The Economist: “Mr. Trump is using his office to punish adversaries in ways that are without precedent. The actions are often alarming in themselves, but what may eventually matter more is that together they are intensifying not just the perceived stakes of politics, which have been climbing for years among hyperpartisans, but the actual importance for officeholders of political authority. The way Mr. Trump uses power, in other words, is raising the real stakes for holding on to power. No one can be certain where this will lead, but it is surely sharpening the incentives of American politics.”

“It has always been crushing to lose an election, but the worthies of a defeated administration could count on lucrative corporate jobs or respectable postings at think-tanks or universities while they awaited the turn of the political wheel. This arrangement was cosy and could be corrupting, as some officials looked ahead to passing through the ‘revolving door‘ to a lobbying job and then maybe back to power. But it was also stabilizing. There was a good life to be had after government, along with the prospect of a return to public office, probably in a more senior role.”

“Now, when they lose power, officials have reason to fear criminal investigation.”

“The Trump administration recently approached a coalition of U.S. investors set to take over TikTok’s U.S. operations with an ask: Will the group make a payment to the federal government ‘in the low billions,’ according to a person with direct knowledge of the talks,” NPR reports.

“The response from the investors, which includes tech mogul Larry Ellison, the Murdochs and venture capital heavyweight Andreessen Horowitz, was an unequivocal yes.”

Said the person: “Not a single member balked. They see it as something of a finders’ fee.”

“The Trump administration is expecting a government shutdown come Wednesday and there are no current plans to negotiate with Democratic leadership,” Politico reports.

Said the official:  “We’re going to extract maximum pain… Democrats will pay a huge price for this.”

David Frum: “Yes, Trump’s politicization of the Department of Justice is a backward-looking expression of hurt feelings. It’s also another step in a forward-looking plot to shred the rule of law in order to pervert the next election and protect his corruption from accountability. James Comey’s rights and liberties are not the only ones at risk today. So is your own right to participate in free and fair elections in order to render a verdict on Trump’s invasion of those rights and liberties.”

“Trump understands the stakes—and has been astoundingly transparent about his intentions. Will you listen and understand as clearly as he speaks and threatens?”

Miami Herald: “Federal prosecutor Will Rosenzweig took a short break from his healthcare fraud and money-laundering cases at the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami this week to observe the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, with his family.”

“But he noticed something was amiss when his office-issued mobile phone wasn’t working on Tuesday. He called the office to find out what was wrong. Rosenzweig soon learned his phone was shut off because he had been fired by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi…”

“Rosenzweig was fired, according to multiple sources, because of the negative things he said about Trump on a social media blog before he became a federal prosecutor in Miami.”

ProPublica: “The records show that Noem quickly expedited more than $11 million of federal money to rebuild a historic pier in Naples, Florida, after she was contacted by a major financial supporter last month. The pier is a tourist attraction in the wealthy Gulf Coast enclave and was badly damaged by Hurricane Ian in 2022.”

“Frustrated city officials had been laboring for months, without success, to get disaster assistance. But just two weeks after the donor stepped in, they were celebrating their sudden change of fortune.”