Thursday, November 20, 2025
Good morning and welcome to RedState's Morning Minute, a quick look at what stories are trending right now and a look at what the day might bring. Consider it your one-stop shop for news to start your day.
TOP MORNING
Red-Hot in RedState
Damn historical. Just because it is venerable does not mean it is sacred. This is a dirty old ugly building that is in serious need of renovation. Let's hope this is just a temporary delay.
Dan Crenshaw forced to deny international travel ban after alleged alcohol-related incident
Punchbowl reports that Rep. Crenshaw felt the punishment was “unfair” because the incident was “blown out of proportion.” And the congressman continued this defense in a series of posts about X.
“Me and another member made a toast to the Mexican generals, and apparently one of the staff took offense,” he waved it off. “This is a story with a clickbait headline designed to entice people to subscribe to PunchBowl News, a liberal media outlet.”
'Fasten your seatbelts': We're at odds in the Texas redistricting case… and it's stunning
First, when an opinion piece starts by quoting Bette Davis (or rather, the character she played in All About Eve), you know you're about to get a wary look.
Trends in urban media
Gun owners in America are learning that gag orders create strange bedfellows.
If GOA can't speak to material given to them directly by the Department of Justice, even if it wasn't intentional, then what about the reporter who learns that the government is funding a gun trafficking ring through drug sales in our inner cities? I will name one completely random and not at all historical example.
Dissent: “…the most outrageous display of judicial activism I have ever seen”
The dissenters then discuss the changes made in each district, as well as the reasons why they were made and how each was done to ensure that no Republicans lost a seat. In short, it was purely political.
No Republican has served as mayor or city clerk, treasurer or similar positions for decades. There are not a single registered Republican on the City Council. Everyone knows that Chicago is the most reliably large Democratic city in the country, and Republicans have been largely excluded from municipal government for the better part of a century. Even San Francisco can't compare to this.
We've had the best of times and now the worst of times have come
Accept it. Don't let it break you. Losing is part of winning. Here's how it works. And it sucks, but the answer is to get used to it, get to work, and get through it.
Name Game: Dem Jasmine Crockett's Two Epstein Debacle Ends in Stupid Double Fall on CNN
She thinks we are as ignorant as her constituents.
WHAT'S ABOUT QUALITY?
Today on Capitol Hill…
Thursday promises to be another busy day on the Hill with numerous meetings/hearings. kitincluding:
- House Homeland Security, Transportation, and Maritime Security Subcommittee – “Protecting Global Communications: A Study of Foreign Adversary Threats to Subsea Cable Infrastructure”
- House Small Business – “Made in the USA: How Main Street is Revitalizing Domestic Manufacturing”
- House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, South and Central Asia – Export Control Loopholes: Chip Manufacturing Tools and Their Subcomponents
- Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce, Commerce, Manufacturing and Commerce – Daylight and Destinations: Exploring Time, Travel and Tourism
- Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Hearing to Study the Future of Retirement
- House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, Subcommittee on Africa – President Trump's Redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern – CCP: A Serious, Well-Based Alarm Sign
- House Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Disability Services and Memorials – Improving Outcomes for Disabled Veterans: Oversight of the VA Office of the Medical Examiner for Disabilities
On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett (TN-2) called on Swamp and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to promise to end the economic shutdown shenanigans.
READ MORE: “Dudgum”: Tim Burchett Reveals a Much More Appropriate Nickname for “The Swamp”
White House, what happened?
On Wednesday evening, President Trump announced that he had signed a bill to release Epstein's files.
READ MORE: New: Trump announces he has signed a bill to release Epstein files
President Trump will hold an intelligence briefing late Thursday morning. In the afternoon he will meet with the freed Israeli hostages and their families in the state dining hall.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt will hold a press briefing at 1 p.m. ET.
Keep up with the Cabinet of Ministers
Sec. Interior – Doug Burgum Burgum recently announced that the administration is “restoring the Endangered Species Act to its original meaning.”
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) November 19, 2025
Full court press…
Several notable decisions were made on Wednesday, including:
- ✅ Chicago Headliners Club vs. Noah (Immigration) – 7th Circuit Court of Appeals GRANTS the administrator's request to defer the appeal.
- ✅ Oregon vs. Trump (National Guard Deployment) – 9th Circuit Court of Appeals GRANTS partial administrative suspension (in relation to the district court's prohibition against federalization of security).
But what generated the most speculation was a sharp dissent filed by Judge Jerry Smith in a Texas redistricting case.
READ MORE: 'Fasten your seatbelts': We're at odds in the Texas redistricting case… and it's stunning
MORNING REFLECTIONS
We know that the vote to release Epstein's files was nearly unanimous in the House (427-1). On Wednesday, another state passed 426-0. That one? vote repeal the Arctic freeze provision added to the amended resolution passed by the Senate last week. And I don't blame them.
Senators who learned of their phone records while under surveillance by Jack Smith's team in connection with the Arctic Frost investigation are rightly outraged by this. There must be some accessible means of appealing to them for it. And if that means passing legislation to overcome the various immunities that typically protect officials like Smith and his team, then fine.
But it doesn't have to be part of an appropriations bill, and it doesn't have to be offered exclusively to senators. Members of the House were also being watched. And conservative organizations. The situation in question smacks of Swampiness.
If this measure has merit (and I believe it does), why not propose it as a standalone measure? Are the Democrats going to prevent this too? I mean…they could, but that's the way to handle it rather than putting it in the appropriations bill, which is what was done.
So now the question becomes: What is the Senate going to do with HR 6019? Will it follow the House's lead and agree to repeal it? Or will the new bill meet with a lukewarm reception in the upper house? We will watch. 🥶
EASY RATE
This is absolutely anything my Daisy would fit…
— External areas (@outside area) November 19, 2025
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