Senate Absences
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) went out on paternity leave and still hit more than 85% of Senate votes this year, Bloomberg data shows. Still, that’s a low attendance grade.
He’s at the top of the chamber’s absentee list, ahead of Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — who voted 88% of the time — and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), present for more than 91% of votes to end up with the third-worst attendance of the year.
Lillianna Byington reports that there were 659 roll call votes in 2025 — the second most in history, topped only by the Senate’s 1976 tally — with three GOP senators logging perfect attendance and more coming close.
In the 100% club: Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), who owns the longest voting streak in Senate history without missing a vote since she joined Congress in 1997, plus newcomer Ohio Sens. Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) made it all the way to last week before missing a vote to be at Dover Air Force Base for the arrival of the remains of two fallen Iowa National Guard members. Read More
More Epstein Files
President Donald Trump said he believed “people are very angry that pictures are being released” that connect them to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- “People that really had nothing to do with Epstein, but they’re in a picture with him because he was in a party, and you ruin a reputation of somebody,” Trump said Monday. “So a lot of people are very angry that this continues.”
Trump said he hated to see former President Bill Clinton, who appeared frequently in the initial document release, being tarnished by the association, describing the situation as “terrible.” Read More
The Justice Department released additional files overnight that included wide-ranging references to Trump, after being criticized for including few Trump-related documents in its first release of files, the Washington Post reports. The documents were available for several hours into Monday evening, but were removed around 8 p.m.
Another Washington Norm Shattered
Trump announced the Navy will build a new class of warship called the “Trump-class.”
- “The U.S. Navy will lead the design of these ships along with me, because I’m a very aesthetic person,” Trump said.
The move is a departure from precise naming conventions for America’s military seapower which historically only named ships posthumously. Though, as Jen Judson and Courtney Subramanian note, it’s part of a trend. Trump already linked himself to the F-47 stealth, a nod to his place as the 47th president.
Plus, there’s the the newly anointed Donald J. Trump and the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts and the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace. Trump is being sued for adding his name to the Kennedy Center without approval from Congress by Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), who accused Trump and his appointees to the center’s board of “willfully flouting the law to satisfy defendant Trump’s vanity.” Read More
Brown Faces Security Investigation
The Education Department will investigate Brown University after this month’s campus shooting to determine whether the school violated the Clery Act, a 1990 law that requires colleges to uphold certain safety and security standards. If a school is found to have violated the act, it could be subject to fines or suspended from accessing federal aid.
The department said reporting in the wake of the incident showed that Brown’s surveillance and security systems may not have met adequate standards, allowing the suspect to escape. It also said Brown students and staff reported that emergency notifications about the active shooter were delayed.
Brown President Christina Paxson on Monday evening announced that the school would install more cameras and “panic alarms.” The school is also commissioning external reviews of its handling of campus safety. The university is placing its vice president for public safety and emergency management, Rodney Chatman, on administrative leave effective immediately, Paxson added. Read More
Trump Rerouting Trillions in Capital
In the first year of his second administration, Trump and his advisers have moved with uncommon speed to alter the flow of money in the US.
Investors got the message. Pipeline projects were revived and renewable-energy projects canceled. The dollar wheezed under the prospect of tariffs. And as the president settled into his second term, even more weighty shifts began taking shape.
Several areas — including banking, crypto, and energy — are experiencing direct changes that will reroute potentially trillions of dollars in capital. Together, they form a rare early-term inflection point: an administration not just influencing capital, but actively steering where it goes. Read More
Shaping the Judiciary
Checking the receipts on the first year of Trump’s second term, Tiana Headley found that 26 of his judicial choices are now on the federal bench, compared with the 17 confirmed at the start of his first term.
One noticeable difference: this year’s cohort skews younger than Trump’s first-term nominees. The average and median age of Trump’s lower court nominees last time was 48, according to George Washington law professor John P. Collins. Roughly half of the 33 nominees who had confirmation hearings this year were 44 or younger. Read More
Eye on the Economy
We’ll get a few more clues about the health of the economy today when the government catches up on a big data release that was delayed by the shutdown.
It’s a measurement of third-quarter GDP — the total value of what the US economy produced from July through September.
The Federal Reserve watches the GDP in the course of considering when and how to change interest rates, so that’s a number that economists, bankers, and investors have been waiting for.
Before You Go
Ellison’s Pledge to Backstop Paramount Bid Would Reshape Fortune
IRS Is Unprepared for Upcoming Tax Filing Season, Senators Warn
Taxpayers will likely face delays in getting their tax refunds due to the Trump administration’s IRS workforce cuts and the added pressure to implement Republicans’ mega tax law, over a dozen senators in the minority wrote to Treasury officials Sunday.
Elon Musk Demanded Tesla’s Electric Doors Despite Safety Worries
As regulators on three continents scrutinize the safety of electrically powered car doors out of concern some designs can fail, locking out owners or trapping occupants inside,
US Weighs Conference to Rebuild Gaza in Fresh Ceasefire Push
The US and its allies are renewing their push to hold a conference on Gaza reconstruction, people familiar with the matter said, as the Trump administration looks to inject fresh momentum into a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after a string of setbacks.
Heritage Staffers Exit for Mike Pence Group in Intra-GOP Dustup
A slew of Heritage Foundation staffers departed for a conservative group founded by ex-Vice President Mike Pence after ongoing strife at the MAGA institution.
Trump Phone Calls, Don Jr. Backing Aided Lumbee Tribe’s Lobbying
The president worked phones, a senator threatened to jam up his chamber, and a new player in lobbying blitzed the capital to win recognition for the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina.
USDA Lost a Third of DC Staff Even Before Relocation Effort
About a third of the US Department of Agriculture’s employees in the Washington area left the agency from January to June, as the Trump administration sought to aggressively trim what it sees as excessive government spending.
Interior to Spend Holidays Studying Refuges for Possible Closure
Congress will have to approve any Interior Department plans to abolish national wildlife refuges as staff members spend the next few weeks completing a review the US Fish and Wildlife Service has ordered, environmental lawyers say.
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