Monday, December 8 | By Cate Martel |
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It's Monday. Welcome back! This week has already started with a bang. Let's get into it. |
Paramount launches hostile bid for Warner Bros. Supreme Court hears major Trump case MTG's fiery '60 Minutes' interview Allred drops Texas Senate bid Trump plans $12B farmer tariff relief Astronauts set to leave space station
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Would they bring back 'Succession' and write this plot into the show?: |
Yuki Iwamura, Bloomberg via Getty Images |
Paramount is launching a hostile bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix announced last week it won a private bidding war to acquire the company. Omg, this sounds like a scene from HBO's 'Succession': Paramount is going straight to Warner Bros. Discovery's shareholders with an all-cash offer. The numbers: Paramount is offering $30 per share. The deal amounts to $77.9 billion after Warner Bros. Discovery agreed to a $72 billion deal ($27.75 per share) with Netflix. The Paramount offer would value the company at around $108 billion while the Netflix deal, which focused on streaming and studio assets, would amount to roughly $83 billion. (More on the Netflix deal 📺 here.) What makes this deal different, aside from the numbers: Paramount would offer to buy all of Warner Bros. Discovery, including the streaming side and the cable side. In Netflix's winning offer, it would buy only the streaming side, not the cable channels that include CNN, along with the Warner Bros. movie studio. Guess who's part of this hostile takeover bid?: A private equity firm led by President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, per Axios. Keep in mind: The Trump administration will decide whether to approve the sale of Warner Bros. That's because there are potential antitrust issues in the acquisition. Over the weekend, Trump said Netflix's deal "could be a problem." |
Can Trump fire independent officials? Let's find out:
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The Supreme Court is hearing a major case today that will test the limits of presidential power and whether the president can fire independent agency chiefs without providing a reason. President Trump has tried to fire Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member Rebecca Slaughter, a Democrat appointed to the agency in 2018, without cause. Trump argued earlier this year that her service was "inconsistent" with his goals. 👂 Listen to the oral arguments live This case is a big deal: There's a federal law protecting independent officials from being fired without cause and Slaughter is one of roughly a dozen officials Trump has fired since retaking office despite the law. If the high court sides with Trump and allows him to fire an independent commissioner without cause, that would be a huge deal. It would gut more than 90 years of Supreme Court precedent that protects against firings at independent agencies at the White House's whim. The decision could also affect roughly two dozen agencies beyond the FTC. 📝 List of the agencies that could be affected 💬 Follow today's live blog |
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) sat down with CBS anchor Lesley Stahl for a "60 Minutes" interview and it did not disappoint. Greene has had a very public falling out with President Trump after being one of his fiercest allies on Capitol Hill for years — and she is not being shy in her exit. The sit-down got Trump's attention, who fired off several insults about his ex-friend. "Too much work, not enough time, and her ideas are, NOW, really BAD – She sort of reminds me of a Rotten Apple!" Trump posted. "Marjorie is not AMERICA FIRST or MAGA, because nobody could have changed her views so fast, and her new views are those of a very dumb person." 👀 Trump also had bad things to say about the host. |
➤ WHAT WE LEARNED FROM THE INTERVIEW: |
Apparently, Republicans make fun of Trump behind his back: Greene says Republicans in Congress privately make fun of Trump. Greene said if people heard how Republicans talked about the president, including "how he talks," it would "shock" them. And they're scared of him: Greene told Stahl that more Republicans don't speak out against the president because they're "terrified" of him. Greene talked about the death threats she's received: She blamed the president for "directly fueling" death threats against her by labeling her as a "traitor." What's Greene's end goal here? Does she want to run for president?: She says no. "I have zero plans, zero desire to run for president. I would hate the Senate. I'm not running for governor," Greene said. 💻 Watch the full '60 Minutes' interview |
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Now, they couldn't let a perfectly good holiday pass without a deadline: |
"Senate Republican leaders are hoping President Trump will intervene to quell a conservative rebellion in the upper chamber against a package of spending bills Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is trying to advance before Christmas," reports The Hill's Alexander Bolton. Tell me more of this rebellion you speak of: "Conservative Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) have brought five appropriations bills — the 'minibus' — to a standstill because they object to the dozens of earmarks in the package, a controversial practice that has divided Republicans for years." This could delay the spending package past Christmas and even potentially past the Jan. 30 government funding deadline. Read more on the GOP end-of-the-year drama: 'Republicans look to Trump to quell conservative rebellion in Senate' |
This sounds like a plot from The Sopranos: |
President Trump is having regrets about pardoning Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar (Texas) and his wife Imelda, who were both indicted on bribery charges. Cuellar had argued that former President Biden's Justice Department targeted him over his criticism of its immigration policies. Well, shortly after Trump announced the pardon, Cuellar said he's running for Congress again, still as a Democrat (!). Trump *fumed* over that decision: "Such a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry's daughters, will not like," the president posted. "Oh' well, next time, no more Mr. Nice guy!" Read more from Trump's scathing reaction Cuellar justified his decision to run as a Democrat, telling Fox News's "Sunday Morning Futures" that he identifies as a "conservative Democrat" while pledging to "work with the president." This has all the elements of a Sopranos plotline: loyalty accusations, bribery charges, regret, etc. |
Colin Allred is dropping out of the Senate race: |
Former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas) announced today that he will drop out of the Senate race against Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and instead run for Texas's new 33rd Congressional District. Keep in mind that Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) is widely expected to run against Cornyn and is set to announce her decision this afternoon. Allred's reasoning: "In the past few days, I've come to believe that a bruising Senate Democratic primary and runoff would prevent the Democratic Party from going into this critical election unified against the danger posed to our communities and our Constitution by Donald Trump and one of his Republican bootlickers [Texas Attorney General Ken] Paxton, Cornyn, or [Texas Rep. Wesley] Hunt," Allred wrote in a statement posted to X. "That's why I've made the difficult decision to end my campaign for the U.S. Senate." Situational awareness: Crockett would square off against another Democratic Party rising star in state Rep. James Talarico (D) if she jumps into the Senate race. Talarico has already announced his bid. |
➤ WELL, HE WOULDN'T GO AFTER SOMEONE IRRELEVANT: |
President Trump fired off a social media post blasting CNN's Kaitlan Collins for asking about the ballooning cost of his new White House ballroom. He called her "stupid and nasty," misspelling her name as "Caitlin Collin's." He then justified the increased cost of the project: "I said because it is going to be double the size, and the quality of finishes and interiors has been brought to the highest level. Also, the column SPAN has been substantially increased for purposes of viewing. It is actually under budget and ahead of schedule, as my jobs always are." 🔎 Read Trump's full post Collins brushed off the criticism, posting to her Instagram story, "Technically, my question was about Venezuela." And CNN's Jake Tapper defended her, posting that she's "smart," "nice" and that she asked a "legitimate question about construction of a controversial project on White House grounds." 🔎 Read his full post |
The New York Times: Obamacare Users Face Higher Deductibles and Higher Premiums The Washington Post: Trump pardons major drug traffickers despite his anti-drug rhetoric The Atlantic: How Private Equity Is Changing Housing Politico: 'Only so long' before Trump's tariff costs hit consumers, businesses warn The New York Times: How Biden Ignored Warnings and Lost Americans' Faith in Immigration |
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The House is out. The Senate is in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST) |
12:20 p.m. First lady Melania Trump participates in a Toys for Tots event. 💻 Livestream 2 p.m. Trump participates in a roundtable in the Cabinet Room. 💻 Livestream 4:45 p.m. Three astronauts leave the International Space Station. 💻 Livestream 5:30 p.m. The Senate votes. 📆 Today's agenda Tuesday: The House returns. 📆 Tuesday's agenda |
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