MAGA Republicans find themselves on the other side of the cancel culture wars in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination. Senate Republicans confirm their first batch of Trump nominees after launching a “nuclear option” rule change. And, an advisory board filled with RFK Jr. appointees votes on childhood vaccine recommendations.
Here’s what to know today.
Republicans campaigned against cancel culture. They are now the ones canceling.
President Donald Trump and his Republican Party have long rallied their supporters fervently against an idea they characterized as a rot on society: cancel culture. Now, in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, they are now the ones canceling.
MAGA influencers and GOP lawmakers have pressured companies, schools and other organizations to punish people they perceive as using offensive language on social media, on camera or in public spaces. The move to snuff out Kirk detractors made it to late-night TV when Disney’s ABC announced it was pulling “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely following the host’s comments about the motivations of the man who authorities say fatally shot conservative activist Kirk.
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Kimmel’s removal has put the spotlight on Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, the independent agency that regulates the broadcast television industry and other platforms. Since he took the job, Carr has launched a wave of investigations against leading media corporations and criticized some for perceived liberal bias.
Vice President JD Vance, one of the Trump administration’s loudest defenders of free speech, has now become one of its loudest voices calling for those disparaging Kirk to be disciplined. While hosting Kirk’s namesake podcast, Vance told listeners to call the employers of those they see or hear speaking negatively of the conservative activist.
Meanwhile, Trump suggested that television broadcasters he deems unfriendly could lose their FCC licenses, a similar threat Carr made before ABC announced Kimmel would be off the air indefinitely.
While the shifting of the free speech goalposts has met with backlash from others on the right, some inside and close to the Trump administration have rejected suggestions of hypocrisy by insisting that what they are engaging in does not amount to cancel culture. Instead, the “consequence culture” argument calls back to an idea progressives raised in response to earlier cancel culture debates. It is that essentially poor decisions and mistakes result in consequences, whatever they may be.
More on the aftermath of the Kirk assassination:
- Late-night comedy hosts mocked the Trump administration a day after Kimmel’s show was yanked from the air.
- Hollywood stars, unions and fans reacted to Kimmel’s show being indefinitely pulled by criticizing Disney’s ABC.
- A White House vow to dismantle left-wing organizations may be easier issued than implemented, according to experts.
- Pentagon leaders are considering a new recruiting campaign that would encourage young people to honor Kirk’s legacy by joining the military.
- Erika Kirk has been named CEO of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization founded and led by her husband.
Senate confirms 48 Trump nominees at once after rule change
A slew of Trump’s picks for sub-Cabinet positions and ambassadors were confirmed yesterday after the Republican majority triggered the “nuclear option” to make a far-reaching rule change.
Among the 48 Senate-confirmed nominees were former Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., as undersecretary of energy for nuclear security, former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle as ambassador to Greece and Callista Gingrich, wife of the former House speaker, as ambassador to both Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
The confirmations came after Senate Republicans voted to overturn existing rules with a simple majority to bypass the 60-vote threshold for confirming nominees in batches. The change to the rules impact the way presidential nominees will be confirmed for Trump and future presidents, allowing the majority party to confirm an unlimited number of picks in blocs.
It is the latest in a series of moves over the last 12 years that erode minority power in the Senate, a body that has historically granted individual senators unusual amounts of influence.
More politics news:
- The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to allow the president to immediately fire Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook.
- Trump is set to speak with Chinese leader Xi Jinping as they try to finalize a deal to keep TikTok operating in the United States. The call will also focus on an ongoing trade war and could set the stage for the leaders of the rival superpowers to hold their first in-person meeting since Trump returned to office.
- A federal judge blocked the deportation of Guatemalan children after rejecting the Department of Homeland Security’s claim that it was reuniting them with their parents.
- Authorities arrested a man for allegedly making threats to New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, warning him to “go back to Uganda” before someone shot him in the head.
Advisory panel begins recommending changes in childhood vaccine schedule
A closely watched advisory panel to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention voted to tweak recommendations for a measles vaccine that includes protection against the chickenpox virus.
The new guidance from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) suggested the vaccine, called MMRV, shouldn’t be recommended for children under age 4 because of a small risk for febrile seizures in that age group. Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill, who was appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he ousted Susan Monarez, will have the last say over whether to adopt the changes, and it’s unclear when he could sign off.
The ACIP will vote today on a recommendation to delay the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine for children, and they will also discuss this fall’s updated Covid shots.
Read All About It
- The man who gunned down multiple detectives in Pennsylvania had been wanted on suspicion of stalking a former girlfriend and broke into her house before he ambushed the officers.
- Satellite imagery shows the mass displacement of Palestinians as the Israeli military launched its intense effort to take total control of Gaza City.
- Authorities in New York City said they prevented a potential high school shooting after the FBI acted on a tip and alerted them to a threatening social media.
- The FTC sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation over allegations of illegal and deceptive business practices that it says resulted in consumers paying “significantly more” than the face value of a ticket.
- Nearly a week after a Mexican immigrant was fatally shot by an immigration officer during a traffic stop in the Chicago area, his family in Mexico and community members look for answers.
- Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw — a three-time National League Cy Young winner and a World Series champion — announced he will retire at the end of the season.
Staff Pick: The NFL’s most thankless job
Ahead of the NFL season I took a look at the longest tenured players in the NFL. There were some familiar names like Aaron Rodgers and Matthew Stafford, and then a handful I was completely unfamiliar with. Who were these guys? It turned out they were all long snappers — the oldest position by average in the league. I spoke with multiple NFL long snappers to talk about the intricacies of the role and why they tend to hit their prime far later than anyone else in the league. — Greg Rosenstein, sports editor
NBCU Academy: How Telemundo is preparing for the World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup looks to be more expansive and elaborate than ever before: 104 games played by 48 teams in 16 cities across North America. Coverage of the tournament is a logistical labyrinth that the Telemundo Deportes team has been planning for years.
“When we look at the manpower needed to pull off this particular event in Russia in 2018, we had about 400 people,” said Chris Suarez, Telemundo Deportes content operations senior vice president. “Then in Qatar [in 2022], we had about 600 people. We estimate this time around, anywhere between 1,800 and 2,000 people will actually touch the content related to the World Cup.”
Take this exclusive tour of the Telemundo Deportes facilities in Miami to see how the team prepares to cover the event.
NBCU Academy is a free, award-winning education program for developing new skills and advancing careers in journalism, media and tech.
NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified
Track heart health with these FDA-cleared blood pressure monitors, which can help catch early signs of hypertension. Plus, the NBC Select team tested high chairs to find the best options for babies and toddlers.
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