Today in One Sentence. The Justice Department charged 28 legal permanent residents in California with voting-related crimes and arrested 11; Trump called a federal judge “a crazed lunatic” and declared that construction at East Potomac Golf Links would begin “IMMEDIATELY”; Trump signed an executive order creating a women’s health division at the National Institutes of Health, as well as a White House task force; Trump ordered an investigation into allegations that one of his top advisers promised presidential access in exchange for a Kennedy Center donation; 71% of Americans think the country is on the “wrong track”; 52% of likely voters support the Democratic candidate in their congressional district; and 31% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president.

1/ The Justice Department charged 28 legal permanent residents in California with voting-related crimes and arrested 11. All 28 appeared on a list of more than 20,000 voters the Trump administration claims are “likely noncitizens.” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter accused California of “state-facilitated voter fraud,” and asked a federal judge to set aside the ballots from everyone on the list until their citizenship could be verified. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, however, said the department provided no evidence supporting its list and didn’t explain how it identified the voters. Los Angeles County election officials also refused to open a password-protected thumb drive containing the names, citing privacy and security protocols. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, meanwhile, called the 28 cases “a drop in the bucket” among the state’s 23 million registered voters. Noncitizen voting is extremely rare. (Associated Press / New York Times / Bloomberg / CBS News / Democracy Docket)

2/ Trump called a federal judge “a crazed lunatic” and declared that construction at East Potomac Golf Links would begin “IMMEDIATELY.” U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes questioned whether the Trump administration had misled the court about its plans to overhaul the public golf course, saying, “There is no universe in which all of this just coincidentally happens at the same time.” Last week, Reyes barred further tree removal through Oct. 26 after the National Park Service cut down hundreds of trees with little notice. Reyes wrote: “Breakneck speed to clear trees that posed no harm. The reason? Disputed. The budget? Unclear. The environmental impact? Unstudied. The urgency? None. Next steps: bulldoze hundreds more.” The Justice Department then sought to remove her from the case, citing hostility toward the government. Reyes denied the motion. (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / CNN / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / NBC News)

3/ Trump signed an executive order creating a women’s health division at the National Institutes of Health, as well as a White House task force. The new division doesn’t replace the NIH’s existing Office of Research on Women’s Health, which was established in 1990. Trump, nevertheless, appeared unaware of its existence, asking, “Who the hell wouldn’t have a women’s health division?” White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the new task force. (Associated Press / Washington Post / CBS News / NBC News)

4/ Trump ordered an investigation into allegations that one of his top advisers promised presidential access in exchange for a Kennedy Center donation. Ric Grenell allegedly promised Turkish billionaire Turhan Mildon “VIP events” and a chance to “get close with the administration, even with POTUS” in exchange for a donation. Mildon claimed, at Grenell’s direction, he wired $17.6 million to a Texas defense company, and that roughly $5.6 million was intended for the Kennedy Center, which Grenell was leading at the time. The Kennedy Center, however, never received the donation, and a White House official said the $17.6 million actually came from Congo’s Finance Ministry. (Axios)

poll/ 71% of Americans think the country is on the “wrong track” – the highest level of Trump’s second term. (NBC News)

poll/ 52% of likely voters support the Democratic candidate in their congressional district, compared with 44% for Republicans. Among registered voters, Democrats’ lead grew from three points in July to eight points in October. (Washington Post / ABC News)

poll/ 31% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, while 66% disapprove. (Reuters)

The 2026 midterms are in 15 days; and the 2028 presidential election is in 750 days.

⏰ Dept. of Since I’ve Been Gone.

What just happened since my last update.

  1. White House press secretary Katie Zacharia was fired after five days on the job and one briefing. Trump said he had urged Zacharia to “reconsider” the job, saying: “The news has been so nasty to her. I’ve never seen anything like it actually. And I said to her, ‘honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider. You think about it, but I would reconsider.” Her first press briefing lasted about 14 minutes, where she spent most of the briefing reading prepared remarks praising Trump. She also called herself a lawyer, despite failing her bar exam. When asked which state she passed the bar in, Zacharia replied: “When I moved to China.” She is the shortest-tenured press secretary. Anthony Scaramucci, who served 11 days as White House communications director during Trump’s first term, said: “Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.” (New York Times / Axios / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Mother Jones / The Hill / Politico)

  2. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles reportedly helped arrange a Sean Hannity interview an insider called a “sanctioned hit.” Hannity grilled Katie Zacharia, who was not Wiles’ preferred press secretary, over her first briefing and failed bar exam. She was fired hours later. Another insider said Wiles and White House spokesperson Danielle Alvarez “fed her to Hannity.” Meanwhile, a top Trump adviser said Wiles herself was in “some deep shit,” as Trump is reportedly considering replacing her amid his falling poll numbers. Trump, however, insisted there was “zero chance” he would replace her. (Politico / Mediaite / CNN / Zeteo)

  3. Elon Musk donated $158 million last month to the main super PAC supporting Senate Republicans, which immediately sent the money to the group supporting Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign in Texas. Musk gave the Senate Leadership Fund $75 million on Sept. 9 and $83 million on Sept. 23. The day after each donation, it sent the same amount to Texas PAC. (Wired / New York Times / CBS News / CNBC)

  4. Elon Musk reportedly proposed slowing down Ukraine’s military-grade Starshield satellite system to Trump. The restrictions disrupted Ukraine’s ability to intercept Russian drones for 24 hours. Musk, however, denied responsibility and said the restrictions on Starshield were decided by the U.S. military and “ultimately POTUS.” Trump also denied involvement, insisting that “it wasn’t us.” The restrictions came at the time of Trump’s demands that Ukraine stop striking Russian oil refineries and warnings that intelligence-sharing could be cut off. (The Telegraph / Axios)

  5. Trump waived new Russia sanctions and tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas two days before they were set to take effect. He cited the national interests, but didn’t explain why. (CNBC / Wall Street Journal / CNN / CBS News / New York Times)