Trump-appointed U.S. attorney Sigal Chattah has been disqualified after a federal judge ruled her appointment invalid.
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The Commander in Chief Is Not Okay
Tom Nichols: “American officers have never had to contend with a president like Trump. Plenty of presidents behaved badly and suffered mental and emotional setbacks: John F. Kennedy cavorted with secretaries in the White House pool, Lyndon Johnson unleashed foul-mouthed tirades on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Richard Nixon fell into depression and paranoia, Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden wrestled with the indignities of age.”
“But the officer corps knew that presidents were basically normal men surrounded by other normal men and women, and that the American constitutional system would insulate the military from any mad orders that might emerge from the Oval Office.”
“Likewise, in Trump’s first term, the president was surrounded by people who ensured that some of his nuttiest—and most dangerous—ideas were derailed before they could reach the military. Today, senior U.S. officers have to wonder who will shield them from the impulses of the person they just saw onstage.”
Senate Democrats Block Funding Bill
Senate Democrats refused to advance the House-passed funding bill, effectively ensuring the federal government will shut down at midnight.
The vote was 55 to 45 and needed 60 votes to pass.
Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Angus King (I-ME) joined all Republicans except Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in voting in favor.
Trump Says He Has a Deal with Harvard
President Trump said his administration has reached a tentative deal with Harvard University, the Ivy League school that’s been embroiled in a bitter feud with the White House, Politico reports.
Said Trump: “We reached a deal with Harvard today.”
The president initially said all that was left was for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “paper it out,” but later said McMahon “is finishing up the final details” and he thinks the administration has “a good chance of getting that closed.”
The deal could include Harvard paying $500 million, operating trade schools, teaching artificial intelligence and other unspecified actions.
Trump Pulls Nominee to Head Up BLS
The White House has sent paperwork to the Senate to withdraw the nomination of E.J. Antoni as head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, CNN reports.
Sherrill Up By 8 Points in New Jersey
A new Fox News survey in New Jersey finds Mikie Sherrill (D) ahead of Jack Ciattarelli (R) in the governor’s race, 50% to 42% among likely voters.
Schumer Rallies Democrats as Shutdown Looms
“Senate Democrats encouraged each other to dig in and stand up to President Trump on government funding during a private caucus meeting Tuesday,” Axios reports.
“A government shutdown is just hours away without a compromise from lawmakers — and Democratic resolve is only strengthening.”
“The meeting of Senate Democrats on Tuesday was described by multiple sources as a motivational one, with lawmakers encouraging each other to hold their ground against the administration.”
Sherrill’s Lead Narrows in New Jersey
A new Quantus Insights poll confirms a significant tightening in the New Jersey governor’s race.
Mikie Sherrill (D) now leads Jack Ciattarelli (R) by just two points, 48% to 46% among likely voters, down from 10 points earlier from a similar Labor Day poll.
Countdown to Shutdown
Punchbowl News: “The Senate will soon begin voting on the House-passed bill to fund federal agencies through Nov. 21. Senators will also vote on the Democratic counteroffer, a monthlong continuing resolution filled with health care policy riders and restrictions on the White House’s ability to rescind funding.”
“Both proposals will fail, and senators will then likely be sent home for the night with no clear path forward.”
“The biggest dynamic to watch is whether any Democratic senators — other than Sen. John Fetterman — vote for the House-passed CR.”
Fetterman Says Shutdown Will Only Benefit Trump
Hours before the government funding clock runs out, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) said that a shutdown would benefit President Trump, The Hill reports.
Said Fetterman: “The president has a lot of levers he could pull. This is one we could pull but why would we pull that lever? Because that allows him to pull a lot more levers.”
He added: “I think that would be the ideal for Project 2025.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them.”
— President Trump, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, saying he could use a government shutdown to flex his executive powers at Democrats’ expense.
Top Military Brass Reacted Little to Trump’s Remarks
New York Times: “Other than some chuckles when Mr. Trump tried to crack jokes, nearly all of the generals and admirals listened to the president’s remarks in silence. There were no loud ovations during his remarks, after senior Pentagon leaders warned the attendees not to react or cheer, in keeping with the norms of the country’s traditionally nonpartisan military.”
A Rare Moment of Leverage
Bloomberg: “Schumer’s move gives Democrats a rare moment of leverage in a Washington where Republicans control the House, the Senate, the White House and the Supreme Court. Trump has waged a global trade war, deployed troops in cities, slashed the federal work force and withheld funding for states, cities and health care research, mostly by executive order. Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, passed Trump’s massive tax and spending package under special procedures that required no Democratic votes.”
“But to fund the government — Congress’s primary job — Republicans need 60 votes in the Senate to end a filibuster. There are just 53 Republican senators, giving the chamber’s 47 Democrats outsize influence in this debate.”
Hamas Urged to Accept Trump’s Deal
“Qatar, Egypt and Turkey are urging Hamas to give a positive response to President Trump’s proposal for ending the war in Gaza,” Axios reports.
“The three countries are the mediators with the closest ties to Hamas and primary responsibility for passing messages between the group and Israel and the U.S. Top officials of those countries have met Hamas leaders twice in the last 24 hours.”
Hegseth’s Meeting with Generals Falls Flat
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech to top generals was supposed to serve as a rallying cry for military exceptionalism — but it didn’t land that way with many of the people it was targeting,” Politico reports.
“Numerous defense officials — who watched senior brass scramble to Washington and then sit through a partisan speech from President Donald Trump and a return to old-school military standards by Hegseth — were left wondering why the event had occurred at all.”
Said one defense official: “More like a press conference than briefing the generals… Could have been an email.”
Shutdown Unlikely to Impact 2025 Elections
“A government shutdown would unfold just weeks before statewide elections in New Jersey and Virginia, with furloughs and layoffs hitting while more voters are tuning in,” Semafor reports.
“But neither party expects to get an advantage from the resulting chaos, in either state.”
“It’s a surprising reality that points to how little the risk of a shutdown has broken through with voters or outside-the-Beltway media.”
Republicans Refuse to Swear In Newly-Elected Democrat
“Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Republican leaders refused requests from Democrats to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ) on Tuesday, saying she will be sworn in when the House returns to regular session,” The Hill reports.
“The move deprives a petition of the last signature it needs to force a vote on a bill to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, a push that Republican leaders and President Trump oppose.”
Judge Rules Trump Illegally Targeted Protesters
In a blistering rebuke of the Trump administration, U.S. District Judge William Young said that the push to deport noncitizens for their activism against Israel’s war in Gaza was a “truly scandalous and unconstitutional suppression of free speech,” the Washington Post reports.
Young decried the administration’s conduct in striking terms, quoting President Ronald Reagan’s declaration that freedom must “be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.”
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