đ Programming note: A quick update on what to expect from WTFJHT as we head into the holidays... Iâll be publishing Monday, Dec. 29 and Tuesday, Dec. 30, before returning to my regular MondayâThursday schedule on Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. As always, if something truly WTF-y happens, Iâll be here. Otherwise, this is a short pause to recharge and spend some time with family. Thanks for reading, sharing, and supporting this project. It means a lot and Iâm glad youâre here. -MATT
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A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
Day 53: Contraction.
1/ 24 million would lose insurance under the G.O.P. health bill within a decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found. Democrats criticized Republicans for pushing the health care bill through two House committees last week before the Congressional Budget Office had weighed in, saying it was irresponsible to begin considering legislation without a firm grip on its potential costs and ramifications. (New York Times)
- Republicans may soon get a preview of the political price of health reform. The CBO will issue a report likely showing that millions of people may lose coverage under Republican health care legislation. (CNN)
2/ Trumpâs budget proposal is expected to create historic contraction in the federal workforce if enacted. The spending budget Trump is set to release this week will offer the clearest snapshot of his vision: a smaller government, less involved in regulating life in America, with private companies and states playing a much bigger role. (Washington Post)
3/ The House Intelligence panel wants wiretapping evidence today. Trump has not offered evidence to support his explosive wiretapping tweets, in which he compared the alleged wiretapping to the Watergate scandal. (NBC News)
4/ House investigators on a Trump-Russia âcollision courseâ as the top Republican on the intelligence committee was also on Trumpâs transition team. The lead Democrat is a fierce Trump critic. (Politico)
5/ Kellyanne Conway: âI donât have any evidenceâ of Trump wiretapping claim. Conway said that previous comments she made linking WikiLeaksâ release of nearly 8,000 documents that purportedly reveal secrets about the CIAâs tools for breaking into targeted computers, cellphones and smart TVs to Trumpâs claims were about âsurveillance generallyâ and not meant to be taken as specific proof that his allegation was true. (ABC News)
UPDATE:
Spicer: Trump didnât mean wiretapping when he tweeted about wiretapping. Last week, Spicer said Trumpâs tweet âspeaks for itselfâ and declined to provide any further explanation. But today, Spicer was open to providing an interpretation for Trumpâs tweet, saying the President told Spicer he was referring to means of surveillance beyond wiretapping. (CNN)
Conway: Magic microwaves may have spied on Trump. Thereâs really nothing else left to write⌠(The Daily Beast)
- Conway defends Trumpâs wiretap claim by citing âmicrowaves that turn into cameras.â The Trump administration continues to provide no evidence for the presidentâs claim that Obama ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower. (Huffington Post)
6/ Trump said no Americans would lose coverage under Obamacare repeal. Paul Ryan wonât make that promise. The GOP House speaker said it depends on how many choose not to buy insurance once the mandate is lifted; he ducked the question of how many would no longer be able to afford it. (Washington Post)
- Ryan said he agrees with Trump that there will be a âbloodbathâ in 2018 if Republicans donât follow through on their repeal promises. (Axios)
- Another key Republican senator knocks the GOP Obamacare plan. Sen. Dean Heller panned House Speaker Paul Ryanâs bill to repeal and replace Obamacare during a closed meeting with constituents, raising numerous objections to the House bill. (Politico)
7/ The big winner in Trumpâs decision to fire Preet Bharara might be Rupert Murdoch. The federal prosecutor was in the middle of a delicate case focusing on the conduct of Fox News executives. (New York Magazine)
- Abrupt dismissals leave US attorneys scrambling. The quick exits arenât expected to have a major impact on ongoing prosecutions, but they gave U.S. attorneys little time to prepare deputies who will take over until successors are named. (Associated Press)
8/ Trumpâs budget director claims the Obama administration was âmanipulatingâ jobs data. Mick Mulvaney said he has long thought the previous administration framed data to make the unemployment rate âlook smaller than it actually was.â (CNN)
9/ Trump expected to announce vehicle emissions rules review. Automakers have been pushing the Trump administration for months to reverse the Obama administration decision, which would raise the fleet average fuel efficiency to more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025 from 27.5 mpg in 2010. (Reuters)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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