On COI #80, Kyle and Will cover liberal war hawk Neera Tanden’s failed bid to lead the Office of Management and Budget. While she faced opposition on both sides of the aisle, senators largely pointed to her aggressive Twitter posts, passing over her more egregious actions and statements over the years. The White House has nonetheless promised her some position in the Biden administration.

Joe Biden came under fire after refusing to sanction Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his role in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. In defending that decision, press secretary Jen Psaki claimed that, as a policy, the US does not sanction foreign heads of state – an easily disproven lie that even CNN couldn’t let slide. Will and Kyle go over several recent examples showing that  is not the case.

Police in the US capital continue to hype the “heightened threat environment” in the wake of the January 6 riot, with Congress cancelling a session this week due to an alleged “militia plot” to take over the Capitol. The threat never materialized, and Senators continued their business as usual as their House colleagues skipped work, belying the claims of danger. Pointing to the supposed plot, DC police are asking to retain more than 2,000 National Guard troops in the city until sometime in May, sure to cost taxpayers millions.

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