RAV
Politics • News • Television
Join RAV to discuss Real News & Give Honest Views on the current political climate in America and across the globe.
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Learn more first
Live Chat
Trump's 'flooding the zone' has the so-called Resistance running in circles

It’s a new term and a new Donald Trump!
A host of executive orders, unconventional nominees, and sweeping agency reforms have the Washington, D.C., establishment in a panic.
Though headlines and analysts repeatedly claim that the anti-Trump "resistance" is in disarray and that Democrats are struggling to form a coherent message against the administration, many of the cogs in the resistance’s machine continue to turn as though it were the first Trump administration. The only difference is that, this time, Trump is having none of it and driving through his agenda at such a pace that his opposition can’t get its footing.

During the first Trump term, the so-called “deep state” mounted consistent opposition and managed to effectively obstruct his keynote projects. Leakers inside the Department of Homeland Security often thwarted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Pentagon officials opposed to his foreign policy realignment slow-walked his withdrawal orders, notably in Syria. He further saw an antagonistic media repeatedly twist his words and fixate on the Russia collusion narrative. In 2025, intransigent career officials continue to make their frustrations known and the media remains as anti-Trump as ever.

But it’s a new term and a new Donald Trump. A host of executive orders, unconventional nominees, and sweeping agency reforms have the Washington, D.C., establishment in a panic and, ultimately, unable to do much about anything.

Bureaucrats who slow-walk or otherwise obstruct the implementation of the White House’s orders are on their way out. The media’s emotional appeals on immigration, parading desperate migrants denied entry to the U.S., carry no weight with Trump. Cries of “respect for institutional norms” go unheard. And protesters with multi-colored hair are left to scream into the wind.

As he enacts sweeping reforms in rapid succession, moreover, he maintains a favorable rating with the public, who seem to view the blitz as an attempt to deliver on what he promised. As of week two, Trump enjoyed a 53% favorability rating in the latest Napolitan News Survey. He enjoys a 49.4% approval in the RealClearPolitics average, compared to 44.8% who disapprove of him.

“We knew the mainstream media was going to come out against anything Trump did,” former National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz said Tuesday on the “John Solomon Reports ” podcast. “But the brilliance of rolling out so many ideas so quickly is [that] Trump is flooding the zone, and the media doesn't know what to focus on.”

The blitz of executive orders, legislative initiatives, and internal agency reforms has even some of his conservative skeptics amazed and opining that the four years of President Joe Biden ultimately produced a more aggressive Trump administration.

“By leaps and bounds. I am legitimately stunned with this level of focus on rooting out the communist filth from the government. 4 years of Biden was well worth it in exchange for this version of Trump,” Jesse Kelly posted.

Codification by Congress

Complicating President Joe Biden’s unilateral student loan debt cancellations was a Supreme Court finding that he lacked congressional authorization to address a fundamentally budget-based issue on his own. Trump is likely to address that issue preemptively in what is expected to be a major budget and border package. The courts have already blocked some of Trump’s initial executive orders, though some went through the litigation process during his first term and have landed more softly.

Immigration items, in particular, are expected to be part of the House’s plans, as are the extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. The process will also present an opportunity for Republicans to give legislative weight to the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) slashing of key agencies.

On the Senate side, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is leading legislative efforts to support DOGE and back the termination of federal employees, especially in the IRS.

"My Audit the IRS Act will audit the auditors and fire the more than 800 IRS agents who owe millions of dollars in back taxes," Ernst posted Tuesday in response to a query from Musk about whether the public would like his agency to audit the IRS.

“Prairie Dogging”

Recent efforts by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to gut federal agencies have normally faceless bureaucrats and those with vested interests coming forward to defend them. Such was the case when DOGE visited the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday stepped in as acting USAID director as the agency scrutinizes its disbursements and appears poised to recommend its elimination outright after Musk paid a visit to the agency’s office.

USAID officials, however, evidently tried to put up a fight. Reports emerged over the weekend that senior security officials were placed on leave after they attempted to prevent Musk from accessing restricted portions of the building. That move came on the heels of the administration placing dozens of personnel on leave, bringing the total to roughly 100,according to Reuters Musk has openly suggested that USAID engaged in “money laundering”, called it a “criminal organization,” and stated that Trump supports the organization’s elimination. His social media platform, X, meanwhile, has seen a series of stalwart USAID advocates speak up for the organization, only for users to flag their receipt of money through the agency or indirectly through a recipient of USAID funds.

Online pundits noted how beneficiaries of USAID funds came out of the woodwork to object or interfere, with some likening the phenomenon to a prairie dog poking its head out of the ground.

“DOGE already drilled through untold layers of government bureaucracy and found the heart of the Deep State beast. USAID,” Dilbert comic creator

Scott Adams posted. “Amazingly, this made all the Deep State puppets in our government ‘prairie dog’ to complain, so we can easily spot them going forward. Don't miss that part of the show.”

Administrative insubordination and “malicious compliance”

While some officials, such as those USAID security personnel, have opted toward what Secretary of State, Marco Rubio called “rank insubordination,” others have taken a more passive-aggressive approach: that of so-called “malicious compliance.” The term addresses situations in which individuals deliberately insist on following every guideline or rule for the purpose of slowing down the process or in which they enforce a provision to a degree beyond what was intended.

Such a development occurred within the Department of Defense over Trump’s order terminating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs. In what Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., called an act of malicious compliance, the Air Force opted to stop teaching about the Tuskegee Airmen. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speedily reversed the move

Some agencies have taken to begging Congress and the courts for intervention. The FBI, notably, has faced the prospect of sweeping personnel changes as the Senate appears poised to confirm Kash Patel to lead it. The FBI Agents Association, for instance, wrote to Congress after agents were sent a questionnaire about their roles in Jan. 6 prosecutions.

"We urge you to work with President Trump to prevent acting officials from taking personnel actions that undermine our shared goal of keeping the FBI out of politics," the association wrote, according to Reuters.

Other FBI agents on Tuesday filed a suit aiming to stop the government from compiling information about the agents who worked on those cases, arguing that they are likely to face some form of retaliation should the administration learn of their involvement.

“Plaintiffs legitimately fear that the information being compiled will be accessed by persons who are not authorized to have access to it,” they wrote,

Politico reported. “Plaintiffs further assert that even if they are not targeted for termination, they may face other retaliatory acts such as demotion, denial of job opportunities or denial of promotions in the future.”

Senate Republicans fall in line In the first term, Trump regularly faced opposition from within the Senate GOP, with many of its members ultimately voting to impeach him after Jan. 6. Many of those figures retired or otherwise left office, however, and the Republican roster is more aligned with Trump this time around.

Nevertheless, a number of old guard Republicans have been hesitant to commit to Trump’s Cabinet nominees, especially those poised to make sweeping changes to major institutions. Republican intransigence was ultimately enough to convince Matt Gaetz to withdraw as Trump's attorney general nominee, but has not been enough to stop Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. thus far.

Meetings with Vice President JD Vance and pressure from the MAGA movement were ultimately enough to win over Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La.; and Todd Young, R-Ind.; on Kennedy and Gabbard, respectively.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, for his part, managed to get over the line to secure confirmation, but only with the tie-breaking vote of Vance as Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Susan Collins, Maine; and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; joined Democrats to oppose him.

The latter trio are expected to remain obstacles to some Trump nominees and agenda items, but a combination of public pressure and private assurances appears to have kept the overwhelming majority of the conference from breaking ranks.

post photo preview
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?

Learn more first
What else you may like…
Videos
Posts
Articles
FAITH AND FREEDOM SHOW

Catch today's Shemane Nugent Faith & Freedom show at 10 AM ET. Check out the sneak peek preview reel!

Join Live:

00:01:46
placeholder
HAPPY LABOR DAY FROM RAV

From all of us here at RAV, we wish you and yours a Very Blessed & Happy Labor Day! #LaborDay2025

00:00:19
FAITH AND FREEDOM SHOW WITH SHEMANE

Join us for Shemane Nugent's FAITH & FREEDOM SHOW today at 10am et.! Check out the preview reel of this week's episode.

WATCH & CHAT LIVE:

00:02:22
placeholder

“Well, GoFundMe canceled it…Who in the world donates to a guy like this?” - Grant Stinchfield

placeholder

“This is an example of Democrat policies gone wrong at every level...They have failed policing policies….This is a failure of the no cash bail policies…14 times this guy had been arrested…Clearly, he’s mentally ill…” - Grant Stinchfield

placeholder

“Don’t trust a candidate who says one thing today & the opposite yesterday. If he can flip from hating the police to loving them overnight, what else will he change after election day? Voters aren’t idiots.” – Sen. Rick Scott

placeholder
post photo preview
HOUSE EDUCATION PANEL OPENS PROBE INTO ALLEGED ANTISEMITISM AT NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION
The panel wants from the union by Sept. 4 all communication and documents from officials that included the words "antisemitism," "Israel," "Israeli," "Palestine," or "Palestinian," dating back to Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel.
The House Education and Workforce Committee has opened an investigation into alleged antisemitism at the National Education Association, the largest teachers' union in the U.S.Committee Chairman Tim Walberg sent a letter Thursday to
 
NEA President Rebecca Pringle, writing that his panel is "gravely concerned" about antisemitic content in the group's 2025 handbook and the Representative Assembly’s vote in July 2025 to ban materials by the Anti-Defamation League.
The letter asked the union to by Sept. 4 give the committee all communication and documents from officials that included the words "antisemitism," "Israel," "Israeli," "Palestine," or "Palestinian," dating back to Oct. 7, 2023, when Palestinian-backed Hamas attacked Israel.
 
He also said the investigation will help the committee consider whether legislative changes are needed – including ones to specifically address antisemitic discrimination in labor unions and to combat antisemitism in federally funded schools.
The Representative Assembly in July passed a resolution to boycott the ADL's Holocaust education materials after union delegates said the league's antisemitism definition was too strong,
 
. However, NEA leadership overturned the vote after public outcry.
The union's 2025 handbook says it will celebrate International Holocaust Remembrance Day by “recognizing more than 12 million victims of the Holocaust from different faiths, ethnicities, races, political beliefs, genders, and gender identification, abilities/disabilities, and other targeted characteristics,” the letter reads.
 
The union's handbook includes plans to educate members and the public about the history of the Palestinian Nakba "but offers no context about the history of the state of Israel and the events that led to its creation," Walberg says.
 
By John Solomon - @jsolomonReports
#####
 
Read full Article
post photo preview
FBI AGENTS RAID FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER JOHN BOLTON'S HOME
Bolton was one of several national security advisors for Trump, but was eventually fired and became a critic of the current president.

FBI agents early Friday raided the home of former National Security Advisor John Bolton as part of an investigation into a national security matter, U.S. officials told Just the News.

FBI Director Kash Patel hinted at the action in a cryptic post on his X social media account.

“NO ONE is above the law… FBI agents on mission,” Patel wrote.

Officials said the search of Bolton’s home involved a national security case that began under the Biden administration, but wasn’t aggressively pursued until Patel took over earlier this year. They declined to be more specific.

Bolton was one of several national security advisers for Trump, but was eventually fired and became a critic of the current president and Patel's nomination as FBI Director.

Earlier this year, Trump pulled Bolton's security clearance and Secret Service protection, drawing objections from some GOP senators like Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

After that action, Bolton eerily predicted he might face further action from Patel's FBI.

"I think the central characteristic Trump seems to be looking for in all of the appointees we’ve seen so far is fealty to him," he told the Christian Science Monitor in January. "A lot of people say it’s loyalty. Loyalty is a virtue, it’s a good thing. That’s not what Trump wants. He wants fealty to him. He wants submissiveness. He wants yes-men and yes-women. And Kash Patel has demonstrated, in his service in Trump’s first term, that he’ll simply do whatever Trump wants.

In response to a question in the interview about Patel, he said: "I don’t think he’s qualified," Bolton told the Christian Science Monitor  "And if there is a retribution campaign, and there certainly seems to be, he would be a central element of it. I think that’s dangerous."

READ ON RAV->

Read full Article
post photo preview
TRUMP CALLS TO 'STOP THE WINDMILLS' AMID ENERGY CRUNCH
Trump, last month, called windmills a "con job" and insisted he would oppose their construction.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday called for ending windmill operations, asserting they would not be able to provide enough electricity for U.S. needs and were not cost-effective.
 
"STUPID AND UGLY WINDMILLS ARE KILLING NEW JERSEY. Energy prices up 28% this year, and not enough electricity to take care of state. STOP THE WINDMILLS" he posted on Truth Social 
 
Trump, last month, called windmills a " con job" and insisted he would oppose their construction.
“The other thing I say to Europe, we will not allow a windmill to be built in the United States," he said last month. "They’re killing us.
 
They’re killing the beauty of our scenery, our valleys, our beautiful plains. It’s the most expensive form of energy. It’s no good. They’re made in China, almost all of them."
Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X
.
#####
Read full Article
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals