WTF Just Happened Today? – Audio Edition

Thursday, February 5, 2026

In this episode: Democrats threatened to block the Homeland Security funding bill unless Republicans accepted “dramatic changes” to ICE oversight and operations; Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to attend the FBI search of Fulton County, Georgia’s elections center; the last nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia expired; the Trump administration plans to reclassify about 50,000 senior career federal workers, making them easier to fire; U.S. job openings fell to about 6.5 million in December – the lowest since September 2020; Trump insisted that the Federal Reserve is “in theory” independent and that he wouldn’t have nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next Fed chair if he wanted to raise interest rates.

Read more: Day 1843: "Two things can be true."

Newsletter: Get the daily edition of WTFJHT in your inbox

Feedback? Let me know what you think

AI Policy: My AI policy

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

In this episode: Trump doubled down on his call to “nationalize” voting, saying the federal government should “get involved” in state elections; the Supreme Court allowed California to use its voter-approved congressional map for the 2026 midterms; the Trump administration said it would pull 700 federal immigration officers from Minnesota; the Justice Department removed a Department of Homeland Security attorney in Minneapolis after she told a judge that “this job sucks” and asked to be held in contempt so she “could get 24 hours of sleep”; the man who tried to assassinate Trump at his Florida golf club in 2024 was sentenced to life in prison; the Washington Post laid off about one-third of its staff, calling the elimination of more than 300 newsroom jobs a “strategic reset”; and 37% of voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president.

Read more: Day 1842: "A strategic reset."

Newsletter: Get the daily edition of WTFJHT in your inbox

Feedback? Let me know what you think

AI Policy: My AI policy

Tuesday, February 3, 2026

In this episode: Trump signed the roughly $1.2 trillion spending package into law, ending the three-day partial federal government shutdown; the U.S. military shot down an Iranian drone after it “aggressively approached” the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea and wouldn’t turn away; a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending Temporary Protected Status for more than 350,000 Haitians; Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that Trump asked her to show up while the FBI searched Fulton County, Georgia’s election office; Congress still hasn’t received a whistleblower complaint filed last May accusing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard of wrongdoing; and 62% of Americans said ICE officers had gone too far, up from 58% in a poll conducted just before Alex Pretti was shot and killed in Minneapolis.

Read more: Day 1841: "More questions than answers."

Newsletter: Get the daily edition of WTFJHT in your inbox

Feedback? Let me know what you think

AI Policy: My AI policy

Monday, February 2, 2026

In this episode: The partial federal government shutdown entered its third day after funding lapsed Saturday morning, and the House still doesn’t have the votes needed to pass the Senate-approved bill to reopen agencies; attorneys representing victims of Jeffrey Epstein asked two federal judges to order the Justice Department to take down its Epstein-files website, saying the release exposed victims’ names and other identifying details and created an “unfolding emergency”; the Justice Department opened a federal civil rights investigation into the killing of Alex Pretti; Fulton County, Georgia, plans to sue the FBI and the Justice Department over a search warrant that county officials said resulted in the seizure of 2020 election records; Trump called on Republicans to “nationalize the voting” and seize control of election administration from states; and 44% of voters approve of Trump’s job performance, while 56% disapprove.

Read more: Day 1840: "An unfolding emergency."

Newsletter: Get the daily edition of WTFJHT in your inbox

Feedback? Let me know what you think

AI Policy: My AI policy

Thursday, January 29, 2026

In this episode: Trump and Senate Democrats said they reached a tentative agreement to fund most federal agencies through Sept. 30 while splitting Department of Homeland Security funding from the broader government spending package; earlier in the day, Senate Democrats blocked a six-bill spending package from advancing, demanding new limits on the Department of Homeland Security and ICE after the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis; Trump’s border czar said federal agencies were drafting a plan to “draw down” the roughly 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol officers deployed to Minnesota under Operation Metro Surge; Trump held a White House Cabinet meeting, but didn’t call on Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem or Attorney General Pam Bondi, and he ended the session without taking reporters’ questions; and 37% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, down from 40% in the fall.

Read more: Day 1836: "Moment of truth."

Newsletter: Get the daily edition of WTFJHT in your inbox

Feedback? Let me know what you think

AI Policy: My AI policy