Today in Politics, Bulletin 235. 10/24/25

… DOJ is sending federal election observers into CA and NJ to monitor elections taking place in less than two weeks. Mercury News: “DOJ is planning to monitor polling sites in Passaic County, NJ, and 5 counties in southern and central CA: LA, Orange, Kern, Riverside and Fresno. The goal, according to the DOJ, is ‘to ensure transparency, ballot security, and compliance with federal law.’”

… “Election monitoring is a routine function of DOJ, but the focus on CA and NJ comes as both states are set to hold closely-watched elections with national consequences on Nov. 4. NJ has an open seat for governor that has attracted major spending by both parties and CA is holding a special election aimed at redrawing the state’s congressional map to counter Republican gerrymandering efforts elsewhere ahead of the 2026 midterms.”

… AG Pam Bondi to AP: “Transparency at the polls translates into faith in the electoral process, and this DOJ is committed to upholding the highest standards of election integrity.”

… Gavin Newsom: “This is not a federal election. DOJ has no business or basis to interfere with this election. This is solely about whether CA amends our state constitution. This admin has made no secret of its goal to undermine free and fair elections. Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the vote.”

… Financial Times: “A little-known drone company backed by Donald Trump Jr has won its largest contract from the Pentagon, as the US govt expands its procurement of the drones. Florida-based Unusual Machines, in which Trump Jr has held a $4 million stake, said the US Army had contracted it to manufacture 3,500 drone motors, alongside various other drone parts. The company added the army indicated it planned to order an additional 20,000 components from Unusual Machines next year.”

… “CEO Allan Evans said he believed it was the largest order for Unusual Machines parts from the US govt to date, but declined to disclose the value of the contract. Shares in Unusual Machines jumped as much as 13% today. Unusual Machines brought Trump Jr on as an adviser in Nov 2024. FT earlier this year found shares in the company almost tripled in price in the weeks leading up to its disclosure of the move.”

… I forwarded a copy of of this story to House Oversight Chair James Comer to ask him to investigate this, since he now has nothing to do after spending the last 3 years on Hunter Biden.

… A new YouGov poll shows 50% disapprove of Trump’s ballroom construction, and only 33% say they are in favor of it. Only 24% said they approved of the East Wing being torn down to make room for it.

… Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK): “It’s kind of shocking to so many that are looking at it happen. What I’ve been reminding people is that taxpayer dollars are not going towards it, but I think people feel very possessive about it - it’s the People’s House. And I think there was hope that there was more input. But role that we have is very, very limited if you don’t have appropriations involved.”

… To NBC: “The optics are not good. I’m certainly hearing about it from Alaskans who are saying, what did we - when did we decide that we needed a bigger ballroom?”

… There has been a bit of a debate on social media between Dem consultants about whether tearing down the East Wing matters to a lot of people or if this is just something inside-the-beltway types and political junkies care about. I think that debate has been settled - people care.

… Stephen Miller brought his usual sunny disposition to the discussion on Fox: “The real scandal is how Democrats and the left scarred the landscape of our country with grotesque so-called modern art that celebrates ugliness. Very importantly, President Trump is making sure it’s in the neo-classical design around which our nation’s architecture has long been directed.”

… Hakeem Jeffries on CNBC on Trump refusing to negotiate with Dems on the shutdown: “He’s found time to demand that the Department of Injustice give him $230m in taxpayer money. He’s found time to bail out a right-wing wannabe dictator in Argentina with $40b. He’s found time to demolish the East Wing in the most horrific way possible because he wants to erect a ballroom so he can be celebrated like a king. He’s found time for all of these different things, but somehow can’t be bothered to reopen the govt or to find a dime to extend the ACA tax credits.”

… Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO) was asked on CNN about Mike Johnson’s claim that House Republicans had a new health care plan that would be better than Obamacare: Q - “Johnson says Republicans have proposals to address healthcare subsidies and they can have them ready immediately. Over 400k people in Missouri are enrolled in the marketplace. Have you seen those proposals? Alford: No. I would like to.”

… Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) responded to Alford’s interview: “Trump was first elected President 3,257 days ago. Americans are STILL waiting for his plan to lower health care costs. He tried (and failed) to repeal the ACA. Then he kicked millions off Medicaid. Now he’s refusing to act as premiums skyrocket.”

… HuffPost on the ballroom donors: “HuffPost reached out to all of the companies on the list, and as many of the individuals as we were able to track down, with the same two questions: How much are they donating to Trump’s ballroom, and if they have any comment about Trump destroying the East Wing. Most didn’t respond immediately to requests for comment, but a few did.”

… Microsoft spokesperson: “I can confirm that Microsoft contributed to the ballroom, as has been publicly reported. That’s all I have at the moment, but if anything changes, I will circle back.”

… “T-Mobile confirmed it gave money to the Trust for the National Mall, the nonprofit overseeing the donations to fund Trump’s ballroom. But beyond that, a spokesperson said the company didn’t have any say on how those dollars were spent.”

… Betty Wold Johnson Foundation spokesperson told HuffPost said she was “not authorized to discuss the donation.”

… The most transparent admin is history, according to Trump and Karoline Leavitt.

… Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL): “I have a theory about why Democrats are REFUSING to open the govt. VA has a gubernatorial election in 2 weeks. THOUSANDS of bureaucrats work in DC, live in VA, and are currently furloughed due to the govt shutdown. Far-left Fairfax County has seen a SURGE in early voting compared to 2021. Is Schumer keeping the govt closed to try to help woke Abigail Spanberger get across the finish line?”

… Trump, DOJ, and Stephen Miller each made statements threatening to arrest Democratic officials who recently stated that ICE agents would be arrested in their jurisdictions if they used excessive force. Q - “What’s your reaction to Rep. Dan Goldman calling on NYPD to arrest ICE agents who he says are acting illegally? Trump: I know Dan, and Dan’s a loser.”

… Goldman responded: “Donald, you can call me whatever you want as long as you get your masked ICE agents in line and keep the military out of NYC.”

… Dep. AG Todd Blanche: “California politicians want to arrest federal agents for enforcing federal law. We just sent them a letter: Stand down or face prosecution. No one threatens our agents. No one will stop us from Making America Safe Again.”

… Goldman also responded to Blanche: “Nobody is suggesting that ICE agents should be arrested for properly doing their job. But when they arrest US citizens without a warrant or probable cause, they are not doing their job. And when they use excessive force while falsely arresting US citizens, that is assault.”

… Stephen Miller on Fox threatened to arrest IL Gov JB Pritzker for “seditious conspiracy” if any agents are arrested in his state. Then he said: “To all ICE officers: you have federal immunity in the conduct of your duties. And anybody who lays a hand on you or tries to stop or obstruct you is committing a felony.”

… Fox Business analyst Charles Gasparino: “A senior Trump official says that the admin favors Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery – and a number of rival bidders are likely to face stiff hurdles from US regulators in the blockbuster auction: “Who owns Warner Bros. Discovery is very important to the admin. The Warner board needs to think very seriously not just on the price competition but which player in the suitor pool has been successful getting a deal done. And that points to the Ellisons.”

… Trump is using his mob boss tactics again to put Warner Bros. in the hands of his friends, who have been buying up media companies like crazy.

… Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) on MSNBC: Q - Are you comfortable with Trump’s bailout of Argentina? Marshall: The president here is playing chess and not checkers. This is an opportunity to make a friend, to help an ally out.”

… It’s a cult.

… National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn: “Cattlemen and women cannot stand behind President Trump while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef. It is imperative that the president and Secretary Rollins let cattle markets work without interference. If the admin is truly an ally of America’s cattle producers, we call on him to abandon this effort to manipulate markets.”

… It appears we are getting close to war with Venezuela. Bloomberg: “Trump said ‘the land is going to be next’ in his campaign to halt the flow of drugs into the US from Venezuela, the clearest indication yet that he’s preparing to broaden strikes that have so far been limited to targets at sea. Trump directed Pete Hegseth to notify Congress of the admin’s upcoming plans. He didn’t discuss targets, though, he has repeatedly suggested he could order the US military to escalate attacks by hitting cartel infrastructure on land.”

… Trump: “The land is going to be next. Pete, you go to Congress, you tell them about it. What are they going to do? Say, ‘gee, we don’t want to stop drugs pouring in’? The land drugs are much more dangerous for them. It’s going to be much more dangerous. You’ll be seeing that soon. So that’s the way it is.”

… Stephen Miller was asked about it outside the WH while Trump was looking at his ballroom drawings before golf: Q - Would the admin consider putting troops on the ground in any capacity in Venezuela? Miller: These are terrorists and they’re going to be killed.”

…WSJ: “The US flew Air Force B-1 bombers near Venezuela on Thurs, stepping up pressure on President Nicolás Maduro only days after other American warplanes carried out an ‘attack demonstration’ near the South American country. Two B-1 Lancers took off from Dyess AF Base in Texas and flew near Venezuela, though they remained in international airspace, according to a US official and flight tracking data.”

… “Last week, the AF and Marines conducted a similar show of force with B-52 bombers and F-35B jet fighters near an island off the coast of Venezuela where its military held training exercises in Sept. The bombers circled the area before returning to the US, according to flight tracking data. The Pentagon described the flights as an ‘attack demonstration.’”

… Fox’s chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin: “This is a massive buildup of force. 14% of the Navy’s fleet is now in the Caribbean.”

… Trump: “I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be, like dead.”

… Rand Paul was the only Republican senator who was not invited by Trump to his new Rose Garden Club where he extolled them on the virtues of his ballroom during the shutdown. Paul said he has lunch with Trump nemesis Thomas Massie instead. Paul then unloaded on Trump on Dasha Burns’s podcast: “I support America First. I support the idea that when we’re $2T in the haul, we shouldn’t be sending $20B to Argentina. We don’t have it. It’s borrowed. That’s not America First. That’s Argentina First.”

… Paul: “The farm economy hangs on by a thread. And now they are talking about ‘oh well, tariffs, maybe they are not so good for farmers. We’ll give some farmers some taxpayer money.’ I don’t know if you can print up enough for the farmers. I think you’re gonna have farm disasters.”

… “China is not buying any of our soybeans this year. The tariff war with China has led to this. And senators don’t have the guts to say anything because it’s their president. And frankly they are afraid. They are afraid that he will do to them what he’s trying to do to me. (Primary). That’s too bad. It’d be easier if there were other people willing to stand up and oppose bad policy.”

… Trump threw a temper tantrum last night after he learned that Ontario, Canada premier Doug Ford is running ads in the US with video clips of Ronald Reagan stating that he is against tariffs because they always end up hurting the overall economy more than they help anything. He posted this midnight rant on Truth Social:

… “The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs. The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the US Supreme Court, and other courts. TARIFFS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND ECONOMY, OF THE U.S.A. Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED.”

… WH Economic advisor Kevin Hassett was asked on CNBC about Trump’s deranged post: Q - “On this ad that President Trump was referring to about Canada and Ronald Reagan, have you seen the ad yourself? Hassett: I’m not going talk about that.”

Reminder that I am off Saturdays so no Bulletin tomorrow. Nothing too exciting this weekend - the NHL minor league hockey team here in Maine just started its season and we are going to the game. Winter is coming.

The Weekend Bulletin will be out on Sunday night. If you missed yesterday’s, you can find it here. Thank you again to everyone who reads, shares and subscribes to my work.

… The Reagan Foundation’s statement was preposterous - claiming that the ad used Reagan’s quotes out of context. Nonsense. We posted the full 5-minute statement on video that Reagan made - parts of which was used in the Canadian ad. Reagan was consistently against tariffs for 50 years. Like all presidents, he imposed some tariffs to protect sensitive industries, but nothing like what Trump is doing now.

… The clip of Reagan in the ad: “But over the long run, such trade barriers hurt every American, worker and consumer. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. Then the worst happens. Markets