🥩 Democrats Demand Their Pound of Flesh

Peter Rothpletz on Dems finally learning to use their leverage, Marjorie Taylor Greene showering Nancy Pelosi with praise, OpenAI's latest crisis, and 'Sandwich Guy' prevailing in court.

🌱 On this day in 2020, Rudy Giuliani held his infamous press conference at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia to contest the results of the presidential election. And not only was it the wrong Four Seasons, but it also happened to be situated between a sex shop and a crematorium. Rather fitting for the disgraced lawyer, isn’t it?

Good morning! Peter here with a most mischievous grin. Mehdi was soaring through the air at 35,000 feet when I filed this ‘First Draft.’ As a result, he didn’t get a chance to fully look it over. And as the (butchered) saying goes: “when the boss is away, the kids will play.” Team Zeteo and I had a lot of fun with this one. Pray it doesn’t get us fired!

In today’s ‘First Draft,’ at long last, Democrats find their spine, the Supreme Court greenlights Donald Trump’s relentless attacks on transgender Americans, the job market absolutely sucks, and some recommendations for weekend reads.

Currently, anyone can read ‘First Draft,’ but it won’t always be free. Subscribe today to ensure you always get ‘First Draft’ in your inbox, and if you’re already a subscriber, you can always support our journalism even further with a donation.

Liberals Learn to Twist the Knife

Sen. Alex Padilla speaks alongside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats at a news conference on June 17, 2025. Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

We come to you this morning with major, breaking news.

After a record-breaking 37-day shutdown, Republicans on Capitol Hill are reportedly ready to surrender. They’re ready to bend the knee. They’re ready, willing, and desperate to end the government shutdown crisis they courted by refusing to renew Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies that, if allowed to expire, would skyrocket the healthcare premiums of tens of millions of Americans.

We come to you with a second major breaking news item.

Democrats do not accept their terms of surrender.

Yeah, read that sentence again.

After a decade of being possessed by the pathetic respectability politics of “strongly worded letters” and theater kid bullshit, Democrats have finally found a goddamn backbone.

Yesterday evening, in the wake of this week’s electoral “bluenami,” Politico reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune told his GOP colleagues he will hold a vote later today to end the government shutdown.

MAGA is shaking in their jackboots – and for good reason.

All recent polling, even before Tuesday’s blue wave, has Republicans underwater; a significant majority of Americans recognize that Trump and his sycophants are to blame for both the shutdown and the resulting pain the country is experiencing.

An NBC News poll from just this week found 52 % of registered voters blame Trump and the GOP, compared with 42 % for Democrats. A Quinnipiac University poll showed a similar split (45 % vs 39 %), and an AP‑NORC survey found roughly 60 % of Americans hold Republicans responsible, versus 54 % for Democrats.

The message is clear: voters see the GOP as the architects of this calamity.

As gobsmacking as it might sound, Democratic lawmakers are listening to said voters.

Yesterday, Punchbowl News senior congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio relayed: “Dems came to consensus that they should hold out a bit longer (i.e. block [Friday’s] procedural vote) to try to extract more from GOP, such as language on RIFs…”

For context, the “RIFs” in question are the “reduction-in-force” mass layoffs being enacted across the federal workforce – as CLEARLY outlined in Project 2025 by Emperor Trump’s “Darth Vader,” Russ Vought.

I’m glad Democrats are choosing this fight. I’m glad they’re recognizing the severity of the moment.

But here are my questions: do Dems truly have the stomach to allow decent, hard-working Americans to touch the stove? That is to say, do “bleeding-heart liberals” actually have the moral fortitude to allow their neighbors (who voted for this, and those who didn’t) to suffer as a result of their poor choices? Or will they save sociopathic Republican lawmakers once again?

Those questions I cannot answer, on either a pragmatic or moral level. But I encourage you all to read my thoughts on Democrats finally finding their way out of the wilderness further below. ⬇️

🗞️ What You Need to Know

• Chew on this: A DC jury acquitted “Sandwich Guy,” who famously threw his Subway hoagie at a border patrol officer during Trump’s takeover of the city. The jury was apparently unmoved by said officer’s testimony that he could feel the impact of lunch meat through his ballistic vest, and it “exploded all over my uniform.” ❄️ Snowflake alert ❄️

• Cruelty is the point: The Supreme Court’s conservative majority allowed Trump to enforce his anti-trans policy that limits the sex designation on US passports to male or female based on sex assigned at birth. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and her two fellow liberal justices dissented: “This Court has once again paved the way for the immediate infliction of injury without adequate (or, really, any) justification.”

• Travel nightmare: More than 815 flights had been canceled by early Friday morning as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s order to scale back the number of flights at 40 US airports to relieve pressure on air traffic controllers, who have been working without pay during the shutdown.

• F U, AI: OpenAI now faces seven lawsuits from families who say a loved one was harmed by interacting with ChatGPT, with four cases of suicide from these interactions.

• Epstein developments: As we told you last week, former Prince Andrew Windsor lost his royal title after revelations about his friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Now, Democrats on the US House Oversight Committee are calling on him to sit for an interview as part of their investigation into Epstein’s sex trafficking operation.

• DOJ vs Bowser: The Justice Department is reportedly investigating DC Mayor Muriel Bowser over a foreign trip allegedly funded by the Qatari government. Per the New York Times, the probe is based on potential bribery or campaign finance law violations. Bowser appears to be the latest DOJ target on Trump’s enemies list.

• Abigail Zwerner wins in court: The former elementary school teacher was awarded $10 million in damages after being shot by her 6-year-old student.

🧠 Pop Quiz!

Which political figure’s staffer claimed a stay at a Four Seasons hotel in Turkey would be “too expensive” for their boss?

Keep your eyes out for the answer below!

🏞️ Democrats Finally Escape the Wilderness

Graphic showing the Democratic winners in the 2025 elections. Photo via @TheDemocrats on X.

If you don’t happen to frequent the “Nazi porn bar” that is Twitter/X these days, I have some rather shocking news for you: the vibes are immaculate.

I know, I know… It sounds absurd. Earlier this year, I myself wrote about how the site is just “Star Wars’ Mos Eisley cantina but with a few hundred SS leather fetishists for good measure.”

This week, though, likely despite ol’ Elon’s best efforts, the joint feels, well, different. There’s been a monumental vibe shift, as the kids say. I haven’t witnessed this type of enthusiasm from online libs since the height of that fever dream that was Brat Summer.

Zohran Mamdani triumphed in New York City. Mikie Sherril and Abigail Spanberger trounced their opponents in New Jersey and Virginia, respectively. Democrats secured huge victories in purple and red states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Mississippi.

It feels like the party has finally grown to meet the moment. It’s gotten out of its own way, recognizing that what actually matters is WINNING, and to do that, you must run whatever candidate in whatever race that most makes sense. What’s more, Democrats are finally embracing new and novel media strategies – see Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari set up outside Speaker Mike Johnson’s office below!

Rep. Yassamin Ansari sits outside Speaker Mike Johnson’s office at the US Capitol on Nov. 6. Photo via @RepYassAnsari

It’s simply nuts to see in real time. And they’re doing all of this while Donald Trump and his fascist cult are cratering the economy.

What a time to be alive, folks!

🇵🇸 Don’t Forget Gaza

• Israel ceasefire violation watch: Israel continued hitting parts of Gaza in violation of the ceasefire, while its defense minister ordered the military to destroy all tunnels used by Hamas. As the Israeli violations continue, President Trump said he believes “Gaza is working out very well.” Trump also said he believes the international stabilization force the US is coordinating will be in Gaza “very soon.”

• Israel blocks aid: The UN said Israel has rejected 107 requests for entry of aid, including blankets, winter clothes, and sanitation services. Most of the rejected requests came from over 30 local and international NGOs.

• And in the occupied West Bank… Israeli settlers fenced off 500 acres of Palestinian-owned agricultural land, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. It comes amid increasing settler violence and Israel’s ongoing illegal settlement expansion.

🚨 Don’t Miss It!

Mehdi sits down with comedian and activist Ilana Glazer of ‘Broad City’ fame to discuss the New York City election, the historical connection between Jews and Muslims, and the rise of right-wing antisemitism.

The full ‘We’re Not Kidding’ podcast episode will hit your inbox later today!

🌏 Anywhere But America

• 🇧🇷🌏 Climate summit: World leaders convened in Brazil for the opening of the 30th annual UN climate summit, where Secretary-General António Guterres urged for action against global warming: “Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement, and loss – especially for those least responsible.” Notably absent from the summit was the US.

• 🇰🇿🇮🇱 Abraham Accords: Kazakhstan announced it will join the Abraham Accords, cementing its diplomatic ties with Israel. It is the fifth nation to sign on, after the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Sudan, and Bahrain. For the record, Kazakhstan has had relations with Israel for years.

• 🇸🇩 RSF agrees to Sudan ceasefire: The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) said it has agreed to a “humanitarian ceasefire” agreement proposal from the US. There’s been no comment from the Sudanese Armed Forces, which has been fighting the RSF for more than two years. As Reuters notes, both the RSF and the Sudanese army have agreed to multiple proposed truces over the last two years, but none have been successful.

• 🇨🇲 Biya’s Back: Cameroon President Paul Biya was sworn in for his next term after winning last month’s election. The opposition, however, has called his victory “a constitutional coup,” claiming the election was marred by vote tampering.

• 🇮🇷 Iran imprisons American: Iran has sentenced an Iranian American Jewish man to prison for traveling to Israel for his son’s bar mitzvah 13 years ago. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court justified the ruling by referencing a law that bans Iranians from visiting Israel.

📊 Chart of the Day

The economy isn’t looking so good under Trump 2.0. As of October, US-based employers announced more than one million job cuts this year, up 44% on the 2024 figures, according to research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Some 153,074 job cuts were recorded in October alone — the highest for the month since 2003. Yikes.

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🧠 Trivia answer: Turkey’s favorite mayor, Eric Adams!

Strange Bedfellows

No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you. That is, in fact, Marjorie Taylor Greene praising Nancy Pelosi’s leadership in response to her retirement announcement.

It’s a pretty wild statement coming from the same woman who called Pelosi a “traitor to our country” and suggested she receive the death penalty.

💬 Quote Unquote

“As God is my witness, if we lose the midterms and we lose 2028, some in this room are going to prison, myself included.”

That’s what Steve Bannon told a crowd at the 2025 Bellator Awards event. Don’t promise us a good time, Steve!

🤫 No Words Needed

Trump stands by as attendees help a guest after he collapsed during an event on lowering drug prices at the White House on Nov. 6, 2025, in Washington, DC. Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

📖 Weekend Reads

It’s another week in the books for ‘First Draft’! If you’ll miss having us in your inbox this weekend, have no fear because Team Zeteo has compiled a set of #mustread articles to keep you company before we return to your inbox next week.

Verdict Number One: America Has Big-Time Buyer’s Remorse About Trump

• How did a Virginia Democrat still manage to come out victorious in Tuesday’s election, after text messages revealed he once wished death upon a Republican’s children? According to the New Republic’s Michael Tomasky, the answer is clear: People hate Trump.

Curtis Sliwa’s Love Life Is Absolutely Bonkers

• If you thought the NYC mayoral candidate knew how to charm at a debate, just wait until you hear how suave he is with the ladies. The Cut’s Olivia Craighead walks readers through Sliwa’s four marriages, his mysterious first wife, and an alleged affair filled with sperm donations and accusations of stealing.

Execution, Sexual Violence, Kidnapping: Survivors Recount Horrors Inside El-Fasher and on Trek to Escape RSF Takeover

• An urgent must-read from our friends at Drop Site News. Sudanese Journalist Eisa Dafalla tells the stories of those who managed to survive the RSF’s latest Darfur takeover, and who continue to live in fear.

Zeteo’s Melanie Riehl, Akshay Gokul, and Minnah Arshad contributed to this newsletter.

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