Today’s edition of quick hits.
* It’s apparently New Orleans’ turn: “The Department of Homeland Security launched an immigration operation on Wednesday in New Orleans, the latest in a string of Democratic-led cities that have been singled out by the Trump administration in recent months. It was not immediately clear how many federal agents were involved in the operation or how long it would last.”
* The latest Epstein release: “Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a tranche of photos and video footage Wednesday from the private island owned by the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the first time the images from inside the residence have been shown publicly.”
* The fact that we knew this was coming doesn’t make the news any less offensive: “The Trump administration is pausing all immigration applications such as requests for green cards for people from 19 countries banned from travel earlier this year, as part of sweeping immigration changes in the wake of the shooting of two National Guard troops.”
* Donald Trump accused election officials in Honduras of “trying to change the results of their Presidential Election.” As is too often the case, he had no idea what he was talking about.
* The White House isn’t done looking for ways to make it harder for low-income Americans to eat: “The Trump administration indicated Tuesday that it will begin withholding SNAP benefits from recipients in most Democratic-led states starting next week after those states refused to provide the Agriculture Department with data including recipients’ names and immigration statuses.”
* A revolving door at the FDA: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug evaluation chief, Richard Pazdur, is set to retire just weeks after taking the new role, a spokesperson for the health regulator said on Tuesday. Pazdur, the agency’s veteran oncology chief, took over the role on November 11, replacing George Tidmarsh after he resigned amid serious concerns about his personal conduct.” * A lawsuit worth watching: “Costco sued the Trump administration to get a full refund of new tariffs it paid so far this year, and to block those import duties from continuing to be collected from the retail warehouse club giant as a Supreme Court case plays out.” * Remember when the Pentagon was in the hands of serious people? “As experts have questioned the Trump administration’s legal arguments for airstrikes that have killed more than 80 alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media a contrived cartoon that shows children’s book character Franklin the Turtle firing a gun out of a helicopter at armed drug smugglers. Hegseth’s post, which includes the words ‘Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists,’ is childish, demeaning, unprofessional and embarrassing to the nation.” See you tomorrow.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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