Week 55 — The Return

This week started with an enraged Trump signing into law the release of the Epstein files, but that story quickly faded to other headlines. Trump’s longtime ally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, became the first MAGA true believer, in either regime, to resign. Reporting indicates other House Republican lawmakers may not be far behind, claiming mistreatment by Trump, his regime, and Speaker Mike Johnson. This week Trump seized control of the GOP midterm election strategy, sensing at last that the country is turning against him, and he cannot simply message away very real concerns about affordability.

Trump’s retribution campaign hit some embarrassing speed bumps this week, with cases against James Comey and Letitia James being dismissed, and six Democratic lawmakers, whose video evoked his ire, stood firm. Republicans, too, are increasingly pushing back against Trump, a shift that seems to frustrate and infuriate him. Trump tried, successfully, to change the subject from the Epstein files with a push for a peace plan between Russia and Ukraine, but as Republican senators spoke out against what amounted to a Russian wish-list, his regime looked like the keystone cops, and his plan sputtered.

Notable this week is reporting by the NYT on Trump’s signs of fatigue. I wrote about his Friday afternoon meeting with incoming New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani, where a seated passive and pacifist Trump seemed to have run out of gas (read here). Trump has suffered a series of setbacks in recent weeks, some public, some being swept under the rug, like the disbanding of DOGE, and he is desperate for a win.

1. Reuters reported that Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency was quietly disbanded, with eight months left in its charter. Asked about the status of DOGE, Reuters was told by the Office of Personnel Management, “That doesn’t exist.”
2. Reuters reported on Trump’s early involvement in efforts to seize control of the Republican’s midterm election strategy. It was unprecedented for a sitting president to get involved so early in an election cycle. Analysts say his involvement, amid sagging polls, is an act of self-preservation.
3. Select pollster American Research Poll found Trump’s approval at 35%, the lowest of his second regime, with 62% disapproving. Just 32% approved of Trump’s handling of the economy.
4. NYT reported Trump is increasingly showing signs of fatigue, including limiting most public appearances to between noon and 5 PM, after starting on average at 10:31 AM in 2017. Trump also frequently falls asleep. His official appearances decreased by 39% compared to 2017.
5. AP reported state election officials are scrambling to fill gaps ahead of the midterms left by the Trump regime’s downscaling of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which previously had warned states of threats from foreign actors, and helped protect polling places.
6. Late Wednesday, Trump signed the bill authorizing the release of the Epstein files. Unlike his typical bill signing ceremonies, he announced the signing on Truth Social, lying that “Democrats have used the ‘Epstein’ issue, which affects them far more than the Republican Party.”
7. Asked by reporters about the release of files, Attorney General Pam Bondi repeated that the department vowed to “follow the law” and protect the victims. She also claimed “new information” had caused her to reverse her decision to close out the case four months ago.
8. Reuters reported on Trump’s campaign of retribution, so far having at least 470 targets including federal workers, prosecutors, organizations, universities, and media outlets. His efforts to punished perceived enemies has been a centerpiece of the second regime.
9. Of the 470, 247 were mentioned by name; 220 were part of groups considered to be perceived opponents; 462 had probed, challenged, or pushed back against the Trump regime. Of the 470, 269 were federal officials, 104 were former government officials, and 29 were law firms.
10. On Wednesday, a federal judge directly grilled U.S. attorney Lindsey Halligan on how she presented the case to the grand jury in the case against James Comey. Halligan admitted she had never shown the final version of the indictment to the full grand jury before they signed off.
11. Tyler Lemons, a subordinate of Halligan, admitted that someone in the deputy attorney general’s office had instructed him not to discuss in open court whether his predecessors had written a memo laying out their reasons for not bringing charges against Comey.
12. A day later, the Justice Department did a complete reversal, claiming in a court filing that the full grand jury did review the final indictment.
13. In a highly unusual move, Halligan issued a public statement critical of the judge, saying, “Personal attacks…don’t change the facts or the law,” and the DOJ in a statement accused the judge of launching “an outrageous and unprofessional personal attack” against Halligan.
14. On Monday, a federal judge dismissed the Trump regime’s cases against James Comey and Letitia James, citing Halligan was illegally appointed by the DOJ, saying the Trump regime had no legal authority to make the appointment.
15. On Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell sued Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte for breaching federal privacy laws, saying Pulte had “abused his position by scouring databases” of mortgage records to “concoct fanciful allegations of mortgage fraud.”
16. On Wednesday, NBC News reported a senior military lawyer for the U.S. Southern Command in Miami, which oversees strikes against alleged drug vessels in Venezuela, raised concerns about the legality of the boat strikes in August. His opinion was overruled.
17. On Thursday, in a series of Truth Social posts, Trump accused the six Democrats lawmakers who made the Week 54 video advising the military not to obey illegal orders of “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” adding, “HANG THEM GEORGE WASHINGTON WOULD !!”
18. Trump also suggested the lawmakers should be imprisoned, posting, “This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP??? President DJT.”
19. In response, the six said in a statement, “What’s most telling is that the president considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law.” Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who organized the video, said she was hearing from active-duty troops concerned about the legality of the Caribbean strikes.
20. House Democratic leadership contacted the U.S. Capitol Police and the House sergeant-at-arms after Trump’s death threats to the six lawmakers, saying in a statement, “We unequivocally condemn Donald Trump’s disgusting and dangerous death threats.”
21. On Friday, a spokesperson for Slotkin said her home was the target of a bomb threat. Michigan State Police responded, and said the threat was not credible. Slotkin was not home at the time.
22. On Monday, the Pentagon announced, in a memo on X, that it was investigating Sen. Mark Kelly, one of the six in the video, over possible breaches of military law, claiming the video interfered with the “loyalty, morale, or good order and discipline of the armed forces.”
23. The Pentagon cited a federal law allowing retired service members to be recalled to active duty to face “court-martial proceedings or administrative measures.” The move by the Pentagon against a sitting lawmaker was viewed as extraordinary.
24. Kelly, a former fighter pilot and astronaut, responded on X, calling the investigation the work of “bullies,” and adding, “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.”
25. On Tuesday, the six lawmakers said the FBI had requested to interview them over the video, saying in a statement, “President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass Members of Congress,” adding, “We will not be bullied.”
26. NYT reported Trump is not limiting his retribution to the court systems where he has faced obstacles, and is instead increasingly using agencies, including the FHA, Pentagon, and Commerce, as well as political appointees, to target his perceived enemies.
27. On Thursday, Trump and Vice President JD Vance were not invited to attend Dick Cheney’s Washington funeral. The funeral was attended by George Bush, Joe Biden, and every living former vice president — Al Gore, Dan Quayle, Mike Pence, Kamala Harris, and Biden.
28. Vance instead attended an event run by the right-wing media outlet Breitbart, which was broadcast live on the White House video feed. Vance urged WAPO owner Jeff Bezos to offer the top political spot at the Post to Breitbart’s White House Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle.
29. The State Department sent out new guidance to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, saying a key human rights report should move away from calling out the persecution of marginalized groups, and instead focus on the “natural rights” of the individual.
30. The move comes as the Trump regime claimed that DEI policies were infringing on human rights, and told officials not to enforce policies that “‘provide preferential treatment’ to workers on the basis of race, sex, or caste.”
31. On Wednesday, WSJ reported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised a webpage that had previously stated vaccines do not cause autism to now baselessly claim that studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.
32. Later Thursday, Health and Human Services Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. said in an interview that he had instructed the CDC to make the change, saying statements like “vaccines don’t cause autism” are unproven, and he is therefore saying there is no proof that they do not.
33. WAPO reported career scientists at the CDC had no prior knowledge of the website update, were not consulted by Kennedy or others on the changed language, and were shocked by the endorsement of the long debunked claim.
34. WSJ Editorial Board wrote, “RFK Jr. Turn the CDC Against Vaccines,” saying Kennedy is “damaging public trust in immunizations,” and that the CDC “has been conscripted into his anti-vaccine campaign.”
35. NYT reported that Kennedy quietly appointed Dr. Ralph Abraham as second in command of the CDC. Abraham is an anti-vaxxer who called Covid vaccines “dangerous,” and has backed ending other routine vaccinations.
36. NBC News reported on measles outbreaks in Arizona and Utah, as vaccination rates for school children have continued to fall. According to CDC data, so far in 2025, there have been 1,753 reported cases of measles, far more than at any time in decades.
37. NYT reported on the unprecedented conflict between Commerce Department Sec. Howard Lutnick’s position in the regime and his family’s business interest, pushing for foreign investment in data centers at the same time his family is a leading dealmaker.
38. Lutnick’s sons Kyle and Brandon have run a network of companies under the corporate umbrella of Cantor Fitzgerald, operating in crypto currencies and data centers, netting hundreds of millions in fees. The overlap has raised concerns among senior officials at Commerce.
39. WSJ reported Cantor Fitzgerald is having its best year, booking more than $2.5 billion in revenue, including over $1 billion in investment-banking revenue, almost double its previous record in 2021. The record year comes as few Wall Street firms can match their peak 2021 year.
40. NYT reported the Trump regime has taken stakes in companies exceeding $10 billion in investments of taxpayer money, driven by national security concerns. It is unclear what oversight was given to the investments, many of which are in companies facing major challenges.
41. WAPO reported that the Kennedy Center, under the leadership of Trump loyalist Richard Grenell, will not charge FIFA for occupying the center’s performance spaces and other sections for almost three weeks, a usage that should have cost $5 million.
42. NYT reported that Grenell has also leased the space at a substantial discount to conservative groups like Conservative Union Foundation, as well as Trump friends and supporters. Grenell has stacked the leadership of the center, which is supposed to be bipartisan, with Trump loyalists.
43. Traditionally the center, which is a public-private institution, has been apolitical. In a letter, the top Democrats on the committee overseeing the center said the committee was investigating Grenell’s stewardship, under which the center is losing money.
44. WAPO reported that nuclear startup companies in which the founder has a connection to Trump are seeing their valuations skyrocket to billions without any proven track record, as investors see connections to the White House as a road to profitability.
45. On Wednesday, an employee for Immigration and Customs Enforcement was among 16 men arrested in Bloomington, Minnesota as part of a sex trafficking sting. The police chief said when the ICE employee was arrested, he said ‘I’m ICE, boys.’ He was locked up.
46. On Wednesday, a Catholic advocacy group and several Roman Catholic clergy filed a lawsuit against the Trump regime, claiming immigration authorities had illegally blocked them from access to the Broadview detention center, and noting unsanitary and unsafe conditions at the center.
47. On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump regime from deploying the National Guard in Washington, D.C., finding the presence of more than 2,000 guards was likely illegal, citing limits on presidential authority and the city’s rights to self-governance.
48. On Friday, a federal judge placed the Internal Revenue Service on hold from sharing migrants’ addresses, included on their tax returns, with ICE, saying the “disclosure of confidential taxpayer address information to ICE was contrary to law.”
49. On Monday, DHS said in a notice that the Trump regime will end Temporary Protected Status for citizens of Myanmar. The regime had also imposed a travel ban on the country, which is in the midst of a civil war, in June.
50. NBC reported Rabbiatu Kuyateh, a Maryland woman who came to the U.S. from Sierra Leone 30 years ago, was detained at her annual ICE check in over the summer, and deported to Ghana, where she has no ties. Video shows her being dragged, raising questions about treatment.
51. AP reported ICE said in a memo that it will audit all refugees admitted into the U.S. during the Biden era, claiming during that era, “expediency” and “quantity” were prioritized over “detailed screening and vetting.” The move sparked worry and uncertainty for refugees.
52. NYT reported the Trump regime made factual misstatements in its filing with the Supreme Court asking the justices to sign off on the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago, including claiming that there were “violent protests” preventing agents from enforcing immigration law.
53. Based on videos reviewed by the Times, misstatements include claiming police did not respond to a shooting, police refused to assist federal agents, and ‘rioters’ were throwing objects after the shooting. The filing drew on court declarations made by two DHS officials.
54. On Thursday, WAPO reported under new Department of Homeland Security guidelines, the U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses, and the Confederate flag as hate symbols, instead classifying them as “potentially divisive.”
55. On Friday, after the Post reporting, the Coast Guard reversed its guidelines amid a backlash, saying swastikas, nooses, and the Confederate flag are prohibited hate symbols.
56. The Guardian reported that senior Trump regime officials have been in conversation with Trump ally Larry Ellison, the father of Paramount CEO David, and the largest shareholder, about their bid for Warner Brothers, owner of CNN.
57. Regime officials have discussed firing some of the CNN hosts that Trump dislikes, including Erin Burnett and Brianna Keilar. Since Trump’s Federal Trade Commission could block potential mergers, the regime’s sign off on Paramount as the leading choice is significant.
58. Attorneys general from 20 mostly Democratic-led states and D.C. sued the Department of Housing and Urban Development over placing new restrictions on more than $3 billion in grant funding that supports housing for homeless veterans, families, and disabled people.
59. Late Friday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she would resign on Jan. 5, after incurring Trump’s wrath. In a 10-minute video posted on X, she said, “Loyalty should be a two way street and we should be able to vote our conscience and represent our district’s interest.”
60. She added, “I have too much self respect and dignity, love my family too much,” and said she expected Democrats to win midterms and move to impeach Trump, and she would be expected to defend him “after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me.”
61. On Saturday, Trump posted on X that “Marjorie went BAD,” claiming, “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown, because of PLUMMETING Poll Numbers, and not wanting to face a Primary Challenger with a strong Trump Endorsement (where she would have no chance of winning!).”
62. NYT reported Greene’s exit marked the first true MAGA lawmaker to resign after fighting with Trump during either regime, and highlighted discontent with Trump’s policies and a fissure in the movement, and Trump’s weakened standing.
63. Greene’s message highlighted not only her displeasure with the dysfunction of both parties, but also dissatisfaction with how little the GOP had accomplished. After, other Republican lawmakers echoed some of her statements of discontent.
64. On Saturday, Trump claimed on Truth Social, “I HAVE JUST GOTTEN THE HIGHEST POLL NUMBERS OF MY ‘POLITICAL CAREER.’” The White House posted the claim on X, where X added a note, “no reference was cited” and Trump’s “poll numbers are currently on the decline.”
65. Punchbowl News reported several other House Republicans were planning to resign, with low morale and frustration over their treatment by Trump, his regime, and Speaker Mike Johnson. One said, “This entire White House team has treated ALL members like garbage.”
66. On Thursday, the Trump regime presented Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with a 28-point peace plan, that would include forcing Ukraine to give up additional territory in the east, capping the size of its military, and agreeing to never join NATO.
67. Trump said on Friday he expected Zelensky to sign onto the plan by Thursday, or risk the U.S. curbing military assistance. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, “This plan was crafted to reflect the realities of the situation.” The document caused an uproar in Europe.
68. Trump changed his position on Saturday, telling reporters, “No, not my final,” when asked if the terms were nonnegotiable, and “We’d like to get to peace,” after it became clear that the document being championed contained most of the conditions Russia had been seeking for months.
69. AP reported on Saturday that several U.S. Senators said they were told by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the peace plan was Russia’s “wish list,” and not the actual proposal offering the U.S. position. Rubio later denied he said this, posting on X that the Senators were mistaken.
70. On Sunday, Trump attacked Ukrainian leadership again for not being sufficiently grateful, posting on Truth Social, “UKRAINE ‘LEADERSHIP’ HAS EXPRESSED ZERO GRATITUDE FOR OUR EFFORTS.” Hours later, Zelensky posted that his country was grateful.
71. In the same post, Trump posted the war, with “proper U.S. and Ukrainian LEADERSHIP, would have NEVER HAPPENED,” baselessly claiming he would be in power if “the 2020 Presidential Election was not RIGGED & STOLEN.”
72. Later Sunday, Republican Sen. Mike Rounds told reporters Rubio had told bipartisan senators, this is “not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan. It is a proposal that was received, and as an intermediary,” adding, “it looked more like it was written in Russian to begin with.”
73. Reuters reported U.S. lawmakers and officials are concerned that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner met with Kirill Dmitriev, who leads the Russian Direct Investment Fund and is under U.S. sanctions, at the end of October in Miami, to discuss drafting the plan.
74. WSJ reported that Dmitriev had sought to appeal to Trump by focusing on economic gains, saying as part of the peace plan, the U.S. and Russia should sign economic agreements in the areas of artificial intelligence, energy, and much more.
75. Several Senate Republicans criticized the Trump regime over the deal, saying it did not properly take into account Ukrainian demands. Sen. Mitch McConnell scolded Vance on X, posting, “A deal that rewards aggression wouldn’t be worth the paper it’s written on.”
76. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that according to audio files of a phone call, Witkoff had coached Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov on how Putin should pitch the plan to Trump, advising to bring up the end of the war in Gaza: “Congratulate the president on this achievement.”
77. Later Tuesday, after demanding that Ukraine agree to a deal by Thanksgiving, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had postponed a scheduled visit with Zelensky, said he was not ready to meet with Zelensky or Putin, and backed away from the peace process.
78. Trump’s comments also cast doubt on an earlier assessment by the regime that a deal was imminent, claiming that Ukraine had agreed to a deal barring some minor details. Trump said he would send Witkoff to meet with Putin in Russia next week.
79. On Saturday, when asked by reporters about his close ally former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro being sent to prison, despite Trump’s repeated, overt efforts to keep him out, Trump said, “That’s too bad.” The episode revealed the limits of Trump’s power.
80. On Saturday, X added a new location transparency feature, showing what country accounts were located in. Several prominent MAGA-branded accounts with huge followers were revealed to not be U.S. based.
81. On Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said it would not publish a Consumer Price Index report for October, blaming the government shutdown. The move left the Federal Reserve lacking data, as it considers whether to cut rates at its next meeting.
82. WAPO reported that past-due utility bills hit a record high in November, as the average electricity costs rose 11% on average from January to August, more than three times the rate of inflation. Nearly 1 in 20 households, or 14 million Americans, were behind on their utility bills.
83. Tyson Foods announced it would shutter its Nebraska beef plant, which employed more than 3,200 workers. On Thursday, Trump removed the 40% tariff he had imposed on Brazilian food products, in an effort to lower rising costs for consumers.
84. On Monday, the Trump regime canceled the release of the advance estimate on gross domestic product for the third quarter of 2025. Initially the release was slated for October 30, but was delayed due to the government shutdown.
85. On Tuesday, consumer confidence plunged in November to 88.7, a drop of 6.8 points from October, and the lowest reading since April, as job worries grew. The reading was also well below economists expectations of 93.2.
86. A Pew Research poll found 68% of Latinos feel their situation had worsened in the past year, and 80% said Trump’s policies do more to harm than help them. Also, 70% said Trump is “doing too much” when it comes to deportations.
87. On Friday, Russell Vought, White House budget director, who is also acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said the agency should “work collaboratively” with the banks it oversees, calling on examiners to recite a “humility pledge” before beginning reviews.
88. Vought also claimed that during the Biden administration, the exams had been carried out with “thuggery.” The agency’s staff union issued a statement on Monday, denouncing the pledge as “creepy” and “disrespectful.”
89. On Tuesday, a coalition of educators, school districts, unions, and an advocacy organization sued the Education Department for dismantling the agency, saying Sec. Linda McMahon did not have authority to shift functions funded by Congress to other federal agencies.
90. On Tuesday, Trump said he was considering extending Obamacare subsidies set to expire, as he faced pressure to address health care cost with no GOP plan. Ironically, the extension was the issue Democrats had asked for to reopen the government, which Trump had refused.
91. On Tuesday, a group of fired employees from the General Services Administration sued the Trump regime for not rehiring them after the government shutdown. The reinstatement was part of the deal a group of Senate Democrats got as a concession to reopen the government.
92. On Wednesday, Pete Skandalakis, the Georgia prosecutor who took over the Fulton County 2020 election interference case, dropped the case against Trump and 18 others. Defendants Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, and Scott Hall had already taken plea deals.
93. A federal judge in Florida tossed a lawsuit filed by Trump accusing Hillary Clinton and a range of Trump’s perceived enemies of a vast conspiracy against him. The judge cited “every claim was frivolous,” and imposed sanctions on the group of lawyers representing Trump.