WHAT MATTERED THIS WEEK

• RETALIATION: As promised, the U.S. hit back at ISIS in Syria Friday night. The administration says the group was responsible for an attack on U.S. troops that killed three people. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth framed the strikes bluntly: “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance.” He added, “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.”
• EPSTEIN EXCUSES: The DOJ said it would miss Friday's Congressionally mandated deadline to release all files related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation and would instead release documents on a rolling basis. President Trump signed a law one month ago requiring the full release. Several thousand documents were released — many of them focused on former President Bill Clinton. At least 1,200 people have been identified as victims. The files are available on the DOJ website here.
  • Democrats say they are considering legal action against the department for missing the deadline. Crooked Media warns: “These aren’t empty threats. Democrats are widely expected to win back the House next year. If the DOJ botches the release of the Epstein files again, House Democrats will have much more power to retrieve those files — and demand answers from Trump’s top officials.”
• UNBECOMING: President Trump’s conduct this week added to a growing body of evidence that he is unfit to hold the office.

• On Monday, Trump falsely claimed on social media that Hollywood director Rob Reiner had been murdered because of “TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” His son Nick — who has long struggled with addiction and mental health issues — was later arrested and charged.
• On Wednesday, Trump used the White House to deliver a partisan, often manic primetime speech filled with lies, attempting to gaslight the public into believing his presidency is a smashing success. While modern presidents routinely address the nation during moments of crisis or uncertainty, the White House must request airtime from broadcast networks, which typically agree without being told the subject. (President Obama was once denied airtime for a speech on immigration.)
• The AP: "Americans ended up watching the Republican president stand in the Diplomatic Reception Room and deliver 18 minutes of aggressive, politically motivated arguments that misstated facts, blamed the nation’s ills on his predecessor, exaggerated the results of his nearly 11 months in office and amplified his characteristically gargantuan, immeasurable promises about what’s to come.”
• Trump installed plaques beneath portraits of former presidents in the White House, openly mocking them. One labels Barack Obama “divisive.” Another calls Joe Biden “the worst.” A plaque beneath Bill Clinton’s photo reads, in part: “In 2016, President Clinton’s wife, Hillary, lost the Presidency to President Donald J. Trump!” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt described the plaques as “eloquently written.”
• READY FOR THEIR CLOSE-UP: Vanity Fair published a two-part profile of White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles by Chris Whipple this week. Wiles initially accused Whipple of misquoting her — until audio of her remarks was played back.
  • Much of the political class treated the piece as revelatory, highlighting Wiles’s disparaging comments about Vice President JD Vance and Attorney General Pam Bondi, as well as her apparent acknowledgment that Trump may be abusing his office to retaliate against political enemies. The framing felt less like a revelation than a carefully managed spin exercise. The photographs, however, landed differently. Photographer Christopher Anderson said he aims to capture raw, intimate images of powerful figures that defy traditional narratives — and these did exactly that.

• MANHUNT ENDS: A man suspected of killing two students at Brown University last weekend and an MIT physics professor near Boston on Monday was found dead Thursday in a storage locker in Salem, New Hampshire, in an apparent suicide. An autopsy concluded he had likely been dead since Tuesday — the day after he shot the professor in his apartment. Authorities identified the suspect as Claudio Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who briefly attended Brown and studied at the same university in Portugal as the professor. Police have not disclosed a motive.

POWER MOVES

Health insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans are expected to spike in January after Congress failed to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. Republicans refused to take up the issue — but that posture may soon be tested.

• With the help of four Republicans, House Democrats secured enough signatures on a discharge petition to force a vote on extending ACA subsidies. The bill is unlikely to reach the floor until January and, even if it passes the House, it would still face a Senate hurdle. In the meantime, premiums for more than 20 million Americans are set to jump next month. (AP)
• While blocking subsidy extensions, House Republicans passed their own pared-down health care bill — the so-called Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act — by a narrow 216–211 vote. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill would reduce premiums by just 11–12%, far less than the increases Americans are about to face. (Bill)

The Trump administration’s pattern of evading accountability continued this week, with real-world consequences.

• A sweeping ProPublica investigation found that the administration cut off lifesaving aid to some of the world’s most vulnerable populations after shutting down USAID earlier this year — despite publicly claiming that essential assistance would be preserved.
• The reporting documents the devastating effects of decisions made by Elon Musk, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and senior Trump officials during a severe cholera outbreak in South Sudan. Programs were terminated abruptly, without assessing their purpose or impact, cutting off critical aid and contributing to preventable deaths. (ProPublica)
• In his primetime address, Trump claimed that he was responsible for a $1,776 housing supplement being made to active military. In reality, it was Congress who approved the funds which are meant to help troops keep up with the rising cost of housing. (Defense One)

The administration has repeatedly exploited recent tragedies to advance misleading — and often openly racist — immigration narratives in support of more extreme policy moves.

• After authorities identified the Brown shooting suspect as a Portuguese national who entered the U.S. through green card lottery program — which admits a limited number of vetted applicants — DHS Secretary Kristi Noem moved quickly to shut the program down. The same playbook followed last month, after an Afghan national was accused of killing one National Guard member and injuring another in a shooting in Washington, D.C. (AP)
• Trump escalated the response by imposing new travel restrictions on 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority. (AP)
• Two Republican lawmakers seized on the mass shooting at Australia’s Bondi Beach to call for the expulsion of all Muslim immigrants — legal and undocumented — from the United States. The alleged shooters were a father and son, both Muslim.When it emerged that the man who disarmed one of the shooters — and was widely credited with saving lives — was also Muslim, the narrative unraveled. Misinformation spread rapidly online falsely claiming the hero was Christian. He is not. Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), who frequently promotes fears about the nonexistent threat of “Sharia law,” and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who has described Islam as a “cult,” led the calls. Republican leaders — including House Speaker Mike Johnson — refused to condemn either lawmaker. (The Washington Post)

Fallout continued this week from what appears to be an illegal double-tap U.S. strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat that killed 11 people on September 2.

• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is refusing to release video of the second strike, which has been viewed by a small group of lawmakers. Several say the two remaining survivors posed no threat and were killed anyway. (YouTube)
• The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes a 3.8% pay raise for troops and withholds 25% of Hegseth’s travel budget unless the full video is released. (Politico)
• U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats are continuing. The reported death toll has reached 104 as of Friday evening. (CNN)
• Trump declared fentanyl a “weapon of mass destruction.” Experts are divided on whether that designation is accurate or legally meaningful. (PolitiFact)

COMING UP

• President Trump delivers a campaign-style speech Friday night in Rocky Mount, North Carolina — located in the state’s 1st Congressional District, whose boundaries were redrawn to favor Republicans despite decades of Black representation. Given the location and timing, there’s a strong chance this marks the start of Trump’s 2026 midterm push. (NC Newsline)
• U.S. officials will meet with a Russian delegation in Miami this weekend to discuss a possible end to the war in Ukraine. Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner met with Ukrainian officials earlier this week and reportedly believe “the two sides are not far apart,” according to an unnamed source. (Reuters)

WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW

• The administration says it will shut down the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). OMB Director — and Project 2025 architect — Russell Vought announced the move, accusing the agency of pushing “climate alarmism.” Vought said any relevant weather research would be shifted elsewhere, without offering specifics. (USA Today)
• At the same time, new research shows Arctic temperatures are rising twice as fast as the rest of the world and just experienced their warmest year on record since measurements began in 1900 — driven by climate change. (The Hill)
• HHS abruptly pulled millions of dollars in federal grants from the American Academy of Pediatrics, for research into issues including SIDS and fetal alcohol syndrome. Officials cited multiple reasons, including the group’s use of “identity-based language,” references to racial disparities, use of the term “pregnant people,” and an alleged lack of focus on nutrition and chronic disease prevention. (The Washington Post)
• Be careful what you start. Trump is suing members of the Pulitzer Prize Board for defamation, claiming they caused him physical and psychological harm when they awarded reporting related to investigations into Russian interference in the 2020 election. In response, defendants are seeking broad discovery — including Trump’s income sources and medical records dating back to 2015, disclosures Trump has long resisted. The board denies the claims. (Law & Crime | court filing)
• Inflation eased to 2.7% last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But economists warn the figure may be unreliable due to the six-week government shutdown, during which data collection was disrupted. It could take up to six months for inflation data to stabilize again. (WSJ)
• Trump signed an executive order downgrading marijuana to a Schedule III drug — removing it from the same federal category as LSD and heroin. The change still requires a public comment period before becoming official. States retain their own cannabis laws, but the federal shift opens new pathways for medical research. (White House | AP)
• If you can’t beat ’em (yet), join ’em. Despite Trump’s repeated claims that mail-in voting is riddled with fraud, state Republicans are now urging their voters to use it. Their pitch: mail voting is safe — because they have made it safer. Whether that claim holds up is an open question. (Politico)
• Warner Bros. is urging shareholders to reject a hostile takeover bid from Paramount and instead stick with its existing deal with Netflix. (WSJ)
• Trump has moved to publicly rename the Kennedy Center as the Trump–Kennedy Center. On Thursday, a board stacked with Trump loyalists — with Trump serving as chair — voted to rename the institution. Trump claimed surprise, but his name appeared within roughly 24 hours. Only Congress has the legal authority to rename the institution. (Washington Post)
• In an early Christmas gesture, Trump declared December 24 and 26 federal holidays this year. (Axios)
• Update: The U.S. Coast Guard followed through on plans to downgrade nooses and swastikas from hate symbols to “potentially divisive” in a new workplace harassment policy. The Washington Post reported the plan last month, after which acting commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday claimed the symbols would not be reclassified. The policy nonetheless went into effect Monday. Lunday’s nomination for a permanent post has since been put on hold. (Washington Post & here)
• Update: The government acknowledged that two Army pilots and an air traffic controller failed to follow procedures before a January midair collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger plane that killed 67 people. The admission came in response to lawsuits filed by victims’ families. (NBC News)
  • Related: A defense funding bill passed this week by Congress includes language allowing military aircraft to operate around Washington, D.C., without public notification — a lack of transparency that contributed to the crash.
• Update: A federal judge ruled the White House may continue construction on its now-$400 million ballroom, reversing a temporary block issued by another judge last week. (People)

GAZA & THE WORLD

• Aid groups say the immediate risk of famine in Gaza has eased since the October ceasefire, but warn the situation remains “highly fragile” and could deteriorate quickly. (AP)
• The United Nations says Israel continues to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid in violation of the ceasefire agreement, limiting access for aid agencies and NGOs. (UN)
• Israel continues to restrict the entry of housing materials, leaving many Palestinians sheltering in flimsy tents through the winter. Several infants have died from exposure. (Al Jazeera)
• A Guardian investigation reports that businesses allied with Trump are maneuvering for lucrative contracts to help rebuild Gaza. One firm described as having an “inside track” also operates Florida’s so-called “Alligator Alcatraz,” a detention facility where immigrants have reported severe mistreatment and inhumane conditions. (The Guardian)
• Defense for Children International reports that Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy, blocked emergency medical aid for roughly 10 minutes as he bled, then confiscated his body before leaving the scene. (Defense for Children International)

ONE THING

Five years after Virginia removed a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from the U.S. Capitol, another figure now stands in its place — Barbara Rose Johns, a Black teenager frozen in time at age 16.

Johns led her classmates in a student strike protesting the appalling conditions Black students endured in segregated schools in rural Virginia. Her courage helped ignite a legal challenge that became part of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that ended school segregation.

Each original colony is represented by two statues in the Capitol’s Crypt. Virginia chose to remove Lee — a symbol of rebellion and enslavement — and replace him with Johns, a symbol of resistance, dignity, and the unfinished fight for equal education.

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