Good morning. New polling found that the MLB has the most registered Republicans among its athletes of any professional sports league, at over 53 percent. Though given their enthusiasm for Trump’s Maduro takedown, if every Venezuelan player could vote, that number might suddenly look more like 97 percent.

🇨🇳 Mamdani’s Democratic Socialists built direct ties with the CCP. New York Democratic Socialists of America members were discovered to have been coordinating with Chinese Communist Party officials to promote pro-China positions. The DSA's New York chapter, which the group credits as "Zohran's political home" and was instrumental to Mamdani's election.

🇬🇧 Mike Johnson addressed the UK Parliament. Mike Johnson (R-LA) became the first House Speaker to address Parliament, coming as President Trump has threatened tariffs on Britain and criticized its decision to hand over the Chagos Islands (which is home to a critical US military base) to Mauritius. Johnson told British MPs that he wanted to “calm the waters” between the US and UK.

🇪🇺 Europeans rally at Davos against Trump. At the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, European allies unified to resist Trump's 10 percent tariff threats over his push to acquire Greenland. French President Emmanuel Macron called the tariffs "fundamentally unacceptable,” while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted the decision belongs solely to Greenland and Denmark.

⚖️ DOJ subpoenaed Minnesota’s top officials. Federal prosecutors served grand jury subpoenas to Gov. Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D), and others for allegedly obstructing ICE operations. Walz and Frey have vocally opposed a surge of 3,000 federal agents, refused to turn over nearly 500 illegal alien criminals, and Frey told ICE to "get the f*** out" of the city.

Between Mike Johnson's visit to the UK and the Europeans gathering in Davos, Trump’s Greenland push is clearly spooking America’s allies. The British, French, Danes, and Canadians clearly believe there’s a chance of actual US military intervention. — Brandon

A widely cited German study claims that Americans pay nearly all the costs of tariffs because average import prices went up, but that can happen simply because cheaper foreign products disappeared, not because prices actually rose. And the study never checks what consumers paid at the store, so it assumes Americans paid the full cost rather than actually proving it.

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_WHAT’S HAPPENING_

Virginia's newly inaugurated Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger wasted no time implementing a sharp leftward agenda, signing executive orders on her first day that rolled back federal immigration enforcement cooperation, signaling a dramatic policy shift for the Commonwealth after four years under Republican Glenn Youngkin.

With Democrats now controlling the governorship and both legislative chambers, the party is moving quickly to advance radical bills that critics warn will make Virginians less safe, undercutting Spanberger’s “moderate” campaign image.

_THE FACTS_

_OUR INSIGHTS _

Virginia Democrats are no longer governing as if they need to reassure swing voters, as was required in the lead-up to the 2025 elections. Spanberger campaigned as a centrist former CIA officer, yet ending cooperation with ICE marks a clean break from strong “law and order” policies.

Combined with her DEI and Qatar lobbyist appointments and the slate of radical bills advancing in the legislature, Virginia is veering sharply left after the comparatively conservative leadership of Glenn Youngkin.

This should be a wake-up call for Republicans who skipped rigorous vetting or a real primary, leaving them with a weak nominee in Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears.

_WHAT THE LEFT MISSED_

Trump calls out Walz and Omar for anti-ICE support: “President Trump argued that Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., support the anti-ICE protests going on in Minneapolis and other areas because they take the focus away from the controversy surrounding fraud in the state.” (Just The News)

House Repubicans rejects Clintons’ attempt to escape contempt vote: “The chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform panel plans to advance a contempt of Congress vote Wednesday against former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton…” (Washington Times)

_WHAT THE RIGHT MISSED_

DOJ considers a rollback of gun regulations: “The Justice Department is considering weakening federal gun regulations in order to curry favor with Second Amendment activists, according to reports.” (The Independent)

Gavin Newsom tells Europe to stand up to Trump over tariff threats: “California’s Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday called global leaders 'pathetic' for failing to challenge US President Donald Trump.” (Politico)

Q: Where did the $500M from the sale of Venezuelan oil go? Did the Venezuelans get it? — Chuck B.

A: The roughly $500 million from the first sale of Venezuelan oil is being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, with the main one reportedly located in Qatar — described as a neutral location by Trump officials.

Under the current arrangement, proceeds from selling Venezuela’s oil are managed by Washington and are intended to be used to 1) benefit Venezuelan citizens through their interim government and state-linked banks receiving portions of the funds, and 2) support US interests, including reimbursement for costs and investment in Venezuela’s energy sector.

There are still lots of complexities to the deal, such as how funds will reach Venezuelans who have fled the country — as is part of Trump’s deal — and how the funds can be distributed without violating sanctions, since releasing cash risks strengthening the regime or triggering legal challenges from creditors.

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