… Inflation is up again today, half the cabinet lives on military bases afraid of various things, we’re selling sensitive chips to Chinese spies while the govt ignores it, we’re in an endless war with Iran, there’s a mass exodus at DOJ, and flights are grounded. This is what MAGA voted for.
… The FAA under Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy rolled out a new AI-assisted air traffic control system nationwide today. They also ended up having to order a nationwide grounding of flights shortly thereafter. Fox:
“The FAA has issued a national ground stop over extraordinary circumstances and reasons of safety. According to our records this is only the second time that a nationwide ground stop for all aircraft has been issued since 9/11.”
… Duffy posted this 4 days ago: “We rolled out ‘SMART’ to cut flight delays and help air traffic controllers, and it’s WORKING. Early results: 10+ minutes saved per flight. 180 flights rerouted around congestion (24,000 travelers). 80 gallons of fuel saved per trip. Soon this technology is going NATIONWIDE.”
… CNN’s air travel analyst Mary Schiavo:
“What's interesting to me about the ground stop is the FAA had also announced that it was about to deploy their new tool called SMART, to assist in managing air traffic across the entire national airspace system. They were starting to roll out this new system.
I don't know if they're linked, but it's just too much of a coincidence that they were trying to start that moving today and now we have problems with the system. And that would be my guess that they are having computer issues by putting the AI software in with the old. It’s a big problem.”
… DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin was asked about the crisis in a press gaggle outside the WH:
Q: “Could this be AI related? Mullin: We call it SI around here.”
… Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said he will challenge Chuck Schumer for Senate Majority Leader. He made the announcement on CNN:
Q: “How many senators have pledged their support to you? Van Hollen: We have a lot of people. Q: More than 10? Van Hollen: More. We have a lot of people.”
“This is a generational opportunity for the senate to respond to the call of the American people for change. The scale and scope of this victory, 56 senate democratic seats, really gives us a mandate and the votes to do big things.”
“While voters have rejected the Trump policies, they’ve not yet hired Democrats. They’ve given us a chance. We have to earn their trust. And my view is that you can’t earn that trust with old leadership. You need to move on to new leadership.”
“We shouldn’t have a leader who is getting involved in picking sides in open Democratic primaries, and we should be focused on defeating Republicans. We have two senators right now in the Senate who wouldn’t be there if the current majority leader had his way. He supported establishment candidates in the primaries.”
“I believe that we should use our full power in the Senate to respond to the calls of the American people. So, for example, the war in Iran. This is an illegal and senseless war. I believe we need to end it now immediately to use all our power to do that. That means not one more penny spent on this war so that we can bring prices down right away.”
… Schumer: “I welcome any discussion about the future of our caucus and the important work ahead. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together – 55 seats and counting is an amazing result – and I have the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader. I look forward to leading our new Democratic majority and delivering for the American people.”
… Several of the senators supporting Schumer seem to be sharing the same talking point:
Sen. Baldwin: “The Brewers just had a record season, and next year is not the time to change our management.“
Sen. King: “Why would you fire the manager when you just won the World Series?”
Sen. Gallego: “When the manager takes you to the World Series, you give him another contract.”
… MS Sen.-elect Scott Colom told MS NOW the claim that Schumer “recruited” him to run is fiction:
“It’s not accurate to say he recruited me. The people of MS recruited me. You think I would listen to somebody who lives in Brooklyn when I was deciding to run for US Senate in MS?”
“Republican leaders need to understand that Republican voters don’t benefit from gerrymandering. You need to make sure the voters are in power to pick their leaders, not leaders in power to pick their voters.”
“When I thought Trump might come to MS, I told my team, ‘Listen, I’m going to work the Trump line. I’m going to ask those voters what matters to them. I’m going to listen.’ And as I expected, there was a lot of things that they were saying that I’ve been hearing in the bluest areas of the state: gas, groceries, concerned about the war in Iran.”
… Washington Sun: “Decades after the Voting Rights Act muzzled Jim Crow-era restrictions in the South - but months before the Supreme Court ripped away some of the law’s protections - community organizers in MS held meeting after meeting last winter trying to help residents understand the evolving twists of redistricting.
… The state with the country’s highest proportion of Black residents is still haunted by decades of now-defunct laws aimed at thwarting minority votes. Crowds of voters gathered occasionally at town halls and churches worried about being disenfranchised like their parents and grandparents before them.
… What the high court could rule - and ultimately would, in April - mattered deeply.
… Scott Colom’s victory over Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith makes him the state’s first Black senator since the Reconstruction era. The win may have been shocking to those prognosticators outside the Deep South - but community advocates, particularly Black organizers, say they saw the purpling of a ruby-red state like MS coming.
… The Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v Callais, a landmark ruling that made it harder to challenge maps that dilute minority voting power, and the subsequent legislative whiplash from wrangling over congressional district maps also energized a base that didn’t want to be silenced.”
… Washington Sun: “Mary Peltola’s lead over Dan Sullivan in the AK senate race widened overnight to 5,800 votes with more votes to be counted: ‘it’s clear that Mary’s victory is all but guaranteed’ in the first round, her campaign says.” She has to get 50% to avoid moving to the 2nd round of ranked choice votes and is very close.
… Republican election data analyst Josh Landon: “Most of the outstanding 40,000 ballots are coming from the Juneau area and rural AK, both of which will favor Peltola. Most of the Anchorage vote is in. I don’t see a path for Sullivan at this point. Peltola likely gets 50% in the initial count.”
… Democrat Cindy Holscher won the governor’s race in Kansas.
… Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins has won Alaska’s governor’s race.
… 75% of the American people are living in states that will now have a Democratic governor.
… Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on CNN: “I don’t think Vance did himself any favors by sending out that tweet after the election. This loss was not because of Iran. That might have played a part, but I don’t think every statewide Republican in TX lost their election because they think American foreign policy is too interventionist. Put down the crack pipe.”
… NYT: “Nearly two years ago, Democrats could do little more than watch as Trump seized control of the US budget, slashing billions of dollars and firing droves of civil workers in a downsizing that Congress never authorized. Now, as the party prepares to take charge in the House and Senate, its incoming leaders say they are plotting ways to keep Trump in check.
… In the wake of their overwhelming electoral victory, Democrats have promised to cement their power under the Constitution to control the nation’s purse. They hope to boost funding for federal climate, education, health, housing and safety net initiatives next year, then take steps that would prevent Trump from slowing down or interfering with the money again.”
… Semafor: “House Democrats are looking askance at Rep. Jim Jordan’s election as minority leader, given the OH Republican has few relationships across the aisle - but next year, they might not have to work with him much. Democrats cushy House majority is likely to eliminate the need for Republican support on key funding and rule votes.”
… Politico: “Progressives are spoiling for a party-defining fight next year with Trump, using the same hardball tactic Republicans used last year to skirt the filibuster and muscle tax cuts through Congress.
… As they prepare to take control of the House and Senate next year, some lawmakers on the left are pushing their colleagues to send Trump sweeping legislation chock full of Democratic priorities by way of the budget reconciliation process.
… They’re floating the idea even though they know there’s no chance it will become law, but that’s not the point. Rather, the purpose is to pick a big, showy fight with the president, and put a spotlight on the Democratic platform ahead of the 2028 presidential election.”
… Sen. Bernie Sanders: “It’s important that we show the American people what we stand for, that we fight for an agenda that the American people want.”
… Sen. Don Beyer (D-VA) disagreed with that approach: “I’m not interested in making political statements. I want to make a difference - I want to solve problems. We had this big victory, and I don’t want to turn around and give all the seats right back because we swing too far the other way.”
… Axios: “Senate Democrats could find some of their most surprising allies next Congress from the right wing of the Republican Party. Senate Democrats are on track to need only 4 GOP votes to break filibusters next Congress. They could find those votes from a bloc of GOP senators with a shared appetite for taking on corporate power.
… Enter Sens. Josh Hawley, Jim Banks, Bernie Moreno and Eric Schmitt. Each has already worked with Democrats, and their votes could put legislation over the top. Hawley has co-led multiple pieces of legislation with Sen. Elizabeth Warren this Congress.
… Hawley is often viewed as a loner in the GOP, pairing populist economics with hardcore culture war issues from abortion to transgender care to religious freedom. He’s been scathing in his post-election critiques:
“This Congress did not come and work for the people. This Congress came and worked for AI companies, and it worked for data centers, and it worked for big tech companies.”
“You want to raise the minimum wage? I’m for that. You want to work to get gas prices down? I’m for that. I am open to anything to bring down the cost of health care.”
… Hawley and moderate Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) were among the loudest GOP voices opposing the expiration of enhanced ACA credits last year. Over the summer, Warren and Moreno released a sweeping plan to “save Social Security.” Warren and Banks have tag-teamed on numerous tech and AI safety bills.
… Schmitt worked with Warren in 2024 and 2025 to challenge Big Tech’s dominance of Pentagon AI contracts, and with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) in July to crack down on search engine monopolies.”
… Semafor: “National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is expected to depart his role at the WH in the coming weeks. Hassett has been inquiring about roles outside the admin since well before this month’s midterm elections. Scott Bessent, who could hold both jobs, and his counselor, David Zervos, are among those being eyed to replace him.”
… Maybe the Smiling Liar got tired of making up new ways to spin terrible economic numbers on CNBC and Fox Business.
… NYT: “DOJ, which has already seen the exodus of hundreds of career officials who were forced out or left because they disagreed with Trump’s priorities, faces a daunting new staffing dilemma spurred by the election.
… Many career officials who hung on until now, including some who broadly support DOJ’s current mission, are eyeing the exits to avoid two grim years of partisan combat. They are joined by a second, higher-profile group: senior DOJ officials who have submitted resignations, some after a discreet shove, in a leadership reshuffle over the past week.
… Former officials now at private law firms said they were receiving calls from officials on the inside reporting that morale, already sagging, had gotten much worse since Election Day.”
… Barbara McQuade, former US Attorney for the E. District of Michigan during the Obama admin: “This has the feel of rats fleeing the sinking ship.”
Reminder there is no Bulletin tomorrow because I’m off Saturdays. For the first time in a long time I’m doing absolutely nothing - staying home, cooking and binging a show. We will start the holiday and winter festivities next week.
I will have the next Bulletin out on Sunday night to recap the entire weekend. If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin, you can find it here. Thank you for reading and subscribing to my work and the work of our great team at Meidas!
… Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has Republicans and Democrats calling for his ouster for his role in the Nvidia scandal. The calls are coming from the business community, Congress, conservative media, and even inside the Trump Admin, as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent trashed him on CNBC this morning. In appears that Lutnick’s last friend is his fellow Epstein pal Trump.
… Politico: “Trump is again facing pressure over his Commerce secretary and longtime friend Howard Lutnick as the department and its leaders face mounting bipartisan
