Thursday, February 19, 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
FBI Director Patel: We Know Who’s Bankrolling Antifa, and We’re Coming for Them
Currently, nine anti-ICE have been charged with ambushing an ICE officer in Texas and wounding him with gunfire. A federal judge declared a mistrial Tuesday, but that was because the defense lawyer was wearing a politically charged T-shirt, about as dumb a thing as you could do as a trial attorney. We’ll see where that goes next.
DHS Unleashes ICE Authority Under 1-Year Refugee Rule
This memo does not create a new immigration category. It operationalizes an existing condition of admission, converting what had become a procedural deadline into a statutory checkpoint backed by custody authority.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Trans Violence and Political Radicalization
The facts are clear, more trans-identifying people have murdered others in politically motivated or bias-related crimes than trans-identifying people have been murdered in hate crimes since 2015.
Trending Across Townhall Media
Bearing Arms — Even CNN Can’t Ignore the Problems With Canada’s ‘Buyback’
It’s not about getting “military-style” firearms off the streets. It’s about blocking civilian access to the most common and popular firearms across the globe… which is one reason why so many localities have decided they want nothing to do with the government’s gun grab.
HotAir — John Cleese Has Been Redpilled on Islam
It’s fascinating to see liberals like Cleese, Dawkins, and JK Rowling getting red pilled. Unlike many liberals who have seen the light, they are not willing to jump over to our side, but…so what? You can’t have everything, and I am fine with people disagreeing with me on policy. If we can unite on the culture war issues, that’s good enough for me.
PJMedia — Historic: A Surprise High-Level U.S. Visitor Lands in Venezuela
On Wednesday, another high-ranking U.S. official came in for a visit: SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan. He was joined by Joseph M. Humire, the current assistant secretary of war for homeland defense and Americas security affairs. Donovan was just confirmed as the new head of SOUTHCOM a couple of weeks ago.
Townhall — What Do the Dems Do After They’ve Done Their Worst and It Flops?
This could get very ugly. These people are playing with fire, but they don’t understand that we’re not going to play along. The conflagration they ignite may very well end up burning them instead of us.
Twitchy — Plot Twist! Transgender Hockey Shooter Allegedly Has an Arsonist Son (and Other Updates)
For those following along, Robert Dorgan had a divorce a few years back, the wife initially citing his so-called gender transition as the reason why she divorced him and later citing irreconcilable differences—which we suspect is just a nicer way of saying the same thing.
WHAT’S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill…
Congress is still out, but it appears the tag team of Khanna & Massie is hard at work on their latest project:
Iran floor vote coming. Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) will force a House floor vote next week on their Iran war powers resolution, as we scooped Wednesday night.
The vote comes amid heavy U.S. military buildup in the region, with CBS News reporting that American forces will be prepared to launch strikes on Iran as soon as this weekend. U.S. and Iranian negotiators met Tuesday in Geneva for mediated discussions over the Islamic State’s nuclear program. Iranian officials are reportedly preparing a framework for additional talks.
Speaking of Massie, he made a rather damning admission regarding his motivations in a recent Politico interview.
READ MORE: A New Politico Interview Exposes Thomas Massie – With His Own Words
White House What’s Up
President Trump has a busy Thursday lined up:
- 9:00 AM – THE PRESIDENT participates in the Board of Peace Event – Washington, D.C.
- THE PRESIDENT departs Washington, D.C. en route to Rome, Georgia
- 1:50 PM – THE PRESIDENT visits a Local Business – Rome, Georgia
- 2:30 PM – THE PRESIDENT participates in a Podcast Interview – Rome, Georgia
- 3:30 PM – THE PRESIDENT participates in a Local Factory Tour – Rome, Georgia
- 4:00 PM – THE PRESIDENT delivers Remarks on the Economy – Rome, Georgia
- THE PRESIDENT departs Rome, Georgia, en route to the White House
On Wednesday, President Trump participated in a Black History Month event in the East Room of the White House.
READ MORE: President Trump Celebrates Admin’s Wins at WH With Black History Month Event
Must Watch: DC Grandma’s Powerful Defense of Trump Lights Up White House Black History Event
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Sec. War – Pete Hegseth — Hegseth paid a visit to Boeing in Missouri on Wednesday. He was greeted on the tarmac by Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe (R) and Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), who played an instrumental role in securing the contract to have Boeing produce the new F-47 next-generation air dominance (NGAD) fighter jet in St. Louis.
Welcome to Missouri @SECWAR pic.twitter.com/UqHVibGiNh
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) February 18, 2026
While there, he administered the Oath of Enlistment to 24 young men and women.
Sec. of War Pete Hegseth just administered the Oath of Enlistment to twenty-four young men and women while visiting St. Louis, Missouri.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 19, 2026
Full Court Press…
I’ve been playing a bit of catch-up on the court-tracking front with the travel, etc. A couple of recent decisions of note:
-
❌ In Abrego Garcia v. Noem II (habeas), Judge Paula Xinis (Maryland) GRANTS permanent injunction, enjoining gov’t. from re-detaining Abrego Garcia.
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❌ In Castanon Nava v. Department of Homeland Security (immigration enforcement), Judge Jeffrey Cummings (Northern District of Illinois) enters order extending consent decree and commanding immediate release of four individuals.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
MORNING MUSING
My schedule is out of whack this week with the traveling, so my news consumption has been inconsistent, but I did happen to catch most of the Black History Month event at the White House Wednesday afternoon. I half-listened…until Forlesia Cook took the mic. And then I was mesmerized.
Ms. Cook brought the fire and then some. All I know is that if I’m ever in a bind, I’d like to have this woman in the trenches with me. Go, Granny, go!
🔥INCREDIBLE: DC grandmother whose son was violently killed HEAPS praise on President Trump for making DC safe again.
She’s on FIRE! pic.twitter.com/1TIg2nxjGC
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) February 18, 2026
LIGHTER FARE
But what happened next?!
Me: “I don’t like drama”
Also me: pic.twitter.com/uEBrFr6Yx6
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) February 18, 2026
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