Coffee Talk with Tiff

Coffee. Photo by Jonathan Thursfield.

It’s Thursday…

President Shitshow’s public schedule for…

03/05/2026:


And now for something completely different…

Cosplaying as Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi “I kill puppies and goats I don’t like” Noem spent two days on Capitol Hill testifying before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

Rather than posting a bunch of hearing clips, we’re focusing on a couple of the more intense exchanges from the testimony.

How it started:

Show more =’s

KENNEDY: You’re testifying that President Trump approved them ahead of time?

NOEM: Yes sir. They were effective

KENNEDY: Well, it was effective for your name recognition. To me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot

In the clip, Rep. Neguse explains that two contractors split the $220 million ad buy, with Safe American Media receiving $143 million. Neither the Congressman nor Security Barbie appears to know much about the company, which is tied to her associates and was created just weeks before landing a hefty taxpayer-funded payday.

How it’s going:

The article is paywalled.

But Audrey didn’t leave us all hanging:

Show more (1st tweet) =’s “I haven’t talked to him about the hearing at all, I can’t help you there.”

Show more (2nd tweet) =’s and insisted in early February that he had no plans to remove Noem from her post following her handing of the federal officer-involved fatal shootings in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Her last tweet sent me to Punchbowl News:

President Donald Trump has quietly asked Hill Republicans if he should fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the latest sign of her tenuous standing inside the West Wing, according to multiple Republicans who have spoken with the president.

Even Speaker Mike Johnson speculated about the potential for a change at the top of DHS during a recent House Republican elected leadership retreat in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Trump dialed up some GOP senators after Noem testified in front of the Senate and House Judiciary panels on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Those appearances were marked by extraordinarily bitter exchanges between Noem and Democratic lawmakers, especially over Trump’s harsh immigration crackdown.

But some of the most notable exchanges, especially in the Senate hearing, were with Republicans.

Trump was said to be especially upset about Noem’s response when Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) pressed her Tuesday about a government-funded ad campaign that Kennedy said only served to boost her own personal name recognition nationally.

The $220 million contract for the ad campaign was awarded to an LLC which subcontracted with a company run by the husband of former DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. The ads were filmed in October at Mount Rushmore. Ben Yoho, McLaughlin’s husband, said he made $226,137.17 for his work.

Punchbowl News. 0305/2026.

NBC News Chief Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles reported this morning:


US/Israel War on Iran.

Confidence on Iran

He was asked how much impact he’d have on Iran’s future leader: “I’m going to have a big impact, or they’re not going to have any settlement, because we’re not going to have to go do this again. We’ll work with the people and the regime to make sure that somebody gets there that can nicely build Iran but without nuclear weapons.”

Trump projected confidence about the campaign’s trajectory and dismissed concerns that rising gas prices tied to the conflict could hurt Republicans politically ahead of the November elections that could break the party’s power trifecta in Washington.

Politico.com. 03/05/2026.

Gas Prices:

President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is telling his advisers to bring ideas to the Oval Office to lower gasoline prices in the wake of the U.S. attack on Iran, according to two energy industry executives familiar with the conversations.

The White House is “looking under every rock for ideas on improving energy prices, especially gasoline prices,” said one of the executives, who was granted anonymity to describe internal administration discussions.

[snip]

Energy Secretary Chris Wright and other advisers focused on energy policy, including a council led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, “are getting screamed at to find some good news” on bringing down prices, the same executive said. “Folks are scrambling for announcements and messaging to counter the narrative” of rising prices, this person said.

Politico. 03/05/2026.

And this:

Impatience with Zelenskyy

Even as Iran remains a top focus, Trump said negotiations over the war in Ukraine continue. And he again expressed frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Zelenksyy he has to get on the ball, and he has to get a deal done,” Trump said.

On the other hand, Trump said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to negotiate an end to the war.

“I think Putin is ready to make a deal,” he said. Trump has said that before.

When pressed on what Zelenskyy’s obstacle is to a peace deal, Trump declined to elaborate but maintained that Ukraine’s leader is not showing enough willingness to negotiate.

“It’s unthinkable that he’s the obstacle,” Trump said. “You don’t have the cards. Now he’s got even less cards.”

Politico.com. 03/05/2026.

President Z:

Show more =’s Ukraine helps partners who help ensure our security and protect the lives of our people. Glory to Ukraine!


In Midterm Election News.

Warmonger said this this morning via Lie Social.

In his phone interview with Politico Warmonger said he wasn’t happy with Ken “I’m a Criminal” Paxton for saying he’d stay in the runoff race regarding of who Warmonger endorses.

Show more =’s “Well, that’s bad for him to say,” Trump said. “That is bad for him. So maybe, maybe that leads me to go the other direction.”

In response Ken “I’m a Criminal” Paxton said this.

Show more =’s John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill. Now, Fake News reporters and the establishment are trying to destroy me with misinformation. The truth is clear: No one has been more loyal to Donald Trump than me—fighting the stolen 2020 election, being in Mar-a-Lago when he announced his 2024 campaign, and standing with him in NY in the face of lawfare. For the good of our country and for the good of passing President Trump’s agenda, I am determined to help him get this done.

Show more =’s “The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation. We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election

This news comes after Rep. Gonzales finally admitted that he did in fact have an affair with his staffer that died by suicide after setting herself on fire.


Sorry for the delay, I got distracted with the money stuff and Noem bullshit and bam more news happened!

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About Tiff 3515 Articles
Member of the Free Press who is politically homeless and a political junkie.