Good afternoon, everyone. If I told you that members of Congress have worked just 20 business days in the last 112, what would you say? Probably that it sounds impossible, but it’s true. And now, Speaker Mike Johnson is going so far as to demand that Adelita Grijalva “serve her constituents” before he swears her in, even though she doesn’t have constituents until that happens.
Meanwhile, a senior Trump appointee was just caught calling himself a Nazi. Just another day in American politics.
I’ll be honest, after a nonstop weekend covering No Kings Day, I’m running on fumes. So this will be my last update of the night. If you’re reading this, take that as your cue: it’s okay to rest. The work will still be here tomorrow.
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With that, here’s what you missed:
Since July 4, the House has met for only 20 business days over 16 weeks, after Republicans stopped updating their legislative calendar in July; Oct. 27–30 is still listed as TBD. That means, in 112, the House of Representatives, which are paid more than $170,000 per year, only worked 20 days. This is an updated calendar from Jamie Dupree (note that the yellow highlights are days the House is working under Mike Johnson):
House Speaker Mike Johnson defended his refusal to swear in Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva, saying, “Instead of doing TikTok videos, she should be serving her constituents.”
As the U.S. government shutdown entered its 20th day—now one of the longest in history—Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene broke with GOP leadership, urging Speaker Mike Johnson to reconvene the House immediately, criticizing his decision to keep Congress out of session while the shutdown deepens and federal furloughs expand.
POLITICO reported that Paul Ingrassia, Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, sent racist and antisemitic texts—including calling Martin Luther King Jr. Day “hell-worthy,” saying he has “a Nazi streak,” and making slurs against Black and Asian people—while his lawyer dismissed the messages as possible fabrications or “satirical humor.”
A divided 9th Circuit panel (2 Trump appointees, 1 Clinton appointee) ruled 2–1 to allow Trump to deploy the Oregon National Guard to protect a Portland ICE facility pending litigation, while keeping the Texas Guard deployment blocked.
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield warned the U.S. is “on a dangerous path” after a divided 9th Circuit panel lifted a block on Trump’s deployment of the Oregon National Guard, saying the ruling gives Trump “unilateral power to put Oregon soldiers on our streets with almost no justification.”
One of the judges on the panel issued a stern warning for the future of Trump’s deployment of the military:
James Comey moved to dismiss the federal charges against him, arguing they stem from Donald Trump’s personal vendetta and an unlawful prosecution, claiming Trump directed the case in retaliation for Comey’s criticism and that the interim U.S. attorney who brought the indictment was improperly appointed.
Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir Nobody’s Girl alleges that Prince Andrew’s team tried to hire “internet trolls” to harass her and that he hid at Balmoral Castle to avoid being served court papers; the book details their 2022 settlement, her abuse claims, and new allegations that Andrew sought personal data on her for a smear campaign now under police review.
Police arrested Billy Joe Cagle inside Atlanta’s airport after his family warned he planned to “shoot it up”; though unarmed at arrest, officers found an AR-15 in his car, and he now faces multiple felony charges, which officials called a “tragedy averted.”
A federal judge in Chicago demanded explanations from immigration officials after reports that agents continued using tear gas on protesters and journalists despite a court order banning it, questioning DHS and CBP over potential violations amid escalating clashes tied to Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” immigration crackdown.
A New York jury convicted former prison guard David Kingsley of murder and manslaughter for the fatal beating of handcuffed inmate Robert Brooks at Marcy Correctional Facility, while two other guards were acquitted; five others had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2023 incident captured on body camera footage.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued criminal subpoenas to Roblox, accusing the platform of being a “breeding ground for predators” and failing to protect children, as part of a widening investigation into child safety that follows similar lawsuits from Louisiana and California.
Colombia recalled its U.S. ambassador after President Gustavo Petro accused Washington of “murdering” a Colombian fisherman in a U.S. strike on a Caribbean boat, prompting Donald Trump to call Petro an “illegal drug dealer” and threaten tariffs and aid cuts—sparking the worst diplomatic rupture in decades and casting doubt on U.S.–Colombia security cooperation.
President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese signed a rare earth minerals agreement at the White House, pledging over $3 billion in joint investment to strengthen critical mineral supply chains amid U.S.–China trade tensions, while also discussing defense, AUKUS, and Indo-Pacific security.
Authorities confirmed that remains found at an abandoned Philadelphia school belong to 23-year-old Kada Scott, missing since Oct. 4; suspect Keon King, already charged with kidnapping and related crimes, is expected to face additional charges after new evidence and video linked him to moving Scott’s body and burning a stolen vehicle.
NASA’s interim chief Sean Duffy said the agency will open new contracts for its Artemis moon program as SpaceX falls behind schedule, citing delays in Elon Musk’s Starship project and emphasizing the need to “win the second space race against China” by accelerating crewed lunar missions to early 2026.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit London for talks with allies ahead of a planned Trump-Putin summit in Budapest, seeking new security guarantees after Trump reportedly urged him to accept Russia’s terms to end the war and refused Kyiv’s request for U.S. Tomahawk missiles, deepening European concern over Ukraine’s exclusion from peace negotiations.
See you in the morning.
— Aaron
