers and officials in Washington, D.C. are still reeling after Trump announced yesterday that Representative Matt Gates is his pick for Attorney General. Like all other nominations, Gates will have to be confirmed by the Senate,

Starting point is 00:01:32 and despite Republicans having control of the Senate, it is possible that Gates will not be confirmed. The Florida lawmaker is seen by some as a controversial pick for Attorney General. The House Ethics Committee has been investigating Gates on allegations of sexual misconduct and illicit drug use. Gates has denied these allegations. But some Republicans are advocating for Trump's wishes to be honored, like South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. Speaking on Fox News, Graham addressed his colleagues and said to every Republican, give Matt a chance. Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson said on Newsmax that he will keep an open mind through the confirmation process. We'll have confirmation process, and my bias will be to support President Trump's picks.

Starting point is 00:02:17 Several Republicans are voicing their doubt over Gates being Attorney General. Senator Susan Collins of Maine said she was shocked by Trump's pick for Attorney General. Gates should be ready to face a lot of questions during his nomination hearing. Stay tuned. One of the most important jobs of any president is to nominate judges who are then confirmed by the Senate. Biden has appointed 214 judges during his presidency. That's the third highest record for any single term. So let's talk about how many he remains to try to appoint before the end of his term and maybe how many Trump will have the opportunity to appoint. here with us to discuss that as the Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow, Thomas Jipping. Thanks so much for being here.

Starting point is 00:03:02 Thanks for having me. Okay, so let's jump right in. As we were just talking about, there's only about three weeks really left that the Senate is in session this term before Biden is out as president. How many more judges do we think Biden could get through before Trump's inaugurated? Well, yeah, they're in this weird lame duck period between an election. and when the new Congress takes over January 3rd, and then, of course, Democrats aren't the majority anymore. There are 17 judicial nominees that are on the Senate's calendar

Starting point is 00:03:37 waiting for a Senate vote. They actually did one today the day we're talking, and so it's at 215 so far with those 17. He'd be only a couple of appointments behind Trump's second place record of 234. Democrats say they really, want to beat that. And I think it, in a way, it's kind of a parting shot to Trump, you know, that even though we're not going to be the majority anymore, we, you know, we beat you or something. So 17 on the calendar. But these are some of the most controversial nominees that Biden has made.

Starting point is 00:04:15 In fact, some of them were nominated earlier this year. And Democrats didn't even bring them up because they might have been concerned that they didn't have the votes to confirm them. So not all those 17 will be confirmed. I think that's for sure. Some of them are, we already know, don't have enough votes. But they're going to try. They're going to try to cross as many off that list as they can. Okay. And then looking forward to Trump's term, what are we looking at as far as the number of judges we might see him appoint? And are there some names you think on his short list? Well, under our Constitution, unlike the president, unlike members of Congress, judges don't. have set terms. They decide when they will leave office. But on the average, about 45 to 50 judges per year throughout the federal judiciary decide to retire. And that's generally the pattern.

Starting point is 00:05:11 And then presidents have the opportunity to fill those vacancies. Vacancies will be really low when President Trump takes his oath of office for the second time in January, probably closer to 30 than they are today, which historically is very low. But, but, you know, judges will be retiring this year, just like they have every year. And he appointed 234 judges his first term, which is a whole lot. And we'll see if he can match that. It depends on how determined he is to make prompt nominations. And then when Senator Chuck Grassley returns as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, how determined he is. is to get them through, and then how the new majority leader, John Thune, how determined he is to get

Starting point is 00:06:00 votes. How likely is it that Trump will have another opportunity to nominate a Supreme Court Justice? Well, for the very reason I just said, you know, justices decide for themselves when they're going to leave. The oldest justice, Justice Thomas, is only 76. I say only, I mean, it's older by a little bit than I am, but, you know, he's been on the court for 33 years. years, but he's still only 76. He loves what he's doing. And America needs the kind of justice that he is, that interprets the Constitution as it's written. And Justice Alito was 74. So it's not like someone is well into their 80s. No one is in really poor health, as far as I know. So it's really up to them. It's possible. But, you know, we really don't know until the justices themselves

Starting point is 00:06:52 decide they're very independent and they're supposed to be that way. So they decide when they're going to go. Heritage Foundation's senior legal fellow Thomas Jipping. Tom, thank you for your time today. Thanks for having me. The Attorney General of Florida has filed a lawsuit against FEMA. Florida is suing FEMA over reports that FEMA workers were directed to ignore hurricane victims in homes that displayed Trump signs or flags, a story that the Daily Wire first broke the news on. FEMRA supervisor Marnie Washington said during a recent interview with podcaster Roland Martin that political discrimination by FEMA is not uncommon.

Starting point is 00:07:32 So this is not isolated. This is a colossal event of avoidance, not just in the state of Florida, but you will find avoidance in the Carolinas. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said hurricane season is not over, and the federal agency in charge of emergency response is embroiled in scandal, caught withholding aid from storm victims in Florida who support President Trump. I am taking swift legal action to find out how far this political discrimination reaches and to make sure all Americans who fall victim to devastating storms are served regardless of their political affiliation. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis

Starting point is 00:08:11 says that he is supportive of the legal action and DeSantis says that he has instructed state agencies to likewise take any action necessary to investigate and ensure those who engaged in this behavior are held accountable. Now let's hit our news flash for the day. First up, the director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, David Rauch, says an illegal alien gang is operating in every major city across the state of Tennessee. The gang is one that you have likely heard before, Tren de Aragua. The gang was started in Venezuela's prisons. and now operates across a number of countries, including the U.S. In Tennessee, the Bureau of Investigation says that the gang is running human trafficking operations in Tennessee

Starting point is 00:08:58 and is on a path to more violence in the state. It was a big news day for Bitcoin. Fox Business broke the news today that legislation has been introduced in Pennsylvania for the state to enable the Pennsylvania Treasury to hold Bitcoin on its balance sheet. This is part of a broader movement to recognize Bitcoin as a store of value. Fox reports that Senator Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming is also hoping to put her own Bitcoin Reserve bill forward during the first 100 days of Trump's presidency. Ben & Jerry's is on a rocky road with its parent company.

Starting point is 00:09:37 The ice cream brand is suing Unilever on claims that the company prevented Ben and Jerry's from expressing support for Palestinian refugees. The New York Times reports that the suit claims that Unilever recently tried to dismantle Ben and Jerry's independent board and sought to muzzle it to prevent the company from calling for a ceasefire and safe passage for refugees from supporting U.S. students protesting civilian deaths in Gaza and from urging an end to the U.S. military aid to Israel. With that, that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks for joining us for the Daily Signal's Top News in 10. don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on any of our new shows whether top

Starting point is 00:10:18 news in 10 or our weekend deep dive interview editions we'll see you right back here tomorrow afternoon for top news at five in the meantime don't forget again to hit that subscribe button and to take a minute to leave the daily single podcast of five-star rating and review

The Daily Signal - RFK Tapped to Head HHS, Biden’s Judges, Florida Sues FEMA | Nov. 5

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