International
Trump ‘shocks the deep state,’ sidesteps ‘weaponized’ White House transition process’

From LifeSiteNews
The president-elect is attempting to avoid the mistakes he made during his first term by this time privately funding the transition.
Two viral postings on X describe how President-elect Donald Trump is avoiding D.C.’s entrenched “permanent state” that sought to upend his first presidency before it started, beginning with his January 2017 transition into the Oval Office.
“Having experienced firsthand the malevolence of the so-called ‘permanent government’ during his initial transition in 2016-2017, Trump is under no illusions about the loyalty or intentions of the civil service – particularly the General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Department of Justice (DOJ),” amuse explained on X. “The current transition struggle exemplifies the danger of allowing the permanent bureaucratic state to accrue power unchecked.”
“During his first term, Trump’s transition team – Trump for America, Inc. (TFA) – faced betrayal when the GSA improperly handed over thousands of emails from the transition period to Special Counsel Robert Mueller without proper authorization,” amuse wrote. “An agency ostensibly dedicated to facilitating the transition had instead been co-opted to undermine it.”
Amuse continued:
The FBI, which once served as an institution above the fray of partisan politics, has shown its hand in its dealings with Trump – spying on his 2016 campaign, embedding female honeypots within his transition, and using “national security” briefings as a pretext to disqualify his appointees, like General Michael Flynn. The Justice Department Inspector General found that former FBI agent Peter Strzok even sent another FBI agent to an intelligence briefing with Trump and Flynn as part of an effort to build a Russia collusion case against them.
These actions are not the behavior of a neutral party facilitating a democratic handover; they are the machinations of a bureaucracy desperate to retain control.
As a result, the president-elect has chosen to privately fund his side of the transition from the Biden administration.
Trump’s transition strategy: ‘Annihilating the deep state’s control’
“Trump’s MAGA administration just dropped a nuclear bomb on Washington’s corrupt establishment. By rejecting taxpayer-funded GSA tools and launching a fully private transition, Trump is cutting the deep state out of the equation. This isn’t just a handoff – it’s a full-scale revolution,” Ann Vandersteel wrote on X and Substack.
“In a jaw-dropping move, Trump has signed the Transition Agreement with the outgoing Biden administration — but with one massive twist. There’s no GSA involvement. No government phones. No government buildings. Nothing,” Vandersteel wrote.
“This isn’t about tradition. It’s about annihilating the deep state’s control,” Vandersteel continued. “Washington’s gatekeepers are panicking. Trump’s strategy leaves them powerless, blind, and scrambling in the dark.”
She continued:
The deep state relies on access. They spy. They sabotage. They control. But Trump has cut off their lifeline. His team has gone dark – no leaks, no traps, no surveillance. For the corrupt elite, this is their worst nightmare. They’re awake, sweating bullets, terrified of what’s next.
Trump’s move isn’t just bold; it’s revolutionary.
- No GSA oversight. The tools used against him in 2016? Gone.
- No taxpayer dependence. This revolution is fully independent.
- No interference. The deep state can’t touch what they can’t see.
This is a calculated takedown of a corrupt system. Trump isn’t playing defense —he’s on the offensive.
“Washington’s establishment is in freefall. The deep state relied on GSA tools to spy, infiltrate, and sabotage. Now they’re locked out entirely. They’ve lost their grip, their leverage, and their power,” Vandersteel wrote. “This isn’t a transition; it’s a declaration of war against the corrupt establishment.”
“Trump’s transition is a bold strike against the forces that tried to destroy his presidency. No leaks. No oversight. No compromise. The deep state is crumbling, and Washington will never be the same,” Vandersteel said.
“The storm isn’t coming – it’s already here.”
Corporate media in the nation’s capital is not happy about Trump’s end run around those who are accustomed to playing an integral role in White House transitions.
The Washington Post, Biden regime are losing sleep over the transition
The Washington Post has decided Trump succeeding Biden in January represents a “hostile takeover of the federal government.”
The Post laments:
Since his victory, Trump has ignored many of the rules and practices intended to guide a seamless transfer of power and handover of the oversight of 2.2 million federal employees. Instead, the president-elect, who has pledged to fire thousands of civil servants and slash billions of dollars in spending, has so far almost fully cut out the government agencies his predecessors have relied on to take charge of the federal government.
“His transition teams have yet to set foot inside a single federal office,” Post writers noted two weeks after Trump resoundingly won the 2024 election, as if breaking with standard procedure were a criminal offense against the Washington establishment.
“In calls with foreign heads of state, Trump has cut out the State Department, its secure lines and its official interpreters,” the Post added.
The Post acknowledged that Trump also “bears deep animus against the FBI, according to the people familiar with his transition process. FBI agents searched Mar-a-Lago for classified materials in a case that resulted in federal charges, and he has pledged wholesale changes at the agency and at the Justice Department.”
The FBI would normally have begun vetting a president-elect’s transition team before Election Day, as well as his choices for Cabinet positions and other top staff jobs. Thus far, Trump has left the job of vetting candidates to Stanley Woodward, a D.C. lawyer on his campaign who has represented several January 6 rioters and Trump associates caught up in the classified documents case.
“I happen to know the Biden regime has been losing sleep over the transition,” amuse added in a subsequent X post. “Nothing is going to plan.”
Energy
Trump Takes More Action To Get Government Out Of LNG’s Way

From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By David Blackmon
The Trump administration moved this week to eliminate another Biden-era artificial roadblock to energy infrastructure development which is both unneeded and counterproductive to U.S. energy security.
In April 2023, Biden’s Department of Energy, under the hyper-politicized leadership of Secretary Jennifer Granholm, implemented a new policy requiring LNG projects to begin exports within seven years of receiving federal approval. Granholm somewhat hilariously claimed the policy was aimed at ensuring timely development and aligning with climate goals by preventing indefinite delays in energy projects that could impact emissions targets.
This claim was rendered incredibly specious just 8 months later, when Granholm aligned with then-President Joe Biden’s “pause” in permitting for new LNG projects due to absurd fears such exports might actually create higher emissions than coal-fired power plants. The draft study that served as the basis for the pause was thoroughly debunked within a few months, yet Granholm and the White House steadfastly maintained their ruse for a full year until Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 and reversed Biden’s order.
Certainly, any company involved in the development of a major LNG export project wants to proceed to first cargoes as expeditiously as possible. After all, the sooner a project starts generating revenues, the more rapid the payout becomes, and the higher the returns on investments. That’s the whole goal of entering this high-growth industry. Just as obviously, unforeseen delays in the development process can lead to big cost overruns that are the bane of any major infrastructure project.
On the other hand, these are highly complex, capital-intensive projects that are subject to all sorts of delay factors. As developers experienced in recent years, disruptions in supply chains caused by factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in major delays and cost overruns in projects in every facet of the economy.
Developers in the LNG industry have argued that this arbitrary timeline was too restrictive, citing these and other factors that can extend beyond seven years. Trump, responding to these concerns and his campaign promises to bolster American energy dominance, moved swiftly to eliminate this requirement. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that the U.S. was set to rescind this policy, freeing LNG projects from the rigid timeline and potentially accelerating their completion.
This policy reversal could signal a broader approach to infrastructure under Trump. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, enacted in 2021, allocated $1.2 trillion to rebuild roads, bridges, broadband and other critical systems, with funds intended to be awarded over five years, though some projects naturally extend beyond that due to construction timelines. The seven-year LNG deadline was a specific energy-related constraint, but Trump’s administration has shown a willingness to pause or redirect Biden-era infrastructure funding more generally. For instance, Trump’s Jan.20 executive order, “Unleashing American Energy,” directed agencies to halt disbursements under the IIJA and IRA pending a 90-day review, raising questions about whether similar time-bound restrictions across infrastructure sectors might also be loosened or eliminated.
Critics argue that scrapping deadlines risks stalling projects indefinitely, undermining the urgency Biden sought to instill in modernizing U.S. infrastructure. Supporters argue that developers already have every profit-motivated incentive to proceed as rapidly as possible and see the elimination of this restriction as a pragmatic adjustment, allowing flexibility for states and private entities to navigate permitting, labor shortages and supply chain issues—challenges that have persisted into 2025.
For example, the $294 billion in unawarded IIJA funds, including $87.2 billion in competitive grants, now fall under Trump’s purview, and his more energy-focused administration could prioritize projects aligned with his energy and economic goals over Biden’s climate and DEI-focused initiatives.
Ultimately, Trump’s decision to end the seven-year LNG deadline exemplifies his intent to reshape infrastructure policy by prioritizing speed, flexibility and industry needs. Whether this extends formally to all U.S. infrastructure projects remains unclear, but seems likely given the Trump White House’s stated objectives and priorities.
This move also clearly aligns with the overall Trump philosophy of getting the government out of the way, allowing the markets to work and freeing the business community to restore American Energy Dominance in the most expeditious way possible.
David Blackmon is an energy writer and consultant based in Texas. He spent 40 years in the oil and gas business, where he specialized in public policy and communications.
Automotive
Auto giant shuts down foreign plants as Trump moves to protect U.S. industry

MxM News
Quick Hit:
Stellantis is pausing vehicle production at two North American facilities—one in Canada and another in Mexico—following President Donald Trump’s announcement of 25% tariffs on foreign-made cars. The move marks one of the first corporate responses to the administration’s push to bring back American manufacturing.
Key Details:
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In an email to workers Thursday, Stellantis North America chief Antonio Filosa directly tied the production pause to the new tariffs, writing that the company is “continuing to assess the medium- and long-term effects” but is “temporarily pausing production” at select assembly plants outside the U.S.
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Production at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario will be paused for two weeks, while the Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico will be offline for the entire month of April.
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These plants produce the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, the new Dodge Charger Daytona EV, the Jeep Compass SUV, and the Jeep Wagoneer S EV.
Diving Deeper:
On Wednesday afternoon in the White House Rose Garden, President Trump announced sweeping new tariffs aimed at revitalizing America’s auto manufacturing industry. The 25% tariffs on all imported cars are part of a broader “reciprocal tariffs” strategy, which Trump described as ending decades of globalist trade policies that hollowed out U.S. industry.
Just a day later, Stellantis became the first major automaker to act on the new policy, halting production at two of its international plants. According to an internal email obtained by CNBC, Stellantis North American COO Antonio Filosa said the company is “taking immediate actions” to respond to the tariff policy while continuing to evaluate the broader impact.
“These actions will impact some employees at several of our U.S. powertrain and stamping facilities that support those operations,” Filosa wrote.
The Windsor, Ontario plant, which builds the Chrysler Pacifica and the newly introduced Dodge Charger Daytona EV, will shut down for two weeks. The Toluca facility in Mexico, responsible for the Jeep Compass and Jeep Wagoneer S EV, will suspend operations for the entire month of April.
The move comes as Stellantis continues to face scrutiny for its reliance on low-wage labor in foreign markets. As reported by Breitbart News, the company has spent years shifting production and engineering jobs to countries like Brazil, India, Morocco, and Mexico—often at the expense of American workers. Last year alone, Stellantis cut around 400 U.S.-based engineering positions while ramping up operations overseas.
Meanwhile, General Motors appears to be responding differently. According to Reuters, GM told employees in a webcast Thursday that it will increase production of light-duty trucks at its Fort Wayne, Indiana plant—where it builds the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. These models are also assembled in Mexico and Canada, but GM’s decision suggests a shift in production to the U.S. could be underway in light of the tariffs.
As Trump’s trade reset takes effect, more automakers are expected to recalibrate their production strategies—potentially signaling a long-awaited shift away from offshoring and toward rebuilding American industry.
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