Matt Gaetz
Matt Gaetz

Matt Gaetz must be kicking himself for his decision to withdraw his nomination for US attorney general.

He is as unqualified to be America’s top cop, as Tulsi Gabbard is to be director of national intelligence, and Robert Kennedy Jr. is to be Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Yet Gabbard, a big fan of Vladimir Putin, and RFKII, vaccine denier & conspiracy theorist, breezed through their Senate confirmation hearings. Matt would have done the same.

That’s because Senate Republicans have shamefully sold their souls lock, stock and barrel to Donald Trump.

Only a single Republican, Mitch McConnell, opposed Gabbard and Kennedy.

The former Majority Leader voted against Gabbard because she has “a history of alarming lapses in judgment.”

He issued a scathing statement about why he voted against Kennedy.

“Individuals, parents and families have a right to push for a healthier nation and demand the best possible scientific guidance on preventing and treating illness,” it read in part. “But a record of trafficking in dangerous conspiracy theories and eroding trust in public health institutions does not entitle Mr. Kennedy to lead these important efforts.”

Gaetz reportedly had eight “hard” Republican votes against him. But he really had nothing to worry about it.

They would have folded when it came time to vote, just like Maine’s Susan Collins, Alaska’s Lisa Murkowsky, Nebraska’s Joni Ernst, Indiana’s Todd Young, and Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy did when they cast votes to confirm Gabbard and Kennedy.

McConnell noted the Senate’s power of advice and consent is not an option; it is an obligation. By kowtowing to Donald Trump, Senate Republicans have relinquished their advice and consent responsibility.

Had Gaetz stuck it out, he would have been swearing in Gabbard and Kennedy, not AG Pam Bondi.

The Associated Press takes a dip in the Gulf of Mexico... Let’s hear it for the AP for sticking with the name Gulf of Mexico for the body of water that borders Mexico and the US.

New guidance to its style guide notes the name Gulf of Mexico has been used for more than 400 years. The AP will continue using the original name, while acknowledging that King Donald has issued an edict to change the name to Gulf of America.

In a snit, the White House has barred AP reporters from covering Oval Office events.

Executive editor Julie Pace said limiting the AP due access to its right of free expression severely impedes the public’s access to independent news, plainly violating the First Amendment.

Stand tall, AP.

Don’t cave like Tim Cook’s Apple, which is now using Gulf of America on its Maps app. What’s Apple going to do when the president decides to rename Cupertino, the company’s HQ city, Trump Town?

United to End Polluter Handouts is a new coalition dedicated to ending the tax breaks, credits and low royalty rates that federal, state and local governments grant the fossil fuels business every year.

The group estimates the $170B in handouts will flow to the energy sector during the next decade to pad profits, enrich executives, bolster stock prices and increase pollution.

About 60 percent of oil and natural gas development would not be economically feasible without government handouts, according to the coalition. That subsidized output comes at the expense of renewable solar, wind and battery storage alternative energies.

Members of the group include Friend of the Earth, Oxfam, Public Citizen, OilChange International, Food & Water Watch, Sunrise Movement, Oil & Gas Action Network and Climate Defenders.