A Memorable 72 Hours

Today’s notice: What we’ll remember about the last three days. The curious case of the Ukraine peace plan. What Bernie is doing about the 2026 Democratic primaries, and how Trump is helping to shape them. Plus: A new podcast you’ll actually want to listen to.

THE LATEST

A weekend to remember. The past few days will stay with American politics for quite a while, which is saying something given, you know, everything.

Mamdani’s moment. It was either as good as it’s ever going to get for the socialist mayor-elect or a sign that this political revolution is just getting started.

“After President Trump said that, I said, ‘Yes,’” Mamdani told Meet The Press on Sunday of the most remarkable moment in a truly remarkable presser with the president Friday. When a reporter asked Mamdani if he would repeat his claim that Trump is a “fascist,” Mamdani started to wind up for a long answer — and a laughing Trump patted him on the arm and said, “That’s OK, you can just say it. It’s easier than explaining it.”

What to make of this? It’s hard to see the good vibes continuing for long given the sheer number of ideological chasms dividing MAGA and the DSA, even as both try to make affordability their singular focus. (“Another word, it’s just groceries,” Trump said.) But, at least for now, everyone seemed to agree that cutting costs is more important than literally anything else.

Well, not everyone. “Agree to disagree,” Rep. Elise Stefanik posted after Trump dismissed her gubernatorial rhetoric calling Mamdani “a jihadist.” She doubled down, repeating the kind of claims about Mamdani that used to send Democrats running for the hills.

“She’s full of shit,” Gov. Kathy Hochul responded on MS NOW, ready with a line we expect to see a lot in the future: “She’s even more extreme than Donald Trump. I didn’t think that was possible.”

MTG’s warning. Trump seemingly pushed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to announce her very early retirement from the House. On her way out, she predicted: “Republicans will likely lose the midterms.”

MTG was the most faithful of the MAGA faithful. She picked endless fights on behalf of Trump, and the Republican conference became more like her than not. This is where the innumerable conservative victories of the last decade or so have come from. But she became disenchanted with Trump over the Epstein files and said everything is now headed for a major crash.

“Good riddance. She was never a serious legislator. Came here for the wrong reasons and contributed nothing,” a senior Republican aide said in a text to NOTUS’ Reese Gorman this weekend. That’s the read from those recalling MTG’s conspiratorial tendencies.

What to make of this? Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority will be down to 218, and MTG could be wrong — she’s been wrong a lot, about a lot of stuff (e.g. the space lasers). But the scarier thing for Republicans is she may be right.

Open Tabs “I’m not running for President and never said I wanted to” (MTG on X); Big changes to the agency charged with securing elections lead to midterm worries (AP); Israeli strike on Beirut kills top Hezbollah military official (WaPo); DOGE ‘doesn’t exist’ with eight months left on its charter (Reuters)

From the White House

“A shared understanding that today marked a significant step forward,” was the readout from the White House yesterday after the first day of Ukraine peace talks in Geneva. There’s a lot of pressure on these talks to turn the page on a war Trump promised to end “on day one.”

“The talks were constructive, focused, and respectful, underscoring the shared commitment to achieving a just and lasting peace,” read the joint statement from the U.S. and Ukraine.

Russian mixed messaging? A group of senators claimed Secretary of State Marco Rubio told them the plan didn’t actually come from the U.S.

“It is not our peace plan. It is a proposal that was received, and as an intermediary, we have made arrangements to share it — and we did not release it. It was leaked,” GOP Sen. Mike Rounds told reporters Saturday. Rounds is among the bipartisan group of senators who say the plan was written by Russia, NOTUS’ Violet Jira reports.

“The peace proposal was authored by the U.S.,” read a Saturday night post on X from Rubio.

From the campaign trail

Bernie’s 2026 Democratic test: Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed seven candidates in congressional races last cycle. Five lost their primaries, and two went on to win in the general.

NOTUS’ Torrie Herrington reports that Bernie’s 2026 endorsement is being sought by many candidates who believe his political moment has well and truly arrived. Only one person Bernie endorsed in 2025 lost. Everyone else, from Mamdani to Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Susan Crawford — has won.

Trump’s 2026 Democratic test: “Honestly, if this president and this Congress were doing things that were even remotely acceptable, I wouldn’t be running for the U.S. Senate,” Gov. Janet Mills told voters when she announced her 2026 campaign. NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports that Trump has been the DSCC’s recruiting ace in the hole, drawing a number of recalcitrant Democrats who were headed for the good life, such as former Sen. Sherrod Brown and former Gov. Roy Cooper.

Sources tell Alex that former Alaska Rep. Mary Peltola is so fed up with Trump she’s seriously considering a run for Senate, too.

NEW ON NOTUS

ICE’s October numbers: 41,641 people were arrested by ICE last month, the highest single-month total of Trump 2.0. NOTUS’ Jackie Llanos digs into the numbers: More than 65,000 people are in immigration detention, a 67% increase from the average daily population in detention last November. The largest percentage of people detained don’t have criminal convictions or pending charges.

Can MGP stay Blue Dog and win? In 2022, Brent Hennrich stepped aside to clear the Democratic field for Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. Next year, Hennrich is trying to defeat her in a primary, running on all the grievances the base has with Democrats who, for example, were opposed to last month’s government shutdown. NOTUS’ Helen Huiskes reports on what could prove to be an interesting test for MGP.

New York’s green politics mess. “The climate movement at large, anything we’re thinking about now, I think the single-biggest barrier to change is Kathy Hochul,” Food & Water Watch’s Alex Beauchamp told NOTUS’ Shifra Dayak. New York was home to some of the climate movement’s greatest policy victories in recent years, but now activists are seeing the need for a change in leadership.

Hochul said she’s still a climate champion but that the policy focus needs to include affordability, too.

More: Kennedy Defends Changes to CDC Website’s Vaccine Language; A Proposed Map for South Carolina Targets Jim Clyburn’s District

COMING SOON!

Introducing On NOTUS, our new podcast hosted by NOTUS congressional reporter Reese Gorman. Each episode explores a lawmaker’s background, their journey to Washington and what motivates them. Our inaugural episode with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise drops Monday, Dec. 1.

Check out the full trailer and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

NOT US

• The FBI spied on a Signal group chat of immigration activists, records reveal By Sam Levin for the Guardian
• F.B.I. Letters Send Shivers Through California’s Political Inner Circle By Laurel Rosenhall for The New York Times
• Kyrsten Sinema Is Ready for Her MAHA Turn by Erin Schumaker for Politico
• We Analyzed 5,000 Calls to Find Out What CEOs Really Think About Tariffs by Theo Francis for The Wall Street Journal

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