Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Here’s what he’s proposed

[phkrause]

Pentagon Pete Launches Bonkers Bid to Court Martial Enemy Trump Calls ‘Traitor’

The “Department of War” has targeted Mark Kelly for his video to U.S. service members.

The Defense Department threatened Monday to recall Senator Mark Kelly to active duty so he can face court-martial proceedings.

The move comes after Kelly, a retired naval officer and former astronaut, appeared in a video urging U.S. service members to refuse “illegal orders.”

President Donald Trump seized on the video last week and accused Kelly and the five other Democrats in it of sedition, “punishable by death.” He also reposted “hang them,” sparking widespread outrage that he was calling for their executions.

Trump on Friday denied he was threatening them to be killed despite his posts, but said they were in “serious trouble.”

The White House said the Pentagon and Justice Department would decide if it was punishable by law.

The Defense Department said in a statement Monday that it had received “serious allegations of misconduct against Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.).”

It said a “thorough review of these allegations has been initiated to determine further actions, which may include recall to active duty for court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.”

As a retired Naval officer with more than 20 years service on active duty, Kelly is subject to being recalled to his post and could then be subject to court marital.

The Pentagon also said that the matter will be handled “in compliance with military law, ensuring due process and impartiality.”

It was reposted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who slammed what he called the “Seditious Six” and called the video “despicable, reckless, and false.”

“Their foolish screed sows doubt and confusion — which only puts our warriors in danger," Hegseth wrote.

In a statement on Monday, Kelly touted his long service record and said he swore an oath to the Constitution.

“Secretary Hegseth’s tweet is the first I heard of this. I also saw the President’s posts saying I should be arrested, hanged, and put to death,” Kelly said.

“If this is meant to intimidate me and other members of Congress from doing our jobs and holding this administration accountable, it won’t work. I’ve given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies who care more about their own power than protecting the Constitution,” he added.

His fellow Democratic Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, who is a veteran but was not in the video had a less diplomatic response. He posted on X “F*** you and your investigation.”

On Sunday, Kelly defended his participation in the video and its message and slammed the president’s posts.

“All we said is we reiterated what basically is the rule of law that members of the military should not, cannot follow illegal orders,” Kelly told Face the Nation.

Besides Kelly, others in the video include Sen. Elissa Slotkin as well as Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow.

In the video, they speak directly to U.S. service members and the intelligence community, reminding them that they took an oath to the U.S. Constitution and that they “can refuse illegal orders.”

The group warned that the threats to the Constitution are not just coming from abroad but from home and urged them to “not give up the ship,” but they did not specify what they considered an illegal order.

Trump responded with a series of posts in which he wrote their words “cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” and then “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” no Truth Social on Thursday.

Democratic Party leaders accused the president of calling for political violence, while the six lawmakers released a statement saying they would not be intimidated by threats.

Asked about it during the White House press briefing hours later, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted Trump was not calling for their executions.

“In the old days, if you said a thing like that that was punishable by death,” Trump said in a radio interview on Friday. “I’m not threatening them, but I think they’re in serious trouble.”

On Saturday, the president continued to rage with an all-caps post in which he ranted that the “TRAITORS THAT TOLD THE MILITARY TO DISOBEY MY ORDERS SHOULD BE IN JAIL RIGHT NOW” and complained they should not be allowed to go on TV to explain.

“IT WAS SEDITION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, AND SEDITION IS A MAJOR CRIME. THERE CAN BE NO OTHER INTERPRETATION OF WHAT THEY SAID!” Trump posted.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House supports the Defense Department probe.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/pentagon-pete-goes-after-astronaut-trump-branded-a-traitor/?

[phkrause]

MAHA Warrior RFK Jr. Squirms When Cornered on His Nicotine and Tanning Hypocrisy

The secretary for Health and Human Services has blamed sick people for their “choices.”

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants people to do as he says, not as he does, in his battle to Make America Healthy Again.

President Donald Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services has blamed sick people for their “choices” and lectured Americans about getting “fit, not fat,” despite having his own questionable health habits.

The former environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine crusader uses Zyn nicotine pouches throughout the day, and he often goes fake tanning, according to a 10,000-word profile published Sunday in The Atlantic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have warned that nicotine pouches are “highly addictive,” and that artificial tanning devices are associated with an increased risk of skin cancer.

Journalist Michael Scherer wrote in The Atlantic that when he asked Kennedy, 71, to reconcile his nicotine and tanning habits with the federal health advisories against both, Kennedy “shifted in his chair.”

“I’m not telling people that they should do anything that I do,” he said. “I just say, ‘Get in shape.’”

During his Senate confirmation hearing in January, Kennedy, who often posts photos and videos of himself working out in blue jeans, could be seen slipping something into his mouth and then pushing it into place between his gum and cheek.

Critics pounced on the move as evidence that Kennedy had sneaked a dose of Zyn, a small pouch of crystallized nicotine powder that dissolves and gets absorbed directly into the bloodstream through gum tissue. The secretary never denied the story.

Kennedy, who is a recovering heroin addict, had previously been spotted carrying a pack of Zyn pouches in Los Angeles amid reports that he was having a cyber affair with journalist Olivia Nuzzi, 32.

The political scion has been open about abusing heroin for 14 years but says he has been “sober” for decades. He told The Atlantic that he attends 12-step meetings every day, no matter what city he’s in.

Nuzzi, however, alleges in a forthcoming book about their relationship that as recently as last year, Kennedy admitted to also smoking the psychedelic DMT, short for dimethyltryptamine.

Kennedy, who has been married to the actress Cheryl Hines since 2014, has said he never had a relationship with Nuzzi besides being interviewed for a New York magazine piece she wrote.

All of this would, of course, be the business of Kennedy and Kennedy alone if he weren’t also the nation’s health chief.

In April, he told CBS News that he wasn’t convinced Americans with unhealthy habits should be guaranteed a basic level of government care.

“People have a choice about how sick they’re going to be—many people,” he service said. “If you don’t have any choice then we should give you all the resources that you want. If you’re smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, should you expect society to pay when you get sick?”

Kennedy, who founded the anti-vaccine advocacy group Children’s Health Defense, didn’t say whether the same applied to people who chose not to get vaccinated and then came down with deadly diseases, such as the measles.

The Atlantic piece also revealed that Kennedy does testosterone-replacement therapy, which the FDA has approved to treat male hypogonadism, a clinical condition in which a man’s body doesn’t produce enough testosterone.

The therapy hasn’t been approved for men who naturally experience a decline in testosterone as they age, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The Atlantic didn’t specify if Kennedy has been diagnosed with an associated medical condition that would require TRT, or whether he just does it to boost his workouts.

The Daily Beast has reached out to HHS for comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/maha-warrior-robert-f-kennedy-jr-squirms-when-cornered-on-his-nicotine-and-tanning-hypocrisy/?

[phkrause]

Live updates: Judge dismisses cases against Comey and James, says prosecutor was illegally appointed

A federal judge on Monday dismissed the criminal cases against former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, concluding the prosecutor who brought the charges at President Donald Trump’s urging was illegally appointed by the Justice Department. The orders make Lindsey Halligan the latest Trump administration prosecutor to be disqualified because of the manner in which they were appointed. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Pentagon says it’s investigating Sen. Mark Kelly over video urging troops to defy ‘illegal orders’ US-backed aid company in Gaza shutters operations Top US military adviser visits Caribbean as Trump ramps up pressure on Venezuela Trump says he will visit Beijing in April and host China’s Xi for a state visit later next year Abortion is illegal again in North Dakota after court reverses a judge’s earlier decision   Officials say progress made on amending US peace plan for Ukraine Officials on Monday said progress was made in urgent weekend talks on amending the U.S. peace proposal for Ukraine that many saw as favoring Russia, but the Kremlin said it hadn’t seen the changes. Washington’s 28-point plan presented last week caused alarm by heavily aligning with Moscow’s demands in the nearly four-year war caused by its invasion. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ In his words: Trump’s rhetoric about Zelenskyy and Putin has evolved Frustrations grow in Russia over cellphone internet outages that disrupt daily life Daughter of ex-South African leader Zuma is accused of luring men to fight in Russia-Ukraine war

[phkrause]

Trump orders AI "Genesis Mission"

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios An executive order President Trump just signed a few minutes ago aims to boost AI R&D and reduce Americans' spiraling energy costs through the "Genesis Mission," Axios' Maria Curi and Ben Geman report. ? Administration officials are portraying Genesis as the largest marshaling of federal scientific resources since the Moon race — but they aren't offering cost estimates. The project will encourage AI information and technology sharing between the government and private companies, academics and researchers. ? "The Genesis Mission will use AI to automate experiments, design [and] accelerate simulations, and generate predictive models for everything from protein folding to fusion plasma dynamics," Michael Kratsios, who heads the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, told reporters. "This will shorten discovery timelines from years to days or even hours, enabling scientists to test hypotheses and make currently unreachable breakthroughs." ? Under the order, the Department of Energy will build a platform with AI capabilities for scientists and engineers to use in their work. DOE will also create a portfolio of scientific and engineering challenges for participating companies and researchers. ? Other government agencies will be able to tackle their own challenges through Genesis — around drug discovery, for example. ? Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued that AI can also help reduce Americans' electricity costs. "The ultimate goal of this is to make the lives better for American citizens," he told reporters. ? Energy-intensive AI data centers are linked to rising electricity costs in many parts of the country. A White House official says there's "overwhelming" interest in Genesis from AI companies and researchers. The Trump administration expects more computing partnerships to come out of the project, noting that it has already announced agreements with Nvidia, Dell and others. Go deeper.

[phkrause]

?Foreign accounts exposed

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios A new feature on Elon Musk's X social media network revealed that some prominent U.S. accounts seem to be run from abroad, Axios' Avery Lotz reports. The locations were revealed by X's "About This Account" feature, which shows where users are based. ? The discovery is fueling concerns about inauthentic accounts and foreign influence campaigns. ? The behavior could also be motivated by X's revenue-sharing program for popular users. ?? One account sharing pro-Trump content to over 50,000 followers appears to be located in Nigeria. ?? Several accounts that claimed to be run by Trump-supporting women were actually based in Thailand. Go deeper.

[phkrause]

• ?? President Trump has accepted Chinese President Xi Jinping's invitation to visit Beijing in April — and he's invited Xi for a state visit to the U.S. later next year. Go deeper.

 

Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images

?First Lady Melania Trump received the official White House Christmas tree outside the North Portico today. The 25-foot concolor fir was grown at Korson's Tree Farms in Michigan, winner of a national contest. Read the story.

[phkrause]

☎️ Scoop: Trump ready to talk with Maduro

President Trump has told his advisers he's planning to speak directly with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, even as the U.S. designated the foreign leader as the head of a terrorist organization yesterday, administration officials tell Axios' Marc Caputo.

• Why it matters: Trump's decision is an important milestone in his gunboat diplomacy aimed at Venezuela — and could be a sign that U.S. missile strikes or direct military action on land are not imminent, those sources say.

"Nobody is planning to go in and shoot him or snatch him — at this point. I wouldn't say never, but that's not the plan right now," said one official familiar with the discussions.

• "In the meantime, we're going to blow up boats shipping drugs. We're going to stop the drug trafficking."
• At least 83 people have been killed in 21 separate missile strikes on boats that allegedly were carrying drugs during the U.S. military action in the Caribbean known as "Operation Southern Spear."

? Zoom in: Word of Trump's interest in a call, which doesn't have a set date, coincides with the State Department's decision yesterday to label an alleged drug cartel in Venezuela as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization," which provides the U.S. more of a pretext to take military action in and around the South American nation.

• Also yesterday, Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Puerto Rico, where as many as 10,000 troops, sailors and pilots are stationed.

Flashback: The Senate narrowly rejected a resolution to block Trump's military actions earlier this month.

[phkrause]

⚖️ Trump's DOJ purge backfires

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The collapse of the Justice Department's cases against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James offers a stark lesson: Turning the DOJ into an instrument of political payback requires legal competence, not just loyalty. Why it matters: The dismissals are a big blow to President Trump's push to exact revenge on political enemies, Axios' Andrew Pantazi writes. The cases against Comey and James were thrown out yesterday after a series of self-inflicted legal and administrative blunders by the administration. A federal judge ruled that the prosecutor who brought them, Lindsey Halligan, was illegally appointed — voiding every action she took, including the indictments themselves. The administration plans to appeal. ? The big picture: The court order comes as the Justice Department faces a broader crisis — an estimated 5,500 career staff have left since January, according to Justice Connection, a group tracking departures. Over 200 others have been fired, according to the N.Y. Times. Keep reading.

[phkrause]

White House circulates a plan to extend Obamacare subsidies as Trump pledges health care fix The White House is circulating a proposal that would extend subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage under the Affordable Care Act for two more years, as millions of Americans face spiking health care costs when the current tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year. Read more.

What to know: The draft plan suggests that President Donald Trump is open to extending a provision of Obamacare as his administration and congressional Republicans search for a broader policy solution to a fight that has long flummoxed the party. The White House stresses that no plan is final until Trump announces it.   Even as the proposal remains in flux, the notion of extending any part of President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement is likely to rankle conservatives who have sought to repeal and replace the law for well over a decade.   The subsidies were at the heart of the Democrats’ demands in the government shutdown fight that ended earlier this month. Most Democratic lawmakers had insisted on a straight extension of the tax credits, which expire at the end of the year as a condition of keeping the government open.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US labels Maduro-tied Cartel de los Soles as a terror organization   Trump administration plans to review refugees admitted under Biden, memo obtained by The AP says   Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation shocked some in Georgia who say she could’ve won without Trump   Trump administration plan to reduce access to some student loans angers nurses, health care groups   BBC leaders grilled by lawmakers over its standards after Trump threatened to sue   AP and Trump administration argue access case before federal appeals court; no ruling yet   Trump signs executive order for AI project called Genesis Mission to boost scientific discoveries   New survey finds rising pessimism among US Hispanics   GOP investor James Fishback is entering the Florida governor’s race, challenging Trump’s pick   Former Mets star Darryl Strawberry thanks Trump for pardon during sermon at Tulsa church   Rights groups slam Trump administration for ending Myanmar deportation protection as civil war rages   Drugs sneaked into Ohio prison soaked into the pages of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’   WATCH: Melania Trump welcomes ‘beautiful’ Christmas tree to White House

[phkrause]

Rumor has it leaked phone call features Trump panicking about Epstein files. Here's the truth

In the alleged recording, Trump could purportedly be heard saying, "Just don't let 'em get out. If I go down, I will bring all of you down with me."

Claim:

A leaked phone call audio recording authentically features U.S. President Donald Trump panicking to White House staffers about the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Rating:

Fake

A rumor circulated online in November 2025 that a purportedly leaked phone call audio recording featured U.S. President Donald Trump panicking to White House staffers about the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-phone-call-epstein-files/?

 

[phkrause]

Trump Is Even Making Fake Christmas Trees More Expensive

U.S. shoppers will also be paying more for artificial decorations because of the president’s tariffs.

President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have driven up the price of artificial Christmas trees this holiday season, an executive has warned shoppers.

Mac Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill, which sells artificial Christmas trees and other festive decorations, told Politico’s West Wing Playbook that he has been forced to raise prices by about 20 percent.

Tens of millions of Americans, already struggling with a cost-of-living crisis, inflation, and high food prices, are now facing the prospect of having to spend even more because of Trump’s tariffs on imports.

A LendingTree study warned that the president’s tariffs mean the average U.S. consumer will need to spend $132 more on gifts this year than in 2024.

Harman said the cost he has had to pass on to consumers would have been even higher if he had not purchased most of this year’s inventory before Trump re-entered office.

Harman, whose company sponsors the National Christmas Tree, which will be placed on the White House lawn, said he was in talks with the White House to try to reduce tariffs and lower the cost of artificial Christmas trees. He argued that pre-lit artificial trees are difficult to produce in the U.S. and are not as vital to the domestic economy as technology or medicine.

“We are optimistic that the president will save Christmas,” Harman said.

Mark Mathews, chief economist and executive director of research at the National Retail Federation, said there is “definitely some cause for concern” about pricing this holiday season.

“Businesses have been eating the majority of tariffs up until this point,” he told West Wing Playbook. “We also know that that’s unsustainable, and we’re going to have to see more transmission of increased prices onto the consumer.”

White House spokesperson Kush Desai dismissed the Christmas costs concerns as “endless doomsday fantasizing by the Fake News and Democrats.”

“Hard data of robust consumer spending and retail sales have been clear. Real wages are rising under President Trump, and Americans’ hard-earned money is going further than it did under [former President] Joe Biden,” he said.

One person who also does not seem too bothered about issues surrounding Christmas trees is Melania Trump.

On Monday, the first lady spent less than three minutes welcoming the arrival of the White House Christmas tree in front of the press before leaving the event.

Trump—who has repeatedly brushed aside Americans’ concerns about their financial struggles—has also tried to suggest that Thanksgiving dinner would be cheaper this year while using distorted math.

The president’s claim that a Walmart Thanksgiving package is 25 percent cheaper than last year relies on the fact that it contains fewer products and more generic brands.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-is-even-making-fake-christmas-trees-more-expensive/?

[phkrause]

Just follow orders or obey the law? What US troops told us about refusing illegal commands

As the Trump administration carries out what many observers say are illegal military strikes against vessels in the Caribbean allegedly smuggling drugs, six Democratic members of Congress issued a video on Nov. 18, 2025, telling the military “You can refuse illegal orders” and “You must refuse illegal orders.”

https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/11/25/repub/just-follow-orders-or-obey-the-law-what-us-troops-told-us-about-refusing-illegal-commands/?

Trump’s Immigration Forces Deploy “Less Lethal” Weapons in Dangerous Ways, Skirting Rules and Maiming Protesters

(This story contains videos and photos showing blood and violence against protesters.)

As the Trump administration’s immigration dragnet intensified in June, a nurse in Portland, Oregon, left work one midafternoon and drove to a nearby detention facility to voice his opposition. Federal agents had set off smoke grenades, driving away many protesters at the front of the facility, but Vincent Hawkins lifted his megaphone anyway.

https://www.propublica.org/article/ice-border-patrol-less-lethal-weapons?

[phkrause]

DOJ Staff Rip Trump and Bondi’s ‘Irreversible Damage’ in Tell-All Farewell Notes

Unhappy staff are “being asked to put loyalty to the President over the Constitution.”

A wave of former Justice Department employees is reportedly leaving behind more than just empty seats, revealing a glimpse of life inside the Trump administration.

Farewell letters paint a portrait of an agency appearing to buckle under President Donald Trump’s second-term demands, with some insiders warning of “potentially irreversible damage,” according to Axios.

The Justice Connection, a network of DOJ and FBI alumni, has been collecting the notes from those who have walked out. Contributors describe collapsing ethics, corrosive pressure, and a toxic workplace. Executive Director Stacey Young said in a statement that staff are “being asked to put loyalty to the president over the Constitution, the rule of law, and their professional ethical obligations.”

Carrie A. Syme, a former trial attorney, wrote in a March farewell that the “current incarnation” of the department “defines ‘justice’ in a way that I do not recognize.” She pleaded with the remaining staff to remember that “the vast majority of DOJ attorneys are people of good will who are trying to maintain a true sense of justice.”

For some, the concerns are more immediate. Devon Flanagan, formerly a trial attorney in the Wildlife and Marine Resources Section, warned that the damage will only accelerate as more employees “find these stressful and demeaning conditions untenable.”

Three assistant United States attorneys who refused to dismiss New York Mayor Eric Adams’ case put their objections in writing before they walked. In their April letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, they said the department had “decided that obedience supersedes all else.” The push to drop the charges sparked a broader internal revolt. “There is no greater privilege than to work for an institution whose mandate is to do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons,” they wrote. “We will not abandon this principle to keep our jobs.”

Others say they didn’t even get the choice to resign. Anam Rahman Petit, an immigration judge who said she was terminated without explanation, called the staffing changes “a systemic effort to reshape the bench with individuals more likely to deny cases without regard for due process.”

Inside the Office of Immigration Litigation, trial attorney Joseph Darrow wrote that firing whistleblower Erez Reuveni was “a warning and act of intimidation against us all.”

The departures aren’t limited to whistleblowers or dissenters. They include prosecutors who handled cases tied to the Jan. 6 riot. One of the highest-profile firings was Maurene Comey, who worked on the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases and is the daughter of Trump antagonist James Comey. She has sued the government, writing in her farewell, “If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”

Still, the DOJ’s own buyout program accounts for thousands more departures. Justice Connection estimates more than 4,000 employees have exited following those offers.

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s early move to create a “Weaponization Working Group” signaled the direction she planned to take the department, targeting offices that previously investigated Trump. She has echoed Trump’s claims that he was a victim of lawfare and Deep State sabotage.

And for some, the problem isn’t ideology—it’s incompetence. Trial attorney Barbara Schwabauer, who resigned in August, wrote that her departure wasn’t due to “a ‘deep-state’ refusal to work with this administration.” Instead, she blamed “hollow leadership that disregards longstanding interpretations of civil rights law, upends Division and Departmental norms, and values perceived loyalty above the meritocratic principles it claims to espouse.”

The DOJ refused to comment.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/departing-doj-staffers-warn-of-irreversible-damage-trump-is-doing/?

[phkrause]

Vance Ally With Zero Experience Takes on Putin in Peace Deal

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meeting with the Russians after joining Marco Rubio in Geneva.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has taken center stage as the man to deliver the latest Ukraine peace proposal to the Russians in what has been a meteoric rise for the longtime friend of Vice President JD Vance.

Driscoll arrived in Abu Dhabi and met with Russian officials on Tuesday as the U.S. looks to make good on President Donald Trump’s promise to broker an agreement to end the war.

Driscoll’s participation is unusual for an army secretary, but he has proven to be a key player in the Trump administration.

His outsized role with the high-stakes Ukraine talks suggests the vice president’s influence looms large at the White House as both Driscoll and Secretary of State Marco Rubio scramble to facilitate the deal.

Driscoll’s rising profile on the world stage also raises questions about what kind of role he could potentially play in a future Vance administration as the vice president and Rubio, the two most likely 2028 contenders work around each other and alongside one another to curry favor with the current commander in chief.

The army secretary and Vance have been friends for years, having attended Yale Law School together. He has taken on the role more often carried out by the secretary of state.

First, Driscoll traveled to Kyiv, where he sat down one-on-one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the initial framework for an agreement that the U.S. had been quietly working on.

Even some Republicans blasted the first draft of the 28-point plan as a Vladimir Putin wish list, but officials insisted it was just the starting point in the ongoing negotiations.

On Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Ukrainian officials in Geneva for further negotiations. He called them the most productive talks they’ve had so far.

While it was Rubio’s show over the weekend, including speaking to reporters about the latest updates, Driscoll was in Switzerland at the table seated right beside Rubio for the discussions. Special envoy Steve Witkoff was also in the room.

But it was Driscoll who was tasked with bringing the plan now containing Ukraine’s newest input back to the Russians.

He arrived late on Monday in Abu Dhabi for the key meeting.

With the ball now back in Putin and Russia’s court, it is perhaps the most challenging leg of his journey so far, especially for someone who has no background negotiating with the Russians.

Asked about how it came to be Driscoll was chosen to meet with Zelensky and then the Russians, the White House said that the entire national security team is working together.

“President Trump appreciates Secretary Driscoll’s efforts to gather input from both the Russians and the Ukrainians in order to craft a deal that secures a durable and enforceable peace,” said spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement.

Vance’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s inquiry.

But the vice president has been fiercely defending the administration’s efforts against criticism that the initial framework heavily favored Russia and that Putin has been stringing the president along for months.

Ahead of the ongoing talks, he wrote on X that critics “either misunderstands the framework or misstates some critical reality on the ground.”

He also reposted his potential 2028 rival as Rubio insisted the original draft came from the U.S. and not Russia.

A spokesperson for the war secretary said in a statement provided to multiple news outlets that Driscoll and the team met with the Russians on Monday and Tuesday and that the talks are “going well” and they remain optimistic.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/vance-ally-with-zero-experience-takes-on-putin-in-peace-deal/?

[phkrause]

Republican Rips Pentagon Pete’s ‘Amateur Hour’ Attempt to Punish Trump Target

Don Bacon, U.S. representative for Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district since 2017, is fed up with Pete Hegseth’s theatrics.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest crusade—a bizarre Pentagon investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly—triggered immediate blowback, including from inside his own party.

Even Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a retired military officer, has decided he’s seen enough, branding the spectacle “amateur hour once again at the Department of Dense.”

Hegseth, who now calls himself the ‘Secretary of War’ as part of his attempted makeover of the Defense Department, ordered the probe after Navy veteran Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers appeared in a minute-long video urging service members to “refuse illegal orders.”

The group—Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Kelly, and Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, Chris Deluzio, Maggie Goodlander, and Jason Crow—told troops that “no one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our constitution.”

Kelly defended himself to Rachel Maddow on MS NOW. He rattled off his résumé of near-death encounters—missiles exploding next to his aircraft, multiple near shoot-downs, and four trips to space “built by the lowest bidder”—before invoking the 2011 assassination attempt on his wife, former Rep. Gabby Giffords. “We know what political violence is,” he said. “And we know what causes it, too. The statement that Donald Trump made is inciteful.”

Republicans may not have loved the Democrats’ video, but several seem even less impressed by the Trump-Hegseth scorched-earth response. Enter Bacon, a Nebraska Republican and retired military officer who publicly blasted the Pentagon’s escalation. “I thought the video by six Dems was unnecessary and foolish,” he wrote on X. “But the threats of sedition charges and courts martial in response are also crazy.”

One respondent to Bacon’s post suggested lawmakers seemingly sowing dissent could lead to “instability.” Bacon shared the sober view that what the gaggle of lawmakers called for is actually run-of-the-mill.

“We all have to decide if an order is illegal. We are trained to not follow illegal orders,” he asserted. In another reply, he said, “I think good to criticize... but dumb to be talking courts martial.”

One respondent proffered that, “Calls for insurrection are serious, actually!” He replied, “They said don’t follow illegal orders. That is the law by the way. It was dumb and unnecessary video, but good luck prosecuting someone who is quoting the law. The Administration should have just pointed out how dumb it was. The threats looked dumber.”

Several accounts came at Bacon from a similar angle, but he stuck to his guns. “Let’s show some common sense and restraint,” Bacon signed off his original post.

Restraint wasn’t exactly President Donald Trump’s instinct, however. The president erupted after the lawmakers’ video circulated, fixating on capital punishment. He accused the Democrats of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH,” amplifying a user who urged him to “go get all those traitorous sons of b-----s for sedition at the very least.” Another repost, also highlighted by the president, declared: “These pompous traitorous communists should be impeached and prosecuted.”

The political theatrics arrived as Trump continues to pressure the Pentagon and intelligence community to align more closely with his directives. Kelly has become a target of the administration, but it might not have hurt his potential bid for a 2028 presidential run.

Kelly has not ruled out such a run. In July, CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed the Arizona senator on why he’s suddenly popping up in Pennsylvania and Michigan, two states any future White House hopeful would be foolish to ignore. “Yes or no: Are you considering running for president in 2028?” Tapper asked.

Kelly dodged. “That is a good question,” he said, before refusing to give the yes-or-no answer Tapper repeatedly invited. He insisted he’s focused on his day job and “getting the word out to the American people.”

Kelly—who made the shortlist to be Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024—pointed instead to Democrats’ dismal polling and said he’s concentrating on trying to improve it.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/republican-rips-pentagon-petes-amateur-hour-attempt-to-punish-trump-target/?

[phkrause]

Damning Leaked Figures Show ICE Barbie Is Failing to Arrest the ‘Worst of the Worst’

The Trump-ordered raids appear to be missing their claimed target.

Leaked Immigration and Customs Enforcement data show that nearly three-quarters of detainees have no criminal conviction, undermining President Donald Trump’s promise to remove “millions and millions of criminal aliens.”

The figures, leaked to the libertarian Cato Institute, expose the gulf between the administration’s rhetoric and results, as Trump’s top enforcer, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, insists the dragnet is targeting America’s “worst of the worst.”

Since Oct. 1, 73 percent of people booked into ICE custody had no criminal conviction, while nearly half had neither a conviction nor pending charges, according to the Cato analysis. Just 5 percent had a violent conviction.

ICE detained almost as many people for immigration offenses—such as illegal entry or re-entry—as for violent crimes.

Cato’s director of immigration studies, David Bier, said: “President Trump’s deportation agenda does not match the campaign promises that he made, nor the rhetoric from his officials. The agenda is taking resources away from targeting true public safety threats, whether from immigrants or Americans. ICE should redirect its resources back toward serious public safety threats.”

Separate figures obtained by CBS News for Border Patrol’s latest operation in North Carolina suggest it is facing similar problems.

Addressing the data, the agency’s lead commander for its operations in Chicago and Charlotte, Gregory Bovino, who earlier this month was declared by a judge to be a liar after he falsely claimed he was hit in the head with a rock before lobbing tear gas at protesters, said to Bier on X, “Many immigration offenses are felonies and should be counted. Traffic offenses such as DWI sure as hell count.

“Thousands of dead Americans attention to that [sic]. You know, the dead Americans you ignore while you’re busy choosing illegal aliens over US citizens.”

Cato noted that the shift in arrests began after April 26, 2025, when the White House leaned harder into mass detentions. Compared with the October 2024–April 2025 period, 80 percent of the surge in daily ICE book-ins since October has come from people with no criminal convictions.

Other datasets back those patterns. A Freedom of Information Act release reviewed by the Deportation Data Project at UC Berkeley Law and UCLA School of Law found that by late July, 67 percent of ICE arrests were of people without criminal convictions, and nearly 40 percent had no convictions or charges.

Under President Joe Biden, just one in 10 arrests involved people with no criminal history, the researchers reported.

The scale of the increase is stark, with ICE arrests of immigrants without criminal convictions ballooning 571 percent from January, while arrests of people with no conviction and no charge jumped 1,500 percent, according to the FOIA dataset.

 

The graph shows off spikes in arrests in January and June. Cato Insititute

ICE’s own public-facing detention dashboard paints a similar picture. By mid-November, 69 percent of ICE detainees arrested by ICE officers had no criminal conviction, and 40 percent had no charge at all. Meanwhile, detainees who had criminal convictions but no pending charges skyrocketed from fewer than 1,000 in January to more than 21,000—a 2,370 percent increase.

ICE data show the share of people detained after an ICE arrest who have criminal convictions has dropped from 62 percent in January to 31 percent in November, while those held with no conviction or charge have jumped from six percent to 40 percent.

Deportation figures follow the same pattern. In November 2025, ICE’s data show that 70 percent of people it removed had no criminal convictions, and 43 percent had neither a conviction nor a pending charge.

ICE removals from detention between Nov. 1 and Nov. 16, 2025. Cato Insititute

CBS News reported that only one-third of Border Patrol arrests in Charlotte, North Carolina, during Trump’s high-profile “Green Army” deployment involved people with criminal histories.

A DHS spokesperson said the figures cited by CBS News were “likely inaccurate” but did not provide any alternate breakdown of criminality beyond what appeared in the document.

The department did, though, finally release some meaningful figures of its own. After months of offering only percentage increases, Noem posted on X that there had been a 1,153 percent increase in assaults on agents between Jan. 21 and Nov. 21 this year.

She said that figure represented 238 reported assaults against ICE law enforcement compared to 19 during the same period last year.

“President Trump and I will always stand with the men and women of @ICEgov who risk their lives every single day to arrest the worst of the worst.”

The Daily Beast contacted the White House for comment.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that “70 percent of illegal aliens ICE arrested across the country have criminal convictions or pending criminal charges just in the U.S.,” and that that didn’t “account for those wanted for violent crimes in their home country or another country, INTERPOL notices, human rights abusers, gang members, terrorists, etc.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/damning-leaked-figures-show-ice-barbie-kristi-noem-is-totally-failing-to-arrest-the-worst-of-the-worst/?

[phkrause]

Some DACA recipients have been arrested in Trump’s immigration crackdown

An organization is tracking the growing number of arrests among people with temporary deportation protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Although DACA was created to shield noncitizens who were brought into the country by their parents from deportation if they meet certain requirements, including keeping a clean record, the Trump administration has obfuscated the protections granted to these recipients. At least 20 cases have been documented, including the recent arrest of a Dallas area resident who was a vocal participant in political meetings and public demonstrations. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

Live updates: FBI seeks interviews with Democratic lawmakers who urged troops to defy illegal orders Trump says he’s sending his envoys to see Putin and Ukrainians after fine-tuning plan to end war Consumer confidence slides as Americans grow wary of high costs and sluggish job gains Dismissal of Comey, James cases won’t be the final word. Here’s what the path ahead may look like Trump spares turkeys — but not his political opponents — at annual pardoning ceremony

[phkrause]

No meeting until "final stages"

Responders extinguish a fire at the site of a Russian strike yesterday in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photo: Viacheslav Mavrychev/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images President Trump says he'll meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin only when they get closer to a peace deal, Axios' Barak Ravid reports. ? "I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages," Trump wrote on Truth Social. ? Trump's post comes after Axios reported that Zelensky wants to meet President Trump "as soon as possible" — even over Thanksgiving — to finalize a joint U.S.-Ukrainian agreement on peace terms. U.S. and Ukrainian officials have agreed in principle on most aspects of the latest, modified plan. But Zelensky wants to negotiate with Trump personally on the matter of territorial concessions, Zelensky Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak told Barak and Axios' Dave Lawler. ?? The original U.S. plan promised Russia more territory beyond what it currently controls, provoking backlash from Ukraine and its allies. The U.S. argument: It's a matter of time before Ukraine loses that territory anyway. ?? The other side: Moscow "welcomed" the initial U.S. plan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said today, but "the situation will be fundamentally different" if the new version strays from understandings reached between Trump and Putin. ? Friction point: Russia's deadly overnight attacks show that peace is not on Moscow's mind, Yermak said. ☮️ But he also argued that if the U.S. and Ukraine can finalize a joint position — and if Trump can press Putin to negotiate on those terms — the war could end soon. Go deeper.

[phkrause]

? Gobble gobble — oh, pardon me!

President Trump pardons "Gobble" in the Rose Garden this afternoon. Photo: Heather Diehl/Getty Images President Trump pardoned "Waddle" and "Gobble" in a Thanksgiving White House tradition this afternoon. ?️ While turkeys have long been presented at the White House, today's annual ritual of ceremonially pardoning what might otherwise become Thanksgiving dinner is much more recent. George H.W. Bush formalized the modern-day affair, conducting the first official turkey pardon in 1989. Data: Axios research; Chart: Jacque Schrag/Axios Trump also seized the opportunity today to take shots at former President Biden (for his autopen use) as well as Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (over safety in the Windy City), Axios' Josephine Walker reports. ? "The mayor is incompetent and the governor is a big fat slob," Trump said while falsely claiming Chicago has out-of-control crime rates and threatening to send in the National Guard. Go deeper.

[phkrause]

Trump's "America First" scars

Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios; Photos: Getty Images

President Trump is flirting with one of the most toxic ideas in American politics — a new foreign military intervention — at one of the most precarious moments of his second term, Axios' Zachary Basu writes. Why it matters: Trump's push toward regime change in Venezuela threatens to deepen a MAGA rift that detonated last week with the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). The tensions mark the most public fracturing of Trump's coalition since he entered politics, unfolding against a backdrop of brutal polling for Republicans across the board. For a president who has long sold "no new wars" as his foreign-policy calling card, even a narrowly framed mission in America's "backyard" could shatter that promise. ? Zoom in: For now, the U.S. warships and planes circling in the Caribbean are serving a dual purpose: destroying alleged drug boats and tightening the vise on Nicolás Maduro. Trump still favors a negotiated exit for Maduro and plans to speak privately with the Venezuelan dictator, a U.S.-branded "narcoterrorist" with a Justice Department bounty on his head. But Trump — whom a U.S. official described as the administration's biggest hawk on this issue — also has authorized CIA covert operations inside Venezuela and reserved the option to order land strikes at any time. Between the lines: The notion of deposing Maduro by force dates back to Trump's first term, yet appears to be deeply unpopular: 70% of Americans say they'd oppose military action in Venezuela, according to a CBS News poll. MAGA activists are similarly uneasy — supportive of Trump's crackdown on drug trafficking but wary of mission creep and the potential chaos of a new foreign conflict. For Tucker Carlson and the right's ascendant isolationists, the Venezuela brinkmanship offers a ripe opportunity to hammer "neocons" they accuse of betraying "America First" principles. ? Reality check: The GOP is still Trump's party. And what he says, goes. Before the U.S. bombed Iran, social media was awash with speculation — including from the likes of Carlson and other isolationists — that military intervention would split the party. It didn't, in large part because Trump brokered a swift ceasefire after striking Iran's nuclear facilities. The bottom line: Trump is entering a critical phase of his presidency, needing to repair the damage inside his coalition. A foreign confrontation with Venezuela could derail that project before it begins.

[phkrause]

? New Trump power player

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll's impromptu role in negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine thrusts into the mainstream what defense circles have been whispering about: He's a Trump 2.0 power player.

• Why it matters: Driscoll formally presented the 28-point peace plan to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky. Driscoll then held a flurry of meetings in Kyiv, joined the U.S. delegation in Geneva and jetted to Abu Dhabi to meet the Russians, Axios Future of Defense author Colin Demarest writes.

President Trump yesterday said he's dispatching Steve Witkoff to Moscow and directing Driscoll to steer the next stage of talks with Kyiv.

• These are, in sum, not the typical responsibilities of an Army secretary, aka the service's No. 1 civilian.

?️ The big picture: Driscoll's star is rising. It's boosted by:

1. Trust inside the White House.
2. A willingness to engage media outside of the Pentagon's preferred pool of conservative outlets.
3. A marathon travel circuit that has brought him to dozens of military installations and countries — Forts Bragg, Huachuca and Wainwright, plus Belgium and Germany and Poland — in mere months.

Behind the scenes: It was Vice President Vance's idea to tap Driscoll, who was already planning a visit to Ukraine to discuss weapons, industrial output and strategy, according to U.S. officials.

• Vance and Driscoll are former Yale Law classmates and have a long-standing relationship.

Driscoll is known as "drone guy" for his work on military modernization.

[phkrause]

? "Trump accounts" get a rebrand

Companies, lawyers and policy types are starting to call "Trump accounts" — the One Big Beautiful Bill's children's investment vehicles — a new name: 530A accounts, Axios' Emily Peck writes.

• Why it matters: It's a way to avoid politicizing the accounts — investment vehicles for kids that proponents hope will be widely used by families, companies and philanthropies on both sides of the aisle.

530A is the name of the section of the law that established the accounts.

• The more clinical name hasn't yet caught on widely. But some proponents say they're seeing it used by lawyers and tax experts who already live in a world of number names, like your 401(k)s and 529s.

? How it works: Whatever these accounts are called, the key thing is: Babies are getting some money.

• Under the new law, all Americans born from 2025 to 2028 will get $1,000 from the Treasury, to be deposited into low-cost U.S. stock index funds.

[phkrause]

Trump’s Ukraine peace plan ignites diplomatic flurry but major hurdles lie ahead The Russia-Ukraine war has seen almost four years of failed peace plans, blueprints and high-level summits. A new U.S. push to end the fighting has set off the latest flurry of diplomacy. Read more.

What to know: Tilted heavily toward Russia’s aims, the U.S.-backed proposal presented to Ukraine last week set off alarm bells in Kyiv and other European capitals. Ukraine and its allies offered a set of counterproposals that revamped the plan’s points. Ukrainian and European leaders expressed optimism about the talks’ momentum, but awaited responses from Washington and Moscow that are crucial.   “I think we’re getting very close to a deal,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday. He said the proposals had been “fine-tuned” and announced he was sending his envoy Steve Witkoff to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.   U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met Russian and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, but Putin’s foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, said the new peace plan was not discussed in detail. The fragility of the process was underscored by a leaked transcript of a call in which Witkoff appeared to coach Ushakov on how to win Trump’s support for a peace plan. Moscow denied leaking the conversation, details of which were first published by Bloomberg News.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Report: US envoy coached Putin aide on how Russian leader should pitch Trump on Ukraine peace plan   US Army secretary takes unlikely role as key negotiator in push to end Russia-Ukraine war   Judge gives Justice Department a day to detail Ghislaine Maxwell trial materials to be released   Health care plan circulated by the White House runs into familiar GOP divisions   X’s new feature raises questions about the foreign origins of some popular US political accounts   Court official dismisses Justice Department’s misconduct complaint against a federal judge in DC   DC Mayor Bowser announces she won’t seek fourth term, as Trump’s federal intervention continues   FACT FOCUS: Trump gets it wrong claiming no murders in DC for the last six months   Top US military officials are visiting Caribbean leaders as Trump weighs next steps   Wisconsin Supreme Court says 3-judge panels must decide congressional redistricting cases   Judge’s footnote on immigration agents using AI raises accuracy and privacy concerns   Trump administration plan to review Biden-era refugees sparks worry and uncertainty   Man charged in Colorado Planned Parenthood shooting dies in federal custody   Judge sets $60K bond for Florida congresswoman accused of stealing $5M in COVID-19 funds   Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, begins 27-year prison sentence   Political consultant defies court order in lawsuit over AI robocalls that mimicked Biden

[phkrause]

Ukraine peace talks

President Donald Trump says negotiators are making progress to end the war in Ukraine after several days of talks with European leaders. A "consensus" had been reached on most points, a source told CNN, but there are at least three crucial areas where differences remain. Notably, the source said that no decision had yet been reached on the sensitive issue of whether Ukraine will surrender territory that has been annexed but not yet conquered by Russia. President Trump said the next step will be sending his special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump's Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will also meet with the Ukrainians in the coming days.

[phkrause]

Karoline Leavitt’s Family Member Captured by ICE Goons

America’s brutal immigration raids just got personal for Trump’s press secretary.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been personally linked to the brutal ICE raids sweeping America.

Her 11-year-old nephew’s mother, Bruna Ferreira, is now in custody at an ICE facility at Louisiana, facing deportation to Brazil.

Ferreira is the former fiancée of Michael Leavitt, the press secretary’s New Hampshire-based brother. They had a son whom they raised together before they split.

Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to fight the ICE charges and allow Bruna to remain in Boston. It has now raised over $14,000 of a $30,000 target.

A source familiar with the matter told the Daily Beast that, “This individual is the mother of Karoline’s nephew and they have not spoken in many years. The child has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother.”

The Daily Beast has reached out for additional information on discrepancies in the couple’s living arrangements after a 2014 article on Leavitt winning $1 million referenced an engagement to Ferreira. The couple was living together with their son, who was 8 months old, according to the report. The family is also pictured together.

A DHS spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Ferreira was “a criminal illegal alien from Brazil” who is currently at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and is in removal proceedings.

“She has a previous arrest for battery. She entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the U.S. by June 6, 1999,” the spokesperson said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”

WBUR could not find details of battery charges against Bruna Ferreira in Massachusetts’ online court records. The Daily Beast has contacted the DHS for comment.

The station could also not confirm whether the son had only lived with his father after the couple separated, but a family member said the split occurred around 10 years ago.

“I need the lights fixed on the back of my car,” Ferreira told The North Andover Eagle-Tribune at the time. “And we need a lamp for my son’s room. Other than that we don’t really need much. We have our health. We have a nice condo. We really are blessed.”

In a statement to WBUR, Michael Leavitt said, “My only concern has always been the safety, wellbeing, and privacy of my son.”

The Daily Beast has contacted Michael Leavitt for comment.

The press secretary’s brother appears to have met the president earlier this year. A photo posted to his Facebook page on April 28 shows him alongside Trump in the Oval Office. Leavitt posted the photo with a “Go America” caption.

Comments on the post include, “What a special day for the Leavitt family,” and “Your sister is an inspiration.”

Leavitt has also married a new partner, Kara. She posted a photo in October last year with the caption, “Forever wedding date.”

On the GoFundMe page, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues says her sister is “now fighting to stay in the country she has called home for nearly her entire life.”

Rodrigues says Bruna entered the U.S. with their parents in December 1998 on a visa, and that she has maintained her legal status through a program for people who entered the country as children called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

“Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here... followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing.”

She added, “Bruna’s absence has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son... who needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays.”

Rodrigues said the campaign would cover the costs “to give Bruna the best possible chance to return home to her family,” and added, “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support, your prayers, and your kindness during this incredibly painful time.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/karoline-leavitts-family-member-captured-by-ice-goons/?