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X CEO Elon Musk is scheduled to meet with congressional Republicans to pitch his drastic budget-cutting plans, and it's already causing concern for some on Capitol Hill.

An unnamed Republican Senate aide who spoke with Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman on Thursday predicted that Musk and fellow Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leader Vivek Ramaswamy would create massive political headaches for Republicans in the coming weeks.

"Two people who know nothing about how the government works pretending they can cut a trillion dollars, both with decent pulpits to preach from, and the ear of an unpredictable president? Disaster," the aide said.

The aide then added that "the only good thing is that at some point they’ll overpromise and get bounced by Trump," before adding, "but until then... disaster."

ALSO READ: 'Sounding the alarm': Trump plan said to be getting 'surprise resistance' from Republicans

Sherman writes that the politics of DOGE are dicey for Republicans overall.

"Unlike previous spending-reduction initiatives, DOGE has no statutory authority or fast-track floor process, and Hill leaders have no idea how they’ll handle any of the proposed spending cuts offered by Musk and Ramaswamy," he reports.

Musk has openly hinted that he plans to target Social Security with his budget cutting plans, despite the fact that President-elect Donald Trump vowed repeatedly that the program was off limits.

Musk also wants to abolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has returned billions of dollars to consumers from financial institutions.

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Missouri’s trigger law banning nearly all abortions remains in place. But at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Amendment 3 will go into effect.

The constitutional amendment, which received 51.6% of the nearly 3 million votes cast, prohibits the legislature from regulating abortion prior to the point of fetal viability — generally seen as the point at which a fetus can likely survive outside the womb without extraordinary measures.

Planned Parenthood officials said they have providers and staff prepared to start seeing patients for walk-in medication abortion appointments at three clinics — in Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia — beginning Friday, followed later by scheduled surgical abortions.

But whether that happens depends on the outcome of a lawsuit that had its first hearing before a Jackson County judge Wednesday morning.

“What we don’t have are the abilities to overcome state restrictions and hurdles that were intended to deny care,” Emily Wales, President and CEO with Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said Wednesday evening.

Less than 24 hours after voters narrowly approved Amendment 3, the ACLU of Missouri, Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Planned Parenthood Great Rivers filed a lawsuit seeking to take down decades worth of overlapping restrictions and bans on abortion on the books in Missouri.

There was no disagreement between Planned Parenthood and the Missouri Attorney General’s office that Amendment 3 makes unconstitutional the trigger law that went into effect in June 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to abortion.

The disagreement instead revolves around more than a dozen “targeted regulation of abortion providers” laws, also known as TRAP laws, that previously made abortions all but inaccessible in Missouri prior to the total ban taking effect.

Planned Parenthood is asking a Jackson County judge to grant a preliminary injunction which would immediately declare the current ban and the TRAP laws unconstitutional.

“Every single day that Missourians cannot access their constitutional rights, they’re being denied critical care,” Wales said.

Solicitor General Josh Divine, who argued Wednesday’s hearing on behalf of the state, characterized the lawsuit as “unusually aggressive,” saying it would be more appropriate for the plaintiffs to challenge each TRAP law individually rather than all together “on a very short fuse.”

He added that preliminary injunctions should only be granted in “drastic, extraordinary circumstances.” The lawsuit at hand, he contended, does not apply because Missourians are still able to access abortion in Illinois to the east and Kansas to the west.

“Nobody’s actually going to be materially affected by what this court does,” Divine added.

A decade ago, more than 5,000 abortions were performed in Missouri, according to data from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

By 2020, two years before the abortion ban went into effect, that number dropped to 167 as a result of the TRAP laws.

Anti-abortion lawmakers, activists call on Missouri court to rule against Planned Parenthood

Sam Lee, a longtime Missouri anti-abortion activist and lobbyist, said he’s been pleased by the attorney general’s defense of Missouri’s anti-abortion laws.

If the TRAP laws remain in effect, as Lee is hoping, “it may severely affect Planned Parenthood’s ability to do abortions, because they weren’t doing abortions when those laws were in effect some years ago.”

Judge Jerri Zhang, who is overseeing the case, did not immediately rule on the injunction when the hearing concluded late Wednesday evening.

She did, however, deny the state’s request to remove Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker as a defendant and move the case to Cole County. Earlier this year, a Cole County judge struck Amendment 3 from the ballot, a decision that was quickly overridden by the Missouri Court of Appeals.

The attorney general’s office said they plan to appeal Zhang’s decisions, arguing that Peters Baker does not appropriately represent all statewide prosecutors because of her previous statements in support of abortion rights.

The Missouri Attorney General’s Office also posed a court challenge to the Planned Parenthood suit. This latest lawsuit, filed last week in Cole County, questions Planned Parenthood Great Plains’ ability to sue the state, claiming a 2010 settlement agreement prevents them from doing so.

Missouri’s TRAP laws

For decades, Missouri legislators have passed laws restricting abortion access and regulating the procedure.

“The voters have now changed all of that,” Eleanor Spottswood, an attorney with Planned Parenthood, argued before the court Wednesday.

Amendment 3 states, in part, that “the right to reproductive freedom shall not be denied, interfered with, delayed, or otherwise restricted unless the government demonstrates that such action is justifiable by a compelling governmental interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”

The litigation challenges numerous current laws, including a mandatory 72-hour waiting period between an initial appointment and the abortion procedure; requirements that abortion clinics must have admitting privileges at a hospital roughly 15 minutes away; and a requirement that the same physician who initially saw the patient also perform the abortion.

The lawsuit is also challenging the current law criminalizing physicians who perform abortions.

Spottswood argued that a failure to immediately strike down the TRAP laws would cause “irreparable harm” to Missourians because “patients and providers have to do twice the work to access abortion.”

Meanwhile, the attorney general’s office argued that striking down such laws would cause more harm.

Divine on multiple occasions cited an FDA label for mifepristone, one of two medications used to induce a medication abortion, that shows that according to two U.S. studies of about 1,00 women, up to 5% of women who took mifepristone ended up in the emergency room. It did not specify if the emergency room visits were necessary.

The same FDA label says that across three studies of more than 14,000 women who took mifepristone, fewer than 0.6% were admitted to the hospital as a result of the medication.

Divine also noted that no individual women seeking abortions were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, arguing that’s because women don’t actually want abortions once given more information. He said this is why the state’s requirements that those seeking abortions first be given the state’s informed consent booklet should remain.

“It’s against their moral beliefs,” Divine said. “But they’re being pressured, often by an abusive partner, by parents, things of that nature, so what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to create a situation where those women can in fact make the choice that they want to do, and we know most of the time that’s childbirth.”

About one in four women in the United States have an abortion before the age of 45, according to 2020 data. In 2021, around 94% of abortions occurred before 14 weeks gestation. Abortions later than 20 weeks account for fewer than 1% of all abortions in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Divine, in his final arguments Wednesday, characterized the state’s TRAP laws as incidental, much like speeding laws or road construction that could delay someone getting to an abortion. But he said the TRAP laws don’t fall under the strict scrutiny requirement and therefore don’t require an immediate ruling.

Solicitor General Josh Divine called Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit seeking to unravel Missouri’s abortion restrictions “unusually aggressive” while speaking to media Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, outside the Jackson County Courthouse (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).

Zhang asked if delaying an abortion through the required 72-hour waiting period would infringe on a patient’s autonomy, especially if the patient was a day or two shy of 10 weeks gestation, when procedures switch from medication to surgical abortions.

Divine responded that the attorney general’s office believes Amendment 3 gives Missourians the right to an abortion, but doesn’t give them the right to a certain abortion procedure.

He also noted that Amendment 3 doesn’t specifically mention the legalization of mifepristone, alluding to future attempts by the incoming GOP administration to enforce the Comstock Act, an 1873 law that bans mailing obscene material, including for the use of abortion.

WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers railed against what they called “woke” curriculum in schools during a Wednesday hearing in a U.S. House education panel, the latest example of culture wars rocking public education policy.

The hearing brought “critical race theory” to the forefront. The academic framework focuses on the social construction of race and has drawn strong Republican opposition in states across the country.

Though critical race theory is used in college and graduate-level programs, GOP members on the U.S. House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education said the framework is also being taught in K-12 schools.

The federal government has no role in K-12 curriculum, which is set by states and districts across the country, leaving the House panel without any authority to legislate the matter.

Subcommittee Chairman Aaron Bean pointed to negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational outcomes and asked why schools “taught race-inspired ideology” instead of focusing on bouncing back from the pandemic-era setbacks.

The Florida Republican added that critical race theory is “now reshaping how young people interpret their identity, and it’s changing how they see themselves, each other, in our country.”

Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat who was a public school history teacher for 15 years, said there was never any reference to critical race theory during all of her training and studies in education.

“I never had any professional development that separated me by race and taught this because it is just not taught or discussed at the K-12 level, so not really sure why it’s a part of this hearing today — it is a legal theory taught in law school,” the Connecticut Democrat said.

Ian Rowe, a senior fellow at the conservative think tank the American Enterprise Institute, pointed to “specific practices undergirded by the ideology driving critical race theory.”

Rowe, who is also a senior visiting fellow at the nonprofit Woodson Center, offered examples, such as learning exercises where children are in a line and a teacher says: “Take two steps forward if you’re white, take three steps backward if you’re Black.”

He did not specify where this occurred.

Civics knowledge lacking

Bean brought in panelists from organizations and initiatives he said were built to “emphasize the importance of civics, understanding America’s founding principles and promoting a free exchange of ideas.”

Civics has become a hot-button issue within education culture wars, and the 2024 Republican Party platform called for promoting “love of country” through “authentic civics education.”

Jed Atkins, who serves as dean and director of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Civic Life and Leadership, said civic knowledge “is lacking among our college students, the majority of whom lack elementary knowledge of our democratic institutions.”

Atkins said the school “ensures that the serious work of educating citizens to live and thrive in our pluralistic democracy will get done.”

Funding bigger concern, Dems say

Ranking member Suzanne Bonamici, who echoed Hayes in saying critical race theory is not a K-12 issue, directed the focus of the hearing to school infrastructure.

The Oregon Democrat touted legislation introduced last year by Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking Democrat of the full House education panel, and New Jersey Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross, that would spend billions of dollars on schools’ physical and digital infrastructure.

Bonamici said school infrastructure “is not just about walls and ceilings of school buildings” but also “the entire environment in which our children learn.”

“Right now, far too many of these environments are unsafe, outdated and desperately in need of repair,” she said.

Fox News co-host Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's embattled nominee for U.S. Secretary of Defense, was back on Capitol Hill Wednesday to try to convince senators to support his confirmation, vowing to not withdraw despite numerous media reports alleging sexual misconduct, alcohol abuse, financial mismanagement, a possible Christian nationalism affinity — and a possible replacement.

Hegseth, walking through the halls of Congress Wednesday morning, was asked by CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion (video below) if he has had any conversations with Trump about his rumored replacement, Florida governor Ron DeSantis.

"I spoke to the president-elect this morning," Hegseth replied. "He said, 'keep going, keep fighting. I'm behind you all the way.'"

"So you're in this all the way?" Killion pressed.

READ MORE: ‘Standards Have Evolved’: Senator ‘Leaning Yes’ on Hegseth Despite Misconduct Allegations

"Why would I back down? I've always been a fighter. I'm here for the fighters. This is personal and passionate for me," Hegseth insisted.

"So you not withdrawing your name from consideration, just to be clear?" Killion asked.

"I'm meeting all day with senators," Hegseth, not directly answering her question, replied.

Hewseth's mother spoke with her son's colleagues in a Fox News interview Wednesday morning, urging "female Senators" to ignore the media reports and confirm Pete to lead the world's most lethal military.

But despite the full-frontal blitz by Hegseth and his mother, and his claims that Trump is still behind him, the Trump transition team may not be.

The Wall Street Journal in an overnight exclusive reported Trump is considering Florida governor Ron DeSantis to replace Hegseth as even Republican senators and growing concerned over the "mounting allegations" about Hegseth.

CNN reports Hegseth's nomination is "in trouble," and the Trump transition team is apparently angered by Hegseth.

READ MORE: Trump Lining Up Billionaire Defense Investor and Megadonor to Be Number Two at Pentagon

“He has not been forthright with the Transition team staff and the President-elect and Vice President-elect,” a senior Trump transition source said of Hegseeth, CNN reported Tuesday night. “He has hurt a lot of people as a result. He didn’t disclose anything.”

“There are significant concerns more accusations are going to come out from his time at Fox News, about his behavior there, where he had an affair with his now-wife who was his executive producer,” the source also said.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: How Democrats and Republicans Look at Hunter Biden’s Pardon and One for J6ers

The co-hosts of "The View" continued their onslaught against Fox host Pete Hegseth, whom Donald Trump has named to lead the Department of Defense. One former Trump aide explained any defense person must be "above reproach" to be successfully confirmed.

The panel began discussing Hegseth's mother, who blasted him in a leaked email. She spoke to Fox about it Wednesday, promising that he wasn't that kind of person she had once criticized for being an abusive personality "anymore."

"Did she just say they're not true anymore?" asked Whoopi Goldberg. "So, that means at some point it was true."

Also Read: 'It's offensive': Multiple senators object to Trump's plan to usher in Pete Hegseth

Hegseth has faced criticism from his Fox colleagues, who said that he had a drinking problem that made it difficult to navigate his hosting of a morning show. They described it to Vanity Fair as "babysitting."

Former Trump communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin pointed out that she was subjected to extensive background checks when she worked as a spokesperson at the Department of Defense.

"While we all expect that bad behavior has made its way into politics — you've had people who have had affairs as presidents and all that — the DOD and secretary of defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff have largely stayed above reproach because of character," said Griffin.

She noted that national security staff and those in the military are "aware that America's enemies are constantly looking at them and looking at things to exploit."

When doing background checks, Griffin said they asked her about her financial debt and whether she gambled or was addicted to pornography.

"They matter because they think could you be blackmailed when you have all this power to make life and death decisions," Griffin explained. "It doesn't matter that much if you had an affair and run the Department of Commerce. Having a questionable record with women and abuse allegations at DOD absolutely matters."

She went on to suggest some better options for the post that she thinks Trump should nominate.

See the video below or at the link here.

A posting on Donald Trump's Truth Social platform that Fox News personality Pete Hegseth might be pushed aside as the Department of Defense secretary set off a furious backlash among supporters of the president-elect.

Late Tuesday both the Wall Street Journal and The Bulwark reported that Hegseth could be out of the running for the Cabinet position after a series of reports about his alleged drinking problems while he worked at Fox News and when he headed up several veterans organizations.

That, in turn, led to reports that Trump has been in talks with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) to be tabbed as the new nominee if and when Hegseth either steps aside or is pushed out by allies of Trump.

While Trump seems to have buried the hatchet with the Florida lawmaker, his MAGA supporters are not ready to forgive DeSantis for running against the former president for the 2024 presidential nomination.

In the comments on Truth Social, several suggested the reports on Hegseth are part of a plot by the deep state to install "Republican In Name Only" (RINO) DeSantis in the Cabinet so he can undercut the incoming administration.

As Truth Social ("Activist spirit! I believe in action not words. Straight shooter. I call it like I see it and will tell you so") commenter FreedomBarbie, put it: "Who’s leaking this? It may be true, but we haven’t heard it from DJT. Grain of salt. Still, there should be no more caving to rinos and democrats. DJT should get his picks. We didn’t fight fight fight! To cave cave cave."

"He is a Backstabber! I would not trust him with a 10 foot pole! He should not be in trumps cabinet," raged Ultra tinilovesfamily who Truth Social feed is littered with posts supporting Trump appointee Kash Patel.

JHaas, whose bio states, "God, family, country, Corps and Trump...2/5 for life!' contributed, "Fk that, they already got Gaetz, we secede another and the deep state shtbags will smell blood.. No sir.. Stand strong, that's who we are."

"Cannot be true. DeSanctimonious is an ingrate. He is disloyal. He will back-stab @realDonaldTrump and the country in order to advance. No shame," complained Iilyn who previously posted that Trump is "the most powerful man on earth."

Adliig, whose bio states, "Just a guy that believes in Jesus, personal responsibility and conservative principles," wrote, "I still want to see Hegseth in that role. No charges, and others flat out saying the drunkeness charges are a lie. Would not surprise me if this is another deep-State, Rino operation."

"The six Rinos better vote to confirm Pete or they will get Primaried and replaced…. Elon has already placed All Rinos to get on board or he will Use his Anti-Rino Super PAC to kick them out…" sash007, who avidly re-posts Trump's Truth Social comments, threatened.

Ivinsman, (" Preferred pronoun: MAGA"), added, "I’m sick & tired of seeing the same RINO’s on the list of Trump back stabbers . Easy pickings for a MAGA candidate to challenge & replace them their next go- around. Of course Mitch will be put out to pasture by then anyway."