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Last Week in WTF: November 9-12

By Matt Kiser Nov 14, 2026, 6:00am PT

1,694 words8½‑min read

Last week in one sentence: Trump pulled JD Vance out of negotiations to end the Iran war and ordered him to “focus his complete and total attention” on alleged “Massive Corruption and Crime” in Democratic-run cities and states; Trump suggested that former Apple CEO Tim Cook take over Nvidia after Jensen Huang abruptly resigned following reports that he had affairs with a suspected Chinese spy, an executive who reported to him, and a second employee; House Republicans blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; White House counsel Will Scharf threatened criminal investigations of Democrats over their planned oversight of the Trump administration; the Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Trump administration of mishandling the Epstein files; and Trump threatened to immediately double tariffs on Mexico unless it stopped migrants traveling toward the U.S. border.

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🗞️ The Week in WTF.

1/ Trump pulled JD Vance out of negotiations to end the Iran war and ordered him to “focus his complete and total attention” on alleged “Massive Corruption and Crime” in Democratic-run cities and states. “We don’t need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed,” Trump said, days after authorizing Vance to pursue talks to end the nine-month war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and restrict Iran’s nuclear program. The U.S. military, meanwhile, evacuated 13 aircraft from RAF Mildenhall following a reported threat from Iran, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved from his home to a military base for his safety following threats from Iran. On Nov. 4, Vance blamed Republicans’ midterm losses on the war, saying, “The reason we lost is the war.” (Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Wednesday, Nov. 4)

The U.S. military secretly carried out airstrikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of the midterm elections. (Tuesday, Nov. 3)

2/ Trump suggested that former Apple CEO Tim Cook take over Nvidia after Jensen Huang abruptly resigned following reports that he had affairs with a suspected Chinese spy, an executive who reported to him, and a second employee. Nvidia named chief financial officer Colette Kress interim CEO and began searching for a permanent successor. There’s no indication the company is considering Cook. Huang acknowledged a relationship with a former executive at Nvidia customer Megaspeed, who U.S. intelligence officials suspect was recruited by China’s spy agency. Megaspeed is under investigation for allegedly smuggling restricted Nvidia chips into China. Trump was reportedly warned about the intelligence concerns in October 2025, then approved sales of advanced Nvidia chips to China two months later. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast said Huang agreed to testify, while Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer demanded answers about whether Nvidia put U.S. national security at risk and what the administration did after learning about the relationship. (Monday / Wednesday / Thursday)

3/ House Republicans blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth by sending the charges to committee, effectively killing the effort for the rest of the Republican-controlled Congress. Rep. Thomas Massie, the only Republican to join Democrats in opposing the move, accused Hegseth of waging war in Iran without congressional authorization and directing unlawful strikes on suspected drug boats. Hegseth dismissed the charges as “partisan policy disagreements” and called the impeachment effort “sabotage.” Democrats could revive the effort when they take control of Congress in January. (Monday / Tuesday)

4/ White House counsel Will Scharf threatened criminal investigations of Democrats over their planned oversight of the Trump administration. In a letter to incoming House Oversight Committee Chair Robert Garcia, Scharf claimed Democrats’ subpoena threats showed an intent to harass officials that “may cross the line into blatant criminality.” Trump had already ordered the Justice Department to investigate Democrats, claiming without evidence that they threatened Republican donors with imprisonment and administration officials with impeachment. Democrats are expected to investigate the administration’s handling of the Epstein files, tariffs, and immigration policies. Garcia responded: “We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers.” (Monday / Wednesday)

Trump said he would consider preemptive pardons for Elon Musk and his administration aides if Democrats win control of the House and start investigating them. (Monday, Nov. 2)

5/ The Republican-led House Oversight Committee accused the Trump administration of mishandling the Epstein files and called on the Justice Department to reinterview key witnesses and investigate allegations against Epstein’s associates. The committee’s report said the department missed disclosure deadlines, exposed victims’ information through deficient redactions, concealed names of alleged co-conspirators, and failed to give survivors access to their own records. Republicans concluded there was no evidence implicating Trump in Epstein’s crimes. The committee’s top Democrat, Robert Garcia, called the report “based on an incomplete investigation and zero public hearings,” claimed the department is illegally withholding more than 2.5 million pages of records, and vowed to continue the investigation when Democrats take control of the House in January. (Tuesday)

Rep. Thomas Massie said he expects to get the 218 signatures needed to force a House vote on a second Epstein files transparency bill (Thursday, Nov. 5)

6/ Trump threatened to immediately double tariffs on Mexico unless it stopped migrants traveling toward the U.S. border. Trump claimed “Huge CARAVANS” were forming, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said no caravan had reached the border since Trump returned to office. The threat came after Trump acknowledged that his deportation campaign had been “too tough” and hurt Republicans in the midterms. He later named Stephen Miller, the architect of the crackdown, as his new White House chief of staff. ICE, meanwhile, deported a record 483,200 people in the last fiscal year, though the Department of Homeland Security didn’t say how many had criminal records. In midterm exit polls, 58% of voters said Trump’s immigration enforcement had gone too far. (Monday / Thursday)

⏰ The Dept. of WTF Just Happened.

A few updates since my last, well, update.

The FAA lifted a nearly five-hour nationwide ground stop Friday after an air traffic control outage. A contractor doing routine maintenance to upgrade a copper communications wire to fiber optic cable in a remote facility caused a router to overload the air traffic control system with more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the old switches and routers overloaded with data caused intermittent radar and communications problems. “This is an emergency,” Duffy said, warning that the recovery would take time and, without significant upgrades, the air traffic control system was “going to continue to fail.” He added, “Give us the money to fix it.” Duffy had been seeking $30 billion from Congress to upgrade the system, but then upped his demand to: “I want $50 billion.” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, meanwhile, said there was “zero evidence” that a cyberattack or artificial intelligence played a role. He said technology upgrades were “overwhelming” the existing flight communication system. The FAA expects up to 5,000 cancellations Saturday, but said airlines are expected to restore full schedules by tomorrow night. (Associated Press / Reuters / New York Times / Politico / NBC News)
Alaska elected its first Democrat for governor for the first time since 1998. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins defeated three Republicans, including one endorsed by Trump. Kreiss-Tomkins is the youngest governor in state history. (New York Times / Associated Press)
Democrat Mary Peltola increased her lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska’s still-uncalled Senate race. Peltola had 49.8% of first-choice votes. If no candidate wins a majority, Alaska will count voters’ ranked choices on Nov. 18. (AKPM Alaska Public Media / New York Times)
Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert lost her House seat to Democrat Eileen Laubacher. Republicans carried the district by more than 18 percentage points in 2024. (Associated Press)
The U.S. lost its measles elimination status after 26 years. The CDC reported more than 5,400 measles cases this year, the most since 1991, and at least 10 people have died. To regain elimination status, the U.S. must stop continuous transmission for at least 12 months. (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / CNN)

📊 The Dept. of Numbers.

A few figures that caught my eye this week.

71% of Americans want Congress to pass legislation to end Trump’s war with Iran, including 93% of Democrats and 51% of Republicans.
ICE deported a record 483,200 people in the last fiscal year – more than at any time in its 23-year history.
A federal judge allowed Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC to proceed. The BBC’s documentary spliced parts of Trump’s Jan. 6 speech, creating the impression he urged supporters to storm the Capitol, while omitting a line in which he told them to march “peacefully and patriotically.”
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in October, more than economists expected, but down from September’s 0.6% increase. Prior to the October CPI report, Fed Gov. Christopher Waller said a half-point interest rate hike should be considered in December if core prices rose at least 0.3%.
Gas fell below $4 a gallon nationwide for the first time since July. While the national average reached $3.98, down nearly 39 cents from a month ago, gas remains about a dollar a gallon higher than when the war with Iran began.

👀 Most Clicked.

The articles I linked to that caught your eye this week.

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