It’s Tuesday, November 10.
It’s been one bad headline after another for Donald Trump this morning, and it’s only a week after he lost the midterms…in a landslide. Republicans, meanwhile, appear to have learned absolutely NOTHING from their shellacking.
Here’s what we’re tracking:
Republican Thomas Massie has filed articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth. The key procedural vote is tonight and the full vote is expected tomorrow.
Hegseth’s security threatened to physically remove reporters from his presser this morning, and the questions all went to right-wing outlets.
Two tankers on fire in the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. aircraft pulled out of England over what was deemed to be a credible Iranian threat, and a new Iranian “missile city.”
October CPI came in hotter than expected, and the year-over-year number is conveniently missing.
A Fed president says at least two more rate HIKES are needed, possibly on a faster timeline than expected.
On the Russia-Ukraine war, Kushner vouches for Putin while Lavrov rules out a ceasefire.
Whistleblowers say the Department of Interior is destroying records, and FIFA’s Infantino may be subpoenaed.
Trump keeps crying fraud while Mary Peltola gains in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska.
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The Hegseth Impeachment Is Moving Fast
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) has filed articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth, calling him a “threat to the Constitution.” Massie mocked the idea that Hegseth has been “effective,” saying he was effective at killing 200 schoolchildren, at bombing fishing boats whose crews may or may not have been smugglers, and at waging an unconstitutional kidnapping in Venezuela. Massie also said impeachment is “kind of a polite thing.” He isn’t asking for prison or civil liability, only for Hegseth to be out of the job. Then he warned that when Democrats take control in January, “they are not going to be as polite as I am.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, at a House GOP press conference ahead of leadership elections, called Massie a “disgruntled congressman,” said Hegseth did “an extraordinary job,” and said impeaching a war secretary during an international conflict sends a “terrible message.” The good news for Democrats is that it’s clear these people have learned absolutely NOTHING.
Hegseth’s own former spokesman, John Ullyot, told NPR’s Steve Inskeep that Hegseth violated the law and should resign. He described his old boss as a “bombastic, fire breathing” Fox host who never stopped acting like one at the Pentagon.
I repeat: his own former spokesman.
Trump, of course, posted that Hegseth gets an “A+++” and called Massie a “total loser.” This from the man who has given us a failing economy and a losing war. In Trump’s world, anyone who fails as badly as he does gets top marks.
Here’s what to expect next: The House will take a key procedural vote at 5:30 p.m. ET, and unless something out of the ordinary happens, it will likely break in favor of impeachment. The impeachment vote itself is expected tomorrow. We’ll be covering it live on the MeidasTouch Network. I hope you tune in!
House Democrats have now won 258 seats and counting, the largest majority any party has held this century. A few House races are still being counted, including MN-1, where the candidates are separated by about 300 votes with 99% reporting.
Hegseth’s Tantrum
This was Hegseth’s first Pentagon press conference in six months, and it showed why he avoids them. Washington Post Pentagon reporter Tara Copp says a security agent for Hegseth warned reporters they would be “physically removed from the briefing room” if they didn’t maintain “decorum.” When reporters asked if that meant no shouted questions, nobody would say. Copp said none of them could remember ever being threatened like that, and another journalist in the room called it “crazy town.”
The real Pentagon press corps was seated in the back. Hegseth’s questions went to OANN, Real America’s Voice, the Daily Wire, Fox News, the Daily Signal and the Washington Times. They sure do love their fake news!
Hegseth then hid behind the troops, claiming he’s the first defense secretary to be attacked “for winning.”
Yeah, that’s it, bud.
He said the media can’t admit military “success” because “you hate the president more than you love our country.”
Funny, because I think you love your Dear Leader more than you love your country, Pete.
He said he stands behind every operation, would do them all again, and was proud to carry them out, which includes the strike on the school in Minab. He asked why Lloyd Austin wasn’t impeached over the Afghanistan withdrawal or the Chinese spy balloon. For the record, the Biden administration was open about the balloon and shot it down. Comparing that to a war in Iran where American troops have been killed and wounded is absurd.
Hegseth continues, spiking the football: “The Houthis found out first... Iran found out next.” Found out what, exactly? That we can’t win a war we should never have started? That we’re burning through munitions? Hegseth also said everything he did was “ordered by the commander in chief.”
In other words… “just following orders.”
“Just Following Orders” Is Now the Official Line
That’s a phrase we keep hearing over and over now. The same defense showed up on Fox & Friends, where Attorney General Todd Blanche said Hegseth was “executing on President Trump’s mission.” Blanche then said Democrats “cannot threaten” Trump officials, and lumped talk of impeachment in with threats and “criminal conduct.” Oversight is Congress’s job. Impeachment is in the Constitution.
Marco Rubio said it too, also on Fox: “Our job is to execute on the president’s orders... the decision is the president’s.” This talking point is clearly a pattern. Though it’s never been an acceptable excuse for those who know history…
Tankers Burning, Planes Evacuated, and a New Missile Base
Here’s the “victory” Hegseth was bragging about:
In the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s IRGC Navy claims two oil tankers caught fire trying to cross, one after hitting a naval mine and a second, allegedly escorted by U.S. fighter jets, after an explosion.
The Wall Street Journal says the U.S. pulled 10 KC-135 refueling aircraft out of the British base RAF Mildenhall Monday after an Iranian threat deemed credible. A source says U.S. intelligence has picked up “varied, extensive, and specific” Iranian plots, from drone attacks on bases to assassination plots, including some targeting the United States itself.
Iran unveiled a new underground missile facility in front of its top military brass.
The Financial Times reports that Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has been calling Trump “every day” to push for new strikes.
Meanwhile, Rubio told reporters in Paris that the economic campaign is working so well that Trump doesn’t need major combat operations. Asked why a stalemate benefits the U.S., he insisted it isn’t one. It’s worse than a stalemate, because Iran is winning. Rubio also said Iran would love a deal but its conditions are “absurd,” adding, “Eventually, you have to eat.” He also blamed every conflict in the Middle East on Iran and said Lebanon is “none of their business,” as if the U.S. and Netanyahu’s government bear no responsibility for anything in the region.
Kushner Vouches for Putin
Jared Kushner, at talks in Abu Dhabi with Russian, Ukrainian, and Emirati officials, said he and Steve Witkoff believe “very strongly” that Putin is ready for peace “under the right conditions.” We know Putin’s conditions. He wants Ukraine.
On the same day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow “will not agree to another truce, another ceasefire,” and accused Europe of trying to buy time for “the Kyiv regime.”
Inflation Runs HOT, and the Annual Number…Disappears
Before the October CPI release, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the report would have no year-over-year figures, blaming missing data from the October 2025 shutdown. They can blame the shutdown all they want, but we all know the real reason they won’t publish it. The BLS table shows gasoline alone up 37.4% over the past year.
The numbers:
Headline CPI: +0.4% for the month, above the +0.3% expected
Core CPI: +0.3%, above the +0.2% expected
Food: +0.5%, with eating out +0.5%
Energy: +0.7%, with electricity +0.9% and fuel oil +2.0%
Transportation services: +0.8%
Economist Heather Long says this implies roughly 4% inflation over the past year, which wipes out wage gains of 3.1%. That’s the seventh straight month of that squeeze. Gas hit its highest price ever on Election Day. No wonder Americans voted the way they did.
Even Mr. Creepy Smiles, Kevin Hassett, who goes on Fox Business to spin every bad number, called it “a disappointing report” and admitted things have accelerated over the last three months.
Then Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan said the Fed needs at least two more quarter-point hikes and may need to move faster this winter. She said inflation has been above the Fed’s 2% target for nearly six years.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) says the GOP’s problem is that “our messaging stinks” because they talked about appliances and toilet flushing while people were hurting. That has been one of Trump’s main messages for the past 10 years.
Democrats Are Preparing for Oversight
Interior records: CNN’s Sunlen Serfaty and Annie Grayer report that multiple whistleblowers told the House Natural Resources Committee that Interior has been DESTROYING records on Trump’s D.C. construction projects ahead of the Democratic takeover. Rep. Jared Huffman, the incoming chairman, is sending preservation letters to Interior, the Park Service, BLM, USDA and donors like Lockheed Martin and John Deere. Interior calls the claims “100% false.” Huffman says “it’s all coming,” with a hearing on the East Potomac golf course and Trump’s triumphal arch expected early next year. At the same time, the Trump regime is racing to push those projects through in the next 60 days.
FIFA: The Telegraph’s Tom Morgan and Connor Stringer report that FIFA boss Gianni Infantino could face subpoenas as early as January, once Jamie Raskin chairs House Judiciary. The probe covers FIFA’s efforts to court Trump, Infantino’s request for help with a work permit for his Miami maid, and talks to sell World Cup rights to a company owned by Joshua Kushner, Jared’s brother. A source called it a “distinct possibility” the Kushners are asked to testify. FIFA denies wrongdoing.
Alaska: Trump is posting that Dan Sullivan won and that votes for a “fake Dan Sullivan” should go to the real one. Meanwhile, in the latest ballot drop, Mary Peltola won about 68% to 30%, and she may clear 50% without needing ranked choice.
That’s it for now. There is a whole lot more to come. If you haven’t picked up WTF America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy, it’s been on the New York Times bestseller list two weeks in a row. Let’s keep it there. Thank you all, and we’ll see you soon!
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