Anew Pew Research poll finds just 17% of Americans now say they trust the federal government to do what is right “just about always” (2%) or “most of the time” (15%).
Frustration has long been Americans’ dominant emotion toward the federal government and 49% say they feel frustrated. Another 26% say they are angry, and 23% say they are basically content.
“The Department of Justice has instructed inspectors to stop evaluating prisons and jails using standards designed to protect transgender, intersex and gender-nonconforming people from sexual violence,” NPR reports.
Coming soon: Separation of Powers: How to Preserve Liberty in Troubled Times by Cass Sunstein.
Why the separation of powers is essential to liberty and democracy.
President Trump endorsed Trever Nehls (R), the identical twin of retiring Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), to fill the Texas seat being vacated by his brother, Politico reports.
“President Trump has hired a new architect to help design the White House ballroom, but the current architect, with whom the president has had some disagreements, will remain on the team,” CBS News reports.
The Wall Street Journal reports the White House “intends later this month to formally submit plans for a new White House ballroom to a key planning commission, as President Trump moves quickly to begin construction on the massive project.”
Prosecutors helped identify Brian Cole Jr. as the suspected pipe bomber by tracing purchases he made in 2019 and 2020 that included all the components of the pipe bombs discovered outside the Republican and Democratic headquarters on January 6, 2021.
They also used cell phone tower pings and license plate reader checks to see that he was in the area.
There is no information given on his motive.
“Relax. We are exactly on the trajectory of where we’ve always planned to be. Steady at the wheel, everybody. It’s gonna be fine. Our best days are ahead of us.”
— Speaker Mike Johnson, quoted by NBC News.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has decided against a drastic move to run in Texas, instead opting to seek reelection in California, CNN reports.
Politico: “Republicans and Democrats are quietly pouring millions of dollars into a fight trying to block Missouri’s new gerrymandered congressional map.”
“But unlike in many other states, Democrats have a clearer path to try to block the map, at least for next year’s midterms. They’ve now launched an effort that operatives in the state say is attracting an unprecedented amount of money — and legal fights.”
“Work permits issued to immigrants who have applied for asylum or a range of other humanitarian programs will now be valid for 18 months rather than five years, under a new policy announced Thursday by the Trump administration,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“By forcing immigrants to renew their work permits more often, the government will have more opportunities to re-vet them.”
A new survey by the American Foreign Service Association paints a grim picture of life in the diplomatic corps since President Trump’s administration dismantled key federal agencies and cut thousands of jobs.
One shocking stat: 98% of the roughly 2,100 Foreign Service members who responded to the voluntary survey reported poor morale.
“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday that Democrats will offer a clean three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits for a vote next week,” CBS News reports.
“Democrats had the opportunity to present the legislation of their choice. Some moderates sought a compromise position that would stand a chance at earning the 60 votes needed to advance. Schumer’s decision to seek a clean extension means the bill is highly unlikely to pick up support from Republicans, although the move so will force GOP members to take a politically uncomfortable vote.”
Joe Klein: “I don’t know what is wrong with Donald Trump, but something clearly is. Yes, yes, he’s never been what one might call stable, but his instability is more apparent now, dangerously so. I mean, 150-160 overnight tweets on December 1—some incomprehensible, others just crazy. Michelle Obama controlling Joe Biden’s autopen?”
“And yet—this is kind of crazy, too—none of the great legacy newspapers have done, to my knowledge, an in-depth analysis of what he may have been thinking, what caused these effusions, whether there was any kind of pattern or explanation—or linked them to Trump’s nappiness at the Cabinet Obeisance Festival the following day, where, struggling not to doze off, he called Minnesota’s Somali community ‘garbage.'”
“Crude is on the crazy spectrum. Crazy is being defined down before our eyes. Trump is in a spitball lather, damp, mushy projectiles exploding in every direction.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson is racing to finalize a Republican health care plan in time to present it to his conference at their weekly meeting Tuesday, but his team still needs to decide on major contours of the plan,” Politico reports.
“One of the greatest public-health achievements of recent decades has been driving down child mortality around the world. Now, that long-running decline is reversing,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Driving the shift is a 27% decline in global health aid from donors in wealthy countries, including the U.S. and some European governments… The reductions include the Trump administration’s cutting and reorganizing of the U.S. Agency for International Development.”
Matt Van Epps (R) “was sworn Thursday as the newest House member, two days after winning a closely watched special election that helped maintain his party’s slim grip on power,” the AP reports.
“The swift seating of Van Epps bolstered the GOP’s narrow majority at a time when talk of resignations has been swirling. It also stood in stark contrast to the seven-week delay in swearing in the newest Democrat, Rep. Adelita Grijalva of Arizona. Johnson had refused to swear her into office during the government shutdown, infuriating Democrats.”
“What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service… You have two individuals and clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, were killed by the United States.”
— Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), quoted by CNN, after being shown the full video of the September 2 boat strikes.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
