Story
Trump Blows Up the Shutdown Deal at the Worst Possible Time
Trump torpedoed a bipartisan funding plan days before a shutdown deadline, forcing Republicans back into a scramble and putting holiday chaos on the table.
Edition · December 18, 2024
Trump Blows Up the Shutdown Deal
On December 18, 2024, the president-elect yanked Republicans back from a bipartisan funding agreement and shoved Congress toward a holiday shutdown mess.
December 18 brought a classic Trump-world self-inflicted wound: after Republicans had lined up a stopgap funding deal, Trump abruptly blew it up with fresh demands that made a shutdown more likely and put House Speaker Mike Johnson on the defensive. The move was vintage Trump—late, maximalist, and indifferent to the collateral damage for Congress, federal workers, and the party trying to pretend it has a plan.
Closing take
The through-line here is simple: when Trump wants to prove he’s still the center of gravity, he often makes himself the main source of chaos. That may thrill the hardliners for a news cycle. It also leaves everyone else to clean up the mess.
Ranked by how bad the fuckup was
5 stars means maximum fallout. 1 star means a smaller self-own.
Story
Trump’s Hush Money Appeal Grabs for a Juror-Misconduct Lifeline
Trump’s lawyers tried a new bid to undo the hush-money conviction, alleging juror misconduct in a move prosecutors dismissed as unsupported and desperate.