MOVING ALONG: A spokesperson for the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) told the Washington Reporter that the agency is “encouraged by the appellate court’s decision granting a stay of Judge Lamberth’s orders. This decision ensures USAGM’s ability to continue operations and advance President Trump’s agenda without disruption as the legal process moves forward.” This comes after an appellate court granted USAGM’s motion for a stay pending appeal on Judge Royce Lamberth’s order for the agency to return employees on administrative leave back to work.
FOLLOW THE MONEY: A new report from the Daily Wire’s Brecca Stoll on how “Left-Wing Foreign Billionaires Fund Groups Trying To Cripple AI Infrastructure” is making the rounds. Jason Isaac, who leads the American Energy Institute, noted that “one of the major donors listed in the report is Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, with top recipients of the $39M being Indivisible, 350.org, Oil Change International, GAIA, and the Sierra Club. These groups work behind the scenes to fund these protests.”
MORE TO COME: Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.), who has been leading the Senate’s investigation into the Palisades fire alongside Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.), praised President Donald Trump’s move to meet with victims of the fire. Trump noted that “horrendous Companies,” like State Farm, were missing in action following the blazes. “People [had] been paying them large Premiums for years, only to find that when tragedy struck, these horrendous Companies were not there to help!” the president added. Scott called Trump’s move “a great first step, but we cannot stop fighting for the victims. There were clear failures before, during and after the wildfires.”
DIMON VS. BERNIE: Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) squabbled this week on what a fair share of taxes really means. “I don’t know what [Sanders] means by fair share,” Dimon said. Sanders replied that he wants a “5% wealth tax on billionaires.”
DIMON BACKS TRUMP: JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also backed Trump on the war with Iran, saying that “we’ve got to finish this thing and finish it right.”
BERNIE ON HASAN: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), backed Hasan Piker, an anti-Semitic streamer who will rally with Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, as Democrats debate the role that the streamer who said that America deserved 9/11 should play in the party. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) took the opposite side, saying that “Hasan Piker is a proud antisemite who said ‘America deserved 9/11’ and referred to Jews as ‘inbred.’ His voice should have no place in our political discourse and all elected officials should condemn his rhetoric.”
SAD ABOUT AYATOLLAH’S DEATH: Abdul El-Sayed, one of the Democrats’ leading candidates running in the open Senate seat in Michigan, said that Dearborn, Michigan residents were “sad” about the death of Iran’s Ayatollah. “So, like, I just don’t want to comment on Khamenei at all. Like, I don’t think it’s worth even touching that,” the Democrat said in audio obtained by the Washington Free Beacon’s Alana Goodman.
CHEERS: Rep. Brad Knott (R., N.C.) joined Rep. Michael Baumgartner (R., Wash.) for Baumgartner’s annual “Baumtoberfest,” where 300 people joined the GOP lawmakers at a German beer hall. Baumgartner toasted to President Donald Trump’s leadership, and he told the Washington Reporter that “Knott did a great job as special guest this year.”
SCENES FROM CHICAGO: President Donald Trump returned to the Trump Kennedy Center for the kickoff of Chicago. Among those spotted were Melania Trump, Richard Grenell, Karoline Leavitt, Margo Martin, Kamran Daravi, Jeanine Pirro, Roma Daravi, Victoria Garrastacho, Grace Newton, Hannah Eddins, Erika Bone, Victoria Vincent, Nicole Bennett, Jackie Sackstein, and Chris Russo.
