Radio host Mark Levin slammed Donald Trump’s allies who re calling for a third term, The Independent reports.
Said Levin: “Nobody gets to run for a third term. Nobody.”
He took specific aim at Steve Bannon: ‘The guy pled guilty to a felony, ripping off little old ladies raising money for a wall that was never built. He’s telling us Trump’s gonna run for a third term.”
Coming in December: American Canto by Olivia Nuzzi.
“A mesmerizing firsthand account of the warping of American reality over the past decade as Donald Trump has risen to dominance—from a participatory witness who got so far inside the distortion field that it swallowed her whole.”
“President Trump announced that he would direct the Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons ‘on an equal basis’ with Russia and China, raising the pressure on Beijing less than an hour before he was scheduled to meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for a high-stakes summit here,” the Washington Post reports.
“The announcement signaled a reversal of decades of United States nuclear policy, though Trump’s post on Truth Social included very few details about what the tests would entail. The last nuclear weapon test in the United States was held in 1992, before former president George H.W. Bush implemented a moratorium on such tests at the conclusion of the Cold War.”
“A group of rank-and-file senators increasingly frustrated by the weeks-long stalemate on Capitol Hill believe they have found a possible path to end the government shutdown,” CNN reports.
“It’s not yet clear if it will work.”
“Behind the scenes, this gang of Republicans and Democrats have been engaged in a dual-track negotiation. One of their goals is to resolve the impasse on health care and reopen the government for the next few weeks.”
“They are also hoping to reach a separate long-term agreement to fund certain key departments, including the US Department of Agriculture, which funds food stamps, through next year.”
“National Guard troops deployed in Washington, DC, will remain mobilized in the city at least through February 2026,” CNN reports.
“The troops’ orders had been expected to lapse at the end of November before Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth extended them, which has not been previously reported.”
Out this week: The Great Contradiction: The Tragic Side of the American Founding by Joseph J. Ellis.
A look at how America’s founders—Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Madison, Adams—regarded the issue of slavery as they drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) shut down the idea of bringing his chamber back before the Senate acts on a government funding bill, telling reporters it would be a “futile exercise,” Axios reports.
“President Trump’s budget team raided three different financial accounts to make sure U.S. troops are paid Friday as the government shutdown continues,” Axios reports.
“As long as military personnel are paid, Trump isn’t planning to budge on the nearly month-old shutdown, even with as many as 42 million people set to lose food stamp benefits Saturday.”
“President Trump’s advisers are considering Las Vegas as the location for the GOP’s midterm political convention next year, as Republicans seek to preserve their narrow majority in Congress,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Trump has told aides that the convention will be a forum to highlight Republican congressional candidates and incumbents, as well as his own record as president, the people said. He first pitched the idea for a midterm political convention earlier this year, and his advisers are drawing up plans for the event.”
The FBI informed Congress that it “strongly” opposed a proposal to make the Office of the Director of National Intelligence the lead counterintelligence agency for the federal government, bringing into public view a rift among top national security officials, the New York Times reports.
The disclosure, made in a pointed and unusual letter, underscored the broader concern at other agencies, including the FBI, over a House bill that would empower Tulsi Gabbard to play a more prominent role in counterintelligence issues.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said another rate cut in December is not guaranteed, Bloomberg reports.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom told ABC News that former President Joe Biden will go down as “one of the most successful presidents in the last century.”
Said Newsom: “I will defend that to my grave.”
“Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is on the warpath against her own party’s handling of the government shutdown. And her fellow Republicans are increasingly calling her out,” Politico reports.
“The firebrand three-term lawmaker, long an ally of President Donald Trump, has distanced herself from Republican leadership in recent months. And as the shutdown drags on, Greene’s loud — and usually lonely — dissent risks fracturing Republicans’ efforts to present a united front and pressure Democrats into caving on funding the government.”
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday he expects to meet soon with a group of rank-and-file Senate Democrats about ending the 29-day-and-counting government shutdown,” Politico reports.
“If the meeting happens, it would be a rare bipartisan gathering involving a top party leader.”
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning to unveil a consequential overhaul of U.S. arms sales that could reshape how the Pentagon sends weapons to allies and help replenish dwindling stockpiles,” Politico reports.
“Hegseth is expected to announce the changes on Nov. 7 at an unusual gathering of defense industry executives.”
Just published: Giving Up Is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping a Democracy by Joyce Vance.
A political manifesto for our present moment.
Illinois congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh (D) is among a half dozen people the Justice Department has charged for allegedly impeding an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, Axios reports.
“President Donald Trump heads into a historic meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping facing a delicate test: projecting strength against America’s top adversary without triggering another economic shock at home,” Politico reports.
“The high-stakes encounter, the first between the two men in more than six years, comes after months of tariff feints and escalating rhetoric that have rattled markets and strained global supply chains — and at a moment when Trump is eager to prove that his economic nationalism can still deliver concrete wins.”
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.
