Last week in one sentence: Twelve senators, including six Republicans, urged Trump to rescind his diesel deal with Putin, calling it “a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies”; the Trump administration is reportedly investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar as part of an effort to strip her of U.S. citizenship and deport her; the Justice Department sued California to stop it from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 voters it claims are “likely noncitizens”; the White House forced Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece; a federal judge extended his order blocking Trump from banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters from the White House; and “Dozens of letters” with “suspicious substances” were mailed to state election officials and congressional offices.

🧩 The news quiz.

Who was forced to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece following allegations involving donors, business interests, and luxury travel? That and seven more questions about this week’s news. Answers and explanations as you go.

Take the Last Week in WTF News Quiz

1/ Twelve senators, including six Republicans, urged Trump to rescind his diesel deal with Putin, calling it “a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies.” They called on him to revoke a Treasury Department waiver allowing Russian fuel imports through April 2027. A smaller bipartisan group argued that the waiver violated a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports, because the administration hadn’t consulted Congress or provided the required justification. Trump, nevertheless, defended the deal as “the right choice.” (Monday / Tuesday)

2/ The Trump administration is reportedly investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar as part of an effort to strip her of U.S. citizenship and deport her. Federal agents searched Omar’s Washington home 22 days before the midterm elections, seizing her cellphone, computers, notebooks, and passport. Investigators issued more than a dozen grand jury subpoenas, including to Omar’s relatives, while examining whether she or her late father changed her age from 18 to 17 on citizenship paperwork, which would have allowed her to obtain citizenship automatically through him. The Justice Department said the search warrant was court-approved but declined to provide details. Omar hasn’t been charged with a crime, denied committing immigration fraud, and accused Trump of trying to “target political enemies and weaponize federal law enforcement.” (Monday / Thursday)

3/ The Justice Department sued California to stop it from counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 voters it claims are “likely noncitizens.” The department asked a judge to block the ballots in the Nov. 3 midterms until the voters’ citizenship could be verified, after giving California 48 hours to review its list and set aside their mail ballots. Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan said his office hadn’t accessed the list, which was delivered on a password-protected thumb drive with the password written on a sticky note, because the device conflicted with security protocols. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the department provided no evidence or explanation for how it identified the alleged noncitizens, calling the demands “an emergency of the DOJ’s creation.” (Thursday)

4/ The White House forced Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign as U.S. ambassador to Greece. A Trump donor claimed Guilfoyle asked him to pay her $100,000 American Express bill before her Senate confirmation hearing in exchange for access to administration officials. He didn’t pay. Guilfoyle also faced allegations that she promoted a Greek company’s business interests in diplomatic meetings and accepted luxury travel from wealthy businessmen. Guilfoyle denied wrongdoing, and the State Department’s inspector general is examining the allegations. Trump said she “was doing a good job, but we didn’t like what we were reading.” (Tuesday)

5/ A federal judge extended his order blocking Trump from banning CNN, MS NOW, and Politico reporters from the White House. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said the ban likely violated the reporters’ free speech and due process rights and found “just about no evidence in the record” to justify it on national security grounds. The Justice Department, meanwhile, opened an antitrust investigation into ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News, and NBC after they temporarily suspended pooled TV coverage of Trump in response to the ban. The department demanded communications about the TV pool and CNN’s exclusion, saying “group boycotts among commercial competitors can violate the Sherman Act.” (Monday / Wednesday)

6/ “Dozens of letters” with “suspicious substances” were mailed to state election officials and congressional offices. The FBI, Capitol Police, and Postal Inspection Service are investigating the mailings, which were sent to at least five Democratic Senate offices. Most were intercepted before delivery. Tests found no hazardous material in mailings received in Louisiana and Wisconsin. (Thursday)

⏰ 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)

📊 The Dept. of Numbers.

A few figures that caught my eye this week.

  • 47% of voters want “substantial change” in how the country is run, with 33% saying they want a “complete and total upheaval.”

  • 33% of Americans said they trust the executive branch, 28% Congress, and 46% the judiciary – all historic lows. Meanwhile, 51% said they trust their fellow Americans to make democratic decisions, down from 86% in 1976 and the lowest level recorded in more than 50 years.

  • 56% of Americans say Trump has prioritized his personal business interests “a lot” since returning to the White House, while 23% say he’s prioritized the country. 41% say Trump’s done something illegal to personally profit from the presidency, while 18% say his conduct has been unethical, but not illegal.

  • U.S. inflation rose to 3.7% in September from a year earlier and 0.6% from August, the largest monthly increase in five months. Gas prices jumped 9.1% and accounted for more than half the increase. Wages adjusted for inflation fell from a year earlier for the sixth consecutive month.

  • The Social Security Administration set a 3.6% cost-of-living increase for 2027, the largest adjustment since 2023. Security’s retirement trust fund, meanwhile, is projected to run out in 2032, which will trigger an automatic 22% cut in retirement benefits unless Congress acts.

👀 Most clicked.

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

  1. Administration delays release of IRS data showing impact of GOP tax cuts. (Politico)
  2. Trump’s Zelensky attack, Russia diesel deal draw criticism in U.S. and abroad. “Several Republicans objected to Trump’s stance. ’I do believe there’s a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law, said Sen. Thom Tillis.” (Washington Post)
  3. Six senators call for Trump administration to ‘immediately reverse course’ on Russian diesel plan. “A bipartisan group of six senators are calling on President Donald Trump’s administration to ‘immediately reverse course’ on a plan to purchase diesel from Russia as part of an effort to lower high fuel prices.” (Associated Press)
  4. Authorities investigate ‘suspicious substances’ mailed to congressional offices. “It is unclear if the letters in question made it past off-site screening facilities.” (Politico)
  5. After Russian diesel deal, Trump faces new crisis over Ukraine. “President Trump’s surprise decision to suspend sanctions on Russian diesel fuel stunned Ukrainian and European officials, who were meeting with U.S. envoys at an exclusive golf club near Miami.” (New York Times)

📰 Daily editions.

Monday · Tuesday · Wednesday · Thursday