The Needle: A Hearing About Whether the National Guard Should Leave D.C., GOP Rep Investigates Local Activist Groups, Bipartisan Coalition Wants Trump to Rescind Deal With Putin, and More
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Gail O'Hara (via Washington CityPaper)
Changing of the guard? A federal appeals court will hear arguments today over whether National Guard troops should be sent home from D.C., months after the court paused a lower court ruling that the deployment was illegal. The case, brought by D.C.’s attorney general, examines whether the president has the authority to deploy the National Guard here and argues that the deployment is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement. If D.C. wins in appeals court, the Trump administration may run to SCOTUS. Plus one point for trying to end the deployment. +1 [AP News]
Jury’s out: The chair of the GOP-led House Oversight Committee, Kentucky Rep. James Comer, is investigating local activist groups Free DC and Harriet’s Wildest Dreams for hosting what he calls “jury nullification training sessions.” He issued a statement yesterday accusing the groups of training “activists to conceal their biases during jury selection, infiltrate juries and acquit criminals based on political agendas rather than the law and evidence.” He wants them to turn over documents and communications, a list of attendees, names of outside advisers, and funding or grant sources. Minus one point for targeting activists. -1 [Post]
Aisle have it: A bipartisan group of senators is calling on convicted felon and President Donald Trump to cancel the deal he made with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, which says that Russia will supply 800,000-plus tons of diesel to the U.S. and global market this month and next and 1 million tons “immediately thereafter.” Critics pushed back against the deal they say betrays U.S. ally Ukraine while rewarding a country (along with China) that is helping Iran in the war Trump started. Plus one point for bipartisan anything and some semblance of a spine. +1 [NPR]
Opt out: Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio is urging military members not to participate in silence buyer and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s planned Dec. 3 livestream event of the firing squad execution of Nidal MalikHasan, who killed 13 people and injured 32 at Fort Hood in 2009. The archbishop also urges Catholics not to watch and asks “all men and women of good will” to push the government to reverse the decision. Plus one point for speaking out against capital punishment. +1 [New Republic]
Watery domestic: New data suggests that 2025 was the Chesapeake Bay’s healthiest year in four decades. But the annual report card, released Tuesday by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, still only gives the estuary a grade of 56 percent, which translates to a C+. The study assesses water quality via samples from the bay and its tributaries. Nevertheless, federal support is uncertain. Plus one point for a moderate score I guess? +1 [Banner]
20 days … until the midterm elections. Plus one point for hope. +1
