It’s Monday…
President Shitshow’s public schedule for…
The federal government is partially shut down.
Again.
Agencies are limping along, workers are in limbo, and Congress is doing that familiar dance where everyone swears they’re “close” to a deal while nothing actually reopens. The House might take it up Tuesday. Maybe. Possibly. Don’t hold your breath.
According to Speaker Mike Johnson, negotiations are ongoing, which in Washington translates to: we’ll get there when we get there.
House Speaker Mike Johnson predicts government shutdown ends Tuesday | Fox News https://t.co/qrO8yoUTmd
— Lizmac57 (@lizmac57) February 2, 2026
The partial government shutdown is in its third day as the House of Representatives prepares to take up the Senate’s federal funding compromise later on Monday afternoon.
The House Rules Committee, the final gatekeeper for most legislation to get a chamber-wide vote, is meeting to consider the funding deal at 4 p.m. EST.
[snip]
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told “Fox News Sunday” that he was optimistic the shutdown could end by Tuesday — likely the earliest that the full House can consider the bill.
Fox News. 02/02/2026.
Meanwhile, the White House schedule looks like it was written by a substitute teacher.
Today’s big item?
“Signing Time.” Closed to the press. No details. No announcement. Just… signing.
Because nothing says stable governance during a shutdown like mystery paperwork behind closed doors.
Personal News:
I’m having a Monday. We are having plumbing issues. Finding a plumber to come out and fix the problem is proving difficult. It’s always something.
Petty has announced his intent to close the Kennedy Center.
The Text:
After a one year review of The Trump Kennedy Center, that has taken place with Contractors, Musical Experts, Art Institutions, and other Advisors and Consultants, deciding between either Construction with Closure and Re-Opening or, Partial Construction while continuing Entertainment Operations through a much longer period of time, working in and around the Performances, I have determined that The Trump Kennedy Center, if temporarily closed for Construction, Revitalization, and Complete Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World. In other words, if we don’t close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result!
Based on these findings, and totally subject to Board approval, I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before.
Therefore, The Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex. Financing is completed, and fully in place! This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before. America will be very proud of its new and beautiful Landmark for many generations to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
Trump Truth Archive. 02/01/2026.
This morning (or late night) Petty announced his intent to sue Trevor Noah for mocking him at the Grammys.
He replaced the deleted tweet just after 1:00 AM D.C., time:
The text:
The Grammy Awards are the WORST, virtually unwatchable! CBS is lucky not to have this garbage litter their airwaves any longer. The host, Trevor Noah, whoever he may be, is almost as bad as Jimmy Kimmel at the Low Ratings Academy Awards. Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald Trump and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory statement, have never been accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media. Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$. Ask Little George Slopadopolus, and others, how that all worked out. Also ask CBS! Get ready Noah, I’m going to have some fun with you! President DJT
Trump Truth Archive. 02/02/2026.
He has now announced a new “trade deal” with India.
The text:
It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week! Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to “BUY AMERICAN,” at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Trump Truth Archive. 02/02/2026.
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
“we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO.”
He still has no idea how tariffs work.
In Other News…
A cloak-and-dagger mystery reminiscent of a John le Carré novel is swirling around a whistleblower complaint that alleges wrongdoing by U.S. spy chief Tulsi Gabbard. 🔗 https://t.co/flkkeM80Lx pic.twitter.com/g7dGM6BGjS
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 2, 2026
A U.S. intelligence official has alleged wrongdoing by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in a whistleblower complaint that is so highly classified it has sparked months of wrangling over how to share it with Congress, according to U.S. officials and others familiar with the matter.
The filing of the complaint has prompted a continuing, behind-the-scenes struggle about how to assess and handle it, with the whistleblower’s lawyer accusing Gabbard of stonewalling the complaint. Gabbard’s office rejects that characterization, contending it is navigating a unique set of circumstances and working to resolve the issue.
A cloak-and-dagger mystery reminiscent of a John le Carré novel is swirling around the complaint, which is said to be locked in a safe. Disclosure of its contents could cause “grave damage to national security,” one official said. It also implicates another federal agency beyond Gabbard’s, and raises potential claims of executive privilege that may involve the White House, officials said.
The complaint was filed last May with the intelligence community’s inspector general, according to a November letter that the whistleblower’s lawyer addressed to Gabbard. The letter, which was viewed by The Wall Street Journal, accused Gabbard’s office of hindering the dissemination of the complaint to lawmakers by failing to provide necessary security guidance on how to do so.
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Gabbard’s office confirmed that the complaint concerned Gabbard but dismissed it as “baseless and politically motivated.”
[snip]
An employee alleging wrongdoing is allowed to share the complaint directly with congressional intelligence committees as long as the director of national intelligence provides instructions on how to securely transmit it. There is no requirement for a precise timeline on doing so, but typically that process occurs within a matter of weeks, the officials and experts said.
Gabbard answered written questions about the allegations from the inspector general’s office, a senior official at the spy agency said. That prompted the acting inspector general at the time, Tamara Johnson, to determine the allegations specifically about Gabbard weren’t credible, the official said. Johnson remains employed at the agency, which didn’t make her available for an interview.
[snip]
Amid the limbo, the Gabbard complaint has been locked in a safe in the office, a person familiar with the matter said. Asked about the safe, the inspector-general representative said: “Some complaints involve exceptionally sensitive materials necessitating special handling and storage requirements. This case is one of them.”
Some of the material in the complaint is also “marked as ‘attorney-client privileged,’ ” and could be subject to “executive privilege,” which generally refers to the power of the president to withhold confidential information or private discussions from Congress or the judicial branch, the inspector general’s office said.
WSJ (gift link). 02/02/2026.
Friday was suppose to be Jobs Report Friday…
Just got confirmation from @BLS_gov: "The Employment Situation release for January 2026 will not be released as scheduled on Friday, February 6, 2026. The release will be rescheduled upon the resumption of government funding."
— Ben Casselman (@bencasselman) February 2, 2026
Speaking of data…
We found so many examples of missing federal government data that we couldn’t put them all in this story.
— Anna Kramer (@anna_c_kramer) February 2, 2026
“The status quo was, the federal government is going to collect and disseminate data. That is no longer a reasonable assumption.”
w/ @shifradayakhttps://t.co/OLXLIarVaY
Joy Binion worked for the federal government collecting data on emerging substance abuse trends in emergency rooms across the country. Her work was part of the Drug Abuse Warning Network, which President Donald Trump’s first administration funded at the recommendation of his commission on the opioid crisis.
Six months into Trump’s second term, his administration axed the data collection effort entirely, laying off Binion and her division.
“They flat out eliminated DAWN, which was actually surprising to me, because DAWN was kind of the Trump administration’s baby in 2016 as they really looked toward fighting the opioid epidemic,” Binion told NOTUS, adding that healthcare providers no longer have a comprehensive resource to learn about the new drugs that could require emergency medical responses.
[snip]
NOTUS spoke to 18 data experts and researchers who rely on federal data who said the breadth of information no longer being collected or distributed by the federal government has been nearly impossible to track.Researchers estimate that well over 3,000 data sets have been removed from public access.
The current reality is that the federal government is no longer a reliable source of widespread data collection.
“The status quo was, the federal government is going to collect and disseminate data and statistics,” said John Kubale, a University of Michigan professor who helps direct the world’s largest archive of social science research data, including sensitive U.S. federal government data. “That is no longer a reasonable assumption.”
[snip]
NOTUS spoke to 18 data experts and researchers who rely on federal data who said the breadth of information no longer being collected or distributed by the federal government has been nearly impossible to track.Researchers estimate that well over 3,000 data sets have been removed from public access.
The current reality is that the federal government is no longer a reliable source of widespread data collection.
“The status quo was, the federal government is going to collect and disseminate data and statistics,” said John Kubale, a University of Michigan professor who helps direct the world’s largest archive of social science research data, including sensitive U.S. federal government data. “That is no longer a reasonable assumption.”
[snip]
Much of the data that is still being collected is not being made available to the public.
NOTUS. 02/02/2026.
Update to the personal news. Plumbers have arrived! Fingers crossed our plumbing crisis is just a clogged main.
This is an open thread
