Today\u2019s notice: Trump tries to change the narrative. Scott Bessent tries to have dinner in peace. Pot policy changes expected today. Republicans on Capitol Hill are really quite mad at each other. Plus: Trump\u2019s retribution against Colorado.<\/p>\n
THE LATEST<\/p>\n
President doing great job, says president. It seems Tucker Carlson was ill-informed<\/a> \u2014 last night Donald Trump did not announce a war with Venezuela. Instead, he turned his attention to a more existential threat: his declining approval ratings and fracturing coalition.<\/p>\n For just under 20 minutes, Trump yelled into a microphone surrounded by White House Christmas decorations<\/a>, listing his version of his accomplishments. A tariff policy that has worked perfectly, prices that are low, a world at peace and a political program that is an unabashed success.<\/p>\n The one new thing was a $1,776 bonus check Trump said he was sending to every service member. Beyond that, the address sounded much like a Trump campaign rally.<\/p>\n It was an attempt at a Trump reset. The president ended the year reiterating the promises he made at the start, asking voters to give him more time to deal with the mess he said Democrats had left him, but also asking them to appreciate that he\u2019s cleaned up a lot of that mess already.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are making America great again, very simple. We are making America great again,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Polls have found that Americans don\u2019t agree. A Fox News survey released just hours before the address reflected most recent public polling, finding 39% of Americans approving of the job Trump is doing handling the economy, while 58% say he\u2019s focused on the wrong things. \u201cThat\u2019s about the same response voters gave former President Joe Biden four years ago, when 54% said he was prioritizing the wrong issues,\u201d Fox noted<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other things Trump is apparently focused on include a series of plaques<\/a> affixed to the new White House \u201cPresidential Walk of Fame\u201d mocking Biden as well as Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. \u201cThe plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each president and the legacy they left behind. As a student of history, many were written directly by the president himself,\u201d Karoline Leavitt told reporters.<\/p>\n Open tabs: Trump Told by Alan Dershowitz Constitutionality of Third Term Is Unclear<\/a> (WSJ); Bongino Confirms He\u2019s Quitting as FBI Deputy Director<\/a> (NOTUS); Trump admin asking US oil industry to return to Venezuela \u2014 but getting no takers<\/a> (Politico); Warner Rejects Paramount\u2019s Hostile Bid<\/a> (WSJ)<\/p>\n From the Hill<\/p>\n We asked, they answered (kind of): NOTUS\u2019 Hill team inquired with more than 120 House Republicans whether they planned to retire<\/a> \u2014 and a surprising amount aren\u2019t quite ready to commit one way or the other. The total number of retirement announcements this cycle is widely expected to outpace the 45 before the 2024 election, with members of the GOP conference leading the way. Twenty-four Republicans have announced their intentions to step away already. Nineteen Democrats have done the same.<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t made that decision yet,\u201d Rep. Troy Balderson said, adding that he was \u201cprobably\u201d going to run again.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I plan on running,\u201d Rep. Mark Amodei, a Republican from Nevada, told the NOTUS Hill team. But then he added a caveat: \u201cAsk me in 60 days.\u201d <\/p>\n Why would they possibly want to leave the place? \u201cIf you asked members for their honest review of [Mike] Johnson, he\u2019d be at a 20% approval rating,\u201d one Republican member who asked to remain nameless told NOTUS<\/a>.<\/p>\n The year is not ending well for the House Republican Conference. Yesterday, four moderates incensed over Johnson\u2019s refusal to allow a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies before they expire at the end of the month signed on to a Democratic-led discharge petition<\/a> to force that vote, likely in January after the holiday break (and after the subsidies have expired, but that\u2019s another story).<\/p>\n This resulted in a new low point for conference infighting. \u201cThe message I\u2019m going to send to them is: Don\u2019t even think about asking me for help politically, period,\u201d Freedom Caucus member Eric Burlison told NOTUS of his moderate colleagues who signed the petition. \u201cBecause why would I? You basically just stabbed us in the back.\u201d<\/p>\n Republicans were, however, in lockstep on one thing: stopping a pair of Democratic-led measures<\/a> to rein in Trump\u2019s expanding military campaign in the Western Hemisphere. The president is, for now, able to continue escalating operations in Venezuela and against alleged \u201cnarco-terrorist\u201d networks without approval from Congress.<\/p>\n From the White House<\/p>\n An executive order rescheduling marijuana is coming today, a source familiar told Jasmine. She also heard the executive action will attempt to fix the mess made in the CBD industry due to a provision<\/a> in the bill that reopened the government. On Monday, we told you about the complicated MAGA rift<\/a> opening up over cannabis.<\/p>\n Colorado retribution? \u201cMaybe if Colorado had a governor who actually wanted to work with President Trump, his constituents would be better served,\u201d a senior White House official told NOTUS\u2019 Anna Kramer<\/a> when she asked about Tuesday\u2019s announcement that the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder \u2014 which handles many national security projects \u2014 would be broken up.<\/p>\n \u201cPremier research stronghold for left-wing climate lunacy\u201d is how the White House described the center. But even conservative climate skeptics strongly disagree with dismantling it, Anna reports.<\/p>\n From the campaign trail<\/p>\n An NRSC strategist warns Republicans not to get Wiles\u2019d: \u201cWashington keeps dancing with the same partner and acting surprised when it ends badly,\u201d Nathan Brand, a senior adviser to the NRSC\u2019s chair, Sen. Tim Scott, wrote in a recent Substack<\/a> where he takes a not-so-subtle shot at the White House over the Vanity Fair profile of chief of staff Susie Wiles.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a collective refrain: \u2018We warned you,\u2019\u201d Brand wrote. \u201cThe episode is yet another reminder of why conservative media matters.\u201d<\/p>\n From Reveler\u2019s Hour<\/p>\n Spotted by NOTUS: While dining with a guest at the Adams Morgan restaurant, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was heckled in front of dozens of diners by a woman who bashed the administration\u2019s sanctions.<\/p>\n Restaurant patron Olivia DiNucci repeatedly struck her glass to garner attention and mockingly toast Bessent<\/a>, who called her ignorant and asked staff why they weren\u2019t stopping the scene.<\/p>\n He exited the restaurant soon after, with bystanders observing he was upset.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s eating in this nice restaurant in Washington, D.C., when sanctions cause starvation across the world,\u201d DiNucci told NOTUS\u2019 Daniella Diaz, who was also eating at Reveler\u2019s Hour, in a brief interview. \u201cWe should be confronting them with our voice as much as we can because people across the world are affected by this.\u201d<\/p>\n A person familiar with the secretary told Daniella that Bessent departed the restaurant \u201cprecisely because the restaurant owner refused to respect other diners and remove the heckler in question. Also, the food sucked.\u201d<\/p>\n NEW ON NOTUS<\/p>\n Republican revolt over AI regulation? \u201cStates are closest to the ground, closest to the schools, the businesses, the public sector systems that are already grappling with AI every single day. So the responsibility naturally shifts to us,\u201d Dana Trabulsy, a Republican state representative from Florida, told NOTUS\u2019 Samuel Larreal<\/a> after Trump sought through an executive order to bar states from passing AI regulations. Trabulsy and other state and local Republicans are dismayed at the federal efforts to slow them down.<\/p>\n Voters may be dismayed, too. A strategy memo by Republican consultant Chapin Fay obtained by Sam warns 2026 candidates: \u201cRepublican lawmakers and candidates should signal to voters in this case, particularly young voters, that we share their values and do not side with Big Tech.\u201d<\/p>\n More: Democrats Give Adam Schiff a Financial Boost in His Defense Against Trump<\/a>, by Dave Levinthal<\/p>\n Senate Confirms New NASA Head After Trump Nominated Him for a Second Time<\/a>, by Amelia Benavides-Col\u00f3n<\/p>\n Federal Judge Temporarily Bars ICE From Restricting Congressional Oversight Visits<\/a>, by Jackie Llanos<\/p>\n Congress Just Granted the Lumbee Tribe Federal Recognition<\/a>, by Em Luetkemeyer<\/p>\n NOT US<\/p>\n Thank you for reading! If you like this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@notus.org<\/a>. And as always, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@notus.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s notice: Trump tries to change the narrative. Scott Bessent tries to have dinner in peace. 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