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2:15 PM ET, December 17, 2025

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
Republicans are quiet quitting on Trump  —  The White House chief of staff says the president has “an alcoholic's personality”  —  Donald Trump is worried that Republicans aren't as afraid of him as they used to be.  Despite his self-billing as a dealmaker, the president has only ever had one tool to control his party: fear.
Discussion: Raw Story, Axios, Vanity Fair and The Wrap
RELATED:
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Jack Smith makes his case against Trump in closed-door deposition … He maintained that this team found evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”
Justin Glawe / Public Notice:
2025 was a political disaster for MAGA  —  🎄🎄🎄 PN HOLIDAY SPECIAL 🎄🎄🎄 Click the button below to sign up for an annual paid subscription for the special price of $40 ⬇️  —  🎅 PN Holiday Special Offer 🎅
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
The Man Who Rules the Country Presides Over Nothing
Discussion: Talking Points Memo
John Dowd / MS NOW:
I was Donald Trump's lawyer. Jack Smith should be celebrated, not vilified.
Discussion: Politico, Washington Times and CNN
Tim Hanrahan / Wall Street Journal:
GOP Lawmaker Who Backed Trump Impeachment to Quit Congress
Kevin Freking / Associated Press:
Republicans defy Speaker Johnson to force House vote on extending ACA subsidies  —  Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vole on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy …
RELATED:
Axios:
House Republicans help Democrats defy Johnson on ACA in stunning revolt  —  Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) signed Democrats' discharge petition Wednesday to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies — a pointed rebuke of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
GOP Reps. Fitzpatrick and Lawler join Democrats' Obamacare discharge petition
NBC News:
Centrist Republicans revolt, signing a petition to force a vote on Obamacare funding
Carol Leonnig / MS NOW:
FBI's No. 2 quietly tells colleagues he's moving on  —  Speculation and anticipation have gripped the nation's premier law enforcement agency over the future of one of its top leaders, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.  —  Bongino has quietly told confidants he plans to formally leave …
Joey Garrison / USA Today:
Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado  —  WASHINGTON ‒ The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.
RELATED:
New York Times:
National Center for Atmospheric Research to Be Dismantled, Trump Administration Says  —  Russell Vought, the White House budget director, called the laboratory a source of “climate alarmism.”  —  The Trump administration said it will be dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado …
Discussion: The Hill and The Colorado Sun
Ron Dicker / HuffPost:
Senator Reaches Damning Conclusions After Classified Briefing With Hegseth, Rubio  —  Sen. Chris Murphy trashed a meeting with the Cabinet duo about the Trump administration's boat bombings.  —  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said a classified meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …
RELATED:
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
December 16, 2025  —  While President Donald J. Trump was gloating over the horrific murders …
New York Times:
Trump Dangles Cash Payments to Buoy Voters' Views of the Economy  —  With tariffs unpopular and prices still high, the White House has teased the promise of tariff rebates and large tax refunds next year.  —  Tariffs are unpopular, prices remain stubbornly high and Americans are souring on President Trump's handling of the economy.
RELATED:
Reuters:
They prosecuted the Capitol rioters.  Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them.  —  After Trump's mass pardons of the U.S. Capitol rioters, some have gained influence inside the Justice Department, meeting with officials to push for prosecutions of the federal lawyers who once helped convict them, Reuters found.
RELATED:
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:   Unprecedented errors are eroding the credibility of Trump's Justice Department
RELATED:
Philip Bump / MS NOW:
Trump and Vance give the economy high marks — the numbers say otherwise
Discussion: Cafe Hayek and New York Times
ProPublica:
Inside the Trump Administration's Man-Made Hunger Crisis  —  On July 18, a mild, overcast night in Nairobi, Kenya, a team of President Donald Trump's top foreign aid advisers ducked into a meeting room at the Tribe Hotel, their luxury accommodations in the city's diplomatic quarter, for a private dinner.
New York Times:
Harvard Secretly Investigates Students Over Larry Summers Video on Epstein  —  The students face discipline for recording Mr. Summers, the former Harvard president, discussing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in a Harvard class.  —  Harvard officials have opened a secret disciplinary investigation …
Discussion: Salon and IJR
Vivek Ramaswamy / New York Times:
What Is an American?  —  There are two competing visions now emerging on the American right, and they are incompatible.  One vision of American identity is based on lineage, blood and soil: Inherited attributes matter most.  The purest form of an American is a so-called heritage American …
Jenny Goldsberry / Washington Examiner:
Trump allies promote Melania documentary  —  The release of the trailer for the documentary Melania on Wednesday was met with excitement from friends of the Trump family.  —  First lady Melania Trump shared the trailer on X, and it received over 1.6 million views in the first three hours.
The New York Editorial Board:
John Catsimatidis on Donald Trump, Immigration, and New York Republicans  —  John Catsimatidis — a businessman, Republican, political donor, radio host and station owner, 2013 candidate for New York City mayor, Donald Trump ally, and (former) Curtis Sliwa employer — spoke with The New York Editorial Board …
John Podhoretz / Commentary Magazine:
Norman Podhoretz, 1930-2025  —  My father died tonight, December 16, a month shy of his 96th birthday.  Norman Podhoretz passed peacefully and without pain, with a new translation of The Odyssey on his desk that had been sent to him by his friend Roger Hertog.
Marist Poll:
2026 Economic Outlook, December 2025  —  More Than Six in Ten Say Economy is Not Working for Them Personally.... Economic Pessimism for 2026 Widespread  —  Americans have serious concerns about the economy and how these larger economic forces will influence their personal finances in 2026.
Politico:
Appeals court clears way for Trump to keep National Guard on DC streets … In particular, the judges said it would be “constitutionally troubling” for the president to borrow National Guard troops from one state to conduct law enforcement missions in another “non-consenting” state.
Claire Thornton / The Boston Globe:
Faneuil Hall immigrant oath ceremonies were canceled due to ‘hateful’ Trump policies, Boston mayor says  —  Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on Tuesday condemned federal immigration authorities for turning people away earlier this month as they were preparing to take their citizenship oaths.
Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money
Victoria Craw / Washington Post:
Marjorie Taylor Greene says ‘dam is breaking’ within GOP against Trump  —  In a CNN interview, the Georgia congresswoman said Trump's reaction to the death of Rob Reiner was “classless” and she didn't see the GOP winning in the midterms. … Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) …
David Gilbert / Wired:
The Most Powerful Politics Influencers Barely Post About Politics  —  New research shows that social media creators have enormous influence over their audiences' politics—especially those who don't normally share political content.  —  Donald Trump's appearances on the podcasts of Joe Rogan and Theo Von …
Dahlia Lithwick / Slate:
Why Are Democrats So Afraid to Even Mention the Source of Trump's Political Power? … Discussions of race are everywhere and nowhere in 2025.  On one hand, President Donald Trump is openly insulting Somali immigrants, describing entire nations as “shithole” countries, and insisting …
Discussion: Raw Story
 
 
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 More Items: 
Sophie Bates / Associated Press:
Young Democrat launches primary challenge against U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson in Mississippi
Discussion: Mississippi Free Press and NOTUS
Axios:
FCC chair suggests agency isn't independent, word cut from mission statement
Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
DHS fast-tracked $1 billion contract to pro-Trump donor's company
Discussion: The Intellectualist
Washington Post:
Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts
 Earlier Items: 
Matt Sepic / MPR News:
Judge frees couple charged with ‘kidnapping’ immigration agent as defense challenges government's account
Brett Samuels / The Hill:
Trump: Cost of new ballroom may reach $400M
Bloomberg:
A New Way to Understand America's Congressional Doom Loop
Discussion: al.com
Christopher F. Rufo:
How the Media Shape Our Thinking
Johnny Ryan / The Guardian:
This is Europe's secret weapon against Trump: it could burst his AI bubble
Discussion: Politico
Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:
Republicans push mail-in voting for the midterms in defiance of Trump
Discussion: Axios, Raw Story and The Federalist
Wall Street Journal:
The Final Hours and Shocking End to Rob and Michele Reiner's Efforts to Save Their Son
 

 
From Techmeme:

Tulsee Doshi / The Keyword:
Gemini 3 Flash costs $0.50 per 1M input tokens and $3 per 1M output tokens, vs. Gemini 2.5 Flash's $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens

Financial Times:
Sources: Blue Owl Capital won't back Oracle's planned $10B, 1GW data center in Michigan, after funding talks stalled due to concerns over debt terms and delays

Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer:
Pornhub is being extorted by ShinyHunters after the search and watch history of its Premium members was reportedly stolen in a recent Mixpanel data breach

 
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