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

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SNAP payments

A federal judge said the Trump administration must fully cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November. The order comes days after the administration said it would provide only partial food stamp benefits for November by tapping into some $4.65 billion in a contingency fund.

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Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced AP reporting provides the first comprehensive account and identifies some of the men killed in recent U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats. In dozens of interviews in villages on Venezuela’s northeastern coast, from which some of the boats departed, residents and relatives said the dead men had indeed been running drugs but were not narco-terrorists, as alleged by the Trump administration, or leaders of a cartel or gang. Read more.

What to know: The residents and relatives interviewed by the AP requested anonymity out of fear of reprisals from drug smugglers, the Venezuelan government or the Trump administration. They said they were incensed that the men were killed without due process. In the past, their boats would have been interdicted by the U.S. authorities and the crewmen charged with federal crimes, affording them a day in court.   Most of the nine men were crewing such craft for the first or second time, making at least $500 per trip, residents and relatives said. They were laborers, a fisherman, a motorcycle taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a well-known local crime boss who contracted out his smuggling services to traffickers.   So far, the U.S. military has blown up 17 vessels, killing more than 60 people. Nine of the craft were targeted in the Caribbean, and at least three of those had departed from Venezuela, according to the Trump administration.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump administration announces 17th deadly strike on an alleged drug boat   What a reporter found when she investigated US military strikes on Venezuelan drug boats   Senate Republicans vote down legislation to limit Trump’s ability to attack Venezuela

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MTG Directly Contradicts Trump in Rant at ‘Disgusting’ GOP Congress

The congresswoman said she was “appalled” at the D.C. standstill.

MAGA firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed her fellow Republicans, including President Donald Trump, frustrated by their inaction on addressing the soaring cost of living.

The Georgia Republican called out Trump’s claims that inflation and grocery prices are going down.

“No. I go to the grocery store myself. Grocery prices remain high. Energy prices are high,” Greene, 51, told CNN’s The Source host Kaitlan Collins.

While she also criticized Democrats, telling Collins, “I am absolutely appalled and disgusted at this standstill between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.”

She said that Democrats could fund the government, including SNAP programs, by voting for a continuing resolution, but she also seemed exasperated with Republicans for not taking advantage of the nuclear option and eliminating the filibuster.

“Republicans can use the nuclear option just like they did to get through the president’s nominees, and they can go through the filibuster, and they can also fund the government,” Greene told Collins. “I think this is hurting the American people, and I think it’s hurting Congress and our ratings most of all.” Trump has also called for Republicans to end the filibuster.

Hitting out at her male colleagues once more, Greene said, “It‘s basically a you-know-what measuring contest between the men in leadership. And I think the country is sick and tired of it.” Greene has repeatedly publicly criticized Speaker Mike Johnson, 53, for how he has navigated what has become the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

While the congresswoman did credit the Trump administration with holding inflation steady at 2.5 percent, she added that it was “not helping Americans.” Inflation rose to 3 percent in September.

Greene also said she disagreed with the president’s claim that grocery prices are decreasing, telling Collins, “Grocery prices remain high. Energy prices are high. My electricity bills are higher here in Washington, D.C., at my apartment, and they‘re also higher at my house in Rome, Georgia. Higher than they were a year ago. So affordability is a problem.”

When asked by Collins why she thought the president was repeating misleading claims about the cost of Walmart Thanksgiving meals, Greene replied, “I think every president, no matter who they are, are basically in a cone of information by the people that they have working for them and are around them. So that could be the case here.”

The congresswoman, who has previously criticized the president for his focus on foreign affairs while Americans are struggling, also doubled down on her push for an ‘America first’ approach, explaining to Collins that an emphasis on kitchen table issues is likely what saw the Democrats succeed in Tuesday’s elections.

“I want all of my colleagues to come through in action in supporting America first policies. And I think the American people showed that on Tuesday,” she argued.

“You‘re not going to convince them to go to the polls and vote by bailing out Argentina. You‘re not going to convince them to go to the polls and vote by continuing to fund foreign wars and foreign countries and foreign causes. You‘re going to get them to go to the polls and vote when you show up to work and actually fix the problems that they face every single day,” she said..

The president has spent much of his second term prioritizing foreign affairs and promoting himself for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Greene described feeling “disenfranchized” by the government, telling Collins, “I‘m one of those Americans that feels disenfranchized by my government, and I feel that that our government has failed the American people on both sides of the aisle.”

Her message to her colleagues in Congress was simple. “Let‘s get back to work and let‘s actually do the things that we promised. That‘s the only way that‘s going to save our country.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/mtg-slams-gop-on-cost-of-living-crisis-in-live-interview/?

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Judge Officially Declares Trump’s Top Immigration Goon a Liar

In a humiliating ruling, a court finds Gregory Bovino repeatedly lied about his actions during an anti-immigrant sweep in Chicago.

A federal judge accused Donald Trump’s top immigration goon of lying to her court as she imposed sweeping limits on a hardline anti-migrant crackdown in Illinois.

In a humiliating courtroom defeat for the government—and setback for Trump’s deportation drive—U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis said Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino had repeatedly lied to the court, only coming clean when the evidence meant he couldn’t continue to do so, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The ruling, delivered on Thursday evening, converts a temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction that will remain in place through trial or settlement.

The order bars federal agents from using riot-control weapons on nonviolent people, requires warnings before using chemical munitions, and mandates body cameras and clear identification for officers.

In an oral ruling, Ellis said, “I find the government’s evidence to be simply not credible,” after weeks of tear-gassings, pepper-ball strikes and hard takedowns against journalists, clergy, and residents during “Operation Midway Blitz,” with excessive violence that she said “shocks the conscience.”

The Obama-appointed judge singled out Bovino, 55, for false testimony—specifically his claim that he was hit in the head with a rock before he lobbed gas at protesters—saying he “later admitted that he lied” after DHS failed to provide any evidence to support its claim.

“The use of force shocks the conscience,” Ellis told the court.

Plaintiffs’ lawyer Steve Art said the tear gas use from Bovino’s so-called “Green Army” had “suddenly stopped” when Bovino was hauled into court.

Now Ellis’ strict order bars agents from deploying tear gas in residential or commercial areas in ways that foreseeably injure non-threatening people.

They cannot fire projectiles at the head, neck, groin, spine, or female breast, or “tackle” or “body-slam” non-threatening people except as objectively necessary to effect an arrest. They must also activate body-worn cameras during specified enforcement activities.

Ellis’ order “amps up the pressure to comply,” Art added, according to WBEZ.

Ellis’s injunction largely mirrors and supersedes her temporary restraining order from October, which was obtained by a coalition led by the Chicago Headline Club and which initially mandated warnings and press protections. Thursday’s ruling extends those curbs until final judgment and compels DHS to file implementing guidance within five business days.

Bovino has been the hard-charging face of the blitz since September. In videotaped testimony, he defended force as “more than exemplary.” Ellis disagreed, citing clips of him tackling a man outside the Broadview facility and the Little Village tear-gas incident, emphasizing First Amendment harms to protesters and journalists.

The Daily Beast first reported court filings accusing Bovino of inventing the rock attack, then repeating it under oath. A Beast report published Wednesday detailed plaintiffs’ claim that there is “uncontroverted evidence” that Bovino’s story—amplified by DHS on its official accounts—was a fabrication.

On the ground Thursday, before the judgment dropped, Bovino told a Chicago Tribune photographer that agents were operating “legally, ethically and morally,” even as one team fired pepper balls at a moving car in Gage Park and others pointed rifles in Little Village. Bovino—who has faced public criticism for his “SS-style” look—called Chicago “a very tough place” before grinning and chomping on a Slim Jim in a gas-station mini mart, the outlet reported.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Ellis’ order was “an extreme act by an activist judge that risks the lives and livelihoods of law enforcement officers,” and vowed an appeal.

But Ellis said the government had not backed claims of “rioters, gangbangers and terrorists,” despite submitting hundreds of hours of video.

The Seventh Circuit last week blocked Ellis’ separate requirement that Bovino personally report to her courtroom daily, but her broader curbs remain intact.

The judge’s new order also directs DHS to identify journalists by clear indicia and forbids dispersal orders unless narrowly justified by exigency defined in DHS’s own use-of-force policy. Ellis told the parties to file a plan to keep agents informed of the limits.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-deportations-hit-as-judge-sara-ellis-bans-gregory-bovinos-ott-illinois-chicago-midway-blitz/?

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Bondi and Pirro Humiliated by D.C. Hoagie Hurler Jury

The DOJ wasted months trying to get Sean Dunn convicted of assault.

Donald Trump’s most high-profile prosecutors were humiliated by a jury Thursday as it cleared a man who hurled a hoagie at a federal agent of assault.

The jury in Washington D.C. took almost 24 hours to return a not guilty verdict on Sean Dunn, who threw a footlong sandwich at Border Patrol agent Gregory Lairmore in the first days of Trump’s troop surge in the capital.

The verdict marked an embarrassing end to a months-long drive by Trump’s Attorney General, Pam Bondi, and his U.S. district attorney in D.C., ex-Fox News personality “Judge” Jeanine Pirro, to convict Dunn.

The duo had first been refused a felony indictment by a grand jury—a vanishingly rare occurrence—then pressed ahead with misdemeanor charges of assault and obstructing a federal agent by “throwing a sandwich at a federal officer at point-blank range,” which could have put Dunn behind bars for six months. Instead they suffered a stinging rebuke.

Outside court Dunn—who was fired as a Department of Justice paralegal after his arrest—said, “I am so happy that justice prevailed.”

Dunn’s attorneys had told the jury that the paralegal agreed he had thrown the sandwich after a verbal altercation with Border Patrol and FBI agents who he believed were about to mount an immigration raid—but that not constitute an assault.

And the “victim” himself revealed that his colleagues thought the incident was a joke. Lairmore, a 29-year veteran, testified that he had been given a plush toy version of a footlong, which he had put on display in his office, and a patch saying “Footlong Felony” which he had put on his own lunchbox. Lairmore had claimed the sandwich “exploded all over my uniform,” but was confronted as he testified with a picture of the thrown sandwich still largely in its wrapping.

“I had mustard and condiments on my uniform, and an onion hanging from my radio antenna that night,” he said.

Judge Carl J. Nichols instructed the jury to consider if Dunn’s throw of the sandiwch constituted a “reasonable apprehension of immediate bodily harm."

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, on 14th Street N.W. in D.C. on August 10, Pirro had crowed she would hit Dunn with felony charges.

“This guy thought it was funny—well, he doesn’t think it’s funny today, because we charged him with a felony," she said in a video posted to X on August 13.

Bondi also made a show of talking tough against Dunn, firing Dunn from his DOJ job and claiming he was a “deep state” operative.

“Not only is he FIRED, he has been charged with a felony. This is an example of the Deep State we have been up against for seven months as we work to refocus DOJ,” she bragged after he was arrested in a SWAT raid recorded by a video team and tweeted by the DOJ.

The DOJ declined to comment on the acquittal. Pirro’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The case left Pirro widely mocked, with graffiti showing a sandwich on her head springing up around D.C. Dunn, meanwhile, was immortalized in a Banksy-style mural which has appeared widely in the capital.

After being cleared, Dunn hinted at the toll the prosecution had taken on him, thanking people for financial help and “opening their homes” to him.

“I believe I was protecting the rights of immigrants and let us not forget that the great seal of the United States says ‘E Pluribus Unum,’” he said. “That means ‘From many, one.’ You have the right to live a life that is free.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/bondi-and-pirro-humiliated-by-dc-hoagie-hurler-jury/?

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Cornell University to pay $60M in deal with Trump administration to restore federal funding

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cornell University has agreed to pay $60 million and accept the Trump administration’s interpretation of civil rights laws in order to restore federal funding and end investigations into the Ivy League school.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-cornell-federal-funding-f4e2edc67f9423542e7ab6ffd3fddfb0?

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Trump, 79, Slams ‘Stench’ of Political Rival, 85, in Vile Rant

The early morning tirade against his adversary was the second in as many days.

Donald Trump has unleashed another vitriolic attack against Nancy Pelosi, accusing the retiring former House Speaker of being an “old and broken political hack” and declaring he’s glad to be rid of her “stench.”

Pelosi—who was one of America’s most consequential speakers and the first woman to lead the chamber—announced her retirement this week, even winning praise from MAGA firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene for her 40-year career.

But in yet another early morning diatribe, Trump, 79, hit out at the 85-year-old Democrat, who was instrumental in impeaching him: firstly in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress; and later for inciting the January attack on the US Capitol in 2021.

“Nancy Pelosi, the old and broken political hack who Impeached me twice and lost, is finally calling it “quits.” She illegally made a fortune in the Stock Market, ripped off the American Public, and was a disaster for America,” he wrote on Truth Social, without providing evidence.

“I’m glad to see the stench of Nancy Pelosi go!!!”

The bad blood between Trump and Pelosi dates back years, as she was pivotal in hindering parts of his first term agenda.

In 2019, the then House Speaker also went viral for clapping in his face in a demeaning way at his State of the Union address.

The following year, she caused an even bigger stir by ripping up his State of the Union speech after he finished addressing a joint session of Congress.

But things took a particularly dark turn in 2022, when a man entered Pelosi’s home in San Francisco while she was away and bludgeoned her husband, Paul, with a hammer, fracturing his skull.

The assailant, David DePape, was a believer in Trump’s false claim that the election was stolen, and told police he was hoping to take Nancy Pelosi hostage and “break her kneecaps.”

Trump later joked about the attack, telling his followers at a rally: “How’s her husband doing by the way?” adding that the wall around her house didn’t do “a good job” protecting him.

But the president’s Friday morning post was swiftly criticized on social media.

“Classy as ever from Trump. The guy who won’t even look your way if you collapse behind him,” quipped one X user—a reference to the president freezing on Tuesday as a White House guest fainted in the Oval Office.

Trump’s comment about “the stench of Nancy Pelosi” comes after his own apparent odor also made headlines recently.

Speaking to the Daily Beast podcast, New York writer E. Jean Carroll - who successfully sued Trump for sexually assaulting and defaming her - recounted the jury being “mesmerized” at his mannerisms during the trial.

“He never sat still, and he talked the entire time within earshot of the jury. He belittled Alina Habba, his own attorney. He would spit as he was talking. He didn’t smell so good,” Carroll said.

At her new stand-up comedy show in D.C. last month, adult film star Stormy Daniels also addressed the longstanding rumor that Trump may have expressed some flatulence issues while she testified against him at a separate trial in New York last year.

“It did smell really weird,” she recalled of the trial, which resulted in Trump being criminally convicted for 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sexual encounter they had years ago.

Pelosi announced in a social media video this week that she would not seek re-election, ending a trailblazing career that spanned 20 terms representing her district in San Francisco.

Among her many achievements was the passage of the Affordable Care Act in early 2010, giving Democrats one of their most significant legislative achievements. She also spearheaded landmark legislation on climate change, economic stimulus, and veterans’ benefits and LGBTQ equality.

While Pelosi was loathed by MAGA world, Taylor Greene once again broke ranks with her party—and Trump—by offering some unexpected praise on Thursday.

“I served under her speakership in my first term of Congress, and I’m very impressed at her ability to get things done,” she told CNN.

“I wish we could get things done for our (Republican) party like Nancy Pelosi was able to deliver for her party… So I wish her well in her retirement, but I would like to see people exit Washington a lot sooner rather than wait until their eighties.”

Trump will celebrate his 80th birthday next year.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-79-slams-stench-of-political-rival-85-in-vile-rant/?

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Deep in Trump country, coal miners with black lung say government is suffocating the ‘working man’

Lisa Emery loves to talk about her “boys.” With each word, the respiratory therapist’s face softens and shines with pride. But keep her talking, and it doesn’t take long for that passion to switch to hurt. She knows the names, ages, families and the intimate stories of each one’s scarred lungs. She worries about a whole community of West Virginia coal miners — including a growing number in their 30s and 40s — who come to her for help while getting sicker and sicker from what used to be considered an old-timer’s disease: black lung. Read more.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

PHOTO ESSAY: Coal miners with black lung fight Trump administration rollback of safety protections   ps:Exactly!!!!! This was predicted about 10 years ago!!!!!   Trump accuses foreign-owned meat packers of inflating US beef prices and calls for investigation WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday accused foreign-owned meat packers of driving up the price of beef in the U.S. and asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation. https://apnews.com/article/trump-beef-justice-department-c6c57effee6ef1a8c1088d4e5edcc60a? Trump-Orbán meeting: US gives Hungary exemption from sanctions on Russian oil and gas The US has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions on importing oil and gas from Russia, according to a White House official, after Viktor Orbán pressed his case for a reprieve during a meeting with Donald Trump in Washington. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/trump-orban-hungary-russian-oil? ps:Of course he did!!!!! ‘Huge victory’ in Portland as judge’s final order bars Trump from sending national guard A federal judge in Oregon on Friday blocked Donald Trump from deploying national guard troops to Portland, ruling there was no evidence of widespread violence to justify federal intervention. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/07/final-order-trump-national-guard-portland?

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Trump's minerals obsession

Illustration: Maura Kearns/Axios

Look under almost every element of President Trump's second-term foreign policy — from the trade war with China, to peace in Ukraine, to annexing Greenland — and you'll find critical minerals. Why it matters: China has the U.S. in a bind when it comes to supplies of rare earths and other scarce minerals, and President Xi Jinping has proved he's willing to squeeze. That's why Trump was so intent on signing a one-year trade truce with Beijing, and why he's scouring the world for alternative sources, Axios' Dave Lawler writes. ? The big picture: The U.S. needs rare earth magnets to build everything from fighter jets to wind turbines. Virtually all global output runs through China. Beijing responded to Trump's tariffs with export controls on rare earths, leaving Trump with little option but to cut a deal. Xi agreed to pause the latest restrictions for a year, though previous truces have broken down ahead of schedule. The rare earths standoff was a major source of behind-the-scenes anxiety at the White House, and supercharged the mission to search the world for minerals. "Minerals have really become the most powerful form of currency when it comes to foreign policy now," says Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ? Driving the news: Trump signed three agreements on critical minerals during his Asia swing even before he sat down with Xi, then invited five leaders from resource-rich Central Asia to meet him at the White House when he returned. Just in the past 72 hours, the administration announced a $1.2 billion investment in two rare earths startups and unveiled a critical minerals deal with Kazakhstan, which has an abundance of minerals and recently announced a massive rare earths find. Rare earths have come up in Trump's debt swap talks with Argentina, peace talks with Ukraine and in trade negotiations with countries including Australia, Brazil and Japan. They were on the agenda when Trump visited Saudi Arabia and when African leaders visited him in D.C. Trump's insistence that the U.S. must control Greenland is also based largely on a desire to tap the Arctic territory's immense mineral wealth. ?? Breaking it down: China is the sole or dominant source of eight of the nine minerals for which a supply disruption would be most damaging to the U.S. economy, according to the 2025 U.S. Geological Survey. Topping the list is samarium, a key element for magnets used in jets and missiles. As with other rare earths, China dominates all aspects of the supply chain — from mining, to separation, to manufacturing the magnets.

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?️ Parks trashed

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

America's national parks — partially open despite the government shutdown — have become playgrounds for unsupervised visitors who are wreaking havoc on wildlife and fragile ecosystems. Why it matters: Some of America's most beloved spots are at risk of permanent damage, Axios' Josephine Walker writes. Rowdy thrill-seekers have been illegally BASE jumping off of Yosemite's towering granite peaks, a recipe for disaster in a park that's experienced at least 25 accidental deaths from climbers falling, particularly during bad weather. The National Park Service told Axios that one of the stone walls at Gettysburg's Devil's Den was toppled in mid-October, desecrating a historic military landmark. Photo: Coalition to Protect America's National Parks Photos taken during the shutdown show graffiti at Arches National Park in Utah. Read on.

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Trump's shutdown contradictions

President Trump blames Democrats, the shutdown and media bias for his party's shellacking last Tuesday, Axios' Marc Caputo writes.

• Why it matters: What he leaves out is his own role in Republicans' election wipeout and the contradictions in his policies and messaging.

? It's hard to argue you care about the working class while you're fighting to not fund SNAP payments.

• It's hard to argue Democrats are to blame for the shutdown when your party controls all of Congress.
• It's hard to argue prices are coming down everywhere when they're obviously going up for coffee, orange juice, ground beef, energy and housing.
• It's hard to argue you're fixated on economic angst at home when you spend a lot of time talking about other countries, including on an overseas trip during a domestic shutdown. And then there are the White House renovations, the weekend trips to South Florida, golfing, and a "Great Gatsby"-themed party at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.

Reality check: Trump does have one clear, consistent message — Democrats need to end the shutdown. And there's an explanation for each of his seemingly muddled positions.

• But in politics, when you're explaining, you're losing. And polls show more voters blaming Trump and the GOP for the shutdown. Public approval of Trump's job performance began to crater in late October, four weeks into the shutdown.

? "The president is well aware of this," a Trump adviser said of the polling. "But no one is coming out of this on the right side. People are pissed at all parties."

• Democrats are still feeling the heat, the Trump adviser said, "which is why they're coming with some very serious proposals."

Between the lines: Some Trump confidants privately admit his attention was essentially AWOL during the early part of the historic shutdown, now in its 40th day (39 full days passed). So his messaging was flabby.

• That's changing as he gets more engaged and digests last week's losses. Trump is putting more pressure on Republicans to end the filibuster and thereby end the shutdown.

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Scoop: Weapons stalled

Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios

More than $5 billion worth of U.S. weapon exports to support NATO allies and Ukraine have been delayed by the government shutdown, according to a State Department estimate shared with Axios' Stef Kight. Why it matters: "This is actually really harming both our allies and partners and U.S. industry to actually deliver a lot of these critical capabilities overseas," a senior State Department official told Axios. Zoom in: The delivery of weapons — including AMRAAM missiles, Aegis combat systems and HIMARS — for allies such as Denmark, Croatia and Poland have been affected, according to the official. The ultimate destination of the exports is not clear, but arms sales to NATO allies are often transferred to assist Ukraine. ?️ Between the lines: The Arms Export Control Act requires Congress to review weapon sale proposals. Many State Department staffers whose job is to brief congressional committee staff — and ensure the process is completed — have been furloughed, causing the slowdown. State spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Axios: "Democrats are holding up critical weapons sales, including to our NATO allies, which harms the U.S. industrial base and puts our and our partners' security at risk."

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?️ ESPN: Trump wants D.C. stadium named for him

The partially demolished RFK Stadium in October. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images The White House is leaning into a report by ESPN that President Trump wants the Washington Commanders to name their new stadium after him. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tells Mike: "That would surely be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible." ? ESPN's Don Van Natta Jr. and Adam Schefter report that a decision to name the stadium after someone would likely involve the city of D.C. and the National Park Service in addition to the Commanders organization. Trump is also slated to attend the Commanders' home game against the Detroit Lions today at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. The organization has spent days prepping for the president, and he's expected to join halftime activities honoring the military, ESPN notes. What to watch: Construction of the redeveloped RFK stadium starts next year and is projected to wrap in the fall of 2030. D.C. is pushing to host the 2031 Super Bowl at the new venue, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil reports.

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Trump administration moves to loosen restrictions it once supported on a harmful pollutant

WASHINGTON (AP) — Near the end of his first term, President Donald Trump signed into law a bill that aimed to reduce harmful, planet-warming pollutants emitted by refrigerators and air conditioners. The bipartisan measure brought environmentalists and major business groups into rare alignment on the contentious issue of climate change and won praise across the political spectrum.

https://apnews.com/article/hfc-alternative-refrigerants-air-conditioners-trump-epa-fb2d3c8bd3029b9f924e9adb45bedfb4?

Liberal Elites Kicked the Door Wide Open for Trump’s Flagrant Corruption

In his first term, Donald Trump appeared to be gunning for the title of most corrupt president in U.S. history. But after taking advantage of four years on the sidelines to ruminate about how to do better, he’s blown all competition completely out of the water in the nine months since retaking the Oval Office.

https://theintercept.com/2025/11/09/trump-corruption-graft/?

How Christian Nationalism Is Shaping Trump’s Foreign Policy Toward Africa 

After threatening last weekend to go “guns-a-blazing” into Nigeria in defense of Christian Nigerians, President Donald Trump has ended protection for another group facing violence and political instability. On Wednesday, the Trump administration terminated temporary protected status shielding immigrants from South Sudan from deportation, even though the African nation has faced escalating violence, political instability, and food insecurity in recent weeks. 

https://theintercept.com/2025/11/08/nigeria-south-africa-trump-christian-nationalism/?

Trump Has a Secret List of 24 “Designated Terrorist Organizations.” We Got Some of the Names.

To justify its deadly strikes on alleged drug-smugglers at sea, the Trump administration now claims that there are 24 designated terrorist organizations engaging in armed conflict with the United States, three government sources told The Intercept.

https://theintercept.com/2025/11/07/trump-dto-list-venezuela-boat-strikes/?

The President Is Perfectly Fine If You Starve

The message behind the government shutdown is loud and clear: Hunger is acceptable collateral damage in service of Trump’s agenda.

https://theintercept.com/2025/11/07/government-shutdown-snap-trump-hunger/?

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Trump pardons Rudy Giuliani and others who backed efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned his former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, his onetime chief of staff Mark Meadows and others accused of backing the Republican’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

https://apnews.com/article/rudy-giuliani-donald-trump-pardons-2020-election-73348c1c5d2779741bf8af5b5ffb1472?

Trump administration renews Supreme Court appeal to keep full SNAP payments frozen

President Donald Trump’s administration returned to the Supreme Court on Monday in a push to keep full payments in the SNAP federal food aid program frozen while the government is shut down, even as some families struggled to put food on the table.

https://apnews.com/article/snap-food-benefits-trump-government-shutdown-c633d646f08f395e7d157d1145eaf727?

Trump threatens to sue BBC over edited speech that sparked resignations by news bosses

LONDON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened legal action against the BBC over the way a speech he made was edited in a documentary aired by Britain’s national broadcaster.

https://apnews.com/article/britain-bbc-crisis-trump-panorama-a392fb275af25216ea23537c6f4347e4?

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Trump administration demands states ‘undo’ full SNAP payouts as states warn of ‘catastrophic impact’ President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding states “undo” full SNAP benefits paid out under judicial orders in recent days, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, marking the latest swing in a seesawing legal battle over the anti-hunger program used by 42 million Americans. Read more.

What to know: The demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture came as more than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they authorized before the Supreme Court’s stay.   On Friday night, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson temporarily paused rulings ordering the full SNAP disbursement while an appeals court considers the administration’s request to halt the payments. That led the Department of Agriculture on Saturday to write state SNAP directors to warn them it now considers full payments under the prior orders “unauthorized.”   Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland said in an interview on CBS on Sunday that “in the past six days, we’ve received four different measures of guidance” from the Trump administration. “There is a chaos, and it is an intentional chaos, that we are seeing from this administration,” Moore said.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ States face uncertainty as Trump administration tries to reverse SNAP food payments   US airlines’ daily cancellations exceed 2,700 as shutdown impact extends   What to know if your travel plans are impacted by the FAA’s flight cancellations

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‘60 Minutes’ Comes Out Swinging After Trump Interview Meltdown

The show got heat from both sides of the aisle over its interview with President Donald Trump.

60 Minutes didn’t shy away from the bipartisan criticism of its interview with President Donald Trump.

The iconic CBS newsmagazine show said it received “hundreds of notes” about the wide-ranging half-hour sitdown between Trump and anchor Norah O’Donnell, which aired last week.

“The country may be politically divided, but the criticism we got from viewers was bipartisan,” Cecilia Vega said on Sunday.

Viewers on one side slammed 60 Minutes for what they viewed as a combative approach to the president.

“Instead of interviewing him, it appeared as an attack,” one viewer wrote.

“You should have more respect than what you showed,” another added.

The criticism echoed an earlier MAGA meltdown over O’Donnell’s use of “Mr. Trump” rather than “President Trump” in the intro to the episode, which many conservatives took as a sign of disrespect.

While O’Donnell indeed referred to the president as “Mr. Trump” at one point in her opening spiel, that reference only came after she had already said “President Trump.”

Viewers across the aisle, meanwhile, found O’Donnell to be too deferential to the president.

“You wanted to show Trump in the best possible light,” one person said.

“There were no hard questions, no meaningful pushback,” another viewer wrote.

The show drew flak after a full transcript of the interview revealed that 60 Minutes cut out a portion where Trump had a combative back-and-forth with O’Donnell over his pardon of a crypto billionaire, as well as another instance where the president bragged about how he got Paramount, the network’s parent company, to pay him “a lotta money” to settle a lawsuit over a 2024 interview with Kamala Harris.

Paramount indeed paid $16 million to settle a Trump, clearing the way for a merger with David Ellison-led Skydance. The company has since installed MAGA-curious Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News.

Conservative pundits appeared to agree with the second camp of viewers, but not for the same reasons.

In an appearance on Fox News last week, British journalist Piers Morgan said the interview unexpectedly made for some good TV.

“Not only was it enjoyable to watch—unusual for a Trump mainstream media encounter, normally very acrimonious, very adversarial—I thought it was mutually robust, but also it had a civil tone to it. I thought everyone was the winner from that interview. That’s how presidential interviews ought to be conducted,” he said.

Other 60 Minutes fans decided to take matters into their own hands.

“Donald Trump gets lots and lots of time on TV as president. He has power, and so do I,” one viewer said. “When I saw that he was being interviewed on last Sunday’s show, I used my power and turned it off immediately.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/60-minutes-puts-trump-interview-criticisms-on-blast/?

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Trump’s Peace Deal Blown Up by Landmine After 2 Weeks

Trump had called the accord a “momentous” occasion for the two countries.

A conflict that Donald Trump has bragged about solving has exploded back into crisis after a soldier was severely wounded by a landmine.

Thailand has suspended the peace accord with Cambodia, signed two weeks ago, that Trump claims he helped negotiate.

The accord was signed between the two countries at a regional summit on Oct. 26, which Trump attended. Thailand now says it will cease taking steps to implement it following the violence.

Two Thai troops were wounded near the border in Sisaket province by a mine. A sergeant lost his right leg, the Royal Thai Army said.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said his government is now pumping the brakes on realizing the agreement in the immediate aftermath. Among the plans being backtracked on is the release of Cambodian prisoners scheduled to be returned next week.

“The hostility towards our national security has not decreased as we thought it would,” he said.

The accord had been negotiated via mediation between Trump and Malaysia. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has also insisted it, not Trump, was the more important factor in the accord.

“The follow-up to the joint declaration that we have been doing for about a week will stop,” government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said.

Trump has been eager to use the economic might of the U.S. economy as a tool in foreign policy, which was on show last month when he threatened to withhold trade privileges with both nations unless they came to the table and made tangible steps towards peace.

Trump gave the longest speech of all in Kuala Lumpur when the accord was signed. “This is a momentous day for South East Asia,” he said. “A monumental step.”

During his speech, he regaled the audience with how, during a game of golf in Scotland, he first became involved in the conflict between the two southeast asian nations.

“And I said this is much more important than a round of golf,” he said. “... I could have had a lot of fun, but this is much more fun... saving people and saving countries.”

As part of his appearance at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the BBC reported that Trump demanded the special ceremony to mark the signing of the accord.

“The eight wars that my administration has ended in eight months—there’s never been anything like that,” he said during the summit. “We’re averaging one a month... It’s like, I shouldn’t say it’s a hobby, because it’s so much more serious, but something I’m good at and something I love to do.”

During a 60 Minutes interview aired on Nov. 2, Trump presented a list of the conflicts he claims to have been instrumental in bringing to an end.

“But I brought… just a little list, of… look at this… WARS!” he said, amid the web of tangents he had spun himself.

On his list were conflicts between Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, Pakistan and India, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Israel and Hamas.

He said the list only featured “eight of the nine wars” he had ended. He didn’t clarify what the last one was.

Trump has a track record of getting tangled up with remembering the names of places around the world. It even extends to the names of countries when the president of that country is present.

On Nov. 6, with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, there with him, he called the country “ka-ZACK-a-stan.”

The peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia was signed after a five-day conflict between the two nations that claimed the lives of dozens in July.

Despite a ceasefire being agreed earlier this year and a peace hoped for internationally, incidents like this latest landmine have been ever-present. In August, three Thai troops were injured as they patrolled the border. Again, one tripped a landmine, The Guardian reports.

Cambodia has not spoken out on the latest incident.

It is not clear when the landmine was laid, Thai Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit said, according to The Independent.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-thailand-cambodia-peace-deal-blown-up-by-landmine-after-two-weeks/?

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After mistaken deportation, US asks judge to let it send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia U.S. government attorneys say they have cleared all the hurdles needed to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Liberia and are asking a federal judge to dissolve an order blocking his deportation. Read more.

Why this matters: Abrego Garcia’s mistaken deportation to his home country of El Salvador earlier this year helped galvanize opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. His attorneys claim the administration is now manipulating the immigration system in order to punish him for successfully challenging that deportation.   A motion from the government filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland late on Friday says officials have received assurances from Liberia that Abrego Garcia would not face persecution or torture there.   Abrego Garcia’s attorneys argue in a separate Friday filing that Abrego Garcia has already designated Costa Rica as a country to which he is willing to be deported. They claim the government now must send him there. The fact that officials continue to pursue deportation to other countries is evidence that the process is retaliatory and violates due process protections, they argue.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Suburban Chicago dad headed to store with toddler says they were pepper-sprayed by federal agents Photos of Venezuelan migrants who returned home following US immigration crackdown   Trump says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has ‘lost her way’ for criticizing his foreign policy focus   Trump asks Supreme Court to throw out E. Jean Carroll’s $5 million verdict   The Supreme Court is expected to say whether full SNAP food payments can resume   New Mexico Legislature approves bill to backfill food assistance if federal SNAP aid falters   Furor over editing of Trump speech sparks ‘existential crisis’ at the BBC   Trump pardons man who took brief detour as he ran up and down Wyoming’s Grand Teton in record time   Drug dealer granted clemency by Trump sent back to prison for violating terms of his release   Judge adopts Utah congressional map that creates a Democrat-leaning district for 2026   Man accused of firing a gun during Capitol riot is arrested on kidnapping and sexual assault charges   Deployment of West Virginia National Guard members in nation’s capital can continue, judge rules   China announces restrictions on chemicals after deal with Trump on fentanyl tariffs   Senate Democrat questions Trump administration’s $7.5M payment to Equatorial Guinea   WWII nurses who dodged bullets and saved lives deserve Congressional honor, lawmakers say

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Billionaire Trump Tells Americans Their Money Worries Don’t Exist

The president told Fox News that polls showing financial anxiety of voters were “fake.”

Donald Trump has dismissed the concerns of tens of millions of voters and insisted they are not struggling through a cost-of-living crisis.

Speaking to Fox News’ Laura Ingraham, the president, who has an estimated net worth of $6.6 billion, said reports of a dwindling economy are a “con job” pushed by Democrats and the media. He also brushed off polling showing widespread financial anxiety as “fake.”

On Monday’s episode of The Ingraham Angle, the MAGA host asked Trump whether there is negative “voter perception” of the economy, or if more work needs to be done to tackle issues such as rising food costs and unemployment figures.

“More than anything else, it’s a con job by the Democrats,” Trump replied. “They put out something, say, ‘Today costs are up.’ They feed it to the anchors at ABC, CBS and NBC and CNN.

“It’s such a rigged system. So are you ready? Costs are way down. Gasoline is going to be hitting $2 pretty soon, or around $2. Gasoline is at 2.70 now, and it was at 4.50 under Biden, under Sleepy Joe,” Trump added, despite the national average currently being a little over $3.

Ingraham then interrupted Trump to ask whether voters are “misconceiving” their feelings about the economy. Trump did not answer, and instead the 79-year-old veered off into a rambling attack on former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign.

Polling continues to show that Americans are increasingly anxious about the economy and disillusioned with Trump’s failure to fulfill his 2024 promise to immediately lower food prices and control inflation. The president’s sweeping tariffs have also added costs to U.S. consumers, which is having a knock-on effect on Trump’s approval ratings and hamstrung the GOP in last week’s elections.

A November 3 CBS/YouGov survey found that 64 percent of Americans expect prices to climb even higher in the coming months, and 62 percent disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.

The same day, a CNN/SSRS poll reported that 72 percent of respondents describe the economy as “somewhat” or “very” poor, with 61 percent saying Trump’s policies have made conditions worse.

Later in the interview—after Trump defended a proposed 50-year mortgage plan and attacked Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell—Ingraham again asked the president why so many Americans say they feel “anxious” about the economy.

“I don’t know that they are saying that. I think polls are fake,” Trump said. “We have the greatest economy we’ve ever had. We will have over $20 trillion come into our economy. And it’s largely because of my election, but it’s also largely because of tariffs.”

The Supreme Court is currently weighing whether Trump illegally imposed those tariffs implemented under emergency powers laws. If SCOTUS rules against him, the U.S. government may be required to refund billions in collected levies.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionaire-trump-tells-americans-their-money-worries-dont-exist/?

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Trump, 79, Struggles With Basic Math on Refund Checks

The president proposed sending out $2,000 checks as the debt balloons.

President Donald Trump’s proposal to send Americans $2,000 checks funded by his sweeping tariffs is under fire for not adding up.

Trump, 79, pledged to send rebates to U.S. citizens who are “low and middle income.”

The president did not provide any specifics in his Truth Social post on Monday about what qualified for the income levels, but he wrote that whatever is left over could be used to pay down the debt.

“All money left over from the $2000 payments made to low and middle income USA Citizens, from the massive Tariff Income pouring into our Country from foreign countries, which will be substantial, will be used to SUBSTANTIALLY PAY DOWN NATIONAL DEBT,” he wrote on Monday.

He also touted his dividend plan in the Oval Office on Monday while taking questions from the press.

Middle class income typically ranges from $56,600 to $169,800 depending on where a person lives, but even if the president’s proposal was capped at those earning less than $100,000, the tariff revenue would not be enough to cover the cost of checks, never mind address the debt.

As the Tax Foundation’s Erica York quickly pointed out, about 150 million people make less than $100,000. She noted that sending each of them a $2,000 check would cost $300 billion, and Trump’s tariffs are only projected to raise $217 billion annually.

“There would be no leftover tariff revenue,” York wrote.

The Bipartisan Policy Center found the U.S. has brought in $226 billion in gross tariff revenue and other excise taxes this year so far, still not enough to cover such checks for everyone making up to $100,000.

Meanwhile, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimated if dividends were awarded annually, it would cost twice as much over the next decade as tariffs are projected to raise.

By their estimates, if the proposal was structured similarly to the way the stimulus checks were during the coronavirus pandemic, each round would actually cost $600 billion annually or $6 trillion over ten years.

The president’s latest post comes after he wrote early on Sunday that a dividend of at least $2,000 a person “will be paid to everyone” except “high income people” while he was defending his tariffs.

“We are taking in Trillions of Dollars and will soon begin paying down our ENORMOUS DEBT, $37 Trillion,” Trump also wrote.

While the president continues to promote the idea, even members of his own administration have already downplayed the likelihood of the president’s proposal coming to fruition in the form of an actual check.

“The $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms, in lots of ways,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on ABC News on Sunday.

“It could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president’s agenda. You know, no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, no tax on Social Security,” the Treasury Secretary added.

The president’s latest proposal comes as the Supreme Court is set to weigh in on whether the president’s tariffs are legal.

Just last week, even some conservative justices appeared deeply skeptical of the government’s case for the president’s tariffs while hearing oral arguments.

The court cast serious doubt on whether the president had the power to impose the tariffs by invoking a national emergency as well as raising concerns about returning the revenue already collected should they rule against him.

Sending checks directly to Americans has been done in the past, but it typically takes place in response to a national emergency such as the stimulus payments which were sent out three times to individuals and families in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-79-struggles-with-basic-math-on-refund-checks/?

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The Santa & Grinch presidency

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The first 296 days of President Trump's second term, while precedent-shattering, are producing a lot more one-off, giveth-or-taketh-away deals than actual new U.S. laws, Axios' Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column. In fact, no president since at least Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 has signed fewer bills into law in a similar governing period, GovTrack Insider found — despite Trump's party controlling both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. ? Why it matters: It's the Santa and Grinch presidency, in which almost every day reveals a new promise to give something of financial value to a nation, group or individual — or take it away. But rarely do these transactions cement new laws. This reality reflects Trump's improvisational and dealmaking impulses. But it also means that a lot of what he does will be easily reversible. ⚡️ The last few days show the pattern: Trump, increasingly vocal about affordability after the Democratic romp in Tuesday's elections, called for two actions — tariff rebate checks and 50-year mortgages. Both were in-the-moment ideas, tossed out by the president on social media, that don't require new laws. ? Zoom in: On Truth Social on Saturday afternoon, Trump floated the idea of a 50-year mortgage to improve housing affordability. Bill Pulte, the powerful director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), then tweeted: "Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage — a complete game changer." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) argued on X that the idea would "ultimately reward the banks, mortgage lenders and home builders while people pay far more in interest over time." ? Then on Truth Social on Sunday morning, Trump said: "A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone." (An idea he's floated on and off since July, without any concrete plans.) In a real-time reflection of Trump improv, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told George Stephanopoulos shortly thereafter on "This Week": "I haven't spoken to the president about this yet ... [T]he $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms ... t could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda." (Trump later clarified that it would, in fact, be a direct payment to people.) ⚖️ Reality check: The Supreme Court might nullify the tariffs, in part because he didn't get them signed into law. Herein lies the downside to Trump's approach: Anything not codified by law can be easily undone by the courts — or by Democrats when they win back the White House. ? The intrigue: These measures can also be undone by Trump himself, if the winds shift the right way. Auto companies, for instance, now get a partial refund for the tariffs that Trump imposed on the industry. ? Another case in point: Trump has pushed for lower prescription drug prices — not by seeking legislation, but by directly pressuring pharmaceutical companies, including last week's Oval Office announcement that they'll reduce the price of GLP-1 weight loss drugs. He has attacked health insurance companies in recent days and over the weekend called for Americans to receive cash directly with which to buy health insurance. But he hasn't engaged in negotiations with congressional Democrats over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that currently help millions afford insurance — the core of the shutdown fight. ? The bottom line: Almost all of Trump's astonishing expansions of precedent-stretching presidential power flow not from law, or even congressional approval. It's just Trump doing what he wants ... to whoever he wants ... when he wants. Axios' Tal Axelrod, Ben Berkowitz, Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin contributed reporting.

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? Trump's tariff math

President Trump today claimed the U.S. would be on the hook for $3 trillion in refunds and lost investments if the Supreme Court rules against his tariffs.

• Trump is trying to ramp up the pressure on the court to preserve the centerpiece of his economic and foreign policy.
• He's repeatedly said losing the case could "literally destroy" the country.

? "The U.S. Supreme Court was given the wrong numbers. The 'unwind' in the event of a negative decision on Tariffs, would be, including investments made, to be made, and return of funds, in excess of 3 Trillion Dollars," Trump posted on Truth Social this morning.

• "That would truly become an insurmountable National Security Event, and devastating to the future of our Country - Possibly non-sustainable!"

? By the numbers: The U.S. collected $195 billion in tariffs during the fiscal year that ended in September.

• Separate trade agreements call for investments of about $1.5 billion in the U.S., but those aren't lump sums — they're pledges for future years.

? Reality check: The court may not require refunds even if it rules against some or all of the tariffs. Neal Katyal, who argued against the fees before the Supreme Court, noted during oral arguments that the justices could limit their ruling to future payments if refunds are too big a mess.

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?? U.S., Saudi Arabia working on defense pact

U.S. and Saudi officials have been holding intense negotiations to finalize a broad set of agreements, including a defense pact, ahead of next week's White House visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, U.S. officials tell Axios' Barak Ravid.

• Those meetings include a previously unreported visit by Jared Kushner to Riyadh over the weekend to meet MBS.

Why it matters: The planned Oval Office meeting with President Trump will be MBS' first visit to the U.S. since the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence assessed he approved.

• It will be the ultimate validation for the 40-year-old crown prince, who could soon become king and already sees himself as the leader of the Arab and Muslim world.

Behind the scenes: One of the agreements being discussed ahead of the visit would provide Saudi Arabia with a U.S. security guarantee.

• The Saudis also want to move forward with the purchase of a massive weapons package, including dozens of F-35 fighter jets.

Read on.

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What to know about Trump’s plan to give Americans a $2,000 tariff dividend President Donald Trump boasts that his tariffs protect American industries, lure factories to the United States, raise money for the federal government and give him diplomatic leverage. Now, he’s claiming they can also finance a windfall for American families: He’s promising a generous tariff dividend. Read more.

What to know: The idea was proposed on Trump’s Truth Social media platform Sunday, five days after the Republican Party lost elections in Virginia, New Jersey and elsewhere largely because of voter discontent with his economic stewardship — specifically, the high cost of living. Details are scarce, including what the income limits would be and whether payments would go to children.     Budget experts scoffed at the idea. John Ricco, an analyst with the Budget Lab at Yale University, says Trump’s tariffs will bring in $200 billion to $300 billion a year in revenue. But a $2,000 dividend — if it went to all Americans, including children — would cost $600 billion. “It’s clear that the revenue coming in would not be adequate,’' Ricco said.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ White House’s 50-year mortgage proposal has one notable benefit but a number of drawbacks