Raw Story

A prominent conservative analyst ripped President Donald Trump's administration on Monday for its "dorkiest" attempt to bully one of its political foes.

On Monday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Department of Defense was reducing Sen. Mark Kelly's (D-AZ) retirement pay as punishment for participating in a video with five other Democrats in which they told military personnel to be suspicious of orders from the Trump administration. Trump described Kelly's comments as "seditious" in a Truth Social post.

Bill Kristol, the editor at large for The Bulwark, discussed the administration's move on a new episode of "The Bulwark Podcast" on Monday.

"Just how disgusting it is what they're doing," Kristol said. "Mark Kelly is a United States Senator serving with distinction, and he happened to make a correct argument that you don't have to obey unlawful orders, and you should be wary of some of the orders coming from this administration."

Kristol also warned that there could be unintended consequences of the move against Kelly.

"It's dorky, and it's stupid, and Mark Kelly doesn't care," Kristol said. "There are a lot of retired military and ... not all of them are famous like Mark Kelly, and some of them are living off their retirement and whatever, and don't want to be publicly humiliated and knocked down a rank."

"I worry always about the intimidation effects of these things even when they're done in the dorkiest bullying way," he continued.

President Donald Trump made a stunning claim Monday evening about who's in charge in Venezuela after he ordered Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro to be captured in a pre‑dawn U.S. special operations raid on Caracas.

Maduro was taken into custody on Saturday and flown to New York to face narco‑terrorism and related drug charges. The mission used elite troops that leveled Venezuela’s air defenses and blacked out parts of the capital. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were seized at a military complex after a brief firefight.

The surprise ouster left swirling questions about who would come to power in the country. Speaking to NBC News, Trump delivered a shocking response.

Kristen Welker asked Trump who will be "in charge" of Venezuela, if it was going to be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, or White House advisor Stephen Miller.

"Are those the top three people would you say, sir?" she asked.

"Yeah, among the top people ... JD will be involved also," he added.

When asked who would be the "top person if there is one," Trump replied, "Me."

Also in the interview, Trump said he "get[s] the sense that Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's vice president who was sworn in as interim president on Monday, is "cooperating" with U.S. officials.

"They need help. And I get the sense that you know she loves her country and she wants her country to survive," he said.

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell vowed to use his feeble Lindell Foundation to secure the welfare system if he's elected governor of Minnesota.

During a Monday interview with Steve Bannon, Lindell reacted to reports that Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) could run for governor now that current Gov. Tim Walz (D) had dropped his re-election campaign.

"Yeah, and Keith Ellison has been attacking me for a year ago, September, that my Lindell Recovery Network, by the way, also my foundation, which is going to have a lot to do with securing these welfare platforms in Minnesota," Lindell said. "I've been all laid out, ready to go, and Keith Ellison knows that."

According to ProPublica, the Lindell Foundation gave about $1,000 for charitable causes out of the more than $18,000 it had received in 2021 donations.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials cried foul after Hilton Hotels refused service to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The department expressed outrage in a Monday post on X.

"NO ROOM AT THE INN!" the post exclaimed. "@HiltonHotels has launched a coordinated campaign in Minneapolis to REFUSE service to DHS law enforcement."

"When officers attempted to book rooms using official government emails and rates, Hilton Hotels maliciously CANCELLED their reservations," the statement continued. "This is UNACCEPTABLE. Why is Hilton Hotels siding with murderers and rapists to deliberately undermine and impede DHS law enforcement from their mission to enforce our nation's immigration laws?"

Hotels generally have the right to refuse service to customers. Emails from DHS confirmed Hilton management's decision.

"After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected with your name and we will be cancelling your upcoming reservation. You should see a proper cancellation email in your inbox shortly from Hilton," one email said.

"[W]e are not allowing any ICE or immigration agents to stay at our property," another email said. "If you are with DHS or immigration, let us know as we will have to cancel your reservation."

"Please pass on this info to your coworkers that we are not allowing any immigration agents to house on our property," the email added.

President Donald Trump is under renewed impeachment scrutiny after admitting he alerted oil companies — but not Congress — ahead of the U.S. attack on Venezuela, an extraordinary disclosure critics say exposes the true beneficiaries of the operation. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump openly touted oil executives’ eagerness to “go in” and secure Venezuela’s massive oil reserves, even as lawmakers confirmed they were left in the dark, including members of Congress traditionally briefed on such actions. The admission stunned critics, who warned U.S. service members were effectively deployed to advance donor interests, not national security, and drew sharp accusations that Trump is running an oligarch-driven, authoritarian-style government as oil stocks surged in the aftermath of the assault.

Watch the video below.

Trump admits he told oil companies, not Congress, before Venezuela attack Trump admits he told oil companies, not Congress, before Venezuela attack

James Talarico reports raising nearly $7 million, continuing cash influx to U.S. Senate bid

by Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune
January 2, 2026

State Rep. James Talarico raised nearly $7 million for his U.S. Senate run during the latest fundraising quarter, increasing his total haul to $13 million since launching his bid, his campaign said Friday.

Talarico established himself as a prolific fundraiser after raising $6.2 million in the first three weeks of his campaign, which far outpaced other recent Democrats who sought statewide office. Democrats have not won statewide office in Texas since 1994.

The figure released Friday — $6.8 million worth of contributions — suggests the money momentum continues for Talarico, a former public school teacher who has represented a district that includes North Austin and parts of Pflugerville and Round Rock in the Texas House since 2018. Most of Talarico’s donations — 98% — were for $100 or less and none came from corporate PACs, according to the campaign.

It is not clear how much of the money Talarico has already spent. All candidates for federal office must file a finance update with the election commission by the end of the month.

“With the help of more than 215,000 neighbors, we are building a campaign to win the primary, win the general, and deliver for working people across Texas,” Talarico said in a statement, referring to the number of individual contributors.

A spokesperson for his primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, did not immediately return a request for comment. Crockett, who filed to run for Senate later than Talarico, is also a prolific fundraiser.

A poll released last month had Crockett leading Talarico by 8 percentage points.

Talarico’s early cash influx gave him an upper hand over former U.S. Rep. Collin Allred, who took two months to raise as much money during his unsuccessful challenge to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last cycle. Allred left the Senate race in December and pivoted to run for the Dallas-based 33rd Congressional District.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is facing the biggest challenge of his career in a three-way contest to be the GOP nominee as Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, try to unseat the incumbent. As of October, Cornyn carried a big financial advantage over Paxton and Hunt.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.