President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new federal agency, the Department of Government Efficiency — thereby making an internet meme a government-shrinking reality.

Some liberals are enraged over the proposed agency and appointments, apparently worried that these relative outsiders will lack the sensitivity and restraint necessary to preserve the status quo.

Trump
said in a statement that Musk and Ramaswamy will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies — Essential to the ‘Save America’ Movement.”

The novel agency, which Trump suggested could become “potentially, ‘The Manhattan Project’ of our time,” will provide extra-governmental counsel and partner with both the White House and Office of Management and Budget “to drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.”

This initiative has a strict deadline of July 4, 2026.

Trump figures that the maximization of efficiency and minimization of bureaucracy “will be the perfect gift to America on the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence.”

“This will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste, which is a lot of people,” Musk said in the statement shared by Trump.

‘Americans voted for drastic government reform.’

Musk
indicated that the DOGE will post all of its actions online for “maximum transparency” and suggested that the novel agency will regularly update a leaderboard for the “most insanely dumb spending of your tax dollars.”

The tech magnate also
shared a clip from his interview with Tucker Carlson, where he said, “Just take a look at all the federal agencies and say, ‘Do we really need whatever it is, 428 federal agencies?’ There’s so many that people never even heard of and that have overlapping areas of responsibility. … I think we should be able to get away with 99 agencies.”

Ramaswamy
tweeted, “Afuera!” — a term that more or less means “out” and that Argentine President Javier Milei repeated in a viral video when tearing the names of government ministries off a whiteboard.

Ramaswamy, who
indicated Tuesday that he is withdrawing himself from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio, noted further that the “DOGE will soon begin crowdsourcing examples of government waste, fraud, & … abuse. Americans voted for drastic government reform & they deserve to be part of fixing it.”

While there has long been a desire among fiscal conservatives to rein in and shrink government, this particular initiative appears to have taken shape during a
70-minute conversation in August between Trump and Musk on X Spaces.

“Inflation is caused by government overspending,”
said Musk. “Would you agree that we need to take a look at government spending and have, perhaps, a government efficiency commission that just … tries to make the spending sensible and so that the country lives within its means?”

“The waste is incredible, and nobody negotiates prices,” said Trump.

Musk stressed that there should be a government efficiency commission “that takes a look at these things and just ensures that the taxpayer money — that taxpayers’ hard-earned money — is spent in a good way. And I’d be happy to help out on such a commission.”

Trump appeared receptive to the idea, having elsewhere marveled at what Musk had done at X — canning
over 80% of the workforce and righting the ship — as well as at the wonders worked in Argentina by Milei, who took a “chainsaw” both to his leftist predecessors’ failed policies and to bureaucratic overgrowth.

Shortly after their conversation, Musk
posted an AI-generated image of himself standing at a podium emblazoned with the proposed title “Department of Government Efficiency,” along with its acronym, which users recognized alluded to another meme: “Doge,” the shiba inu dog immortalized in the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.

Trump was evidently unwilling to let the dream remain a meme.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) was among the first in line to complain.

Hours after
belittling a two-time Bronze Star-awarded combat veteran, Warren — a senator with a platoon of staffers — wrote sarcastically, “The Office of Government Efficiency is off to a great start with split leadership: two people to do the work of one person. Yeah, this seems REALLY efficient.”

Lincoln Project co-founder George Conway III, whose
effort to spoil Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally failed last month, joined MSNBC talking head Alex Wagner Tuesday night to complain about the proposed new agency.

Wagner, who apparently missed the Biden-Harris administration’s short-lived
Disinformation Governance Board, said, “Nothing has been more Orwellian in title.”

‘What are we going to be left with at the end of this?’

Conway cast doubt on whether the DOGE was possible, telling Wagner, “First of all, it’s not going to be a governmental department as I understand it. And then there are actually rules and statutes that apply, I think. The Federal Advisory Committee Act talks about regulat[ing] from an ethics standpoint, people who are coming in and, you know, being consulted on how to run the government.”

Jeffrey Toobin, the cable news analyst who
exposed himself to colleagues on an October 2020 Zoom call, tried to reassure fellow travelers on CNN that the Administrative Procedures Act “requires a lot of hoops to be jumped through,” meaning that Musk and Ramaswamy might have trouble slashing through the Washington kakistocracy with ease.

“If you want to get rid of a government department — if you want to change the structure of the Department of Education, the Department of the Interior — you have to go through all these steps, and like it or not, these two entrepreneurs are going to have to start learning that and following it, and it’s going to drive them crazy,” said Toobin. “We’ll see how much they actually do.”

New York Times writer Lulu Garcia-Navarro expressed concern on the CNN about what might be left after Musk and Ramaswamy are finished.

“Let’s look at his track record. What did he do at Twitter, now X? He completely gutted that organization. It remains to be seen what he does in the federal bureaucracy,” Garcia-Navarro told Cooper. “Radical change — it’s a good thing, but you know, a lot of these people do not have the experience to know what they should be cutting, what they shouldn’t be cutting. These are not people [with] government experience. So it really does beg the question, what are we going to be left with at the end of this?”

While it is presently unclear which federal agencies will be plastered with pink slips by the incoming Trump administration, bureaucrats at the
FBI and Pentagon are among those now reportedly updating their resumes.

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​Doge, Department of government efficiency, Efficiency, Bureaucracy, Elon musk, Vivek ramaswamy, Ramaswamy, Winning, Maga, President donald trump, Trump, Politics 

President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he will be appointing decorated Army veteran Pete Hegseth to the position of secretary of defense, a post currently occupied by Ret. Gen. Lloyd Austin.

The liberal media and various establishmentarians rushed to criticize Trump and his selection, suggesting that the father of seven lacks the credentials and experience of past Pentagon chiefs, including President Joe Biden’s pick, whose legacy is apparently a better-armed Taliban.

Hegseth, a two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, likely doesn’t need help fending off those armchair critics desperate to maintain the status quo. Nevertheless, friends, allies, and others with long memories jumped in to highlight that Hegseth is, in fact, well suited to the role, not least because of the reasons that have rankled establishmentarians.

The announcement

“Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country,” Trump
said in a statement Tuesday. “Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice — Our Military will be great Again, and America will Never Back Down.”

‘The woke stuff will be gone.’

Trump noted that Hegseth is a graduate of Princeton University as well as Harvard University, where he received a master’s degree in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Trump also alluded to Hegseth’s firsthand experience with war, writing, “He is an Army Combat Veteran who did tours in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan. For his actions on the battlefield, he was decorated with two Bronze Stars, as well as a Combat Infantryman’s Badge.”

It appears that Hegseth’s proposals in his recent book, “The War on Warriors,” concerning how to “return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence” caught Trump’s eye, warranting a mention in the announcement.

Months ahead of his landslide victory, Trump told a crowd in Las Vegas to buy Hegseth’s book, stressing, “The woke stuff will be gone within a period of 24 hours. I can tell you,”
reported the Associated Press.

“Nobody fights harder for the Troops, and Pete will be a courageous and patriotic champion of our ‘Peace through Strength’ policy,” added Trump.

Bubbles in the swamp

Politico, incautious as always despite its recent
false and misleading reports, rushed to attack Hegseth with an article titled “‘Who the f–k is this guy?’: Defense world reacts to Trump’s surprise Pentagon pick.” The subtitle read, “‘Hegseth is undoubtedly the least qualified nominee for SecDef in American history,’ one veterans’ advocate said.”

The liberal publication suggested:

the pick will do little to quell fears inside the Pentagon and beyond that Trump, who jousted with his own defense secretaries, plans this time to install a loyalist who will unquestioningly carry out his policies. Trump’s campaign trail rhetoric has primed fears that his second term could see a swift and divisive overhaul at the Pentagon.

While framing the 44-year-old father of seven as unfit for the position and a Pentagon overhaul as undesirable, the article revealed the kinds of people presently uncomfortable with the decision: Eric Edelman, a top policy official in the Bush Pentagon and former Dick Cheney adviser; a military-industrial complex lobbyist unfamiliar with the pick; a veterans group funded by the Koch brothers; Democratic Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, D.C.; and a former Obama official.

“I think it’s a surprising pick, someone who’s a TV personality when the entire rhetoric from Trump and everyone else is that the world is falling apart and you pick someone who is not necessarily the most experienced,” said former Obama official Max Bermann, now at the
Center for Strategic and International Studies — a think tank funded in part by the Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Raytheon Company.

Former Jan. 6 committee member and Ukraine hawk Adam Kinzinger
tweeted, “Wow. Trump picking Pete Hegseth is the most hilariously predictably stupid thing.”

‘Everyone is simply shocked.’

“I confess I didn’t know who he was until 20 minutes ago,” said Rep. Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. “And he certainly doesn’t seem to have any background whatsoever in DOD policy.”

Smith was apparently concerned that Hegseth might not be able to fill the shoes of the man who oversaw the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal,
lied to the president about being hospitalized, watched impotently as a Chinese spy balloon flew over the United States, and failed to correct the recruitment crisis.

“What’s your plan? What are you going to do?”
said Smith. “How can you assure us that that lack of experience, you know, isn’t going to make it impossible for you to do the job?”

Identitarian Joy Reid
suggested on her MSNBC show that Hegseth was just a morning show host for Trump’s “clown car.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
tweeted, “A Fox & Friends weekend co-host is not qualified to be the Secretary of Defense. I lead the Senate military personnel panel. All three of my brothers served in uniform. I respect every one of our servicemembers. Donald Trump’s pick will make us less safe and must be rejected.”

‘He’s had a front row seat to ALL of our forever wars.’

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) reportedly
said, “Wow,” in response to Trump’s pick.

One defense official reportedly
told CNN, “Everyone is simply shocked.”

Media Matters, a leftist organization founded by Democratic operative David Brock that recently pushed for the censorship of BlazeTV hosts, attacked Hegseth, suggesting he is “an anti-Muslim bigot” for daring to write, “Just like the Christian crusaders who pushed back the Muslim hordes in the twelfth century, American Crusaders will need to muster the same courage against Islamists today.”

Bursting bubbles

Combat veteran Sean Parnell was among those who did not take kindly to the dismissive tone taken by liberal media types regarding Hegseth.

When MSNBC news analyst Jake Sherman
tweeted, “TRUMP had named PETE HEGSETH to be secretary of defense. Hegseth has been a host on Fox News,” Parnell responded, “I’m sorry but is this a joke? He’s a combat veteran of Iraq & Afghanistan. He served in GITMO. He’s had a front row seat to ALL of our forever wars. He’s seen the total failure of those who sent us. He’s more qualified than **any** so called DC expert & it’s not even close.”

‘The party of DEI hires are pissed about Pete Hegseth?’

BlazeTV host Liz Wheeler shared an excerpt from the Politico piece,
writing, “If the military industrial complex hates you, you may be an awesome choice for Sec of Defense.”

Wheeler also shared a picture of two of the cross-dressing officials in the Biden-Harris administration,
tweeting, “Leftists were cool with this creep at Dept of Energy and this groomer at HHS. But now they’re outraged by … Pete Hegseth? Lol. Ok, weirdos.”

The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway
wrote, “Obviously it’s better to have a SecDef who’d give the enemy a heads-up before we or our allies attack,” alluding to Mark Milley’s phone calls with his communist Chinese counterpart.

YouTuber David Freiheit, known under his online pseudonym “Viva Frei,” blasted Sen. Warren for her attack on Hegseth,
writing, “It’s unbelievable. Truly astonishing. They are not just rapacious liars. They are incorrigible idiots. Hey Pocahontas, do you not know that Pete Hegseth is a two-decade veteran who served in combat?”

Conservative filmmaker Robby Starbuck jumped in,
noting, “Pete Hegseth is literally a combat veteran with 2 bronze stars who led a squadron in Baghdad. He’s worked on veterans issues ever since and he’s also a Princeton + Harvard graduate. You do NOT respect our troops or you wouldn’t disrespect Pete by calling him just a Fox host.”

“The party of DEI hires are pissed about Pete Hegseth?”
wrote Chad Prather. “Sorry that the Harvard grad that led a battalion in Iraq and has two bronze stars doesn’t paint his nails.”

Extra to wanting to maximize lethality and to rid the military of paralyzing wokeness, Hegseth has signaled a desire to maintain high standards for combat roles, even if that means fewer or no female service members on the battlefield.

“It hasn’t made us more effective, hasn’t made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated. … We’ve all served with women, and they’re great,” Hegseth
told the titular host of “The Shawn Ryan Show” last week. “But our institutions don’t have to incentivize that in places where, traditionally — not traditionally, over human history — men in those positions are more capable.”

Hegseth, who has a tattoo of the Jerusalem cross as well as a tattoo of the Latin phrase for “God wills it,” indicated in his book that he was sidelined for his religious views.

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​Pete hegseth, Hegseth, Pentagon, Department of defense, Dod, Trump, President-elect trump, Winning, War, Military, Politics 

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida secured an endorsement from political heavyweights just moments before the GOP Senate conference is set to vote for a new leader.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas joined GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee in making a last-minute endorsement for Scott. Scott has also been endorsed by Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Marco Rubio of Florida, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Tommy Tuberville of Alabama.

“This morning, I’ll be voting for Rick Scott for GOP Leader, as I did two years ago,” Cruz said in an X post ahead of the vote. “In 2022, I helped lead the charge for Rick against McConnell & I’m proud to stand with him again. For 12 yrs, I’ve been unequivocal that we need to change GOP Leadership—and now we finally will.”

‘Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters.’

Scott is running alongside Republican Sens. John Thune of South Dakota and John Cornyn of Texas in the race to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Of the three candidates, Scott has the most public endorsements.

Lee hosted a forum Tuesday night ahead of the Wednesday morning leadership vote in order to give all three candidates the opportunity to make their final pitch to the Republican conference.

“While I personally like all three leadership candidates and consider them friends—and while each offers a unique set of skills, experience, and plans that could prove useful to the Senate and the American people—Rick Scott stands out as the most aggressively reform-minded candidate,” Lee said in an X post after the forum.

“Rick Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters,” Lee continued.

Lee also praised Scott for standing up to McConnell in the past, contrasting with Thune and Cornyn, who better fit the leadership mold.

“Rick Scott has consistently called out abuses of the Senate GOP leader position in the past—even when it was difficult and at times politically costly to him,” Lee said after the forum. “This is yet another reason to support him.”

The votes are set to begin Wednesday morning and will be conducted via secret ballot.

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​Rick scott, John thune, John cornyn, Mike lee, Marsha blackburn, Ted cruz, Mitch mcconnell, Donald trump, Maga, Senate republicans, Election, 2024 election, Senate leadership, Republican leadership, Ron johnson, Rand paul, Marco rubio, Bill hagerty, Tommy tuberville, Politics 

The U.S. State Department held a therapy session for employees after Donald Trump won the presidential election last week, according to a report from the Washington Free Beacon, which cited four sources with knowledge of the meeting.

The internal State Department email concerned “managing stress during change,” the outlet said, adding that employees were encouraged to attend a one-hour session early Friday during which they could share feelings about the election results.

One source described the meeting as a ‘cry session’ over Trump’s victory.

The Free Beacon said sources described a copy of the email and that the department’s Employee Consultation Services in the Bureau of Medical Services hosted the session.

“Change is a constant in our lives, but it can often bring about stress and uncertainty,” the email said, according to the outlet. “Join us for an insightful webinar where we delve into effective stress management techniques to help you navigate these challenging times. This session will provide tips and practical strategies for managing stress and maintaining your well being.”

The outlet said a licensed clinical provider led the session — and that a second session was scheduled for Nov. 13.

More from the Free Beacon:

The State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, which oversees American diplomacy in the war-torn Middle East, also held a group discussion Friday with assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs Barbara Leaf and acting undersecretary for political affairs John Bass, according to three sources briefed on the matter.

One source described the meeting as a “cry session” over Trump’s victory, which is likely to usher in wholesale change at Foggy Bottom. Officials in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs have been working for months to sanction the Jewish government and withhold critical arms shipments, alleging Israel is not doing enough to provide humanitarian aid in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. They are said to have discussed the difficulty of Trump’s victory and urged employees to share their feelings in private settings.

“For four years, within the rank and file, there has been an overemphasis on people’s feelings, often with a college campus-like fervor, rather than the work of advancing America’s interests,” according to one U.S. official with knowledge of the meetings who spoke to the outlet.

“This meeting was hopefully the last gasp of that,” the source told the outlet, adding that there’s “lots to unf***” at the State Department.

The Free Beacon said the State Department didn’t respond to a request for comment on the matter.

This wouldn’t be the first time the State Department offered therapy to employees. In May 2023, the agency offered free counseling to employees upset by a new IT feature that accidentally “misgendered” some of them.

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Daniel Penny in the death of Jordan Neely continues, revealing how the soft-on-crime DA’s decision to go after Penny for protecting subway riders caused witnesses to go into self-preservation mode.

Eric Gonzalez, who helped Penny restrain Neely after Neely made death threats on a New York City subway last year, testified for the prosecution on Tuesday that he lied when he was initially interviewed by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office as a suspect in Neely’s death, the New York Post reported.

‘I’ve seen a lot of unstable people. This felt different to me.’

Gonzalez said he lied out of fear of being “pinned for” Neely’s death, telling the DA’s office he arrived on the scene earlier than he actually did and claiming that Neely had hit him, prompting Penny to act. Neely did not physically touch anyone prior to Penny restraining him, according to witnesses. The lies were an attempt at “justifying my actions,” Gonzalez said.

On account of his initial false statements, Gonzalez entered a non-prosecution agreement with Bragg’s office.

Gonzalez further testified he told Penny he would grab hold of Neely’s hands and that Penny should let him go, but Penny did not let go even as Neely motioned to be released.

Gonzalez also expressed concerns regarding his role in the trial. “There’s all these protests going on. I’m scared for myself and for my family,” he explained on the stand.

On Tuesday, jurors were also shown a frame-by-frame video of Penny’s hold on Neely.

“You will see Mr. Neely’s life being snuffed out before your very eyes,” Assistant District Attorney Dafna Yoran said during opening statements.

More police body-camera footage from the day of the incident shows witnesses praising Penny for his actions to keep people on the subway car safe.

“The guy in the tan [Penny] did take him down really respectfully. … He didn’t choke him,” a woman told officers.

Witnesses for the prosecution, many of whom have been subway riders for many years, testified that they have never been more scared for their lives than when Neely began threatening them.

“No, I did not feel safe when he was moving around erratically. I’ve taken the subway for 30 years, and I’ve seen a lot. I’ve seen a lot of unstable people. This felt different to me,” Lori Sitro said last week.

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​Politics 

A Michigan woman who was fired after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine because of her “sincerely held” Catholic beliefs has just won a massive lawsuit.

On Friday, a Detroit jury awarded Lisa Domski nearly $13 million after she was terminated from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan on account of her refusal to take the shots. Of the $12.69 million she was awarded, $10 million was for punitive damages, $1.7 million for lost wages, and $1 million for noneconomic damages, Lawyer Monthly reported.

‘This win isn’t just about compensation; it’s about standing up for employee rights.’

Domski, an IT specialist from the Detroit suburb of Wyandotte who worked for BCBS of Michigan for a total of 38 years, was fired in January 2022 after requesting a religious exemption to the vaccine mandate imposed at the company a few months earlier.

Around November 1, 2021, BCBS of Michigan announced that all employees, even those like Domski who were mostly working remotely, had to be vaccinated by December 8 or apply for a religious exemption.

Domski opted to apply for a religious exemption on account of what her lawsuit described as her “sincerely held religious beliefs.” Without being permitted to have a lawyer present, she was then grilled by company officials, who asked her questions such as, “What do you do when you are in physical pain?” “Do you take Aspirin, Sudafed, Tums, or Tylenol?” and “Have you always followed this religious belief?” the lawsuit claimed.

Domski even furnished officials with the name of her parish and her priest, to no avail.

After officials probed the sincerity of her religious beliefs and the religious beliefs of other employees applying for an exemption, BCBS of Michigan placed many of them on unpaid leave before firing approximately 250 of them, including Domski, on January 5, 2022. However, according to Domski’s lawsuit, the company “allowed other unvaccinated employees without Plaintiff’s same religious beliefs to be exempted” from the vaccine mandate.

Now, three years later, Domski and her attorney, Jon Marko, are celebrating the jury’s decision as a “major victory” in the fight to protect religious liberties.

“Our forefathers fought and died for the freedom for each American to practice his or her own religion. Neither the government nor a corporation has a right to force an individual to choose between his or her career and conscience,” Marko said in a statement to Blaze News.

“Lisa refused to renounce her faith and beliefs and was wrongfully terminated from the only job she had ever known. The jury’s verdict today tells BCBSM that religious discrimination has no place in America and affirms each person’s right to religious freedom.”

As might be expected, BCBS of Michigan was less effusive about the decision, expressing appreciation for jurors and the process but disappointment with the result.

“Throughout the pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, together with its employees, worked to promote the health and safety of our colleagues, stakeholders, and communities,” the company said in a statement, according to TNND.

“In implementing the vaccine policy, Blue Cross designed an accommodation process that complied with state and federal law and respected the sincerely held religious beliefs of its employees.”

The company also indicated that it was still exploring its “legal options” to determine a “path forward.”

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​Covid, Vaccine, Vaccine mandate, Religious exemption, Lisa domski, Blue cross blue shield, Politics 

Tuesday night, I hosted and moderated a forum for Republican senators, giving my colleagues a chance to hear from each of the three candidates running to replace Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). After hearing from each candidate, I’ve decided to support Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Here are my takeaways.

As I’ve been saying for months, the Senate is supposed to be “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” but it has ceased to function as such in recent years, as majority leaders from both political parties have consolidated power at the expense of nearly every other senator.

Rick Scott has consistently called out abuses of the Senate GOP leader position in the past — even when it was difficult and at times politically costly to him.

Senators are supposed to have ample opportunity to debate, discuss, and amend important legislation, and the Senate rules offer important procedural protections to ensure such outcomes. Those rules have been short-circuited by leaders of both parties, empowering what I sometimes describe (in the current configuration of Congress) as “the law firm of Schumer, McConnell, Johnson, and Jeffries,” or simply “the Firm.”

The Firm’s vast power is good for the Firm and its members — and for a handful of lobbyists and staffers who serve as its acolytes — but it’s bad for the Senate as a whole — and especially bad for the American people.

For that reason, I’ve been calling on those running to become the next Senate GOP leader to agree to a series of reforms designed to restore rules, customs, and practices that in the past helped earn the Senate the (currently inaccurate) title of “the world’s greatest deliberative body.”

While I personally like all three leadership candidates and consider them friends — and while each offers a unique set of skills, experience, and plans that could prove useful to the Senate and the American people — Rick Scott stands out as the most aggressively reform-minded candidate.

Rick Scott offers the most specific, aggressive plan for restoring the Senate’s most time-honored traditions, rooted in its rules. And he’s embraced many of these reforms — which have been reflected in his votes and advocacy within the conference — since long before this race began.

Scott has offered concrete plans for 1) protecting each senator’s ability to call up amendments and make them pending, 2) reforming the (currently barbaric) way in which the Senate passes spending bills, in which most senators have literally no meaningful opportunity to amend — or even read and debate — spending bills negotiated in secret by the Firm, and 3) otherwise ensuring that the Senate GOP leader will work for those who elect him, not the other way around.

Scott’s approach is also the most closely aligned with and focused on helping President Trump enact his legislative agenda, which is supported by more than 75 million American voters.

With this in mind, I wholeheartedly endorse Rick Scott and respectfully urge my colleagues — particularly those who agree that bold reforms are badly needed — to do the same.

All three candidates offered helpful perspectives on how our conference should operate, and I found the entire discussion refreshing and productive. But Scott’s approach stands out, and that’s why I’ll be casting my vote for him.

Rick Scott has consistently called out abuses of the Senate GOP leader position in the past — even when it was difficult and at times politically costly to him. This is yet another reason to support him.

Editor’s note: This article appeared originally as a thread on X (formerly Twitter).

​Senate republicans, Senate, The firm, Rick scott, Mike lee, Senate majority leader, Opinion & analysis