Punchbowl News: “Republicans are coming to terms with a post-Trump political landscape where the party can no longer rely on the president’s coattails to win majorities.”
“Memories of 2018 and 2022 are still fresh in Republicans’ minds. In those years, low-propensity Trump voters stayed home and Democratic turnout skyrocketed.”
Jonathan Martin: “The answer is that Trump is living his best life in this second and final turn in the White House.”
“Coming up on one year back in power, he’s turned the office into an adult fantasy camp, a Tom Hanks-in-Big, ice-cream-for-dinner escapade posing as a presidency.”
Wall Street Journal: “The lawsuit names as defendants the Defense Department, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell. It says the policies, enacted earlier this fall, are unreasonable and chill protected speech that Department officials may not like.”
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Federal prosecutors are “expected to seek to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday in Norfolk, Va. on charges related to alleged mortgage fraud,” MS NOW reports.
Playbook: “The defense secretary sees not one but two major crises coming to a head today. First up will be publication of the long-awaited inspector-general’s report on his role in the Signalgate fiasco, which saw Hegseth post detailed plans for an upcoming U.S. bombing raid into an unsecured Signal chat group which — unbeknownst to him — included a prominent magazine editor.”
“While we’re all devouring that, naval commander Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley will be privately briefing senior members of Congress on the attack on a Venezuelan boat in September which this week saw Hegseth accused of war crimes. Bradley is the military chief who made the decision to fire a second missile at the ship on Sept. 2, apparently after survivors were spotted on board. The Washington Post reported last week that Hegseth had given a verbal order to kill everyone on board — something Hegseth flatly denies.”
“Donald Trump’s aides and allies are discussing the possibility of making Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent the top White House economic adviser — in addition to his current job — should the president pick Kevin Hassett as the next chair of the Federal Reserve,” Bloomberg reports.
“In a classified briefing for lawmakers scrutinizing the Trump administration’s killing of suspected drug smugglers around Latin America, top Republicans in the room appeared frustrated,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Pentagon, facing questions about its legal basis for attacking civilian vessels, sent no lawyers to the October meeting — a move multiple lawmakers in the room considered inexplicable. The Defense Department officials who did attend, those people said, were unable to explain the mission’s strategy and scope — even as President Donald Trump openly mused about expanding the campaign to include land targets inside Venezuela.”
“New polling shows many Americans have begun to blame President Donald Trump for the high costs they’re feeling across virtually every part of their lives — and it’s shifting politics,” Politico reports.
“Almost half — 46 percent — say the cost of living in the U.S. is the worst they can ever remember it being, a view held by 37 percent of 2024 Trump voters. Americans also say that the affordability crisis is Trump’s responsibility, with 46 percent saying it is his economy now and his administration is responsible for the costs they struggle with.”
“Economic pain is mounting quickly for America’s small businesses, raising the chances of a Main Street recession despite an AI-powered growth boom,” Axios reports.
“The economic fortunes of mom-and-pop businesses are diverging from their larger counterparts. The dynamic is not new, but the divide is getting bigger, faster.”
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other Democrats are pressing the leaders of Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Meta to provide details on their donations to support President Trump’s White House ballroom—and whether the companies have any quid pro quo arrangements with the Trump administration,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shocked official Washington in mid-October when he announced that the four-star head of U.S. military operations in the Caribbean was retiring less than a year into his tenure,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“But according to two Pentagon officials, Hegseth asked Adm. Alvin Holsey to step down, a de facto ouster that was the culmination of months of discord between Hegseth and the officer. It began days after President Trump’s inauguration in January and intensified months later when Holsey had initial concerns about the legality of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.”
Punchbowl News: “The deadline to extend Obamacare premium subsidies is just three weeks away. And Congress is nowhere on this issue.”
“There’s been no real push from party leaders on either side to secure a deal, leaving moderates and vulnerable Republicans scrambling.”
“As the chances for a deal hover near zero, the fingerpointing has only intensified ahead of “show” votes in the Senate next week. Senate Republican leaders are dealing with an absent White House while they struggle to coalesce around a messaging bill to counter Democrats’ unity on a subsidy extension.”
“A dormant government building in the nation’s capital may seem like an unlikely setting for the signing of a peace deal,” the New York Times reports.
“But nearly nine months after the Trump administration seized control of the U.S. Institute of Peace headquarters in an extraordinary public showdown and all but shuttered it, the center has re-emerged, newly named for President Trump.”
New York Times: “Less than a year out from midterm elections in which Republicans’ vanishingly small majority is at stake, Mr. Johnson’s grasp on his gavel appears weaker than ever, as members from all corners of his conference openly complain about his leadership. Some predict that he may not last as the speaker for the rest of this term.”
“Republican women, in particular, have been publicly challenging Mr. Johnson and taking issue with his priorities and his style.”
“Their dissatisfaction is indicative of a broader splintering of a restive group of GOP lawmakers who are perpetually unhappy with their leaders, but appear to be reaching a breaking point with the current man at the top.”
“The Pentagon knew there were survivors after a September attack on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean Sea and the U.S. military still carried out a follow-up strike,” the AP reports.
“The rationale for the second strike was that it was needed to sink the vessel.”
“What remains unclear was who ordered the strikes and whether Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was involved.”
“Confronted with a growing string of GOP underperformances in off-year elections, key pro-Trump activists see more MAGA — not less — as the only solution,” Axios reports.
“The reaction suggests a movement uninterested in grappling with the limits of its appeal — a departure from the panicked introspection both parties have traditionally undergone after off-year disappointments.”
“President Trump didn’t tell Speaker Mike Johnson that he was granting a ‘full and unconditional pardon’ to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) before announcing it on Truth Social this morning,” Axios reports.
“Trump’s pardon boosts one of House Republicans’ top political targets — and could hamper GOP efforts to protect their razor-thin majority in next year’s midterms.“
Rep. Chuy García’s (D-IL) “handpicked successor is officially getting a challenge,” NBC News reports.
“Mayra Macías is a lifelong Democrat and Chicago native who has worked on Latino advocacy and promoting former President Joe Biden’s agenda. She announced her candidacy Wednesday to run as an independent in Illinois’ 4th Congressional District. If elected, Macías said she would caucus with Democrats.”
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.
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