Today’s recap
Democrats took a victory lap after Tuesday’s election day wins with the chair of Democratic National Committee saying the party “is all gas, no brakes” and “this is not your grandfather’s Democratic party”. Despite that, Jared Golden, a democratic representative for Maine, announced Wednesday that he wouldn’t seek re-election, which could pose a challenge for democrats in the highly contested seat.
Meanwhile, in the midst of creating a new golden lettered sign for the Oval Office, Donald Trump went on a Truth Social posting frenzy that covered everything from Nigerian Christians to Obamacare to Peter Navarro’s new book.
Here’s what else happened today:
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A federal judge in Chicago issued a temporary restraining order that requires an immigration facility to improve its conditions. The ruling came after detainees sued the government over what they say are “inhumane”, unsanitary and crowded conditions. The judge ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement to provide detainees with clean and adequate bedding, daily showers and three meals a day.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that if a deal isn’t reached in the government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration will cut 10% of flights in 40 major airports across the country. The announcement did not specify which 40 airports would see the reduction, but Duffy said it will affect cargo, private and passenger traffic. During the historic 36 days of the government shutdown, airports have seen air traffic control staffing shortages and delays in flights. Those employees must work during the shutdown, but aren’t paid until it’s over. FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said the agency is working with airlines and that the drawdown will be “prescriptive” and “surgical”.
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The US supreme court appeared skeptical of the legal basis of the Trump administration’s sweeping global tariff regime on Wednesday after justices questioned the president’s authority to impose the levies. The question at the heart of the case is whether the Trump administration’s tariffs violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law which only gives the president authority to “regulate or prohibit international transactions during a national emergency”. Today, even conservative justices sounded doubtful of the strength of the Trump administration’s position. “The vehicle is the imposition of taxes on Americans, and that has always been a core power of Congress,” said Chief Justice John Roberts. Lawyers for the small businesses challenging the White House said that the president’s actions were unprecedented. “They are tariffing the entire world in peacetime, and they are doing it asserting a power that no president in our history has ever had,” said attorney Neal Katyal.
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As he hosted Republican senators at the White House, Donald Trump offered some initial thoughts on the Democratic victories across the country on election night. “Last night, it was not expected to be a victory, it was very Democrat areas. But I don’t think it was good for Republicans,” the president said. “I’m not sure it was good for anybody.” Later, while speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami, Trump particularly disparaged Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in New York City. “The decision facing all Americans could not be more clear – we have a choice between communism and common sense,” he said, while mispronouncing the new mayor’s name.
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On Capitol Hill, and day 36 of the government shutdown (now the longest on record), Republicans continued to rebuke Democrats for failing to pass a stopgap funding bill. House speaker Mike Johnson also used his daily press conference to both downplay and foreshadow what Tuesday’s election results suggest going forward. “There’s no surprises. What happened last night was blue states and blue cities voted blue. We all saw that coming,” the speaker said, before stating the importance of maintaining a Republican majority in the midterm elections. “If we lose the majority in the House, and this radical element of the Democrat party were able to take over, we’ve already seen that movie. They will try to end the Trump administration,” Johnson said.
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Meanwhile, Trump had choice words for GOP lawmakers, as he pushed for them to blow up the filibuster. Despite reticence from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, the president pushed the virtues of abolishing the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate on legislation. His argument largely rests on the grounds that Democrats would do the same, and would use it to advance their own agenda if they were given the opportunity. “We have to get the country going. We will pass legislation at levels you’ve never seen before, and it will be impossible to beat us,” he said. “They’ll [Democrats] most likely never attain power, because we will have passed every single thing that you can imagine.”
Key events
The Trump administration says it’s revoked 80,000 non-immigrant visas since January, according to Reuters. A senior state department official told the news outlet that the revocations are for offenses that range from driving under the influence to assault.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, also posted on social media on Wednesday that US Border Patrol has released zero immigrants into the country for the sixth month in a row.
The pronouncements come as Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration has intensified throughout the year. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have led indiscriminate raids in cities across the country with families, green card holders and even US citizens being detained. The administration has also deported record numbers of people.
According to Reuters, around 16,000 of the visa revocations were for allegedly driving under the influence, 12,000 were for alleged assault and 8,000 were for alleged theft – making up nearly half of the total tally.
The State Department confirmed in April that it had revoked hundreds of student visas for alleged overstays and breaking the law. And last month, the agency said it revoked visas from six foreigners who made comments on social media about the assassination of far-right commentator Charlie Kirk.
Donald Trump goes on a tear posting dozens of self-promoting videos to Truth Social
In rapid-fire succession, Donald Trump posted a slew of videos, images and statements to his Truth Social account over the course of an hour on Wednesday evening. The posts covered a gamut of topics – from his desire to test nuclear weapons to celebrating the anniversary of the presidential election to hawking several pro-MAGA books.
He even covered one of his favorite topics, criticizing Joe Biden, while touting Walmart deals for Thanksgiving.
“Walmart just announced that Prices for a Thanksgiving Dinner is now down 25% since under Sleepy/Crooked Joe Biden, in 2024. AFFORDABILITY is a Republican Stronghold. Hopefully, Republicans will use this irrefutable fact!” Trump posted.
Some of the photos and videos appeared to be altered by artificial intelligence. One photo of Trump and JD Vance, which reads “1 year since elected”, shows the two men with unnaturally waxen skin. Fireworks shoot off in the background and Trump’s teeth are a gleaming white. Other videos seem to be ads for the president, looking back at his past as a young real estate developer and surviving the assassination attempt.
“MY FELLOW AMERICANS, OUR MOVEMENT IS FAR FROM OVER–IN FACT, OUR FIGHT HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN!” reads the post pinned to the top of Trump’s account.
The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment, but did send an auto reply saying it’s experiencing staff shortages because of the “Democrat Shutdown” and “as you await a response, please remember this could have been avoided if the Democrats voted for the clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open”.
Federal judge orders immigration facility in Chicago to improve its conditions
Robert Gettleman issued a temporary restraining order requiring federal authorities to provide sanitary conditions at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Wednesday. The facility is in Broadview, a suburb of Chicago, and has been the site of anti-ICE protests.
The judge’s order came after detainees sued the facility saying they have been kept in “inhumane” and crowded conditions and forced to sleep on the floor or in plastic chairs. The detainees also said that the toilets overflowed with human waste, which seeped into the areas where people had to sleep.
The judge said that he found the evidence highly credible and ordered ICE to provide detainees with clean bedding and toilet facilities. He also said that detainees must be allowed to shower every day and have three full meals with a bottle of water. Additionally, they are to be supplied with adequate soap, toilet paper and other hygiene products.
The temporary restraining order is to remain in effect until 19 November, when there will be another hearing on the case.
Oval Office appears to be getting Mar-a-Lago-style gilded lettering
The Oval Office looks to be getting its own gilded sign, in the vein of Mar-a-Lago. A mock-up of a sign reading “The Oval Office” in cursive golden lettering appeared taped on the outside of the White House. It was first noticed by reporters and photographers on Wednesday.
This appears to be the latest move in the makeover of the White House by Donald Trump, who is known to add gilded flourish to his hotels and clubs. And it comes on the heels of the rapid demolition of the East Wing. Trump’s renderings for his upcoming ballroom, which will supposedly be built where the East Wing once stood, are full of golden embellishments.
The Oval Office sign made the rounds on social media with some joking that such a label helps people with dementia and others saying it would make Marie Antoinette say: “Tone it down”. California governor Gavin Newsom even took a poke at it, posting an edited photo on X that changed the wording of the sign to “Live Laugh Lose”.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it’s planning to cut 10% of flights at major airports if a deal isn’t reached on the government shutdown. Transportation secretary Sean Duffy made the threat at a news conference on Wednesday, saying the reduction in flights could come as soon as Friday.
“As we start to implement this drawdown in service, it will be restricted to these 40 high volume traffic markets,” FAA administrator Bryan Bedford said, according to CNN. “We’re going to ask the airlines to work with us collaboratively to reduce their schedules.”
Bedford didn’t offer details on which states and cities those 40 airports are located in, but said that the drawdown will be “prescriptive” and “surgical”.
During the historic 36 days of the government shutdown, airports have seen air traffic control staffing shortages and delays in flights. Those employees must work during the shutdown, but aren’t paid until it’s over. CNN estimates that more than 400 staffing shortages have been reported at FAA facilities since the shutdown began, which is more than four times than in the same days last year.
Democrats take a victory lap after the party notches coast-to-coast wins
Lauren Gambino
Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, held a call with reporters on Wednesday, declaring: “Make no mistake, the Democratic party is back.
“The Democratic Party is all gas, no brakes,” Martin added.
“We made it clear we don’t want gilded ballrooms. We want lower healthcare costs,” he said. “We don’t want marble bathrooms. We want lower energy bills. We don’t want Great Gatsby parties. We want kids to be able to eat dinner every night.”
Martin credited the candidates with a relentless focus on affordability issues – from Zohran Mamdani’s freeze on rent in New York City to Mikie Sherrill’s day-one state of emergency on utility costs in New Jersey.
He also touted the party’s inroads with young people, and particularly young men, a demographic group Democrats have struggled with. It was his hope that the resounding victory on California’s redistricting measure creates a “chilling effect” on Republican states weighing gerrymanders at Trump’s request.
“This is not your grandfather’s Democratic party. We will meet you in every single state that you decide to try to steal more seats,” he said.
Tuesday’s election results point to voter discontent with Donald Trump, according to a new poll by the Associated Press. The news organization surveyed more than 17,000 voters in states that held elections this week and found most disapproved of Trump’s performance as president.
In Virginia and New Jersey, slightly less than half of voters said Trump was a factor in their voting. But the majority of those who did cite the president as a factor said their vote was to oppose him – four in 10 voters. Similar patterns were seen in New York City and California.
Republicans mostly said Trump wasn’t a factor in their vote, despite saying they approve of his job performance. In California, only one in 10 voters said they were voting to support Trump.
Immigration was a hot-button issue for many voters who said Trump’s aggressive approach had “gone too far”. This was most starkly seen in New York City and California, where about six in 10 voters said their state shouldn’t cooperate with the White House on immigration enforcement.
Maine representative Jared Golden announces he won’t seek re-election, leaving Democrats vulnerable
Jared Golden, the Maine Democratic representative, announced today that he won’t seek re-election to Congress in 2025.
“I have grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community – behavior that, too often, our political leaders exhibit themselves,” the congressman wrote in a column for the Bangor Daily News. “Additionally, recent incidents of political violence have made me reassess the frequent threats against me and my family.”
Golden said that while he’s confident he would win if he were to run again, “what has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning”, also citing the ongoing government shutdown – now the longest on record – as part of his decision. “The nonstop, hyperbolic accusations and recriminations by both sides reveal just how broken Congress has become,” he said.
Golden’s decision to step aside in a district that supported both him and Donald Trump in 2020 and 2024 poses a challenge for Democrats. To keep the seat competitive, they’ll need to find a candidate who can connect with rural voters in a state with a strong libertarian streak.
My colleagues Andrew Witherspoon and Will Craft have been digging into the data following Tuesday’s mayoral election in New York, looking at the sections of boroughs where Zohran Mamdani performed particularly well.
Here’s a recap of the day so far
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The US supreme court appeared skeptical of the legal basis of the Trump administration’s sweeping global tariff regime on Wednesday after justices questioned the president’s authority to impose the levies. The question at the heart of the case is whether the Trump administration’s tariffs violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law which only gives the president authority to “regulate or prohibit international transactions during a national emergency”. Today, even conservative justices sounded doubtful of the strength of the Trump administration’s position. “The vehicle is the imposition of taxes on Americans, and that has always been a core power of Congress,” said Chief Justice John Roberts. Lawyers for the small businesses challenging the White House said that the president’s actions were unprecedented. “They are tariffing the entire world in peacetime, and they are doing it asserting a power that no president in our history has ever had,” said attorney Neal Katyal.
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As he hosted Republican senators at the White House, Donald Trump offered some initial thoughts on the Democratic victories across the country on election night. “Last night, it was not expected to be a victory, it was very Democrat areas. But I don’t think it was good for Republicans,” the president said. “I’m not sure it was good for anybody.” Later, while speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami, Trump particularly disparaged Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in New York City. “The decision facing all Americans could not be more clear – we have a choice between communism and common sense,” he said, while mispronouncing the new mayor’s name.
-
On Capitol Hill, and day 36 of the government shutdown (now the longest on record), Republicans continued to rebuke Democrats for failing to pass a stopgap funding bill. House speaker Mike Johnson also used his daily press conference to both downplay and foreshadow what Tuesday’s election results suggest going forward. “There’s no surprises. What happened last night was blue states and blue cities voted blue. We all saw that coming,” the speaker said, before stating the importance of maintaining a Republican majority in the midterm elections. “If we lose the majority in the House, and this radical element of the Democrat party were able to take over, we’ve already seen that movie. They will try to end the Trump administration,” Johnson said.
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Meanwhile, Trump had choice words for GOP lawmakers, as he pushed for them to blow up the filibuster. Despite reticence from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, the president pushed the virtues of abolishing the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate on legislation. His argument largely rests on the grounds that Democrats would do the same, and would use it to advance their own agenda if they were given the opportunity. “We have to get the country going. We will pass legislation at levels you’ve never seen before, and it will be impossible to beat us,” he said. “They’ll [Democrats] most likely never attain power, because we will have passed every single thing that you can imagine.”
Lauren Gambino
Republicans in California on Wednesday filed a federal lawsuit challenging a high-stakes redistricting measure that could help flip up to five congressional seats for Democrats.
The suit, filed by Republican assembly member David Tangipa, 18 California voters and the state Republican party, in the US district court for the central district of California argues that the new maps are unconstitutional because they were drawn to increase the voting power of a particular racial group. It asks the court to block the new maps from taking effect, at least temporarily.
The measure, Proposition 50, was approved by voters on Tuesday evening, in a decisive victory for Democrats. The plan temporarily gives the power to draw congressional districts to the California legislature, allowing it to adopt maps that will help Democrats pick up five seats in the US House of Representatives.
Mike Columbo, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said that California Democrats drew the maps to increase the power of Latino voters.
While the supreme court allows states to use race as a factor in drawing political maps, Columbo argued that the intent was to help minority voters elect the candidates of their choice. In California, he noted, Hispanic voters represent the largest ethnic group.
“There is no majority race in California more than Hispanics,” Columbo said. “Hispanics have had fantastic success in electing candidates of their choice. Accordingly, California cannot meet this exception.”
Democrats have expressed confidence that the maps would withstand a legal challenge.
Trump’s address today in Miami is sounding more like a campaign rally, as he responds to the Democratic victories across the country after Tuesday’s election.
“Let’s see how a communist does in New York. We’re going to see how that works out. We’ll help them. We want New York to be successful. We’ll help them a little bit,” the president said, after Zohran Mamdani was elected as the city’s youngest, first Muslim mayor.
