👋 Bon(gino) Voyage!
The deputy FBI director calls it quits, the White House looks to strip naturalized Americans of their citizenship, and was the president high as a kite last night?
⚖️ On this day in 2019, Donald Trump became the third commander in chief to be impeached by the House of Representatives, which charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Fun fact: the only US president to be arrested while in office was Ulysses S. Grant for speeding in his horse-drawn carriage.
Good morning! Peter here, utterly bewildered by what I watched take place in the White House last night. Donald Trump, speaking in a cadence that could only be matched by a coke-addled Charli XCX concert-goer, delivered perhaps the single most incoherent primetime address I’ve ever seen. It was really quite something, even by the Bad Orange Man’s standards. I have some good news! Because this edition of ‘First Draft’ is sponsored by Ground News, there is no paywall! Enjoy, my friends!
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ Donald Trump’s clown car admin loses its top podcaster-sorry, law enforcement guy, the president delivers a speech that rivals Joe Biden’s 2024 debate performance, House Republicans choose to skyrocket Americans’ healthcare premiums, former Jeffrey Epstein lawyer Alan Dershowitz rears his ugly head, and Fox News has a… good take for once?
Cheerio, Bongino!
At 12:55pm ET yesterday, when asked by MS NOW reporter Carol Leonnig if he was planning to resign in the coming weeks, former podcaster and current Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino responded: “print whatever you’d like. No one believes you anyway.”
Some four hours later, at 5:16pm, Bongino announced on social media, “I will be leaving my position with the FBI in January. I want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you. God bless America, and all those who defend Her. 🇺🇸”
To crib language from Succession’s Logan Roy, it must be said of Bongino, and frankly, the entirety of this administration, “you are not serious people.”
Indeed, the deputy FBI director lasted a mere 27 Scaramuccis on the job. His tenure featured highlights including getting humiliated by a jujitsu instructor at Quantico, taking at least one ‘mental health day’ à la a theater major at Oberlin college, and pathetically fumbling the release of the Epstein files.
On that last note, isn’t it ever so convenient that Bongino is resigning mere hours before any and all documents related to Jeffrey Epstein’s vast child sex trafficking enterprise are legally mandated to be released?? What a coincidence!
But I digress…
“Dan is the best partner I could’ve asked for in helping restore this FBI,” Bongino’s boss and fellow former podcaster, Kash Patel, waxed poetic on social media. “He not only completed his mission – he far exceeded it. We will miss him but I’m thankful he accepted the call to serve.”
The president of the United States was not quite as effusive in his performance review.
“Dan did a great job,” Cheeto Benito proclaimed rather halfheartedly on a tarmac in Washington, “I think he wants to go back to his show.”
Yes, that’s the president sending his deputy FBI chief back to podcast land.
Should we really be all that surprised by this? Is this not the expected outcome when you trash compact a gaggle of terminally online shitposters and functionally illiterate Fox pundits into your clown car administration?
Here’s my real question, though: why was Bongino the first to go?
If anyone in this administration possessed even a shred, even a modicum of shame, Bongino would have been nowhere near the front of the line!
Secretary of War Crimes Pete Hague-seth just this week declared he will not release the unedited video of the infamous second strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea that killed two survivors. When he wasn’t violating the War Powers Resolution of 1973, ol’ Kegseth was sharing highly sensitive military information on the commercial messaging app Signal.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi continues to sit in her office as if it were a Fox News green room, pontificating out the wazoo as Trump’s political prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James are struck down as blatant weaponizations of the Justice Department.
And then there’s puppy killer Kristi Noem, whose tenure at DHS has seen masked ICE hoodlums harass every brown person in sight and scoop up scores of documented Americans only for them to be beaten, brutalized, and detained for days.
Bongino’s a cynical, ruthless basket case, but upon reflection… Is he one of the least unhinged? The rats were some of the first to flee the Titanic…
🗞️ What You Need to Know
WTF POTUS: Late yesterday, the president of the United States delivered a bizarre, seemingly drug-addled White House address in which he claimed to have brought peace to the Middle East for the first time in “3,000 years.”
Two too many: Ex-Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz told the Wall Street Journal he shared and discussed a draft copy of his book with Trump titled “Could President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?” According to the 22nd Amendment and the will of the American people, the answer is a resounding no.
Who would’ve thought? In a closed-door hearing, former special counsel Jack Smith told the House Judiciary Committee that his team found “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Donald Trump engaged in a “criminal scheme” to overturn the 2020 election results. He added that Trump “repeatedly tried to obstruct justice” to hide the classified documents found during an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago.
Cruelty is the point: The Department of Health and Human Services canceled seven grants worth millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is currently suing Secretary RFK Jr. over COVID-19 vaccine policy changes. According to the Washington Post, the grants provided funding for research on reducing sudden infant deaths, preventing fetal alcohol syndrome, and identifying autism early.
Anti-immigrant campaign reaches citizens: The White House is ramping up its attack on efforts to strip citizenship of some naturalized Americans in its latest attack on immigrants in a nation built by them. Per the New York Times, guidance was issued this week to the citizenship and immigration field offices to produce 100 to 200 “denaturalization cases” per month in fiscal year 2026.
What climate crisis? The Trump administration is dismantling the National Center for Atmospheric Research in its latest move advancing climate denialism. The Colorado center is home to the largest federal research lab on climate change and investigates how to respond to natural disasters.
🧠 Pop Quiz!
How many times did Dan Bongino try AND FAIL to run for Congress?
Keep your eyes out for the answer below!
MIKEY J ACA
Late yesterday, by a 216-211 vote, House Republicans passed a healthcare bill that will send out-of-pocket premiums into the stratosphere for some 20 million Americans when enhanced ACA tax credits sunset on Jan. 1.
A handful of GOP moderates attempted to include an amendment that would have extended the subsidies for at least one calendar year. They failed, rebuffed by Speaker Mike Johnson. This followed four Republicans signing onto a Democratic discharge petition earlier in the day that brings about a vote for a three-year extension in January.
It’s unclear which side will win out in the new year, but a few things are certain. According to a recent KFF survey, approximately six in 10 marketplace enrollees report they would be unable to afford an annual increase of $300 or more in healthcare expenses without drastic changes to their household finances. The KFF survey finds that out-of-pocket premiums will likely double, increasing by some 114% on average, after the enhanced tax credits expire. That translates to an approximate $1,000 price hike per person yearly.
All this after Donald Trump promised a “brand new beautiful healthcare” plan for 13 years. Don’t take my word for it! Roll the tape, courtesy of the Washington Post.
🇵🇸 Don’t Forget Gaza
Israel violates ceasefire again, wounds 10: Israeli forces fired a mortar shell over the so-called yellow line into a residential area in Gaza City, wounding 10 people according to health officials at the Al-Ahli Hospital. The military claimed the shell veered away from the intended target, which was not disclosed.
UN issues dire warning: The UN and hundreds of NGOs in a joint statement warned that if Israel does not lift impediments to its “vague, arbitrary, and highly politicized” registration process for aid groups working in Palestine, it could mean the “collapse of the humanitarian response,” particularly in Gaza.
And in the occupied West Bank…
Israel to move forward with illegal settlement: Israeli authorities are expected to move forward with plans to build 9,000 housing units in an illegal settlement in occupied East Jerusalem. The move would prevent a unified Palestinian state from ever emerging.
Take the recent expansion of Israeli forces into a UN-mandated buffer zone. With a topic as politically charged as this one, some outlets hone in on political narratives while others dive into commentary. What usually gets overshadowed are the key details – Israel’s rationale behind military action or what the long-term impacts for the people in the region might be.
That’s where Ground News can make a difference. Instead of relying on a single angle, you can compare how the same event is reported across the political spectrum. Ground News pulls from 50,000+ sources worldwide, and its Blindspot feature even reveals key perspectives you may be missing. Look behind the headline and unlock the real story beneath conflicting narratives.
Explore all these tools with the Ground News Vantage Plan and get 40% off at groundnews.com/zeteox.
(This portion of the post was sponsored content.)
🚨 Don’t Miss It!
Mehdi sits down with Paul Holden, author of The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, and the Crisis of British Democracy, to discuss how a faction of pro-Israel, corporate-aligned centrists took over the left-leaning Labour Party to bring UK Prime Minister Starmer into power.
The full conversation will hit your inbox soon!
🌏 Anywhere But America
🇸🇩 Over 1,600 killed in medical center attacks: The World Health Organization said that more than 1,600 people have been killed and 276 others wounded in attacks on 65 medical facilities in Sudan since January 2025.
🇺🇦 26 injured in Russian bombing: Twenty-six people, including one child, were wounded in Russian glide bomb attacks on apartment blocks in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region on Wednesday.
🇧🇪 Russian intimidation scheme in Belgium: Belgian politicians and finance executives were subject to a Russian intimidation campaign aimed at blocking the use of more than $217 billion of assets for Ukraine, according to The Guardian. Euroclear, a Belgian securities depository, holds the majority of Russia’s frozen assets, and Russia has threatened legal action, calling any use of its frozen assets an act of theft.
🇮🇱🇪🇬 Israel-Egypt partnership strengthens: Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he approved a $35 billion natural gas export deal to Egypt, the latest economic reaping of the country’s relationship with its warmongering neighbor. The gas will be delivered over the next 15 years by Chevron.
📊 Chart of the Day
For all my prospective Republican presidential candidates out there, a word of advice: supporting Israel is likely not to win you any brownie points at the GOP primary ballot box come 2028.
Just look at this latest poll from the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project.
🧠 Trivia answer: Thrice.
🦊 Fox Watch
Even Laura Ingraham took some time during primetime to slam Bongino on his way out…
ICYMI From Zeteo
Zeteo’s Melanie Riehl, Akshay Gokul, and Minnah Arshad contributed to this newsletter.
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