The Sunday — November 23

This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading. 

What the left is doodling.

What the right is doodling.

Monday, November 17.

The latest on the Epstein files. On Sunday, November 16, after suggesting last week that House Republicans should vote against legislation compelling the Justice Department to release most of its files on Jeffrey Epstein, President Donald Trump said that they should pass it “because we have nothing to hide,” calling the story a “Democrat Hoax.” On Tuesday, November 18, the House of Representatives voted 427–1 on legislation. The bill then passed by unanimous consent in the Senate, and President Trump signed the bill on Wednesday, November 19. The legislation follows the House Committee on Oversight’s release of approximately 20,000 documents from the Epstein estate; the documents contain repeated mentions of Trump and other public figures.  

Our take: “Everyone has a pet story they can pick from the Epstein files. The latest email dump confirms some of what we knew and provides only a little new information. We still don’t know everything about Trump’s involvement, and we need to know more about just how far Epstein’s influence extended.”

Reader Survey:

Tuesday, November 18.

The latest on the economy. In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has announced or proposed several measures to address the cost of living. These moves come against the backdrop of an uncertain economic outlook, as voters have expressed concern about rising prices, and financial markets have experienced significant selloffs. While President Trump has maintained that the economy remains strong, some Republicans have called on him to refocus his agenda on affordability issues ahead of the 2026 midterms. 

Our take: “Traditional indicators don’t tell the whole story — inflation continues to outpace wage growth. Trump is pursuing an affordability agenda of messaging, tariffs, and ad hoc populism. So far, it isn’t working — and the government should adjust before the market does.”

Reader Survey:

Wednesday, November 19.

The hemp ban. Last Wednesday, November 12, President Donald Trump signed legislation to reopen the government that contained several additional provisions, including a ban on products made with THC derived from hemp. The ban reverses a provision in the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized the sale of hemp products with a low concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9 THC); that 2018 measure inadvertently allowed for legal production of THC-infused drinks, creams, gummies, oils, and vapes. The new provision is not an outright ban on all hemp and hemp products, but it narrows the definition of lawful hemp and imposes restrictions on both total THC limits and cannabinoids synthesized from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD).

Our take: “I have had concerns about the potency and addictiveness of legal cannabis for years. A full prohibition on these products, however, goes too far. Congress should consider more focused restrictions to address public-health concerns.”

Reader Survey:

Thursday, November 20.

Mohammed bin Salman’s U.S. visit. Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) visited the United States this week to discuss U.S.–Saudi security partnerships and business relations. On Tuesday, November 18, President Donald Trump welcomed MBS to the White House for a private conversation and Oval Office meeting where they took questions from the press. The next day, MBS met privately with Democratic and Republican members of Congress, and Trump spoke at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum. Throughout the visit, Trump and MBS expressed optimism about future U.S.–Saudi relations, including Saudi Arabia’s participation in peace negotiations in Gaza and the potential for bilateral business agreements.

Our take: “The MBS visit showcased the good, the bad, and the ugly of Trump’s dealmaking. These agreements could be enormously beneficial to the U.S., but we seem to be giving up more than we’re getting back. The president’s callous disregard for Saudi Arabia’s human rights record casts a pall over the entire visit.”

Reader Survey:

Friday, November 21.

It’s not exactly headline news that we’re living through a period of intense political polarization. We constantly hear about our divisions, but just how much Americans agree on often gets lost in the noise. This week, Executive Editor Isaac Saul asked and answered: What would a presidential campaign built on that broad, under-discussed consensus look like? You can read his 10-point platform here.

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What just happened.

Here are a few stories that have broken since our last newsletter on Thursday.

• On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. labor market added 119,000 jobs in September, significantly exceeding economists’ expectations of 50,000 jobs gained for the month. Separately, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4%. The report’s release was delayed several weeks by the government shutdown. (The report)
• On Thursday, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that several Democratic senators had engaged in “seditious behavior” and should be put on trial for a video posted on Tuesday in which the senators told military and intelligence officers to “refuse illegal orders.” In a separate post, Trump wrote, “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” He also reshared a post from a Truth Social user that read, “Hang them George Washington would.” Asked about the posts on Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was not calling for members of Congress to be executed. (The posts)
• On Thursday, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to halt the National Guard’s deployment in Washington, D.C. while a challenge to the mobilization moves through the courts. The order will be delayed 21 days to allow the administration to file a challenge. (The ruling)
• On Thursday, multiple outlets reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had updated a page on its website to say that scientific research has not ruled out the possibility that vaccines given to infants lead to autism. Another line on the website, which read “Vaccines do not cause autism,” was updated with an asterisk that said “Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities.” (The updates)
• On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country faces “one of the most difficult moments in our history” amid reports that the Trump administration has given him until Thanksgiving to respond to its 28-point plan to end the war in Ukraine. The proposal reportedly requires Ukraine to cede some land to Russia and reduce the size of its military in return for security guarantees from the United States, among other provisions. (The proposal) 
• On Friday, President Trump hosted New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani (D) at the White House. After the two met in private, they took questions from the press in the Oval Office, and both emphasized their interest in working together to address affordability issues in New York City. Trump also expressed optimism about Mamdani’s tenure. (The meeting)
• On Friday, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ruled that Texas can temporarily resume using its redrawn congressional map that is expected to benefit Republicans. A panel of federal judges struck down the new map last week, but Alito’s decision will allow candidates to file for office under the new boundaries while the Supreme Court considers Texas’s appeal to the lower court ruling. (The decision)
• On Friday, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) announced she will resign from Congress on January 5, 2026, saying she did not want to pursue a difficult primary election after President Trump publicly denounced her and withdrew his endorsement. (The announcement)
• On Friday, a jury found Ohio police officer Connor Grubb not guilty on all counts in the death of Ta’Kiya Young, who Grubb shot and killed in 2023 while confronting her for an alleged shoplifting offense. Young was seven months pregnant when she was killed, but the charges against Grubb related to the death of the baby were dropped by the judge earlier in the case. (The verdict)
• On Saturday, Reuters reported that the United States military is preparing to launch new Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, though the nature and scope of those operations are not yet clear. (The report)

Reader essay.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, Stout Cortez is looking back on fond memories of dinners spent ’round the holiday table, listening to his uncle’s drawn-out, convoluted, torturous puns. To help you torture your relatives this week, Stout tried his hand at crafting a joke worthy of Thanksgiving dinner.