I won’t lie, this news cycle made me want to throw things out my window. I didn’t, mind you, but if the past several days made you want to throw things also, just know that you’re not alone. Defenestration solidarity!
Several nouveau and some classic reminders still apply: we may be well into my ninth year of journalism, but I focus on national news within my areas of expertise–which, at this point, includes (1) health news, (2) queer news, (3) news about law and government, (4) news about descent into authoritarianism, and (5) connections between news stories. NNR summaries may still occasionally contain some detailed analysis that’s outside my expertise–I’m a lawyer, not a government shutdown!–but we are moving away from this model in general, as we pioneer a more focused and sustainable format. And, of course, for the law things you read here, I’m offering context that shouldn’t be considered legal advice. Okay, I think that’s about it for the disclaimers. Onward to the news!
Spills in Aisle 47
‘Toddler Supermarket Tantrum,’ taken with permission from Stockcake.com
- Shutdown Shanda. Ho boy, where do we even start on this one. After a forty-three day shutdown, which was in fact the longest in U.S. history, seven Democrats and one Independent Senator voted to reopen the government on Monday in exchange for… ::checks notes:: ..a promise that the Senate would vote on whether to extend ACA tax credits in December. Not a promise that both bodies would vote, mind you, and not a promise to extend at a later date. Just a promise that the Senate would hold some kind of vote on this at some point. And if that sounds meaningless to you, that’s because it is, which Rep Brownley (D-CA) just went ahead and said point-blank. It was made at an impressively bad time as well–which we’ll talk more about below. But the House passed their version this evening, so the shutdown will be over once Trump signs the bill into law. I guarantee we haven’t seen the last of this issue or the shutdown pain, but at least people will ostensibly get their SNAP benefits again.
- Illegal Targeting of ‘Enemies’ (Who Then Target Trump Back). This was a wild cycle for political punishment, especially in the court arena. The malignant pumpkin extended National Guard deployment in DC through February, and is planning to send them to more places as ‘reaction forces.’ He’s also appealing his felony convictions on the legal basis of, I dunno, vibes. In a somewhat ironic twist, his administration simultaneously attempted to indict a guy with felony assault because the man threw a sandwich. (Spoiler: It didn’t work, because a hoagie isn’t a felony, it’s a hoagie.) And in non-court but certainly politically targeted news, the House reconvening also means that Rep. Adelita Grijalva was finally sworn in, which in turn means that the vote to release the Epstein files happened, and they were in fact released. I bet you will be shocked–just shocked!–to learn that Trump is in fact implicated by said files. More specifically, Epstein noted that Trump “knew about the girls” and “spent hours at [his] house” with a specific alleged victim. I think it’s safe to conclude that this will remain messy, at least in the near future.
From the Department of Health and Human Sacrifice
Image unnamed and in the public domain
Shutdown Spillover. As alluded to above, the SNAP situation during the shutdown was getting extremely ugly. After benefits expired on November 1, the administration went out of its way to make sure this caused a pain point, even going so far as to sue to stop states from giving relief while Democrats caused to be allowed to disburse funds. A federal court ordered the administration to release funds, which resulted in a Supreme Court stay on that order and the Trump administration telling states to “undo” any disbursements already made under the first order, because they were now “unauthorized.” That SCOTUS stay on disbursement, and the resulting chaos, very likely played a role in the Senate capitulation.
Queer By(lines) For the Straight Guy
Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
- A Mixed QUILTBAG. Queer news was kind of all over the place this cycle. On the one hand, the Supreme Court removed a protective stay that allowed Americans to change the sex markers on their passports again (booooo). But on the other hand, that same Supreme Court also declined to hear the Kim Davis case challenging same-sex marriage, which hopefully means we’re finally done hearing from Kim Davis (yaaaay). All told, not the worst cycle we’ve had under this regime, but it isn’t the best one, either.
Ways to Weather This
Image unnamed and licensed to the public under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
- (Legal) Election Rejection. The Senate deal timing was frustrating for a lot of reasons, but a big one was the Election Day of last Tuesday. Overwhelmingly, election results skewed in favor of Democrat leadership, with Dems overperforming even in states as red as Mississippi. The election results as well as related polls show a country that is very frustrated with the Trump agenda and with Trump personally, even among voters who supported both in the 2024 election. While it’s aggravating to watch the Leopard Face Eating Party lose membership only after a massive spree of leopard snacking, it’s nonetheless important to note that these trends are occurring; they create the potential for activation efforts to gain more traction.
So that’s what I have for you this cycle, a day late but only $0.25 short. For making it through, you deserve this enthusiastic but confused doggo and a less corrupt government. I’m still figuring out sustainability, and I would love feedback in the National News Roundup ask box, which is there for your constructive comments. Send me questions! Send me feedback! Send me congratulations on getting my biologic again!
National News Roundup 