Top Trump Adviser to Quit After Stinging Election Defeat

Kevin Hassett, the smiling face of President Donald Trump’s disastrous economic policy, is expected to leave his role as director of the National Economic Council.

Hassett is expected to depart sometime in the next few weeks, three people familiar with his plans told Semafor Friday. Trump’s happy warrior has been eyeing different positions in the administration since well before the midterm elections, some people said.  

Affordability emerged as a major issue in the recent midterm elections, where Republican candidates suffered sweeping losses and Democrats flipped both the House and Senate. The economy has become one of Trump’s worst issues; a recent poll found that 67 percent of Americans disapproved of the president’s handling of the economy. 

As the mouthpiece for Trump’s crumbling economy, Hassett lied about lowering prices, denied data, and, of course, blamed everything on former President Joe Biden. And he did it all with a grin on his face. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who could hold both jobs, and his counselor David Zervos are among those being considered to replace Hassett. This news comes amid renewed calls to remove Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, this time over his alleged efforts to shield Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and a suspected Chinese intelligence asset from scrutiny.

Florida Republicans likely thought their anti–diversity, equity, and inclusion law would only target funding and programs for racial minorities and the LGBTQ community. It accidentally ended up getting a St. Patrick’s Day parade cancelled too.

The city of Delray Beach announced earlier this week that it is canceling the St. Patrick’s Day parade, alongside the city’s annual Pride celebration, thanks to Florida Senate Bill 1134.

“Following a review of the legislation and its requirements, the City has determined that it is legally prohibited from organizing, funding, or promoting these events in 2027,” a statement from the city read. “Although the city is no longer able to fund these events, it does not prevent private entities from sponsoring these or similar events.”

The language of the new law, which goes into effect on January 1, “establishes restrictions on municipal funding, promotion, and official actions involving activities defined under the legislation as diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

Residents of Delray Beach in South Florida are incensed by the news.

“Are they gonna cancel the Christmas parade as well?” one woman opined. “There’s a lot of issues going on here. And it’s weird.”

Following the outrage, Delray Mayor Tom Carney announced on Wednesday that he would attempt to salvage the event, but did not explain how.

“I’ve read your social media posts, received your emails and it is clear that the parade means as much to you in the community as it does to me,” he wrote online. “With that, I’d like to announce that the city is working feverishly with multiple entities to ensure the 2027 St. Patrick’s Day parade goes on as scheduled! I cannot go into details now, but I will bring you the updates as things progress with our negotiations. For those who live, work & play in Delray, we want the Delray Beach St. Patrick’s Day parade to stay!”

These are the natural consequences of reactionary anti-DEI laws—you start with stopping white children from reading Toni Morrison, and before you know it, you’re also banning Irish Americans from having a St. Patrick’s Day parade.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, in line to be Speaker of the House, was heckled by multiple protesters in Denver Friday, calling on him to support the Green New Deal and Medicare for All.

Jeffries was being interviewed by Fox News’s Jessica Tarlov at the What’s Next conference, hosted by the Majority Democrats organization. In the middle of the conversation, Jeffries was called out by people in the crowd, calling him a “fucking liar” and “traitor” and attacking his record as minority leader.

The protesters called on Jeffries for not supporting Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, as well as his meeting with Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law over the summer. “The American people demanded impeachment!” one protester yelled. “Your version of accountability is shaking hands with the Trump family!”

Another told Jeffries that he “better not let a single Democrat vote for BAAJA,” referring to the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, which critics say is a giveaway to Big Oil.

“Why should we trust you when you’re in the pocket of corporations?” the heckler yelled as he was escorted from the room. “When you take money from private equity, you don’t fight for the people.”

Jeffries ignored all the protesters. “Remember, ya’ll, I grew up in Brooklyn,” he said.

Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer each faced calls to step down from their leadership roles following the midterm elections, but only Schumer has a declared challenger in Senator Chris Van Hollen right now. No challenger has stepped up to take on Jeffries, even though House Democrats have been bombarded with phone calls and online petitions opposing him for speaker. If Jeffries’s opposition can’t coalesce behind an alternative, he will very likely be the next Speaker of the House.

Texas Representative Chip Roy ripped into his own party during a half-hour rant on the House floor Thursday, slamming Republicans for failing to prioritize the American public over their own political interests.

“Somebody tell me why Republicans lost last Tuesday? I’ll say it’s because they were focused on themselves and the ruling class and not the people,” Roy declared.

Roy rejected the idea that conservative candidates lost because of the ongoing war in Iran, instead insisting that voters are tired of “corporate crony government interests” and Republican-led redistricting efforts that ran roughshod over local electorates. He celebrated the fact that Republicans passed Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” in 2025, but lamented that they “didn’t campaign on it.”

“Spent our time trying to focus on political power rather than focusing on the people who sent us here to represent them,” he said, noting that the culmination of his party’s midterm failures “pisses [him] off.”

“The arrogance! The arrogance of the powers that be, the masters of the universe, who tell you that that’s what you have to do,” Roy continued. “And when you pursue political power over the people, you lose, and that’s what happened. That’s what happened.”

The 54-year-old Texas lawmaker did not run for reelection during the 2026 midterm cycle. Instead, he cast his hat in the race for Texas attorney general and lost. He will leave Congress on January 3.

Republicans suffered historic losses last week, losing control of both the House and the Senate by a spectacular margin. Even historically deep-red states such as Kansas, Iowa, and Texas ideologically flipped, ushering in a new wave of Democratic leadership.

In Texas, the conservative caucus even lost four of the five supposedly GOP-friendly seats it had created through recent gerrymandering efforts, initiated at the president’s behest.

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito thinks that many of the lower court judges were “unjustified” in blocking President Trump’s policies.

Alito made the comments at a Federalist Society panel on Thursday.

“They are dedicated and they are skillful, but they’re not perfect and they make mistakes,” Alito said. “And in some instances, I think they have gone far astray in abuse of their powers.”

Alito made no mention of Trump’s attacks on the judges who rule against him or which rulings exactly he believed were an abuse of power.

Lower courts have blocked Trump’s attempts to limit mail-in voting, end birthright citizenship, and build his White House ballroom, among other things. For Alito to suggest that those orders were “unjustified” is highly questionable but unsurprising from one of the court’s most right-leaning justices.

Alito also warned that a new Democratic Congress could “defund” or “turn off the lights” at the Supreme Court—a claim that seems hyperbolic on its face.