Week 7 — The Return

This week marked a shift in the perception of Trump’s omnipotence, as Republicans in the House and Senate pushed backed on his efforts to disrupt the government. Seemingly buoyed by Elon Musk, who reportedly is constantly at Trump’s side, Trump tried unsuccessfully to sink a bipartisan spending bill last minute and shut down the government. Chaos, a familiar ingredient of the first regime, ensued. But when push came to shove, House Republicans roundly defied Trump and Musk, delivering a humiliating public blow: 170 House Republicans voted to pass a slightly revised spending bill, while also crossing Trump’s stated red line. This despite Trump’s and Musk’s threat of primary challenges to anyone who voted for the bill.

Senate Republicans also turned on Trump. Even his traditional loyal allies like John Cornyn took the unusual step of publicly speaking out against the “drama” and “dysfunction” Trump was causing. Outgoing GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, who earlier said he felt “liberated” by stepping down from his leadership role, continued to be a vocal thorn in Trump’s side. The House passed a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown by a vote of 366-34 on Friday early evening, hours before the deadline, and shortly after the Senate passed the bill 85-11, sending it to President Joseph Biden to sign.

Another theme this week was, who is actually running the country? A byproduct of the kerfuffle over the spending bill, Trump taking a fair amount of criticism — some said in jest, some less so — over whether Musk had usurped his role as president-elect. Democrats and Republicans alike also expressed concern about the amount of power and sway Musk has over national and international matters, even though he was not elected and has a slew of conflicts of interest. Meanwhile Biden, save for issuing a myriad of pardons, has inexplicably disappeared from the public eye. Biden’s public absence is in sharp contrast to 2016 and the first incoming Trump regime, when then President Barack Obama stood publicly defiant to Trump, and took steps to safeguard our democracy and his accomplishments until the final day. WSJ reporting questioned whether Biden has been experiencing cognitive decline during his time in office.

1. Politico reported federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties are increasingly alarmed by Trump’s vowfor blanket pardons, and have emphasized the need for accountability for people involved with storming the Capitol on January 6.
2. US District Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, said, “The rewriting of the history of Jan. 6, 2021, is incredibly disturbing.” US District Judge Reggie Walton, a George W. Bush appointee, called Trump a “charlatan,” adding, “America isn’t a third-world country.”
3. Walton said defendants have become more brazen since Trump won. One defendant denigrated the judge, while three others asked to attend Trump’s inauguration, one of whom was invited by a House Republican.
4. On Wednesday, Elon Musk blasted over 150 posts on his social media platform X critical of a bipartisan plan released Tuesday night to avert a government shutdown at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
5. Hours later, Trump joined Musk’s opposition, posting on his social media platform Truth Social, “Republicans must GET SMART and TOUGH.” Trump demanded major changes, causing Republican leaders to scrap the bill.
6. Musk’s posts were filled with misleading and false claims about the contents of the bill, including lies that Congress would get a 40 percent raise and that the bill would provide money for a new football stadium.
7. Musk celebrated his move on X, posting, “Your elected representatives have heard you and now the terrible bill is dead,” adding, “The voice of the people has triumphed!”
8. NYT reported that on Wednesday, Musk showed up to a dinner between Trump and his rival billionaire Jeff Bezos at Mar-a-Lago as it was underway. Musk was not initially expected to be part of the dinner.
9. On Thursday, Republican Sen. Rand Paul floated the idea of Musk for speaker of the House, posting on X, “Nothing would disrupt the swamp more.” The speaker does not need to be an elected House member.
10. On Thursday, Trump told NBC News he would support abolishing the debt ceiling entirely, saying it would be the “smartest thing [Congress] could do.” Some Democrats have supported abolishing this too.
11. Musk’s outsized influence alarmed Democrats, academics, and watchdog groups, with some comparing his role to “co-president” or “dictator.” Some Republicans said Musk’s intervention was uninformed.
12. On Thursday evening, House Speaker Mike Johnson put a revised bill up for a vote, with Trump posting, “vote ‘YES’ for this Bill, TONIGHT!” Thirty-eight Republicans defied Trump, voting no, and the measure failed.
13. Trump had also threatened Republicans who vote for the original bipartisan bill “should, and will,” face primary challenges. The vote raised questions about whether Trump’s grip on the GOP has waned.
14. Among the items stripped out in the bill Trump and Musk backed was $100 million for pediatric cancer research, a pharmacy benefit overhaul to cut consumer prices, criminalizing deepfake images on social media, and cracking down on consumer junk fees.
15. House Democrats noted that among the stripped parts of the bill was a provision that would have regulated US investments in China. Losing the provision benefits Musk’s business interests operating in China.
16. On Friday morning, Trump urged Republicans that the shutdown “begin now,” so he could pin it on the Biden administration. Musk echoed to pass “sensible bills” or “shut it down.”
17. As Trump tried to sink the bill, he also sought to place the blame on President Biden, posting, “This is a Biden problem to solve,” and adding, “Remember, the pressure is on whoever is President.”
18. The Hill reported Senate Republicans are fuming over the “s‑‑‑ show” and “fiasco” at the House. Trump ally Sen. John Cornyn said he was “weary with the drama,” calling it “dysfunctional” and “distracting.”
19. Outgoing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell said in a speech on Friday, “Folks come to Washington to do one of two things. To make a point. Or to make a difference … it’s usually not that hard to tell who’s doing which. Especially in situations like the one we are in right now.”
20. Later Friday, the House averted a shutdown and passed a funding bill in a 336-34 vote, with 170 Republicans defying Trump and Musk. The bill did not remove the debt ceiling, Trump’s supposed red line.
21. On Saturday, WAPO reported while Trump advisers claimed he made his position on the debt ceiling clear to Speaker Johnson for weeks or even a month, his sudden red line shocked House and Senate Republicans.
22. Trump spoke with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the Army-Navy football game, where Musk did not leave Trump’s side. Trump and his team did not bring up the debt ceiling in discussions.
23. On Saturday, Lara Trump said she withdrew her name from consideration for the open Senate seat in Florida. It appeared that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has a contentious relationship with Trump, would not grant Trump’s wish.
24. Bloomberg News reported Musk is tapping loyalists from his own companies to staff his brain-child the Department of Government Efficiency, which is not an official government agency.
25. DOGE is housed in rented office space four blocks from the White House. It was unclear who was footing the bills. Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are considering turning DOGE into a 501c3 or a federal advisory committee, either of which come with complications.
26. On Friday, Musk posted his support of Germany’s far-right party, the Alternative for Germany, a group with ties to neo-Nazis whose youth wing has been classified as “confirmed extremist” by German domestic intelligence.
27. On Sunday, Rep. Tony Gonzales praised Musk’s efforts, and told CBS’s “Face the Nation” we have a president, vice president and House speaker, and “It feels like as if Elon Musk is our prime minister.”
28. On Sunday, in a 90-minute speech at a conference for Turning Point USA, Trump promised a new “golden age in America,” adding “We will end the occupation, and Jan. 20 will truly be liberation day in America.”
29. Trump praised Musk, but in reaction to one member of Congress calling him “President Musk,” Trump said, “No, that’s not happening…I’m safe. You know why? He can’t be. He wasn’t born in this country.”
30. Trump vowed to rename Denali, Alaska natives’ name for North America’s tallest mountain, after President William McKinley. Former President Obama sided with the state in 2015 to rename it Denali, ending a decades-long battle.
31. Trump threatened to take control of the Panama Canal, claiming fees being charged to US shippers were “a complete rip off” and if it did not stop, he would demand the canal “be returned to the United States.”
32. On Sunday, Trump renewed his call for the US to take control of Greenland, which is owned by Denmark, calling it “an absolute necessity.” In his first regime, Trump had repeatedly floated the idea of buying Greenland.
33. In response, Panama’s President José Raúl Mulino said the canal “belongs to Panama” and that his country “demands respect.” Denmark’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said , “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale.”
34. On Sunday, Trump nominated Mauricio Claver-Carone, an architect of Trump’s tough Latin American policies in the first regime, as his Latin American envoy. Claver-Carone was fired as head of the Inter-American Development Bank in 2022 over an alleged affair with a subordinate.
35. Trump also picked five additional male Silicon Valley executives for roles in the regime, including Scott Kupor and Sriram Krishnan, who have close ties to Musk.
36. WSJ reported Trump’s pick for Navy Secretary, John Phelan, is a money manager and philanthropist who owns a mansion near Mar-a-Lago, but who has little national security experience. Navy officials and his longtime friends expressed concern about Phelan being unprepared.
37. WAPO reported Kash Patel, Trump’s nominee to run the FBI, has said in podcasts and interviews that multiple individuals who have been critical of Trump should be criminally investigated.
38. Patel also floated the idea of criminal probes of lawmakers involved with the Jan. 6 House select committee, as well as witnesses, whom he accused without evidence of providing false testimony and destroying evidence.
39. Politico reported at least a dozen senators, including several Republicans, pushed to see the FBI background checkfor Pete Hegseth. Typically the Senate Armed Services limits access to its two lead senators.
40. On Monday, the House Ethics Committee released its report on Matt Gaetz, Trump’s former nominee for Attorney General, finding Gaetz had sex with a 17 year-old in violation of Florida’s statutory rape law and regularly paid for sex, illegal drug use, acceptance of improper gifts, granting special favors to personal associates, and obstruction.
41. On Tuesday, NYT reported that Bill Long, Trump’s pick to lead the Internal Revenue Service, had solicited clients while working at a consulting firm to claim a pandemic-era tax credit that the IRS said became a magnet for fraud.
42. In a victory for Trump, a Georgia appeals court ruled 2-1 to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willisfrom the election interference case involving Trump and others, citing an “appearance of impropriety.”
43. WAPO reported Trump plans to ramp up his attacks against the media in the second regime. One media defense lawyer noted, “the atmosphere and hostility to the press is intense,” and would likely “embolden plaintiffs of all kinds.”
44. Reportedly ABC and Disney executives decided to settle their case with Trump in part because of his promised retribution. The network has 230 affiliated stations, and Trump threatened to pull federal licenses from stations that broadcast news about him that he does not like.
45. ABC News reported the Trump-Vance inaugural committee is on track to break the fundraising record, as pledged contributions surpassed the committee’s goal of $150 million.
46. CNBC reported more companies are donating to Trump’s inauguration, as Trump has vowed to revamp US economic policy in a way that could benefit a favored few. Trump posted on Truth Social, “EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE MY FRIEND!!!”
47. Ford Motor Co. donated $1 million and a fleet of vehicles, trading platform Robinhood Markets donated $2 million, Uber and its CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi each donated $1 million, and hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin was set to donate $1 million.
48. WSJ reported at least 11 companies and trade associations that had pledged to withhold support from Trump after Jan 6., are now donating to his inaugural committee, including AT&T, Bank of America and Stanley Black & Decker.
49. For some, including Goldman Sachs, Intuit, Toyota and PhRMA, this is the first time they have donated to an inaugural committee in more than a decade.
50. On Wednesday, WAPO reported Trump continues to profit off his presidency in an unprecedented ways, with the Trump Organization hosting a Trump Store with Christmas gifts, and keeping the profits.
51. Ethics experts say Trump’s 45–47 Collection represent a greater overlap between Trump’s business and political activities than during the first regime, as this time Trump refuses to take steps to limit conflicts of interest or adopt ethical guidelines.
52. WSJ reported there are more than 400,000 students in American colleges without permanent legal status. Many fear the incoming Trump regime, and are scrambling for to prepare in case mass deportations come to their campus.
53. Some worry they will not be able to renew protection under Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Schools are taking proactive steps like setting up legal workshops or helping DACA recipients pursue temporary work visas.
54. NYT reported Trump’s threat is dividing communities on how far to go to protect vulnerable people from mass deportation. In San Diego, officials said they would require federal agents to obtain a judicial warrant, while the sheriff said he would not enforce the requirement.

In closing, I wanted to note the extent to which the wealthy and powerful are seeking to curry favor with Trump ahead of his officially taking power. This obeying in advance is acquiescing to, and hence legitimizing, a kind of pay-for-play with our federal government — a dangerous precedent. I’ll be speaking more about this troubling trend in this week’s episode of The Weekly List podcast.