Good Thursday evening. In this edition: Trump threatens Democratic lawmakers, accusing them of "seditious behavior"; and Washington remembers Cheney at funeral service.
Plus, Cherfilus-McCormick, FBI phone records, Epstein files, education, National Guard, jobs reports, "piggy," Mills and Velazquez.
Trump Threat
President Trump called for the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who urged members of the U.S. military and intelligence community to refuse unlawful orders, describing it as "seditious behavior" that could be "punishable by death."
"It's called SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL. Each one of these traitors to our Country should be ARRESTED AND PUT ON TRIAL. Their words cannot be allowed to stand - We won't have a Country anymore!!! An example MUST BE SET," he said in a string of posts on Truth Social.
The Democratic lawmakers targeted in the president's posts — Sens. Mark Kelly (AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (MI), and Reps. Jason Crow (CO), Chrissy Houlahan (PA), Maggie Goodlander (NH) and Chris Deluzio (PA) — all previously served in the military or worked in national security.
"Americans trust their military. But that trust is at risk. This administration is pitting our uniformed military and intelligence community professionals against American citizens," they said in a video posted Tuesday.
"Like us, you all swore an oath to protect and defend this Constitution. Right now, the threats to our Constitution aren't just coming from abroad, but from right here at home. Our laws are clear: you can refuse illegal orders."
It's unclear which specific orders the Democrats were referring to, but lawmakers have reportedly been hearing concerns from service members about the legality of recent strikes on boats accused of trafficking narcotics.
The Uniform Code of Military Justice holds that service members must obey lawful orders, whether they agree with them or not, but that they are obligated to not follow "manifestly unlawful orders."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged Republicans and Democrats alike to condemn the president's comments.
"The president of the United States is calling for the execution of elected officials. This is an outright threat and it's deadly serious," he said on the Senate floor.
"When Donald Trump uses the language of execution and treason, some of his supporters may very well listen. He is lighting a match in a country soaked with political gasoline."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the president's remarks, but also said he did not want to see the lawmakers "executed."
"Many in this room want to talk about the president's response, but not what brought the president to responding in this way," she told reporters at a briefing.
"To suggest and encourage that active-duty service members defy the chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do. And they should be held accountable. And that's what the president wants to see."
The targeted lawmakers responded in a joint statement, saying they swore a lifetime oath to the Constitution and that "no threat, intimidation, or call for violence" would deter them from that "sacred obligation."
"What's most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty," they wrote.
"Every American must unite and condemn the President’s calls for our murder and political violence. This is a time for moral clarity."
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) took no issue with the president's comments and called the lawmakers' remarks "wildly inappropriate."
"It is very dangerous. You have leading members of Congress telling troops to disobey orders. I think that's unprecedented in American history," he said.
Asked whether the remarks were "punishable by death," he said, "I'm going to let others define what it is."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said he disagreed with the lawmakers' comments, but that he didn't support the punishment floated by the president.
"What those folks did was ill-advised, unnecessary and clearly provocative," he told a reporter. "But I certainly don't agree with the president's conclusion on how we ought to handle it."
Former presidents, vice presidents, lawmakers and other dignitaries gathered at Washington National Cathedral to remember the life of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Mr. Cheney, one of the most influential and controversial vice presidents in American history best known for shaping the U.S. War on Terror, died Nov. 3 at the age of 84.
Former President George W. Bush praised his vice president as a leader "totally devoted to protecting the United States and its interests."
"There was never any agenda or angle beyond that," he said in a tribute. "You did not know Dick Cheney unless you understood his greatest concerns and ambitions were for his country."
He also reflected on how he chose Mr. Cheney, a former Defense secretary and White House chief of staff, to serve as his running mate.
"We talked over the various qualities I was looking for in a vice president: preparedness, mature judgment, rectitude and loyalty. Above all, I wanted someone with the ability to step into the presidency without getting distracted by the ambition to seek it," he said.
"After weeks of these meetings, I began to have a thought I could not shake. I realized the best choice for vice president was the man sitting right in front of me."
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) remembered her late father as a public servant who always put country above party.
"He knew the bonds of party must always yield to the single bond we share as Americans. For him, a choice between defense of the Constitution and defense of your political party was no choice at all," she said.
Though a lifelong conservative, Mr. Cheney became an outspoken critic of President Trump and voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.
President Trump and Vice President JD Vance were not invited to the funeral.
All other living former vice presidents, including President Biden, Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, Al Gore and Dan Quayle, were in attendance.
Additional tributes came from former NBC News reporter and Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams, Mr. Cheney's longtime cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner and several of his grandchildren.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) was indicted Wednesday night on charges of stealing federal disaster relief funds and using the money to support her congressional campaign. The congresswoman called it "an unjust, baseless, sham indictment" and insisted she is innocent. "The timing alone is curious and clearly meant to distract from far more pressing national issues," she said in a statement. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said she was entitled to the presumption of innocence and would have her day in court.
Tensions flared in the Senate over a provision included in the government funding bill that would allow GOP senators to sue to the Justice Department for potentially millions of dollars for their phone records being seized as part of the Jan. 6 probe. The House unanimously approved a bill Wednesday night to repeal the provision that was tucked into the legislation without most lawmakers' knowledge. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) sought unanimous consent to approve the House bill but was blocked by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who said he and others swept up in the probe deserved a "remedy" for those "wrongs."
President Trumpsigned the Epstein files release bill into law on Wednesday night after it won near-unanimous approval in both chambers of Congress. "Perhaps the truth about these Democrats, and their associations with Jeffrey Epstein, will soon be revealed, because I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!," he said on social media. Attorney General Pam Bondisaid earlier in the day that the DOJ intends to comply with the law, but it remains unclear if she could cite a newly ordered investigation into potential ties between Mr. Epstein and prominent Democrats as grounds to withhold some documents.
Education Secretary Linda McMahonsaid the administration's moves to wind down operations at the Education Department were aimed at giving states and localities more control. "We're not ending federal support for education. We are ending federal micromanagement," she said at a briefing. The department announced six interagency agreements this week to shift certain responsibilities to other agencies, part of what the secretary called a broader "hard reset" intended to "reverse our national decline."
A federal judgeordered the Trump administration to end its monthslong National Guard deployment in Washington, DC, siding with DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, who argued the deployment exceeded the president's legal authority. The judge put her ruling on pause for 21 days to allow the administration to appeal. The White House blasted the ruling, calling it "nothing more than another attempt — at the detriment of DC residents — to undermine the President's highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC."
The September jobs report, delayed due to the government shutdown, was released Thursday, showing the U.S. economy added 119,000 jobs in the month, up from the 4,000 jobs lost in August following a downward revision, while the unemployment rate edged up to a four-year high of 4.4%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said employment data from October and November would be released simultaneously on Dec. 16.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavittdefended President Trump's remark calling a female reporter "piggy" aboard Air Force One last weekend. "I think the president being frank and open and honest to your faces rather than hiding behind your backs is frankly a lot more respectful than what you saw in the last administration, where you had a president who lied to your face," she said.
The Housevoted310–103 on Wednesday night to refer Rep. Nancy Mace's (R-SC) censure resolution against Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) to the House Ethics Committee, which hours earlier announced an investigation into allegations he broke campaign finance laws and engaged in sexual misconduct and dating violence. "You're a disgrace," Rep. Mace said to Rep. Mills during the floor vote.
Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), who was first elected to Congress in 1992, announced she will not seek reelection in 2026. "Serving the people of New York City for over three decades has been the honor of my life," the 72-year-old said in a statement. "Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey, nothing I have accomplished would have been possible without your support."
For your radar…
President Trump meets with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office on Friday. The timing of the meeting is unclear.
%20as%20of%207-11-25.jpg?upscale=true&width=1040&upscale=true&name=Hubspot%20Newsletter%20AffiliateBanner%20(600x488)%20as%20of%207-11-25.jpg)
