Now that Bari Weiss pulled a segment telling the truth about Trump's deportations to let Stephen Miller have his say (i.e. spread propaganda), it's a good time to check out our deep dive into Miller's real worldview and agenda, which doesn't pull any punches: newrepublic.com/article/2041...

Why aren't the serious journalists on 60 Minutes resigning?

@dzobrien.bsky.social, @mhayes.bsky.social nicely done.

I was in the Speaker's Lobby when this happened and it generated a storm of protest. Rep. Riley Moore R-WV gaveled a procedural vote to a close while one Democrat was ready to vote. That vote would have defeated the measure on a 204-204 tie - but Moore opted for a very fast gavel.

4 House Republicans have signed the discharge petition for a 3-year extension of health insurance subsidies offered by Democrats. That gives it 218 signatures - and will force a vote probably in January.

Senators--Thune--come to the defense of your colleague and your institution. Now would be a good time.

I simply could not and would not respond on social media last night about Rob and Michele. I am beyond devastated at the loss of two dear friends. There will be lots of mentions of his brilliant as an actor and director. He was just a wonderful person, as was she. Generous, a true Mensch.

"A stalemate on the frontline is a necessary condition for serious peace talks. That can only be achieved if President Trump provides more and better weapons to Ukraine and imposes and enforces more and better sanctions against Russia." michaelmcfaul.substack.com/p/trump-need...

This one isn’t downloadable but if you have TikTok go watch it. Well worth your time www.tiktok.com/t/ZTr4gRL7v/

Tied for first.

Something to look forward to…. www.nytimes.com/athletic/685...

1/ A few thoughts about @williambaude.bsky.social’s comment in yesterday’s NYT chat that, “It’s amazing how many of our problems today could be solved by a Congress that was willing and able to legislate in response to national problems.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...

The speakership has been a less secure leadership post since the mid-1980s. Johnson is no less safe than his predecessors. My latest at @misofact.bsky.social.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis... www.startribune.com/augsburg-pre...

Severing removable protections from delegation provisions for IRCs by this Court would blatantly contradict Congress's intent that they are inseverable and, in time, gut Art I Sec 8. This Court is on the verge of rerouting the constitutional authority into a one-way path to dictatorship.

Study after study shows campaign ads barely move the needle. So where does money’s real power come from? I ranked the five ways money corrupts politics—from least to most corrosive. What I’ve learned from 15 years of tracking political money:

Support Ukraine now.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva D-AZ says she was just pepper sprayed by ICE agents in Tucson

Dave Barry, as good as ever. open.substack.com/pub/davebarr...

In a post on X tonight, the State Department says it “renamed the former Institute of Peace to reflect the greatest dealmaker in our nation's history.” “Welcome to the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace.”

What is the value of the gold Trump has put into the White House and will add to his ballroom? Receipts?

This is one of the most important exposés published in WSJ in several years, and it derives from intercepts and analyses by foreign intelligence services studying the conduct of Trump and his inner team. It's first and foremost a wake up call to the people of the United States.

The United States did not start the war in Ukraine. We owe Putin nothing. Giving him concessions now, like recognizing territories he annexed, would make the US look so weak.

Repubs have dug a deep hole on healthcare since offering the entirely disingenuous repeal & replace O'care promise in 2016. There are many cong'l Repubs who want to repeal all of O'care, not just the expiring tax credits, and w/o replacement. Many of them want go after Medicaid next.

Before marrying V.O. Key, Cora Luella Gettys was one of the first women to receive a PhD in political science. In addition to publications in her own name, she was an RA to many political scientists in the "Chicago School" in the 20s & 30s, and edited without authorship VO's most influential books.

Under Mike Johnson, a rarely used House tool has gone mainstream

Support Ukraine!

After watching an episode of Slow Horses tonight, I said, let's see what's up with Ken Burns' Revolution. All I can say is, whatever possessed him to think that the best way to get Americans to think seriously about the legacy of the Revolution is to review the history of the Revolutionary War?

I've had a missile blow up next to my airplane, been shot at dozens of times by anti-aircraft fire, and launched into orbit — all for my country. I never thought I'd see a President call for my execution. Trump doesn’t understand the Constitution, and we're all less safe for it.

NEWS: During a hearing in federal court in VA, prosecutors confirmed that the operative indictment in the case against James Comey was never shown to or voted on by the entire grand jury before it was presented in open court. Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution

new paper by Sean Westwood: With current technology, it is impossible to tell whether survey respondents are real or bots. Among other things, makes it easy for bad actors to manipulate outcomes. No good news here for the future of online-based survey research

So Senate Democratic Eight, what have you done to us?

Found it! youtu.be/9-W2APkTjyY?...

Kaine's op-ed over-explains his decision to end the CR filibuster. I don't believe for a minute that Kaine gave much weight to the possible demise of the filibuster by the Rs. Besides, Repubs hate Obamacare at least as much as the shutdown and were not about to nuke the filibuster to get it done.

"Control" is not in the lexicon of a Senate floor leader in describing his relationship with party colleagues. Never has been. Not even LBJ. But PR is something that a leader is expected to manage well. Schumer rose over Durbin for this reason, but he doesn't get a passing grade in this episode.

Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Can't be certain of the full story for each of the eight Dems. I'm more certain that Schumer prefers to let us believe that he orchestrated or at least allowed the outcome than that he failed to keep his party united.

So far, I have heard four distinct reasons for supporting the deal from the eight Democrats. Some rationalization, sure, but, as usual, real multidimensionality, too.

The certainty with which some of my favorite commentators have explained the Dem cave, Schumer's calculations, and the substitutability of Dem votes is uncanny.

So the Trump plan to end handing money to the insurance companies is to hand that money to the insurance companies.

Far right taking up the nuclear option cause.

Any bets that the Antideficiency Act and Impoundment Control Act will double or triple in length four years from now (with a Dem in the White House)? Some tricky issues, but plenty of good ideas summarized in a few places...

In the wake of Nancy Pelosi's retirement announcement, I reflected a bit on my two very different interviews of her and even more so, her relationship with Harry Reid, which is detailed in an upcoming book you may have heard about. My latest: jonralston.substack.com/p/the-reid-p...

Not likely. 1980 OLC likely correct, particularly with 1981 OLC memo that filled in details. Likely would be upheld by this Supreme Court.

There's no important procedural principle in a clean CR. That's not the problem. The problem is the problem: Ds offer one-year extension of ACA tax credits; Rs want radically smaller subsidies or even killing ACA. Rs believe it is now or never. D's believe them.

[If I can get everything I want, we will never lose.]

Lindsay Graham asks Ds, do you want to continue to send public $s to the insurance companies? Then says the next elections will produce change. We have been waiting for an R plan since Dole's half-hearted effort in 1996. Most Ds are happy to support a universal plan that excludes private insurance.

Oh, the softening opposition to the nuclear option. www.texastribune.org/2025/11/06/c...