December 10, 2025

Captain Crook, Pirate of the Caribbean, Scores a Tanker. Tyler Pager, et al., of the New York Times: “The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela..., [Donald] Trump announced on Wednesday, a dramatic escalation in his administration’s pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela. 'As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela,' Mr. Trump said during a White House event on a new luxury visa program. 'A large tanker, very large. Largest one ever seized, actually, and other things are happening.' Mr. Trump declined to say who owned the tanker. But when asked about the ship’s oil, he said: 'Well, we keep it, I guess.'

“[A U.S. official] identified the tanker as a vessel called the Skipper, and said it was carrying Venezuelan oil from Petróleos de Venezuela, the state-owned oil company known as PDVSA. The official said the ship had been previously linked to the smuggling of Iranian oil — a global black market that the Justice Department has been investigating for years. The vessel was sailing under the flag of another Latin American nation in which it was not registered, the official said, and its ultimate destination was Asia. A federal judge issued a seizure warrant roughly two weeks ago because of the ship’s past activities smuggling Iranian oil, not because of links to the Maduro government, the official said. Prosecutors have said that Iran uses money generated from oil sales to fund its military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which the United States has designated a terrorist entity.” The AP's story is here.

Victoria Guida of Politico: “A divided Federal Reserve voted to lower interest rates again on Wednesday, but officials signaled that another cut won’t be immediate, ratcheting up tensions with ... Donald Trump. The decision to reduce rates by a quarter point was hotly debated within the central bank, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell was able to corral his rate-setting committee into moving forward with one more cut, the third time the central bank has lowered borrowing costs this year. The central bank’s benchmark rate is now at a range of 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent, the lowest in three years.”

Noah Robertson of the Washington Post: “The House on Wednesday approved a must-pass defense policy bill, advancing lawmakers’ effort to force the release of a video showing the controversial military strike that killed two men who survived an initial attack on their alleged drug smuggling vessel. The vote was 312 to 112. The Senate could pass the measure in coming days, and lawmakers say they are confident President Donald Trump will sign it into law.”  Politico's story is here.

Evan Hurst of Wonkette thinks he's identified "the most insane thing" Trump has ever posted. 

Sudhin Thanawala of the AP: “The Trump administration must stop deploying the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control of the troops to the state, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted a preliminary injunction sought by California officials who opposed ... Donald Trump’s extraordinary move to use state Guard troops without the governor’s approval to further his immigration enforcement efforts. But he also put the decision on hold until Monday.”

Michael Sisak of the AP: “Secret grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case can be made public, a judge ruled Wednesday, joining two other judges in granting the Justice Department’s requests to unseal material from investigations into the late financier’s sexual abuse. U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman reversed his earlier decision to keep the material under wraps, citing a new law that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. The judge previously cautioned that the 70 or so pages of grand jury materials slated for release are hardly revelatory. On Tuesday, a different Manhattan federal judge ordered the release of records from Maxwell’s 2021 sex trafficking case. Last week, a judge in Florida approved the unsealing of transcripts from an abandoned Epstein federal grand jury investigation in the 2000s.” Related story by the New York Times' Benjamin Weiser linked below. 

Seb Starcevic of Politico: “Pope Leo called on ... Donald Trump not to 'break apart' the transatlantic alliance after the Republican leader harshly criticized Europe in an interview with Politico. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at Castel Gandolfo near Rome, the pontiff said Trump’s recent statements — in which he derided European leaders as 'weak' and the continent as  'decaying' — were an attempt to destroy the U.S.-Europe relationship. 'The remarks that were made about Europe also in interviews recently I think are trying to break apart what I think needs to be a very important alliance today and in the future,' Pope Leo said.” MB: It's Christmas season, Donald. Are you going to knock the Pope? Call his a loser, maybe? Write an after-midnight post accusing him of being stupid and nasty? 

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NYT Headline: “Trump’s Speech on Economy Veers into a Xenophobic Tirade.” Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “Facing criticism for rising costs for American consumers under his administration..., [Donald] Trump stoked fear of immigrants from poor countries to rally a crowd of his supporters at a Pennsylvania casino on Tuesday.... Mr. Trump veered between assurances that life was better than ever under his administration and blaming immigrants for the country’s economic woes.... He earned raucous cheers from his supporters as he spoke of “reverse migration” and trumpeted what he called a 'permanent pause' on immigration from 'hellholes like Afghanistan, Haiti, Somalia and many other countries.' Soon after, a member of the crowd yelled out a crude term that Mr. Trump used during his first administration to disparage Haiti and some nations in Africa. The president laughed. 'I didn’t say “shithole,” you did!' Mr. Trump replied with a grin. He then recounted his use of the term at a White House meeting in 2018.... Mr. Trump had then denied saying that after it was publicly reported. Nearly six years later, he appeared proud of the remark.... During his xenophobic tirade, Mr. Trump made little distinction between unauthorized migrants and those who followed all the correct procedures to enter the country....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I read the NYT daily, and it's hard not to notice that the editors seem to have allowed some reporters to take off the gloves. So good for Cameron for essentially condemning the POTUS*, and kudos to the headline writer (on the front page) who went with it. (The interior headline uses the phrase "anti-immigrant tirade.) This move toward honesty in reporting about Trump took an entire decade. We'll see if this particular story sticks all day or if the White House "persuades" the Times to ratchet down. ~~

     ~~~ An AP report on the "shithole countries" remark is here. ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman: Donald Trump & Scott Bessent say you and I are the problem: the economy is terrific and we ingrates don't appreciate it. “So the 'affordability tour' is off to a disastrous start. And it won’t get better, because while Trump insists that the problem is you, it’s actually him. And he isn’t going to change.”

Tony Romm of the New York Times: Donald “Trump reprised his campaign to pressure the Federal Reserve on Tuesday, claiming without evidence that his predecessor, Joseph R. Biden Jr., might have improperly installed four members of the nation’s central bank. Mr. Trump levied the allegations during a speech about the economy in Pennsylvania.... The comments appeared to signal a new attempt by Mr. Trump to browbeat the nation’s central bank into lowering interest rates. The timing was hardly coincidental, as the Fed began its two-day, rate-setting meeting on Tuesday, with the final decision set to be unveiled on Wednesday.... Mr. Trump then appeared to direct Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who accompanied him on the trip [to Pennsylvania], to explore the matter. 'Would you check that, Scott, OK?' the president said. 'Because I’m hearing that the autopen could have signed maybe all four [of the Fed governors], but maybe a couple of them. We’ll take two.'”

Paul Waldman explains welfare queens to Republicans: "... you can’t help but notice that some of the people who shout the loudest about how independent they are and how much they despise the government meddling in their lives are the people who have benefited the most from it. Like farmers, yes, but also techno-libertarian billionaire douchebags complaining about the gentlest regulation, when it was the government that created the internet in the first place and made everything they do possible. So yes, farm country is full of welfare queens, and so is Silicon Valley. So are cities and suburbs and small towns. I’m a welfare queen, and so are you. And there’s nothing wrong with that." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hilarious! Justin Elliott, et al., of ProPublica: “For months, the Trump administration has been accusing its political enemies of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence.... Donald Trump branded one foe who did so 'deceitful and potentially criminal.' He called another “CROOKED” on Truth Social and pushed the attorney general to take action. But years earlier, Trump did the very thing he’s accusing his enemies of, records show. In 1993, Trump signed a mortgage for a 'Bermuda style' home in Palm Beach, Florida, pledging that it would be his principal residence. Just seven weeks later, he got another mortgage for a seven-bedroom, marble-floored neighboring property, attesting that it too would be his principal residence. In reality, Trump, then a New Yorker, does not appear to have ever lived in either home, let alone used them as a principal residence. Instead, the two houses, which are next to his historic Mar-a-Lago estate, were used as investment properties and rented out.... Trump hung up on a ProPublica reporter after being asked whether his Florida mortgages were similar to those of others he had accused of fraud.” Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See his commentary yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)

Uh-oh. Noah Robertson, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said Tuesday that he planned to end an inquiry into a U.S. military strike that killed two survivors of an attack on their alleged drug smuggling vessel in early September. Rep. Mike D. Rogers (Alabama) told reporters Tuesday that he had received all of the information he needed after launching the probe less than two weeks ago.... The abrupt announcement casts doubt on what has been perhaps the most muscular oversight effort from Congress during Pete Hegseth’s tenure as secretary of defense.... Rogers ... expressed his hesitancy to proceed soon after a classified call with Adm. Alvin Holsey, the top U.S. military officer overseeing operations in Latin America.” ~~~

     ~~~ Connor O'Brien of Politico: “'It’s done,' Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) told reporters Tuesday when asked about his next moves to probe the incident. 'I’ve got all the answers I needed.'... That’s unlikely to sit well with Democrats who’ve pressed for a full investigation, including public hearings.... Rogers said [U.S. Southern Command head Adm. Alvin Holsey, who abruptly announced in October he’d step down in December] told lawmakers his departure is 'personal.' 'He just said that’s private,' Rogers said. 'He said it had nothing to do with the operations in his command.'” ~~~

~~~ Megan Mineiro & Julian Barnes of the New York Times: “Democratic lawmakers said on Tuesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a classified briefing, declined to commit to showing the full Congress unedited video of the U.S. military’s attack on a boat in the Caribbean on Sept. 2.... The closed-door discussion also included Secretary of State Marco Rubio; John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director; and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It mostly centered on the 22 known boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that the Trump administration has carried out since early September.... The meeting, in which administration officials briefed congressional leaders and the top members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, was 'very unsatisfying,' [Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer [said].”

Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: “The top U.S. military officer overseeing operations in Latin America met privately with lawmakers on Tuesday, days before he is due to step down from his position prematurely amid tension with the Trump administration and its deadly counternarcotics campaign there. Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of U.S. Southern Command, met in a classified session with Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (Mississippi) and the committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed (Rhode Island). Reed, speaking to reporters afterward, said that Holsey 'described the command relationships' he experienced and was  'forthcoming,' though there is 'still more to be gleaned.' House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (Alabama) and Rep. Adam Smith (Washington), the top Democrat on that committee, scheduled a separate call with Holsey later in the day.... Holsey’s interview was expected to cover a range of topics, including the controversial nature of his early retirement and bipartisan scrutiny of the decision-making on Sept. 2....” (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: In case anyone was thinking that Trump, Hegseth, et al., are stupid enough to believe they really are fighting a war on drug traffickers, here's proof they know blowing up boatloads of people is performative murder and the whole operation will not stand up to legal scrutiny: ~~~ 

⭐~~~ Damien Cave, et al., of the New York Times: “...  on Oct. 29, Pentagon officials convened ... a video conference involving dozens of American diplomats from across the Western Hemisphere. The message was that any rescued survivors [of boat strikes] should be sent back to their home countries or to a third country, said three ... officials.... Behind that policy was a quieter goal: to ensure survivors did not end up in the U.S. judicial system, where court cases could force the administration to show evidence justifying President Trump’s military campaign in the region.... Pentagon officials largely kept State Department counterparts in the dark about strike operations, then scrambled to try to enlist diplomats to help deal with survivors, whom military officials referred to by specific terms that included 'distressed mariners.' That phrase is usually used in a peacetime and civilian context.... The administration maintains it is conducting a military operation in an 'armed conflict' against drug cartels, though many legal experts say the campaign amounts to the summary execution of civilians.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is the New York Times showing the country why real journalism is critical to democracy and why they -- and other major media -- refused to sign a pledge not to report anything but Pentagon press releases. The Times has sued the Defense Department over the new policy. ~~~

~~~ Mariana Alfaro & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: “A group of civil rights advocacy organizations filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration, seeking the release of a legal memo and other documents related to lethal U.S. military strikes on boats suspected of trafficking drugs from Latin America. The complaint alleges that the nearly two dozen boat strikes carried out since September are illegal and that the public deserves to see how ... Donald Trump’s administration has justified them.... The ACLU, the New York Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. ”

Amelia Nierenberg of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said in an interview published on Tuesday that Europe was weak and its nations were 'decaying,' days after the Trump administration issued a strategy paper that indicated that the United States should no longer guarantee the continent’s security. The president’s comments, made in a wide-ranging interview with Politico, widened a dispute between Mr. Trump and his European counterparts over Europe’s future and how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Mr. Trump said that President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who has rejected parts of a U.S. proposal for a cease-fire, would have to 'get on the ball' and start 'accepting things.' Mr. Zelensky’s army is losing the war, Mr. Trump said, suggesting that it was time for him to compromise in the cease-fire talks.” A Politico story, which takes a somewhat different tack, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I do think Trump is right about one essential aspect of Europe's response to Russia's war on Ukraine: European governments have not done enough to support Ukraine. They have relied on the U.S. to carry an outsized portion of the financial burden, when Russia's aggression most directly threatens them, not the U.S. Had the heads of the strongest European countries had the guts Zelensky has showed, the Russia/Ukraine war probably would be over, and Putin would have been the loser. ~~~

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: “By thrusting himself into negotiations over rival bids by Netflix and Paramount to buy Warner Bros...,  [Donald] Trump is once again testing the boundaries of his power at a time when the Supreme Court is cutting back on Congress’s ability to check presidential authority. A law empowering the government to block mergers does not specify a personal role for presidents to leverage that authority on a whim or for their own benefit. Congress gave that power to two agencies — the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department’s antitrust division — to use based on their analysis of market power concentration and consumer harm. Mr. Trump, however, declared on Sunday that Netflix’s bid 'could be a problem' because of its market share, asserting, 'I’ll be involved in that decision.' On Monday, it emerged that the private equity firm of his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, was backing the bid by Paramount, even as Mr. Trump also pressured the company over a decision by its subsidiary, CBS, to air an interview on '60 Minutes' that criticized him.... 'If we give this executive power [to determine if a merger is legal] to the F.T.C. and the antitrust division but then permit the president to engage in post hoc manipulation, that is very, very bad law enforcement policy because it means we no longer have a rule of law,” Professor [Herbert] Hovenkamp [of the University of Pennsylvania] said.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now, here's Savage, right in his lede, falling back on benign language -- "testing the boundaries" -- to downplay another of Trump's appalling, self-serving power grabs. Bad habits die hard.  

Ana Swanson of the New York Times: “Stephen Miller, a top adviser to ... [Donald] Trump, sold shares worth $50,000 to $100,000 in the mining company MP Materials following a July announcement of a lucrative deal between the Las Vegas company and the Trump administration, government filings show. The sale came one month after the Trump administration announced an extraordinary series of measures to support MP Materials, which produces valuable rare earth minerals and magnets. The deal, which included the government purchasing shares in the company and committing to buy its products, led MP Materials’ share price to skyrocket.... Mr. Miller’s sale, which has not been previously reported, was part of a collection of trades that he made in August when he sold stakes in nearly two dozen companies. That included others in which the Trump administration subsequently committed to take an equity stake, including Intel and Westinghouse.... Ethics experts said that the sales raised a number of questions and concerns....”

Kavanaugh Stops Are Brutal, Senators Find. Nicole Foy of ProPublica: “A congressional investigation out today has found that, contrary to the Trump administration’s claims, immigration agents have frequently detained and mistreated U.S. citizens. The report by Senate Democrats, which was prompted by ProPublica’s reporting, included interviews with nearly two dozen Americans. Citizens told congressional investigators that immigration officers had dragged them from cars, detained them for days, fabricated claims of assault, routinely used excessive force and denied medical care. The investigation also found that agents 'treated children with reckless disregard for their safety and wellbeing.'... 'What most struck me is the brutality and physical violence involved in every story,' said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.... Justice Brett Kavanaugh argued that citizens had no reason to worry. 'If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen,' Kavanaugh wrote, 'they promptly let the individual go.' The congressional investigation found that one citizen was actually held for four days.” 

Lorena Figueroa of the Guardian: “Officers at the large immigration detention camp located at the Fort Bliss army base in Texas are allegedly mistreating detainees, with accusations including beatings, sexual abuse and clandestine deportations of non-Mexican nationals into Mexico, according to a coalition of local and national US civil rights organizations. In a 19-page letter, addressed to senior government officials at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and Fort Bliss military command, the coalition accuses officers at the immigration detention facility on the base, called Camp East Montana, of being 'in violation of agency policies and standards, as well as statutory and constitutional protections'. The advocates called for the immediate closure of the camp, where more than 2,700 detainees are being held in a complex of tents.”

Maria Paúl of the Washington Post: “Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) on Tuesday signed into law a slate of measures that seek to limit immigration enforcement in the state as he pushes back on an aggressive federal campaign of mass deportations.... The bill, signed in Chicago’s predominantly Latino Little Village neighborhood..., bans civil immigration arrests at state courthouses or within 1,000 feet of those facilities, and restricts what information Illinois hospitals, childcare centers and colleges can share with immigration authorities. The measure also makes it easier for people to sue immigration officers by establishing a state-level right to seek damages for constitutional violations during enforcement. The law authorizes recovery of legal costs and compensatory damages, filling a gap left by federal courts that have narrowed such remedies in recent years.” The AP's story is here.

Spencer Ackerman: In Alligator Alcatraz, Amnesty International found "Florida jailers using CIA-pedigreed torture techniques on migrants accused of being in the country without proper authorization, a civil, not criminal, violation." MB: Ron DeSantis should go to jail for this. BTW, re: those 2x2 torture boxes, that's 2x2 meters or about 6-1/2 feet by 6-1/2 feet. Thank you to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I was of the impression Alligator Alcatraz had been shut down. It has not. Michael Finkel in the Naples Daily News (Nov. 14): "Alligator Alcatraz is still open and keeping detainees in its caged facilities. Most people we talk to do not know that an appeals court overturned the lower judge’s order to close the camp. Our national and state disgrace continues." And Trump should be careful about leaving the U.S. Maybe he'll be arrested for crimes against humanity while he's golfing at one of his clubs in Ireland or Scotland. (Also linked yesterday.)

Christine Chung of the New York Times: “Travelers visiting the United States from countries like Britain, France, Germany and South Korea could soon have to undergo a review of up to five years of their social media history, according to a proposal filed on Tuesday by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The change would affect visitors eligible for the visa waiver program, which allows people from 42 countries to travel to the United States for up to 90 days without a visa as long as they first obtain electronic travel authorization. In a document filed on Tuesday in the Federal Register, C.B.P. said it plans to ask applicants for a long list of personal data including social media, email addresses from the last decade, and the names, birth dates, places of residence and birthplaces of parents, spouses, siblings and children. Under the current system, applicants from visa waiver countries must enroll in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization program. They pay $40 and submit an email address, home address, phone number and emergency contact information. The authorization is good for two years.” The link appears to be a gift link. 

Another Nut Job Joins Team Trump. Brianna Sacks of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration has tapped a man who has repeatedly claimed that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election to be one of the most important officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Gregg Phillips, who served as a top human services official in Texas and Mississippi, also has no official, prominent experience managing emergencies, but has been on the ground for disasters for decades working with nonprofits and religious organizations.... n one LinkedIn post, Phillips said he has been “a very vocal opponent of FEMA” and believes that the agency has failed people in need. On Monday, he starts as administrator of FEMA’s Office of Response and Recovery.... His goal is to carry out ... Donald Trump’s mission to drastically overhaul the agency.... Early this year, the president tossed around the idea to get rid of FEMA all together. Since then, his administration has drastically reduced FEMA’s autonomy and operations....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket, who broke the story of Phillips' appointment, has more details on him. I do urge you to read her report. Phillips is hardly the first certifiable lunatic Trump has hired to ruin the federal government, but he's a hard case ... AND a reminder, as if we needed one, that not only does the fish rot from the head down, but that most of the components of this fish are IN-SANE. If you met any of them in a public place, you would back away carefully. Really.

~~~ Rubio Wins the Fonts War! Outflanks the Vision-Impaired! Michael Crowley & Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio waded into the surprisingly fraught politics of typefaces on Tuesday with an order halting the State Department’s official use of Calibri, reversing a 2023 Biden-era directive that Mr. Rubio called a 'wasteful' sop to diversity. While mostly framed as a matter of clarity and formality in presentation, Mr. Rubio’s directive to all diplomatic posts around the world blamed 'radical' diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs for what he said was a misguided and ineffective switch from the serif typeface Times New Roman to sans serif Calibri in official department paperwork.... Then-Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken ordered the 2023 typeface shift on the recommendation of the State Department’s office of diversity and inclusion, which Mr. Rubio has since abolished. The change was meant to improve accessibility for readers with disabilities, such as low vision and dyslexia, and people who use assistive technologies, such as screen readers.” Update: The link is a gift link. A Raw Story report is here. 

Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "The Trump administration announced a deal Tuesday to officially end a major student loan repayment program implemented under President Joe Biden. The Education Department said in a news release that it reached a proposed joint settlement agreement with Missouri to bring an end to Biden's 'Saving on a Valuable Education' plan. Several Republican-led states had sued the department during the Biden administration over the SAVE plan. The program has been on hold since February, when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Missouri and other red states that challenged the Biden plan. A judge will have to sign off on the proposed settlement, which calls for the Education Department to not enroll any new borrowers in the plan, deny any pending applications and move all SAVE borrowers into other repayment plans."

Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "Elon Musk told Katie Miller in an interview for her podcast on Tuesday that DOGE, the Trump administration's cost-cutting department he spearheaded, was 'somewhat successful.'... 'We were a little bit successful,' Musk said on 'The Katie Miller Podcast' when asked if he thought DOGE was a success.... But, he added, he wouldn't take on the project again.... He claimed the biggest issue is 'there are massive transfer payments going to illegal immigrants' and again floated the conspiracy theory that migrants are being paid to come to the U.S. 'in vast numbers' and 'fast-tracked to citizenship.'" MB: This is amusing, coming from someone who was himself an undocumented foreign worker before he became a U.S. citizen. Of course, no one would expect a billionaire, MAGA-adjacent tech bro to be self-aware.

Meredith Hill & Benjamin Guggenheim of Politico: “Republican leaders on Capitol Hill are moving decisively away from extending key Obamacare tax credits that help more than 20 million Americans pay for health insurance — following direct cues from ... Donald Trump while also stoking ire among many in the GOP who fear severe political repercussions. In a Monday interview with Politico, Trump refused to endorse a continuation of the expiring subsidies, even as his administration faces mounting pressure to address rising costs for Americans. He instead laid out his own vision for health care: “I want to give the money to the people, not to the insurance companies.'... The Trump administration itself has been and still is deeply divided about allowing the Obamacare tax credits to lapse... [And] after months of pressure from competing factions, lawmakers inside the meeting didn’t reach a conclusion and [Speaker Mike] Johnson is still trying to figure out what that plan should be.”

Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: “A federal judge in Virginia suggested on Tuesday that Lindsey Halligan should resign as U.S. attorney after a ruling declared her appointment unlawful, making her the third jurist to challenge Ms. Halligan’s continued claim to the post. Ms. Halligan was handpicked by ... [Donald] Trump to oversee the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia after career prosecutors there resisted pressure to bring criminal charges against James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and Letitia James, the attorney general of New York. Once appointed to the job, Ms. Halligan quickly secured indictments of both, but a federal judge dismissed those indictments..., ruling that the Trump administration had violated the law for filling vacancies.... During the hearing on Tuesday, the judge, Leonie M. Brinkema, pressed a federal prosecutor to explain why Ms. Halligan’s name remained on such filings ... [and] whether there was any legal guidance issued by the Justice Department to explain why Ms. Halligan was still in the job. The lawyer representing the government said only that the staff of the Eastern District of Virginia had been told in an email to keep using Ms. Halligan’s name as the U.S. attorney.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Jeremy Roebuck of the Washington Post: “Justice Department lawyers said Tuesday that a recent ruling barring their access to key evidence has effectively crippled their efforts to reindict former FBI director James B. Comey, two weeks after their original case against him was dismissed. The concession came in a court filing urging a federal judge in Washington to lift a temporary order she imposed Saturday restricting the government’s ability to review or use emails and other electronic communications seized as part of an investigation more than five years ago involving Comey confidant Daniel Richman.... In the filing Tuesday, prosecutors characterized Richman’s request [to block government access] as an improper backdoor effort to prevent Comey from being recharged.”

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: “A Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday granted the Justice Department’s motion to unseal the records of the grand jury investigation of Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime companion of Jeffrey Epstein who is serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 of sex trafficking a minor and other counts. The ruling by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer cited a new law passed by Congress requiring the Justice Department to release all of its files on Mr. Epstein by Dec. 19.” MB: Katelyn Polantz said on CNN that the grand jury records would reveal very little new information because any evidence presented to the grand jury probably came out at trial. (Also linked yesterday.)

Abbie VanSickle & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court grappled on Tuesday with whether to chip away at campaign finance limits in a major challenge to political campaign funding that could undercut one of the Democrats’ financial advantages going into the midterms. The court’s liberal justices voiced skepticism about unraveling limitations during the arguments, which lasted more than two hours. The conservatives, who will probably decide the case, asked fewer questions, with key justices giving less of an indication on how they are likely to land when the court rules in coming months. The case comes against a backdrop of years of court decisions cutting back on legal limits on money in campaigns, after the court reshaped the political landscape in 2010 in the landmark Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: “Recently several Republican congresswomen have been complaining, on and off the record, that their party’s leaders, especially Mike Johnson, the House speaker, don’t take them seriously.... It’s tempting to roll one’s eyes at women who are shocked, shocked to discover sexism in a political party led by Donald Trump.... They may not all call themselves feminists ... but they’ve internalized basic feminist assumptions about their entitlement to equal treatment. What they’ve failed to understand, however, is that those aren’t assumptions their party shares.... Today..., Republicans are much less defensive [than they were a decade or two ago] about being the party of chest-beating patriarchy.... There are still plenty of opportunities in the MAGA movement for women who embody Trump’s preferred style of hyper-femininity, espouse traditional gender roles, or both.... But as some women in the party are realizing, there’s a big difference between being useful and being respected.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ If you're a bit unsure of the characteristics of a MAGA man, here's Evan Hurst of Wonkette to help you out: ~~~

~~~ Evan Hurst of Wonkette: “There seems to be a consensus growing among MAGA men about why Pete Hegseth’s dry/wet/dunno drunk boat murder strikes are so awesome, and it’s the same as Pete Hegseth’s reason: It makes him feel like his wing-wang works and is big and strong and capable of performing on its own without pharmaceuticals or a book’s work of affirmations. And they, the MAGA men, are in turn living vicariously through Pete Hegseth’s wing-wang. The man who will become the avatar for all this is, of course, Jesse Watters. AND IF YOU DON’T LIKE THESE VIDEOS, YOU’RE 'EFFEMINATE.'” MB: It all sounds like arrested development to me. The seventh grade can be a difficult year, and this humongous group of seventh-graders never got past the insecurities of emerging puberty. (Also linked yesterday.)

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⭐Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: “Miami voters elected Eileen Higgins as mayor in a rout on Tuesday, choosing a Democrat to lead the city for the first time in almost 30 years in a race that Democrats hope sets a precedent for the 2026 midterms. Ms. Higgins, 61, will become Miami’s first female mayor and its first non-Hispanic mayor since the 1990s. Cuban American Republicans have dominated city politics over the past three decades. 'Together, we turned the page on years of chaos and corruption and opened the door to a new era for our city — one defined by ethical, accountable leadership that delivers real results for the people,' Ms. Higgins said in a statement declaring victory.... Voters signaled a desire for change in the first round of the election in November, sending Ms. Higgins, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner, and Emilio T. González, a former Miami city manager, to Tuesday’s runoff. Both candidates campaigned on good-government platforms following years of corruption scandals in a city controlled by political dynasties. Mr. González publicly conceded on Tuesday evening, as unofficial results from the county elections supervisor showed Ms. Higgins leading by 18 percentage points.” (Also linked yesterday.) The Florida Politics report is here.

Georgia. Brandon Conradis of the Hill: “Democrats on Tuesday flipped a state House seat in a red-leaning district in Georgia, delivering the party another notable win heading into next year’s midterms. Democrat Eric Gisler was projected to defeat Republican Mack Guest IV in the special election in Georgia’s House District 121, according to Decision Desk HQ. Gisler’s victory is a major upset, as ... [Donald] Trump won the district last year by 12 points, according to DDHQ.”

Kentucky. Kiki Intarasuwan & Laura Geller of CBS News: "One person was killed and another was critically wounded in a shooting at Kentucky State University, the city of Frankfort said Tuesday. Both victims are Kentucky State University students, but the suspect is not. The shooting occurred outside the Young Hall student dormitory on the south side of the school's campus, authorities said. The suspect was arrested and later identified as Jacob Lee Bard of Evansville, Indiana, according to city officials. Bard was taken into custody by university police immediately at the scene of the shooting, authorities said. He has been booked into Franklin County Regional on charges of murder and assault in the first degree, according to the city."

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U.K. & Denmark. The Prime Ministers of Britain, Keir Starmer, and of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, in a Guardian op-ed: “Asylum for people genuinely fleeing persecution will always remain the mark of decent, compassionate countries. But controlling who comes here is an essential task of government and is what the public rightly demands. That’s why we are both taking practical action to fix the asylum system. Denmark has led the way here, with tough but fair reforms which have delivered results.... We will control our borders to protect our democracies....”