Thanks so much for joining me. I hope you had a great weekend. The Senate is back in session in DC today. The same Republicans we voted out still run both chambers for 55 more days. So we are going to stand guard until Democrats are sworn in.
That’s why we just launched our Lame Duck Watch, where we will fight back against every move Republicans make before January. If you’re not a paid subscriber yet, I’d love to have you. You’d help fund our investigations and organizing, and you’ll get my exclusive posts and interviews. Join us here:
Before we jump in, can you do me a favor? Hit the like and then the restack button next to it. Trump wants these stories buried. Let’s make them viral instead.
Lame Duck Watch: She Won. Trump Wants The Fired Guy.
On Election Day, an enormous blue wave swept across the country. Republicans lost all over the map, including in Texas, where voters fired Justice James Sullivan from their state Supreme Court. They picked Chari Kelly to replace him, an Army veteran who served as a paratrooper. Democrats swept all four Texas Supreme Court seats that were on the ballot.
Just two days later, Senate records showed that Trump was pushing to make Sullivan a federal judge for life. So I went through his 54-page Senate questionnaire, which details that on October 13, he spoke at a fundraiser at the Coronado Club in Houston for his campaign to keep his Texas seat.
The next day, he was in DC interviewing with lawyers from Trump’s White House for the federal job. When the form asked how many cases he’s presided over, he wrote: “I have not presided over cases.” Seriously. As an appellate judge, he’s technically correct, but it’s definitely the wrong resume for this lifetime spot.
The committee normally waits 28 days, but Republicans on the Judiciary Committee want him in for a hearing on November 18, just two weeks after his paperwork arrived. A spokesperson for Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee’s top Democrat, didn’t hold back: “Republicans are breaking yet another Judiciary Committee norm in an attempt to fast-track a nominee who just recently lost his Texas Supreme Court seat.”
Around two years ago Trump posted, “No more Judges confirmed before Inauguration Day!” That was shortly after Democrats were the ones losing power. Now it’s his party losing the Senate, and he wants a judge Texans just fired to sit on the federal bench for decades. Republicans run that committee for just 55 more days, so it’s on us to fight this and every other nomination they’re going to try and rush through.
Democrats Took Back The Arizona Legislature
On Friday, enough races were called in Arizona to give Democrats the state House. They locked the Senate down earlier in the week, and Gov. Katie Hobbs won her reelection in a landslide. For the first time since 1966, Democrats control both chambers in the state.
Hobbs had to take on the Republican legislature for her entire first term. In her first three years, she vetoed 390 bills—a state record. Fifty were measures she had already vetoed once. But Republicans thought maybe she’d reconsider.
Rep. Justin Wilmeth, a Phoenix Republican who held onto his seat, knows exactly who to blame. “Just say that Trump doesn’t exist and anybody else is president, you don’t have these historic losses to this level,” he told local public radio station KJZZ.
Hobbs will finally be able to sign bills the GOP spent years blocking. I hope Republicans enjoy their time in the minority. They’ve earned it.
Philadelphia Told ICE No. Trump’s Judge Agreed.
For more than ten years, the city of Philadelphia has refused to hold people in its jails for ICE. This spring, the City Council passed a bill to make that law, and Mayor Cherelle Parker signed it in May.
Councilmember Kendra Brooks, who helped write it, didn’t back down when the regime sued in June. “Philadelphia doesn’t like bullies,” she said.
Trump appointed the judge who presided over it—Chad Kenney. In July, Kenney sided with the regime on part of the case and let ICE agents in Philadelphia keep wearing masks.
In August, the regime added the jail law to its lawsuit. Its lawyers called it a “blanket refusal” since the city let 15 people go instead of holding them for ICE. On Thursday, Kenney threw that part out for good. “Compliance with an immigration detainer is voluntary,” he wrote.
So when someone in a Philadelphia jail has served their time or made bail, they walk out the door, and ICE can’t force the city to keep them locked up. Trump lost in front of a judge he picked.
Houston followed the next day. Three days after Democrats swept Texas, Mayor John Whitmire signed a new executive order. His police chief, Noe Diaz, explained it: if an officer pulls someone over for a minor traffic violation and writes a ticket, “that person receives a citation and goes about their day.” Unless ICE has a warrant, Houston police won’t call them. “Elections matter,” Whitmire said.
Trump’s Movement Is Falling Apart On Him
Right after the Senate was called for Democrats on election night, Trump went on Truth Social and blamed one of his favorite channels: “Fox News bears responsibility for these losses by constantly and consistently putting on the Dumocrat opposition, and worse.”
On Wednesday, JD Vance went on X with a different answer: “The reason we lost is the war.” He meant Trump’s war in Iran. In response, Trump called that “largely true,” and told reporters, “If I had it to do again, I’d have to do it again.”
On Thursday, the White House sent a memo to more than 3,000 conservative groups listing Trump’s “accomplishments.” The last line was highlighted in yellow: “As always, we are monitoring statements, press releases, and media engagements from your organizations.” The White House insists it wasn’t a threat. But Caroline Sunshine, who worked in Trump’s White House in his first term, wasn’t buying it: “‘We’re watching you’ is not the message the White House should be sending.”
Trump blamed conservative media for his losses, and now his White House is warning its own side that it’s watching them. A man whose movement is strong doesn’t send that memo.
Republicans have control of Congress for 55 more days. They’ll try and rush through everything they can before they lose it. That’s where we come in—we’ll be fighting back in every way possible, pressing Democrats to do the same.
We also launched our largest pressure campaign on Congress ever. Over the last two years alone, we’ve made countless phone calls and sent more than 918,000 letters directly from constituents to their representatives and senators.
No corporation or billionaire gets to control our stories, and we’re truly proud of our independence. Paid subscribers fund everything we do—our investigating, organizing, and reporting. We’ll stand guard every one of these 55 days. Help keep us there by joining as a paid subscriber here:
Before you go, hit the ❤️ like button and restack this edition so more people find out what Republicans are trying to sneak through before they’re booted out. Thanks so much for everything you do. It makes a huge difference.
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Onward!
Scott
Which win from Election Day made you happiest? Let me know!
The House could vote on impeaching Pete Hegseth this week, and two of these letters are closing in on 1,000. Each one takes about 30 seconds and goes straight to your members of Congress.
Impeach Pete Hegseth: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-impeach-pete-hegseth/
Subpoena the unredacted Epstein files on day one (47 away from 1,000): https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-the-new-congress-subpoena-the-unredacted-epstein-files-on-day-one
No lame-duck power grabs (79 away from 1,000): https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-no-lame-duck-power-grabs
Put Trump’s pardons under oath: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-congress-put-trumps-pardons-under-oath
Fifty-five days. That’s the whole clock they have left. We’re going to use every one of them.