Morning Minute: Noodle on This...

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Monday, July 20, 2026

Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.

TOP O' THE MORNIN'

Red-Hot at RedState

Don't Sleep on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Laugh at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez all you wish. She’s provided more than sufficient source material for a chuckle or two. That said, if sometime next year she throws her hat in the ring, the time for laughter will stop, and the time for actively engaging people you know outside of your political circle, explaining with logic and reason the fallacies upon which she will build her platform, will begin.

F-16s Scrambled, Flares Deployed After Pilots Breach Airspace Near Trump at World Cup Final

Late Sunday evening, NORAD posted about their mission following the World Cup final, suggesting that the multiple aircraft violations were just part of the job.
"The matches are over, but our mission never ends," NORAD wrote.

ABC News Just Caught Democrat Senator Mark Warner Telling a Massive Lie About Voter ID

Just so we're clear here, Warner is saying that signing an affidavit and casting a ballot without showing any sort of photo ID is the same thing as showing a photo ID. He lied, and the proof is all right there on the Virginia Dept. of Elections website.

Trending Across Townhall Media

Bearing Arms — Supreme Court Ruling in Viramontes Could Reshape Gun Rights Nationwide

Overall, the fact the Supreme Court agreed to hear two SAF “assault weapons” ban cases is monumental. The ripple effects these rulings may have on Second Amendment infringements nationwide could very well determine more than just that one issue.

HotAir — As AG, Todd Blanche Will Finally Seek Justice for Dems' Dirty Lawfare

Blanche has a sterling resume for the nation's top law enforcement job. As legal eagle Jonathan Turley said on Fox News, Blanche is one of the most qualified attorney general nominees in the history of the Justice Department.

PJ Media — About Those Burn Bags President Trump Mentioned in His Address to the Nation

Now that Trump is sitting on a political treasure trove of data and information that can be used to expose the left, expect a distraction or two. Whenever the left panics, you start to see ginned-up controversies over allegations of Trump "stealing our democracy," "climate change," "Christian nationalism," or all of the above.

Townhall — You Dont Have to Be Complicit in a Lie

Have the strength to be impolite. You don’t need to go out of your way to hassle people, though the left seems intent on normalizing that. You just have to have the strength not to play along. Embrace the power of “No.”

Twitchy — High-Water Marx? Scott Jennings Pushes Back on Progressive Corbin Trent Who Says Socialism Built America

Power is all that matters to the Democrat Party. They’re more than willing to sacrifice America to obtain it.

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

While Mondays typically involve a slow start for the critters, today does have a handful of hearings/meetings, to wit:

House Rules — H.R. 7008 – Stop Insider Trading Act; H.R. 6955 – Main Street Capital Access Act; H. Con. Res. 113 – Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2027 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2028 through 2036.; H.R. 9770 – Continuing Appropriations Act, 2027; H.R. 8800 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027; H.R. 8884 – Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act

House Intelligence (Permanent Select) — Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (Closed) H.R.9624

Senate Intelligence (Select) — Closed business meeting to consider certain intelligence matters.

Good news, though: The Maine Democrats seem to be figuring their post-Platner landscape out...

SEE: Big Action in Maine Senate Race As Candidates Drop Out, Who Will Replace Platner Becomes Clear

White House What's Up

Fresh off his FIFA final fun, President Trump is back at it today with:

8:00 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in Executive Time — The White House

10:30 AM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office

1:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office

2:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in Signing Time — Oval Office

3:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT greets the 2025 Little League Softball World Series Champions — Oval Office

4:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office

5:30 PM — THE PRESIDENT participates in a Policy Meeting — Oval Office

Big congratulations go out to Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha on the arrival of their fourth child, son Alec!

SEE: JD and Usha Vance Welcome a Baby Boy to the Vice President's Residence

Keeping Up With the Cabinet

Attorney General - Todd Blanche (acting) — Blanche weathered his confirmation hearing last week, but whether the YOLO Caucus (Tillis, Cornyn, et al.) aims to gum up the approval vote remains to be seen.

Todd Blanche's Confirmation Hearing Offers Preview of DOJ's Abortion Pill Strategy

Full Court Press...

We've had a few notable court decisions of late. Those include:

✅ In NAACP v. USPS (Mail-in ballots), D.C. Circuit GRANTS admin's motion for stay pending appeal.

✅ In NY Times v. DOD (Pentagon press access), D.C. Circuit GRANTS admin's motion for stay pending appeal.

❌ In U.S. v. Thomas (voter rolls), Judge Kari Ann Dooley (Connecticut) GRANTS defendants' motion to dismiss.

❌ In State of New Jersey v. OMB (denial of federal grants), Judge Indira Talwani GRANTS plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment/DENIES admin's motion to dismiss as to Count I.

SEE: USPS Scores Big Win, As Fed Appeals Court Stays Order on Vote by Mail Ballots

COMING ATTRACTIONS

President Trump will head to Georgia on Wednesday, where he's scheduled to visit Wheeler High School in Cobb County to promote his Trump Accounts initiative.

MORNING MUSING

I must confess I don't give a ton of thought to Olive Garden. It just isn't one of our go-tos for dining out. If the handsome beau and I have a hankering for pasta and such, there's a nice little family-owned Italian restaurant nearby that we prefer. I wasn't sure what all the OG murmurings were about until I read this piece from Teri Christoph. Ah...

As Teri so aptly puts it: "When you're confident that your plate of spaghetti is more secure than your country's elections, you know you're in trouble."

Yep, that about sums it up. And really, when you strip away all the BS over it, it seems like the opposition to election integrity measures like voter ID amounts to: Republicans (and worse — Donald Trump!) are advocating it; therefore, I must oppose it. And even then, the vast majority of Americans — even those who reliably vote Democrat — don't oppose it.

I get that there was a time when there were legitimate concerns over people who were legally entitled to vote being prevented from doing so. We are well past that time — like 60, 70 years plus. Find me the citizens who are somehow being prevented from voting today, and we should address that immediately. Otherwise, go show your ID to claim your pasta and quit caterwauling over having to show it to vote.

Programming Note: I am taking a mini-vacation through Wednesday to spend time with family that is in town visiting, so will not be at the desk or putting out the Morning Minute, but never fear: Our Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar will be tagging in for it, so you're in good hands!

LIGHTER FARE

Bless you!!

Puppy's first sneeze..bless you..🐕🐾😅 pic.twitter.com/716qIleTH8
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) July 19, 2026

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