Rep. Bob Onder (R-MO) raised eyebrows with a speech on the killing of Charlie Kirk, in which he claimed Americans on the left “embrace the evil, the false, and ugly,” Mediaite reports.
Onder went so far as to say his fellow citizens across the aisle “literally will kill those with whom they disagree, just as their predecessors—leftists Marx, and Stalin, and Lenin, and Pol Pot, and Fidel Castro—did.”
“The Trump administration on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to allow it to move ahead with firing Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, in an attempt to block her from taking part in the central bank’s meeting on interest rates next week,” the New York Times reports.
FBI director Kash Patel, and his deputy, Dan Bongino, are traveling to Utah to more directly oversee the manhunt for the person who killed Charlie Kirk, the New York Times reports.
“Republican leaders are eyeing a House vote on a stopgap spending bill next week that extends government funding through Nov. 20 — up to the Friday before Thanksgiving,” Politico reports.
“House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole of Oklahoma confirmed Thursday that the chamber plans to vote on a so-called ‘clean’ continuing resolution next week, taking action on a measure Democratic leaders have suggested they will reject.”
“Frustrated federal appeals court judges publicly wrestled Thursday with how to follow vague ‘signals’ from the Supreme Court contained in tersely worded — and often unexplained — orders handed down on the justices’ emergency docket,” Politico reports.
“Some judges on the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals even questioned whether they still had a role to play or were expected, at least in some cases, to simply reiterate the high court’s orders and leave it at that.”
Cook Political Report: “Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has stabilized her once-chaotic campaign in recent weeks and found some momentum by seizing on social issues, but her early missteps and the national environment continue to work against her in the open Virginia gubernatorial race.”
“Accordingly, we are shifting our rating from Lean to Likely Democrat.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both spoke with their Chinese counterparts, a “rush of high-level diplomacy” raising hopes that President Trump will meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month, the Washington Post reports.
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) castigated members of the media this morning, saying “every one of you” is responsible for Charlie Kirk’s death for “echoing the horrifically horrible political violent rhetoric produced by the Democrat Party,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“A majority of Brazil’s supreme court judges have voted to convict the country’s former president Jair Bolsonaro of plotting a military coup, leaving the far-right populist facing a decades-long sentence for leading the criminal conspiracy,” The Guardian reports.
Authorities “recovered a screwdriver near the rifle” apparently used to kill Charlie Kirk, CNN reports.
“Investigators believe this to be an indication that the shooter may have used it to disassemble and reassemble the firearm before using it.”
Capitol Police responded to a bomb threat at the Democratic National Committee headquarters but determined the threat was not credible, NewsNation reports.
Politico: “Over the past 24 hours, Johnson has been the most powerful elected Republican urging lawmakers and Americans generally to keep things from escalating both online and in person.”
“The Louisianan’s approach is largely in keeping with the way previous speakers might have handled the traumatic situation, but it is out of step with a polarized political culture that has come to color most everything that happens on Capitol Hill.”
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said she would begin carrying a gun when permitted after the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, The Hill reports.
Said Mace: “I’ll start carrying again when I’m back home, and when I’m allowed to carry where it’s reciprocal. In other states, I will have a firearm on my person all the time, and I will have security.”
“Far-right influencers and violent extremists are posting identifying details about people they view as celebrating or glorifying the murder of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk,” Wired reports.
“The campaign has been swift and widespread and has already led to at least one person losing their job and others receiving death threats.”
“Members of Congress are beginning to pull back on outdoor events following the deadly shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University — a sign of the widespread fear among elected officials amid the current surge of political violence,” Politico reports.
NBC News: Members of Congress fear for their safety after Charlie Kirk assassination.
A new Public Policy Polling survey in New York City finds Zohran Mamdani (D) leading the mayoral race with 39%, followed by Andrew Cuomo at 25%, Curtis Sliwa at 13%, Eric Adams at 12% and another 11% who aren’t sure.
“Charlie Kirk’s assassination has unleashed an outpouring of rage across the MAGA universe, with many leaders feeling his death is evidence the movement is under attack from leftist forces,” Axios reports.
“At a moment of extreme volatility in American politics, many MAGA leaders are now calling for retribution — including the criminalization of the Democratic Party.”
Along those lines, The Federalist writes that “it is time to designate the Democrat Party a domestic terrorist organization.”
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.
