“The White House’s silence on how its health care plan deals with abortion is causing a headache for Republicans on Capitol Hill,” Politico reports.
“For many GOP members, an expansion of abortion restrictions in Obamacare is a must-have. But the White House’s decision to leave the issue out of its tentative framework caught Republicans off guard, leaving them in the dark about whether the president would ultimately stake out a position publicly.”
“The Trump administration is ordering the review of all refugees admitted to the U.S. during the Biden administration,” NBC News reports.
“It is the latest in a series of actions taken by the administration to dismantle the U.S. immigration system.”
New York Times: “Mr. Trump remains almost omnipresent in American life. He appears before the news media and takes questions far more often than Mr. Biden did. Foreign leaders, chief executives, donors and others have regular access to Mr. Trump and see him in action.”
“Still, nearly a year into his second term, Americans see Mr. Trump less than they used to… Mr. Trump has fewer public events on his schedule and is traveling domestically much less than he did by this point during his first year in office, in 2017, although he is taking more foreign trips.”
“He also keeps a shorter public schedule than he used to. Most of his public appearances fall between noon and 5 p.m., on average.”
“And when he is in public, occasionally, his battery shows signs of wear.”
“The Trump administration is poised to make cuts to some housing programs, and advocates — including a mix of Republican lawmakers — are warning that could cause a surge in homelessness,” NOTUS reports.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) told Reason that President Trump’s MAGA “movement” will be “dissolved” if he gives more money to Ukraine or invades Venezuela.
Said Paul: “I actually think Trump is the one who is least likely to want to do these things, but he is surrounded by people who believe in regime change and are goading him on.”
He added: “I do think, though, that if he invades Venezuela or if he approves significant arms sales, which are really gifts to Ukraine or more welfare to Ukraine, if he does either of those, the rift with Marjorie Greene will pale in comparison to what happens to his movement. If he invades Venezuela or gives more money to Ukraine, his movement will dissolve.”
James Surowiecki: “One of Trump’s challenges in dealing with inflation is that his signature policy—raising tariffs on imports from almost every country in the world—has made the stuff Americans buy more expensive, not less. Trump could, of course, just repeal the tariffs…”
“But Trump really loves tariffs. So instead of getting rid of them, he has suggested simply sending Americans $2,000 ‘dividend’ checks paid from tariff revenues.”
“A problem with this plan is that there are no dividends to pay out: sending $2,000 checks to most American households would demand more than what the government has collected in tariff revenues so far. In other words, what Trump is proposing is dumping hundreds of billions of dollars in deficit-funded stimulus spending into the economy. That would fuel inflation, not help quash it.”
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) “filed a lawsuit against Bill Pulte, accusing the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency of violating the Privacy Act and First Amendment in order to refer the California Democrat to the Justice Department,” Politico reports.
“U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump,” Bloomberg reports.
“The conversation for the first time offers direct insight into Witkoff’s recent tactics for negotiating with Russia and what appears to be the genesis of the 28-point peace proposal that emerged earlier this month – which the U.S. has pushed Ukraine to accept as the basis of a deal.”
A quick shout out to Incogni, who has offered Political Wire readers 55% off their personal data removal service with code POLITICALWIRE.
It’s highly recommended.
“A group of influential liberal senators is directly challenging Sen. Chuck Schumer’s approach to the midterm elections and President Trump, in another sign of growing frustration among Democrats toward the minority leader,” the New York Times reports.
“The coalition of at least half a dozen senators, who call themselves the ‘Fight Club,’ is unhappy with how Mr. Schumer and his fellow senator from New York, Kirsten Gillibrand, the head of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, have chosen, recruited and, they argue, favored candidates aligned with the establishment.”
“The mutinous mood of the senators — who include Chris Van Hollen, Tina Smith, Christopher Murphy, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren — reflects the widespread doubts among the Democratic base that party leaders in Congress have a strong vision and a winning strategy for returning to power.”
“The meeting between President Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last week got heated when they discussed the possibility of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords and normalizing relations with Israel,” Axios reports.
“President Trump is considering removing Kash Patel as FBI director in the coming months, as he and his top aides have grown increasingly frustrated by the unflattering headlines Patel has recently generated,” MS NOW reports.
“Patel has come under scrutiny for his stewardship of bureau resources, including his girlfriend’s security detail and use of a government jet, and for his squabbles with other Trump loyalists.”
Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) will not seek reelection, “a seismic decision in Washington politics that will bring to a close more than a decade in leadership overseeing some of the city’s most booming times and also its most turbulent crises this century,” the Washington Post reports.
“Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered former President Jair Bolsonaro to start serving a 27-year sentence for overseeing a failed plot to hold onto power after losing the country’s last election,” the New York Times reports.
A must-read: Black Moses by Caleb Gayle.
New York Times: “The gripping story of Edward McCabe — a businessman, politician and big-dream idealist who, in the wake of the Civil War and the disappointments of Reconstruction, tried to create an all-Black state in the newly opened territory of Oklahoma.”
“In June, President Donald Trump’s two older sons held an event at Trump Tower where they touted a new made-in-the-USA mobile phone with an American flag on its back, plus a new wireless service called Trump Mobile,” NBC News reports.
“According to the initial announcement, the phone was supposed to be released in August… But three months later, there are no signs that the phone has become a reality.”
“Donald Trump has pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys, Gobble and Waddle, in the decades-old tradition,” the Daily Mail reports.
“The president joked that he wanted to call them ‘Chuck and Nancy’ after Senate Minority Leader Schumer and former House Speaker Pelosi, but said he couldn’t because he’d never pardon either of his Democratic foes.”
Said Trump: “When I first saw their pictures… I was going to call them Chuck and Nancy. But then I realized I wouldn’t be pardoning them. I would never pardon those two people.”
Washington Post: “After a little while, the words disappeared. Will they return? Be made permanent? The White House didn’t have any updates. However, a spokesman did confirm… the president selected the swoopy font himself: ‘He is personally and very involved in these beautification projects.’”
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.