The Republican party is far from moving beyond Trump – but signals of his waning influence are everywhere

The sharks can smell blood in the water. After a decade in eerie command of the Republican party, with primary voters in his cult-like thrall and down-ballot elected officials feeling they have no choice – and often no inclination – to diverge from him, Donald Trump suddenly seems not quite in control of his own political machine.

Fractures have emerged in the Maga coalition; Trump’s approval is sinking; the Democrats, long anemic and risk-averse in the opposition, showed signs of life in elections last month; and the cumulative effect of a series of long-running scandals, most particularly the Epstein affair, seem to have alienated core components of the Trump faithful. Trump has faced some rebukes from a once largely compliant federal judiciary: his personal attorney, Alina Habba, was recently declared ineligible to serve in the US attorney role Trump had appointed her to, and his signature tariffs seem likely to be struck down by a conservative supreme court majority.

Moira Donegan is a Guardian US columnist

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© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

The administration is heightening its anti-immigrant crackdown – and punishing people from a country the US helped destroy

After two national guard members were ambushed in Washington DC last week, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition, Donald Trump went on a hate-filled social media rant and vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries.”

Trump’s late night Thanksgiving posts devolved into a fury, evidently because the suspected gunman is an Afghan national. He had worked with the US government, including the CIA, and was evacuated to the US in 2021 after the American military withdrew from Afghanistan.

Mohamad Bazzi is director of the Center for Near Eastern Studies, and a journalism professor, at New York University

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© Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

© Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

© Photograph: Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

Officials hew closely to secret memo which gives legal cover to firing on boats even if it would kill people on board

Trump administration officials have defended carrying out a follow-up strike on a drug boat that killed survivors on 2 September by arguing that its objective was to ensure the complete destruction of the boat, an action the Pentagon had internal legal approval to conduct.

The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a briefing on Monday that Adm Frank Bradley, who oversaw the operation and gave the order for the second strike, directed it to sink the boat.

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© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

© Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

Plus, the 10 best books of the year.

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A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from warrantless immigration arrests in Washington, D.C., without probable cause that the target is a flight risk.

While growing evidence shows that carbon emissions are harming the economy, the journal Nature found that an outlier paper had deep flaws.

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The three being targeted are Senators John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. None are up for re-election next year.

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the search for the next Federal Reserve chair, could face President Trump’s wrath if the person chosen does not quickly lower interest rates.

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Bitcoin has plunged more than 30 percent and Ether is down around 40 percent in recent months, as gains from President Trump’s pro-crypto policies evaporated.

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The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the legality of President Trump’s sweeping tariffs, but some companies aren’t waiting to try to secure a speedy and substantial payout.

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President Trump promised a deal last summer. Other universities have agreed to pay millions to settle with the federal government since then, but Harvard, which was asked to pay much more, has not.

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Arrested after violating an ordinance on demonstrations outside an amphitheater in Brandon, Miss., Gabriel Olivier wants to block future enforcement of the law.

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The tiny town of Churchill has two of Canada’s largest pieces of Arctic infrastructure, but years of neglect have left them in poor shape amid growing superpower rivalry in the region.

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Emil Bove III’s work as a prosecutor, before he was a Trump lawyer and official, helped lead to the conviction of the Honduran ex-leader whom President Trump freed this week.

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President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed wanting to build nuclear-powered submarines at home, despite President Trump’s suggestion that they be built in the United States.

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The trip comes days before the anniversary of the fall of Bashar al-Assad, and as Lebanon is navigating the cease-fire between Hezbollah and Israel.

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Pentagon delays decision on Navy's F/A-XX stealth fighter despite Congress adding $1 billion to the budget, leaving carriers vulnerable as China advances its own program.

President Trump has a history of insulting people from African countries, but the outburst was shocking in its unapologetic bigotry. Vice President JD Vance banged the table in encouragement.

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Jay Clayton, Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, had called his office’s drug prosecution of an ex-president of Honduras a success. President Trump decided to free him this week.

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Republican Matt Van Epps defeats Democrat Aftyn Behn in Tennessee's 7th district special election, keeping GOP seat in red district Trump won by 22 points.

Matt Van Epps fended off a Democrat to protect Republicans’ slim House majority, but the relatively close margin in a red district sent the party a warning shot before the 2026 midterms.

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President Trump began the meeting by criticizing media coverage about him showing signs of fatigue. Last month, he appeared to doze off during a meeting in the Oval Office.

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