SINCERETALK

One of President-elect Donald Trump's longtime confidants is calling on him to inflict "pain" on the wealthiest Americans and corporations in the form of higher taxes during his second term in the White House. In a wide-ranging Friday interview with Semafor reporter David Weigel, Steve Bannon — who was Trump's former chief White House strategist — indicated he wanted the incoming Republican trifecta to be "populist nationalists." Bannon defined populism as an "anti-elite" sentiment along with economic policies "that make the citizen the actual focus of the government," and suggested that partisan labels were quickly becoming outdated. "I don’t think you look at Republicans and Democrats anymore. I think those labels are meaningless," Bannon said. "The Morning Joe mindset is no different, really, than what the Murdochs really think. The elites have had this concept of an empire that has destroyed the country." REA...

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson has crafted a replacement spending bill to prevent a government shutdown at 12:01 AM on Saturday. The proposal, driven by Donald Trump’s demands, is being viewed by some as a test of loyalty to the President-elect. To pass, the bill will require substantial bipartisan support, including a two-thirds majority in Thursday night’s planned vote — a feat that appears unlikely given the opposition within the Democratic caucus. Some on both sides of the aisle are opposed to Trump’s demand that the bill include a provision that would eliminate or extend the debt ceiling. The legislation extends it into 2027, forcing the party that will be in charge after the November 2026 midterms to deal with it once again. “A pretty clean test is coming of Trump’s sway with Republicans,” reports Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman, referring to how many in the GOP will vote for the bill. “He blew up a deal,” Sherman noted. “They came up with a new deal…And now let’s see if Rep...

Amid House Republicans' fight over a massive government spending bill this week, Speaker Mike Johnson is finding out that "the notion of unified GOP control is a myth," according to Brendan Buck , a former press secretary for ex-House Speakers Paul Ryan (R-OH) and John Boehner (R-OH). In an op-ed published by The Washington Post Thursday, Buck notes that Johnson believes "Republican control of government will begin a new era of productivity," come President-elect Donald Trump's second term. "Now he can only hope he’s around to find out," the ex-Speaker staffer writes, referring to some GOP lawmakers' threats that they won't re-elect Johnson on January 3. READ MORE: 'Disaster': Trump allies said to be mulling 'one of the dumbest ideas anyone could have' "As Johnson has found time and again, like Kevin McCarthy before him," Buck continues, "he cannot consistently rely on 218 Republicans, not even for th...

President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have succeeded in getting House Republicans to kill what was expected to be an easily-passed continuing resolution that would keep the federal government open and avert a costly and confusing shutdown just days before Christmas. Early Wednesday evening, Republicans rejected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s bill, according to The Washington Post . “The chances of a shutdown have now increased quite a bit,” CNN’s Manu Raju had reported at 4:35 PM ET, amid the fast-moving developments. “Congress hasn’t even discussed a debt ceiling hike. And Trump is inserting that toxic fight on top of the government funding bill that is already at risk of collapsing amid a revolt on the right.” “And just like that,” observed NBC News’ Garret Haake, “we’re teetering on the edge of a government shutdown, as Trump & Vance come out against Speaker Johnson’s CR.” “Suddenly Trump and Vance now say they want to negotiate on the debt ceiling, as the CR+ ...

One former health insurance industry executive is now confronting his former colleagues over their business practices — both in a New York Times op-ed and on national cable news. In a Wednesday interview with CNN host Jake Tapper, Wendell Potter — who was vice president of corporate communications for health insurance giant Cigna between 1993 and 2008 — discussed his recent op-ed for the Times explaining why he felt compelled to leave the industry and become a universal healthcare advocate. Potter said the case of 17 year-old Nataline Sarkisyan, a Cigna policyholder whose claim for a liver transplant was denied and later died of leukemia, was the tipping point. "She was really quite sick," Potter told Tapper. "But Cigna, at the very last minute, as the surgery was about to take place, decided it wouldn't pay for the transplant. The family raised a big stink, and it became a big PR problem for the company. And Cigna relented. But sadly, so much time passed that ...

Ahead of the deadline for Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) to cut a massive government spending bill by the end of this week, a group of MAGA Republicans against the legislation are threatening to vote against re-electing the GOP leader come January 3. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former Donald Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon both slammed Johnson's leadership on Wednesday over the bill, which would extend the government funding deadline through March 14. Now, billionaire and X owner Elon Musk — who Trump tapped last month to co-lead the new government cost cutting "Department of Government Efficiency" (DOGE) alongside failed GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy — is publicly denouncing the bill and anyone who supports it. READ MORE: Trump staffer insults 'Pocahontas' when asked about Musk’s 'conflicts of interest' Musk wrote via X : "Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be vot...

Former Florida AG Pam Bondi is expected to head the Department of Justice under Donald Trump's incoming administration, and former GOP strategist Tara Setmayer warns every American should be very afraid. Speaking with Setmayer, MSNBC's Joy Reid on Tuesday asked the Seneca Project co-founder what could happen if both Bondi and Trump's FBI head nominee, Kash Patel, are confirmed to the positions. "You get a justice department that is no longer independent," Setmayer emphasized. "You have two people who are basically sycophants of Donald Trump, who will do whatever he wants. It is what he said he was going to do. And the combination of the two of them together should really scare the hell out of every American who believes in the rule of law." READ MORE: Busted: Top Trump pick echoed his false claims of election fraud The longtime Republican strategist noted, "I recently spent time with one of the Capitol police officers that testified January 6...