Paul Ingrassia, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, is reportedly facing new allegations of racist and pro-Nazi sentiments after a group chat containing his alleged texts was leaked to Politico. The leaked messages, shared on X by Kaivan Shroff and reported by Politico, include vile messages targeting Black, Chinese, and Indian people, according to a source cited by EggerDC. This development follows previous reports from NPR and POLITICO detailing similar controversial statements made by Ingrassia, including remarks about the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and having a "Nazi streak." The Interior Department is planning to fire over 2,000 employees, including hundreds at the National Park Service, as reported by Notus. This announcement comes after a federal judge expressed frustration and expanded a restraining order related to the firings. The exact timing of these planned layoffs within the 30-minute reporting window is not specified, but the department is providing new, detailed numbers in response to the judicial action. In legislative news, Senate Republican leader John Thune stated that the House should consider returning to session to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government beyond November 21st, as the federal government shutdown continues. Thune emphasized that "every day that passes, we have less time to fund the government," a sentiment echoed in reports by Jake Sherman and Andrew Desiderio on X. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate will delay considering new sanctions legislation on Russia until after President Trump's planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a Bloomberg report. Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff are departing for Israel to continue the Trump Administration's work on the Gaza Peace Deal, as announced by RapidResponse47 on X. Separately, the U.S. Senate will hold off on considering new sanctions legislation on Russia until after President Trump's planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a Bloomberg report. In other developments, the Fed's Beige Book for October 2025 indicates a "rush" in New Hampshire electric vehicle (EV) sales in September, attributed to the EV credit expiring on September 30th, 2025, as noted by Andrew Lautz on X. Six out of nine universities contacted by the White House have rejected a proposed agreement on the future of higher education, according to The Washington Post. Additionally, a woman was arrested in Fairhope, Alabama, for refusing to remove a penis costume deemed obscene during a 'No Kings' protest, as reported by alabamareflector.com and shared by Ashley__Murray on X. M.S. Billingslea is scheduled to testify tomorrow alongside experts on Lebanese Hezbollah and their operations in Latin America at the Hudson Institute.
