United States Politics and Government

• Trump’s Xenophobic Outburst, and a Planned Donation to 25 Million U.S. Kids - Plus, the 10 best books of the year.
• Fed Pick Puts Pressure on Bessent to Deliver for Trump - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search for the next Federal Reserve chair, could face President Trump’s wrath if the person chosen does not quickly lower interest rates.
• Eugene Hasenfus, Gunrunner Who Exposed Iran-Contra Plot, Dies at 84 - He emerged out of obscurity when his cargo plane was shot down while illegally ferrying arms to Nicaraguan rebels, setting off a scandal that tarnished the Reagan and Bush White Houses.
• Trump Calls Somalis ‘Garbage’ He Doesn’t Want in the Country - President Trump has a history of insulting people from African countries, but the outburst was shocking in its unapologetic bigotry. Vice President JD Vance banged the table in encouragement.
• Matt Van Epps Wins Tennessee House Race After a Trump-Led Rescue Mission - Matt Van Epps fended off a Democrat to protect Republicans’ slim House majority, but the relatively close margin in a red district sent the party a warning shot before the 2026 midterms.
• Trump Appears to Fight Sleep During Cabinet Meeting - President Trump began the meeting by criticizing media coverage about him showing signs of fatigue. Last month, he appeared to doze off during a meeting in the Oval Office.
• Immigration Officials Target Afghans for Deportation in Wake of D.C. Shooting - The stepped-up enforcement comes as the Trump administration has also moved to reassess the vetting of Afghans who came to the country under the Biden administration.
• U.S. Pauses Immigration Applications From Nations on Travel Ban List - The pause, which will halt green card and U.S. citizenship processing for broad swaths of people, deepens a remarkable crackdown on legal immigration pathways in recent days.
• Trump Calls Affordability a ‘Con Job’ as His Edge on the Economy Slips - President Trump is growing frustrated as Americans struggle with higher prices and pessimism over the state of the economy.
• New ICE Operation Is Said to Target Somali Migrants in Minneapolis and St. Paul - The move comes as President Trump has attacked Somalis with increasingly inflammatory rhetoric in recent days.