Posted by Matt Kiser
https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2025/11/17/day-1763/
Today in one sentence: Trump rolled back reciprocal tariffs on beef, coffee, bananas, tomatoes, tea, cocoa and fruit juices to ease grocery prices that increased as a result of his tariffs; Trump threatened to back primary challengers against Indiana state lawmakers who oppose his mid-cycle congressional redistricting plan; Trump urged House Republicans to vote for the release of Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein, after weeks of trying to stop the vote; Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a Justice Department investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s relationships with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman and JPMorgan Chase; Trump withdrew his endorsement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and called her a “traitor” after she joined the bipartisan effort to force a House vote on releasing Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein; the U.N. Security Council approved Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan; Trump will host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House for the first time since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which a CIA assessment said the prince likely ordered; the Trump administration will designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization on Nov. 24; and Trump defended Tucker Carlson interviewing white nationalist Nick Fuentes, saying “you can’t tell him who to interview” and that “people have to decide,” while adding he didn’t “know much about him.”
1/ Trump rolled back reciprocal tariffs on beef, coffee, bananas, tomatoes, tea, cocoa and fruit juices to ease grocery prices that increased as a result of his tariffs. The White House said the cuts follow new trade deals and apply to products “not produced in the United States,” while Trump said he “did a little bit of a rollback on some foods like coffee.” Administration officials, however, said inflation and voter anger over grocery prices shaped the action, while some industries and lawmakers said the change showed Trump’s tariffs had raised costs. Ranchers and food producers, meanwhile, warned that broad tariff exemptions could harm domestic suppliers. The rollback comes as the Supreme Court considers whether Trump exceeded his legal authority in imposing the reciprocal tariffs. (Wall Street Journal / Washington Post / Associated Press / Bloomberg / Axios / Politico / Associated Press / New York Times / CNBC / NBC News)
2/ Trump threatened to back primary challengers against Indiana state lawmakers who oppose his mid-cycle congressional redistricting plan. He targeted Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray after Bray said the Senate lacked the votes to take up maps that would expand the state’s 7-to-2 Republican delegation. Hours after Trump’s criticism, Sen. Greg Goode was the target of a swatting incident that deputies and federal authorities are investigating. Meanwhile, several Indiana Republican senators, including Jean Leising and Kyle Walker, said they would vote against redistricting because contacts from their constituents ran heavily against the plan. (Politico / NBC News / CNN / Axios / Associated Press)
3/ Trump urged House Republicans to vote for the release of Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein, after weeks of trying to stop a vote on the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act. “We have nothing to hide,” Trump said. “It’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax.” The House is expected to vote this week after a discharge petition gathered 218 signatures from all Democrats and four Republicans. Dozens of additional Republicans are expected to support the legislation, which would direct the Justice Department to release all unclassified records, including flight logs, travel and financial records, names, internal communications and documents about the handling or destruction of Epstein-related evidence, with redactions for victims and ongoing investigations. While Trump said he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk, its future in the Senate is unclear. (Washington Post / New York Times / NPR / Reuters / ABC News / Politico / Associated Press / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Axios / CBS News / NBC News / The Guardian / Axios)
- EARLIER: Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to open a Justice Department investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s relationships with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman and JPMorgan Chase. Despite a July DOJ–FBI memo said investigators “did not uncover evidence that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” Bondi assigned U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to lead the probe. The directive follows the release of thousands of Epstein estate emails, including several that mentioned Trump. (Associated Press / CNN / Politico / ABC News / The Guardian / NBC News)
4/ Trump withdrew his endorsement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and called her a “traitor” after she joined the bipartisan effort to force a House vote on releasing Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein. “All I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!” Trump said, adding that he would back a primary challenger in her Georgia district. Greene responded that Trump “attacked me and lied about me,” saying his opposition to releasing the Epstein files was “astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out.” Later, she said Trump’s remarks “put my life in danger” after her office received threats and a pipe bomb scare. (Reuters / Wall Street Journal / CBS News / Associated Press / Bloomberg / NPR / Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Bloomberg / Politico)
5/ A federal judge ordered prosecutors to give James Comey’s lawyers all grand jury materials after finding possible government misconduct that could justify dismissing the charges. Judge William Fitzpatrick said the record showed “a disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps,” including two misstatements of law by acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan and the use of evidence taken from a prior investigation without a new warrant. He questioned gaps in the grand jury transcript and said an FBI agent may have testified after reviewing material that included potentially privileged attorney-client communications. Comey is charged with making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding based on claims that he denied in 2020 Senate testimony authorizing his associate Dan Richman to act as an anonymous source for news stories. (NBC News / The Guardian / Associated Press / Reuters / Politico / New York Times / CNN / Washington Post)
6/ The U.N. Security Council approved Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan. The measure passed 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining, authorizes a temporary International Stabilization Force to be deployed to Gaza and a “Board of Peace” to govern and rebuild the enclave through 2027, which would be chaired by Trump. The resolution says that after reforms in the Palestinian Authority and progress in Gaza’s redevelopment, “the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” and directs the United States to start a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians on future coexistence. Arab and Muslim countries including Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey backed the plan. Hamas rejected the resolution as “an attempt to impose international guardianship over Gaza and promote a vision biased toward the occupation.” Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “our opposition to a Palestinian state in any territory has not changed.” (New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / Associated Press / Axios / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Bloomberg / NBC News)
7/ Trump will host Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House for the first time since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which a CIA assessment said the prince likely ordered. Ahead of the visit, Trump told reporters “we’ll be selling F-35s” to Saudi Arabia, despite concerns from U.S. officials that the sale could expose sensitive technology to China and affect Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” At the same time, the Trump Organization is in talks on a possible Trump-branded project in the Saudi government’s Diriyah development, which the project’s chief executive said was “just a matter of time.” Trump also said he hoped Saudi Arabia would enter the Abraham Accords “fairly shortly,” while Saudi officials continued to link any normalization with Israel to a mutual defense agreement with Washington and a “credible” path to Palestinian statehood. (CNN / New York Times / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press / New York Times)
8/ The Trump administration will designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization on Nov. 24. Trump said that “I sort of made up my mind” about potential military action and added that “we may be having some discussions with Maduro,” while providing no details. The designation and deployments followed at least 21 U.S. strikes on alleged drug-running boats that have killed more than 80 people, actions the administration claimed targeted “narco-terrorists,” while officials have provided no public evidence linking the vessels or crews to drug trafficking. The U.S., meanwhile, continues to offer $50 million for information leading to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest. (New York Times / USA Today / NPR / Bloomberg / NPR / Axios / Associated Press / NBC News / CNN)
poll/ 29% of Americans supported using the U.S. military to kill suspected drug traffickers without court involvement, while 51% opposed it. (Reuters)
poll/ 61% of voters said extreme political rhetoric was an important contributor to Charlie Kirk’s killing, while 28% said it was caused by a disturbed person and 4% said both. (NBC News)
⏭️ Notably Next: The 2026 midterms are in 351 days.
✏️ Notables.
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David Richardson resigned as acting FEMA administrator after six months. Richardson had no emergency management experience and was unreachable during July floods in Texas that killed more than 130 people. He also told staff he didn’t know the U.S. had a hurricane season. The Department of Homeland Security said Karen Evans will take over on Dec. 1. (Washington Post / CNN / Axios / Bloomberg / New York Times / ABC News)
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The Pentagon withdrew 200 California National Guard troops from Portland and 200 Texas Guard troops from Chicago after federal court orders stopped their deployment. The troops had been activated under federal orders in early October, but never carried out operations while legal challenges played out. About 300 Illinois Guard members will stay activated in Chicago and about 100 Oregon Guard members will remain in Portland as courts consider further appeals. (NPR / ABC News / New York Times)
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Border Patrol agents carried out immigration raids in Charlotte, N.C., and arrested more than 130 people over the weekend. Agents carried out arrests at churches, apartment complexes, and stores. DHS said it targeted the city because local authorities declined to honor about 1,400 immigration detainer requests. Federal officials, however, didn’t say how many of those arrested had criminal records beyond immigration violations. (New York Times / Reuters / Associated Press)
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New international student enrollment at U.S. colleges fell 17% in fall 2025. The Institute of International Education said 96% of institutions reporting declines cited visa application concerns, and 68% cited travel restrictions. NAFSA estimated the drop cost the U.S. economy about $1.1 billion. Total international enrollment declined about 1% when including students who enrolled in prior years. (New York Times / Washington Post / NBC News / Reuters)
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Trump defended Tucker Carlson interviewing white nationalist Nick Fuentes, saying “you can’t tell him who to interview” and that “people have to decide,” while adding he didn’t “know much about him.” Trump also downplayed his 2022 Mar-a-Lago dinner with Fuentes and Ye, saying “Kanye asked if he could have dinner, and he brought Nick. I didn’t know Nick at the time.” Fuentes is a Holocaust denier who has praised Adolf Hitler and promoted antisemitic and racist conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts also defended Carlson in a video and later claimed he “didn’t know much about this Fuentes guy.” Heritage board member Robert P. George resigned Monday, saying Roberts refused to provide a “full retraction” of the video. (Washington Post / New York Times / Axios / PBS News / The Hill / Politico)
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