Monday, February 2, 2026

In this episode: The partial federal government shutdown entered its third day after funding lapsed Saturday morning, and the House still doesn’t have the votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill to reopen agencies; attorneys representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein asked two federal judges to order the Justice Department to take down its Epstein-files website, saying the release exposed victims’ names and other identifying details and created an “unfolding emergency”; the Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti; Fulton County, Georgia, plans to sue the FBI and the Justice Department over a search warrant that county officials said resulted in the seizure of 2020 election records; Trump called on Republicans to “nationalize the voting” and seize control of election administration from states; and 44% of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapprove.

Read more: Day 1840: "An unfolding emergency."

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Thursday, January 29, 2026

In this episode: Trump and Senate Democrats said they reached a tentative agreement to fund most federal agencies through Sept. 30 while splitting Department of Homeland Security funding from the broader government spending package; earlier in the day, Senate Democrats blocked a six-bill spending package from advancing, demanding new limits on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis; Trump’s border czar said federal agencies were drafting a plan to “draw down” the roughly 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol officers deployed to Minnesota under Operation Metro Surge; Trump held a White House Cabinet meeting, but didn’t call on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Attorney General Pam Bondi, and he ended the session without taking reporters’ questions; and 37% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40% in the fall.

Read more: Day 1836: "Moment of truth."

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Wednesday, January 28, 2026

In this episode: FBI agents executed a search warrant at Fulton County’s election facility near Atlanta, seeking records related to the 2020 election; Senate Democrats demanded new restrictions on ICE in any deal to avert a partial U.S. government shutdown; Trump’s domestic National Guard deployments are costing taxpayers about $93 million a month; the two federal officers who fired guns during the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis were placed on administrative leave; Rep. Ilhan Omar was attacked at a Minneapolis town hall when a man approached the lectern and used a syringe to spray her with an unknown liquid; the Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%, defying pressure from Trump and pausing after three consecutive quarter-point cuts; Trump warned that a “massive Armada” led was heading toward Iran and threatened another U.S. attack if Tehran did not “make a deal” on its nuclear program; and a record 45% of Americans identified as political independents in 2025.

Read more: Day 1835: "More relaxed."

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Tuesday, January 27, 2026

In this episode: Trump said he’ll be “watching over” an “honest investigation” into the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis before blaming Pretti for carrying a gun he was legally permitted to have; House Democrats threatened to begin impeachment proceedings against Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem if Trump doesn’t fire her; Stephen Miller reportedly directed Noem to publicly claim that Alex Pretti wanted to “massacre” immigration agents after he was shot and killed in Minneapolis; Trump’s immigration policies coincided with a year-to-year drop in U.S. population growth; and U.S. consumer confidence fell in January to its lowest level since 2014 as Americans grew more pessimistic about the economy and the job market.

Read more: Day 1834: "A very good job."

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Monday, January 26, 2026

In this episode: Trump agreed to “look into reducing the number of federal agents in Minnesota” after a Border Patrol agent killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse and U.S. citizen; Trump sent border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota to oversee ICE operations; Senate Democrats threatened to block the House-passed funding package unless Republicans strip out the Department of Homeland Security bill; the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel said polio, measles, and possibly all shots should be optional; and the American Academy of Pediatrics told parents to ignore the CDC’s revised federal guidance and instead follow its full childhood vaccine schedule.

Read more: Day 1833: "Productive."

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Thursday, January 22, 2026

In this episode: An internal ICE memo signed by acting director Todd Lyons authorized immigration officers to forcibly enter a person’s home to arrest someone with a final order of removal using only an administrative warrant; House Democrats helped Republicans pass a Homeland Security funding bill that includes $10 billion for ICE; JD Vance said Minneapolis would be "less chaotic" if state and local officials would "cooperate" with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement; the Trump administration ordered most federal agencies to review funding sent to 14 Democratic-led states and Washington, D.C.; no written documentation memorializing Trump’s verbal "framework" deal with NATO about Greenland exists; Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon for $5 billion; Former special counsel Jack Smith testified publicly before the House Judiciary Committee, saying his investigation produced “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump “engaged in criminal activity” and that “no one should be above the law in our country”; 49% of voters say the country is worse off than a year ago and 56% disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance; and Trump said he’s expanding his defamation lawsuit against the New York Times after an unfavorable public opinion poll.

Read more: Day 1829: "Exploit the violence."

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Wednesday, January 21, 2026

In this episode: Trump said he would drop planned tariffs on eight European countries, claiming he had “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland and Arctic security; Trump said “Canada lives because of the United States” after Prime Minister Mark Carney argued at Davos that the U.S.-led “rules-based order” bargain “no longer works” and that “we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”; Congress released a bipartisan funding package to keep most of the federal government open ahead of a Jan. 30 shutdown deadline; House Democrats said they’ll oppose a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security; and the Department of Homeland Security launched “Operation Catch of the Day” and started arresting immigrants in Maine.

Read more: Day 1828: "In the midst of a rupture."

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Tuesday, January 20, 2026

In this episode: Global markets fell sharply after Trump threatened 10% tariffs on imports from Denmark and seven other European countries if they refuse to support his effort to acquire Greenland; Trump said he was confident the U.S. would acquire Greenland and declined to set any limits on his approach, saying "You’ll find out"; Trump, in a text message to the Norwegian prime minister, wrote that losing the Nobel Peace Prize made him feel less obligated to “think purely of Peace”; federal prosecutors served grand jury subpoenas to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, and at least three other Democratic officials; the Justice Department said it discovered evidence suggesting members of DOGE improperly accessed and shared Social Security data with a political advocacy group seeking to overturn election results in certain states; and 58% of Americans call the first year of his second term a failure.

Read more: Day 1827: "The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control."

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Thursday, January 15, 2026

In this episode: Trump threatened to “institute the INSURRECTION ACT” after an ICE officer shot a Venezuelan man in the leg during an arrest; Trump delayed a decision on U.S. strikes on Iran after senior advisers warned him that even a large-scale attack was unlikely to topple the regime and risked wider regional retaliation; María Corina Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize for peaceful pro-democracy activism weeks after Trump ordered military raid that captured Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro; several NATO allies began deploying small numbers of troops to Greenland after U.S. talks resulted in a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland’s future; Trump announced what he called “The Great Healthcare Plan” and urged Congress to “pass this framework into law without delay,” but the White House released only a high-level outline with no legislative text, no cost estimates, no eligibility rules, no enforcement mechanisms, and no timeline for implementation; and more than half of the 24 members of Congress who are 80 or older have decided to run again.

Read more: Day 1822: "Turn the temperature down."

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Wednesday, January 14, 2026

In this episode: FBI agents searched the Virginia home of a Washington Post reporter; Denmark said it still had a “fundamental disagreement” with the Trump administration over Greenland; the Pentagon began evacuating nonessential personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a precaution while Trump weighs possible military strikes over Iran’s crackdown on protests; the State Department said it will indefinitely pause immigrant visa processing for people from 75 countries; Trump gave an autoworker who called him a "pedophile protector" the middle finger and twice mouthed “fuck you” while touring a Ford plant in Michigan; and 2025 was the third-warmest on record, and the past 11 years have been the 11 warmest.

Read more: Day 1821: "Definitely no regrets whatsoever."

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