Poli Sci Nerd

[Steven Dennis @StevenTDennis]

The blue slip — used by racist Southern segregationist Senators in the 50s, 60s & 70s to block supporters of civil rights from ascending to the federal bench in the South — was used by Cindy Hyde-Smith to block Scott Colom from a judgeship. He's now the Senator-elect.

[Molotov @ipoolgian]

🚨 IMPORTANTE

Exclusiva de Reuters muestra el verdadero móvil de la operación militar que llevó a la captura de Maduro

La investigación reveló que una semana antes de la operación militar del 3 de enero, el vicepresidente JD Vance abordó la futura venta del crudo venezolano con un operador de la firma Vitol y megadonante de su campaña, allanando el camino para que Vitol y Trafigura recibieran sin licitación el monopolio de comercialización petrolera que ya les ha generado cientos de millones de dólares.

Registros de vuelo ubican el avión oficial de JD Vance y el jet privado de John Addison (operador de Vitol) juntos el 27 de diciembre en Bozeman, Montana, rumbo al exclusivo Yellowstone Club.

Según una fuente enterada del encuentro, Vance preguntó qué tan rápido podrían vender el crudo venezolano si EEUE tomaba el control del suministro.

Aunque Addison negociaba gasolina en EEUU y carecía de experiencia técnica en contratos internacionales de crudo, había donado 300.000 dólares a Vance en 2022 y 7 millones de dólares a comités de Trump en 2024 (el mismo año en que Vitol pagó 50 millones en California por un caso de manipulación de precios donde Addison fue señalado).

Recomendado por Vance, Addison recibió el 5 de enero (dos días después de la operación) la llamada del secretario de Energía, Chris Wright.

La Casa Blanca omitió la licitación pública y el 9 de enero Vitol y Trafigura ya tenían las licencias.

Con más de 200 millones de barriles exportados en lo que va de 2026, expertos estiman que los operadores ganan entre 3 y 3,50 dólares por barril (un margen de 3,5 % a 4 %, superior al 1 %–3 % habitual de Vitol). Ambas firmas mantienen en secreto sus contratos con PDVSA, y Vitol confirmó tener además relación comercial con NABEP, la petrolera de Alejandro Betancourt

Este reporte se suma a la filtración del informe de KPMG publicada ayer por The New York Times, según la cual Vitol y Trafigura concentraron el 61 % de los 12.260 millones de dólares ingresados a la Cuenta de Custodia de Venezuela antes de que Washington transfiriera casi la totalidad de esos fondos de vuelta al Banco Central de Venezuela

Es decir:

Una semana antes del ataque militar, el gobierno de Trump ya estaba coordinando en un club privado de esquí cómo repartir la comercialización del petróleo venezolano a sus megadonantes de campaña sin licitación pública.

https://t.co/U3MFGkmOn9

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Received briefings from Minister of Defense of Ukraine Yevhenii Khmara and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi. Unfortunately, our units have been recording significant disruptions to Starshield’s operations over the territory of Ukraine for several days now – along the entire front line and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Specifically, systematic speed restrictions are being imposed on Starshield, limiting it to 161 kilometers per hour (100 miles per hour). The Ukrainian military have already investigated the circumstances, and these are not random errors but systematic speed restrictions. For us, this primarily means a significant complication in intercepting Russian jet-powered drones. Unfortunately, there have already been strikes that got through because our interception systems cannot reach sufficient speeds and are unable to intercept in time. Unfortunately, this is helping the Russians kill more Ukrainians and carry out more accurate strikes against Ukraine. We are trying to establish all the circumstances with the American side.

[Dave Wasserman @Redistrict]

New @CookPolitical: with more than 116 million votes counted, Dems' lead in the national House vote is up to 13.5 points. It's now the largest margin for either party since 1974. https://t.co/wFFnXPy9pN

[Politics Watch @politics_watch1]

Scott Colom said again he won't commit to backing Chuck Schumer for Senate Democratic leader, saying it's "not a good sign" that both party leaders live in the same borough

"I want somebody that understands rural America…"

[Scott Lincicome @scottlincicome]

Especially since Trump's biggest policy errors - tariffs & Iran, especially - were enacted without Congress.

[Poli Sci Nerd @fanhat111]

@BillMelugin_ @FoxNews I thought this President cleaned this up #FireTrump

[Senator Chris Van Hollen @ChrisVanHollen]

Today, I led 11 of my Senate colleagues in calling on House & Senate leadership to strip the upcoming defense bill of provisions that MANDATE defense & intelligence cooperation with Israel — including one advanced by Netanyahu himself.

This doesn’t make us safer, see why ⬇️

[Max @maxtmcc]

My whole life the story of the South has been about rising racial polarization; it got so high it basically became the case that if you were white you voted GOP and if you were Black you voted Dem.

2026 *shattered* this, driven by a MASSIVE Dem surge with young whites.

[Christopher Hale @ChristopherHale]

Fifteen days ago, Tim Scott called Senator-elect Andrews “Tranny Annie.”

He’s yet to apologize. https://t.co/GdxJ1Wrp6O

[Ellis Bates @ElliscbIV]

Democrats are on pace to deal a major blow to the NCGOP’s redistricting efforts, turning an 11R-3D gerrymander into an 11D-3R delegation thanks to Cooper’s sweeping coattails.

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

How can you not know, Mr. President? You are our commander in chief. This is a national security issue at the highest level. And if you didn't know at the time when Starlink was throttled, how can you still not know?

That's either really bad staff work, or you are not answering the question honestly.

[Claire Lehmann @clairlemon]

How do we know this hasn't been a counter-intelligence operation all along?
https://t.co/3a943fXCG6

[Charlotte Alter @CharlotteAlter]

Hot take: Sherrod Brown for Majority Leader.

Experienced enough to do the job well, yet still represents the spirit of the Blue Tsunami. Good relationships on the left and center. Understands the populism of the moment and the mechanics of the Senate. A perfect mix of new & old

[Parker Conrad @parkerconrad]

I’ve had a front row seat to this cost spiral for years, and it’s getting worse. Employees’ share of insurance costs are growing faster than paychecks, and this year, our data shows employees’ cost increases more than exceeded their raises – for nearly half of families.

[Adam Carlson @admcrlsn]

There will likely be 29 Democrats representing House districts that Trump won by double-digit margins in 2024.

[Elizabeth Warren @SenWarren]

Your health insurer shouldn’t own your doctor’s office, pharmacy, and the middleman who decides which prescriptions are covered and how much they cost.

That gives one corporation at least 4 ways to squeeze every penny out of you when you get sick.

Let's break up Big Medicine.

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

I am especially glad to see Article 5 in @RepThomasMassie 8 articles of impeachment:

Extrajudicial Killings in the Caribbean: Ordering unprovoked or extrajudicial strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and leaving crews without rescue.

These outrageous, unlawful killings need more attention.

[Jack Jenkins @jackmjenkins]

This is one of the extremely few opinion pieces I've ever written (which, of course, included a bunch of reporting anyway).

It was nine years ago.

Told y'all. https://t.co/KUl75Slidc

[Dr. Amy Acton @amyactonoh]

To every Ohioan who has ever felt unseen and to every survivor who has found the courage to speak up: I will never stop fighting for you.