Another day, another federal court stuffed with activist judges who believe their
rulings should be based on hurting President Donald Trump.
On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled 2-1 that portions of the Trump administration’s policy of not admitting trans people into military service were unlawful.
Oh, and contained “animus” or something.
The court has ruled that the policy is unconstitutional and further stated that it “appears to be driven by the bare desire to harm a politically unpopular group.” It also states that the policy advanced by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is “arbitrary and based on animus.”
“The record shows that the purpose of the Hegseth Policy is to target applicants and servicemembers who express what the Administration believes is a ‘false gender identity,’ and the Policy goes far beyond disqualifying persons currently or recently suffering from gender dysphoria,” the decision says.
“Some of those disqualifications are completely unexplained and have no reasonable justification.”
Hows this for justification. The military has been working endlessly for years to stamp out sexual harrassment and assault. Now some bozo judges with TDS want to allowed gender confused people into the military?
Here’s more justification. Serving in the military is not a right, it’s a privilege that not everyone enjoys or should enjoy. What’s next – a court ruling that people with diabetes and heart disease should be allowed to serve? Or one that says the military’s physical standards ‘discriminate against overweight people’?
It’s absurd.
In any event, the appeals panel left Trump’s ban on enlisting new transgendered troops stand for now, so there’s that.
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm John Phelan as the next Secretary of the Navy.
Phelan, the founder of a private investment firm and a major donor to former President Trump’s campaign, was confirmed by a 62-30 vote in the full Senate.
Phelan secured bipartisan support for the role.
While Phelan did not face direct opposition during his nomination hearing, some lawmakers voiced concerns over his lack of military service or experience managing any civilian branch of the Pentagon.
Phelan, however, contended that his private-sector background uniquely positions him to address the Navy’s persistent challenges, including failed audits, workforce issues, cost overruns, and delays in shipbuilding.
He is the founder and chair of Rugger Management LLC, a Florida-based private investment firm, and previously served as managing partner of MSD Capital, a private equity firm.
During his confirmation hearing, Phelan stated that his outside business experience would aid the Navy in urgent need of reform.
“The U.S. Navy is at a crossroads, extended deployments, inadequate maintenance, huge cost overruns, delayed shipbuilding, failed audits, subpar housing, and sadly, record high suicide rates are systemic failures that have gone unaddressed for far too long, and frankly, this is unacceptable,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Phelan told the panel the Trump administration’s top priority for the Department of the Navy was shipbuilding, which is years behind schedule and experiencing major cost overruns, especially for submarines and large capital warships like aircraft carriers.
“I don’t think I could say shipbuilding enough times,” he told the panel during his confirmation hearing when asked about President Donald Trump’s priorities, USNI noted.
He committed to reviewing the Navy’s current contracts and ensuring a clean audit for the Department of the Navy.
“I intend to sit down day one, and we are going to go through every contract that we have and understand what exactly they say and what flexibility they do or do not give us, what contract needs to change or not change, and why,” he told the panel.
“I intend to do the same thing as it relates to an audit. I need to understand why the Navy cannot pass an audit,” he added.
He also told the committee that while he respects and appreciates “stability and tradition,” when it “suffocates adaptability, innovation, collaboration and trust, it erodes an organization’s ability to win.”
Phelan went on to argue that he understands “that some may question why a businessman who did not wear the uniform should lead the Navy,” and he respected that concern.
“The Navy and the Marine Corps already possess extraordinary operational expertise within their ranks. My role is to utilize that expertise and strengthen it to step outside the status quo and take decisive action with a results-oriented approach,” he said, The Hill noted.
During his confirmation hearing, Phelan honed in on the much-delayed Constellation-class frigate program, vowing to quickly evaluate the program’s problems.
“This program is a mess from what it looks like,” Phelan told the panel. “If confirmed, I plan to dig into this very quickly and understand the issues. And we’ll come back to this committee very fast with the knowledge that we have as soon as we get to the root cause of the problem.”
During the hearing, retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), whose home state borders the Wisconsin shipyard building the frigate, pressed John Phelan on the ongoing program at Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
The confirmation is another significant victory for President Trump and his administration as they prepare for a productive second year in office with many items on the agenda to accomplish.
The Senate will be busy as we inch closer to November’s midterm elections.
RIGHT NOW, BREAKING NEWS: A devastating tragedy has struck as a passenger plane carrying more than 244 people has just crashed.
Emergency services are rushing to the scene, with local authorities confirming the crash moments ago.
Eyewitnesses described a horrifying scene as smoke and flames rose into the sky, leaving bystanders in shock and disbelief. The flight, whose details are still being confirmed, BELOW
went down under circumstances that remain unclear. Aviation experts are already weighing in, suggesting that mechanical failure,
weather conditions, or even pilot distress could have played a role. Rescue crews are
battling time and challenging conditions in hopes of finding survivors, while hospitals nearby have been placed on high alert….
IN BELOW
Families of the passengers are frantically awaiting word,
with scenes of heartbreak unfolding at airports and terminals connected to the ill-fated flight. Officials have promised a full investigation to determine what went wrong, but in the meantime,
loved ones and communities around the world are clinging to hope for good news.
This crash is already being described as one of the most catastrophic air disasters in recent memory.
Global leaders and aviation authorities are expected to issue statements soon,
while social media is flooded with messages of prayers, solidarity,
and grief. The world now watches anxiously as rescue efforts continue,
praying that amid the devastation, miracles of survival can still be found.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism over an unexpected moment during a City Hall ceremony marking the upcoming 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
After signing executive orders honoring 9/11 victims and strengthening city emergency preparedness, Mamdani directed that the ceremonial pen be passed to one of his senior aides, whose past legal work quickly became the focus of controversy.
The ceremony was intended to establish September 11 as an annual citywide Day of Remembrance and Service while also updating the city’s continuity planning.
Video and reporting from the event showed Mamdani handing the pen to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch and quietly asking her to pass it along.
Tisch then handed the ceremonial pen to Mamdani’s chief counsel, Ramzi Kassem, a longtime attorney who previously represented Guantánamo Bay detainee Ahmed al-Darbi.
Al-Darbi pleaded guilty before a military commission to terrorism-related charges stemming from the 2002 bombing of the French oil tanker MV Limburg off Yemen.
His family also had a direct connection to the September 11 attacks through his brother-in-law Khalid al-Mihdhar, one of the hijackers aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which struck the Pentagon.
Kassem’s legal representation of al-Darbi was part of a broader career focused on national-security, civil-rights and Guantánamo Bay cases.
CUNY School of Law records confirm that Kassem and his students worked on al-Darbi’s case while Kassem directed the school’s immigrant-rights clinic, and that he has represented numerous detainees held at Guantánamo.
Kassem now serves as chief counsel to Mamdani and was listed by the mayor at Friday’s ceremony among senior administration officials involved in the event.
City Hall told the New York Post that Kassem attended because his office helped draft both executive orders as part of his responsibilities as chief counsel.
The symbolism of giving him the signing pen nevertheless drew immediate criticism from relatives of 9/11 victims and Republican members of the New York City Council.
Dennis Warchola, whose firefighter brother Michael died in the North Tower, questioned why someone with Kassem’s legal history would be singled out during a ceremony commemorating the attacks.
Council Member Joann Ariola described the move as “breathtakingly tone-deaf and disrespectful,” arguing that the anniversary should focus on victims and their families.
Retired NYPD detective Michael Alcazar also criticized the symbolism, telling the Post he believed the handoff had been calculated, although no evidence has emerged establishing that Mamdani intended the gesture as a political statement.
The mayor’s executive orders themselves focus explicitly on honoring those killed on September 11, first responders, survivors and families affected by the attacks.
The remembrance order directs city agencies to observe moments of silence, hold commemorative programs and promote volunteer service each September 11.
A second order announced alongside it updates emergency preparedness procedures and creates a new interagency team aimed at maintaining essential city operations during future crises.
Mamdani said the orders were intended to demonstrate that “Never Forget” should involve both remembrance and concrete preparation to protect New Yorkers.
The controversy therefore centers not on the substance of the executive orders but on the ceremonial decision to give the signing pen to Kassem. Kassem’s work representing accused or convicted terrorism suspects was undertaken in his role as an attorney, and legal representation does not imply endorsement of a client’s conduct or ideology.
That distinction has not stopped critics from arguing that honoring him with a symbolic item from a 9/11 remembrance ceremony was inappropriate given the history of one of his former clients, The New York Post reported.
