Good morning, Wake Up Right fam! Did you miss Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing yesterday? I can sum it up for you in one meme:

🤣 More on the hearing below.

• 🚘️ NYC traffic dropped 7.5% after congestion tax

• ✅ 73% of GOP supports taking back Panama Canal

• ✅ 70% of GOP supports buying Greenland

• 🗓️ Martin Luther King Jr. was born on this day in 1929

^{Sources: Bloomberg, Rasmussen, Rasmussen, History}

Pete Hegseth shines as Democrats humiliate themselves

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, took contentious — and often disrespectful — questions at a Senate hearing yesterday to determine whether the upper chamber will confirm his nomination.

The details: Hegseth appeared before the Armed Services Committee yesterday, taking questions for nearly five hours as Senators decide whether to confirm him to lead the Department of Defense. In his opening statement, he outlined his and Donald Trump’s vision for the department:

• “When President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was—to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job.”

Democrats play in the dirt: The strategy [if you can call it that] from the leftists on the committee was clear — to character assassinate Hegseth rather than engage him on how he plans to lead the department. Democrats brought up past infidelities and unsubstantiated allegations of sexual assault and alcohol abuse [media smear campaigns].

• Hegseth remained composed throughout and was contrite about past infidelity.

Qualifications: When they weren’t engaging in blatant slander, Democrats attempted to paint Hegseth as unqualified for the position. Here are his qualifications:

• Undergraduate and Masters degrees from Princeton University

• Served in the military for two decades, including deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, serving as a platoon leader, earning two bronze stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge.

• Ran a large non-profit that advocates for veterans.

Will he be confirmed? He needs 50 votes, and Republicans currently hold 53 seats. Following the hearings, Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who was seen as a possible “no” vote, announced she was supporting Hegseth, likely clearing the way for his confirmation.

Real talk from G: This hearing did more to expose Democrats than it did Pete. It’s clear they are still punch-drunk from the beating Donald Trump put on them in November. They had no plan, so they resorted to shrieks and insults. It was a very bad day for the Democrat brand.

[Souce: C-SPAN]

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House votes to protect girls’ sports

The House passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act of 2025 yesterday, with nearly zero support from Democrats.

The details: The bill, which prohibits biological males from participating in women’s sports at federally funded schools, passed with support from all 216 Republicans and 2 Democrats. The remaining 206 Democrats opposed the bill.

Dig in deeper: The bill would amend Title IX to restrict participation in women’s sports to individuals whose sex is "recognized based solely on reproductive biology and genetics at birth."

AOC cries foul: Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez protested the bill on the House floor, shouting: "Trans girls are girls!"

What happens next: The bill will likely be stalled in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed for it to move on to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

The last word goes to Rep. Tim Walberg, who summed it up perfectly, writing on X:

• “Kicking girls off sports teams to make way for biological males takes opportunities away from these girls,” Walberg said. “This means fewer college scholarships and fewer opportunities for girls. It also makes them second class citizens in their own sports and puts their safety at risk.”

[Source: The Post Millennial]

🤑 President-elect Donald Trump proposed an "External Revenue Service" to collect tariffs and revenue from foreign nations. Read more.

💾 Billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg will attend Donald Trump’s inauguration. Read more.

🤡 Kamala Harris has not extended a formal invitation to JD Vance and his family for a tour or sit-down at the Naval Observatory, where they are scheduled to move on Jan. 20. Read more.

🇨🇳 TikTok required an American executive to sign an oath supporting China’s “socialist system” and “national interests,” according to court documents. Read more.

🧊 House Republicans are crafting a bill to formally authorize President-elect Donald Trump to enter into negotiations to acquire Greenland. Read more.

🆘 Two transgender biological men and another man were charged with gang-raping a young girl in Norway at a Pride festival. Read more.

🇨🇺 Joe Biden is moving to lift Cuba’s designation as a “state sponsor of terrorism” in the final days of his administration. Read more.

📺️ MSNBC president Rashida Jones is stepping down as president as the network struggles with cratering ratings. Read more

👸 Kate, the Princess of Wales, revealed her cancer is in remission, roughly 10 months after her diagnosis. Read more.

😎 Michelle Obama will skip Donald Trump's second inauguration, just days after she skipped President Jimmy Carter's funeral. Read more. Not a good look for Big Mike…

🇺🇸 Flags at the U.S. Capitol will fly at full-staff during President-elect Trump's inauguration despite Joe Biden's directive to remain at half-staff through January to honor former President Carter's death. Read more.

📕 As a ban on TikTok looms, users are flocking to a little-known Chinese app called RedNote, propelling it to the top of the iTunes charts. Read more.

🇰🇷 South Korean police detained impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief imposition of martial law last month. Read more.

🎥 Rep. Nancy Mace challenges Rep. Jasmine Crockett to "take it outside" in a heated exchange. Watch.

🎥 Kamala tells LA wildfire victims to be "patient." Watch.

🎥 Gavin Newsom bizarrely shimmies and smiles during a wildfire interview. Watch.

🎥Two commercial planes, Delta and United Airlines, nearly collided in the air during landing. Watch.

🎥 Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary thinks aid to California should be tied to Newsom and Bass being removed. Watch.

Highlights from yesterday’s confirmation hearing:

🎥 LMAO, this is the Pete Hegseth hearing in a nutshell. Watch. 

🎥 Pete Hegseth humiliates Sen. Liz Warren. And she knew it. Watch.

🎥 Pete masterfully answers a "gotcha" question by Sen. Gillibrand. Watch.

🎥 Sen. Tim Shehy wins the award for "Best Dad Joke" at yesterday's hearing. Watch.

🎥 Sen. Tim Kaine's questions were so below the belt that they ended up helping Pete. Watch. For reference, this weird-looking man supported Bill Clinton and campaigned with Kamala’s husband - both cheaters, one a rapist, the other physically assaulted his girlfriend.

🎥 Sen. Mullins UNLOADS on Senate Democrats for their nasty, hypocritical treatment of Pete Hegseth. Watch.

🎥 LOL! A protestor gets picked up and carried out of yesterday’s Senate hearing. Watch.

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