'PUNISHABLE BY DEATH': Trump is facing significant backlash from Democrats after calling six lawmakers “traitors” and suggesting they can be locked up and face the death penalty after they urged members of the military not to follow unlawful orders from the administration.
Trump’s posts on Truth Social came in response to a video that six Democrats with military and intelligence backgrounds made telling active service members, “Our laws are clear. You can refuse illegal orders.”
The video didn’t address any specific action from the administration but comes as it has continued to conduct strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific that officials allege were trying to smuggle drugs into the U.S. The administration hasn’t provided evidence to back up its claims.
“This is really bad, and Dangerous to our Country. Their words cannot be allowed to stand. SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR FROM TRAITORS!!! LOCK THEM UP???” Trump posted on Truth Social.
“SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” he said in another post.
The six Democrats called Trump’s posts “telling.”
“What’s most telling is that the President considers it punishable by death for us to restate the law. Our servicemembers should know that we have their backs as they fulfill their oath to the Constitution and obligation to follow only lawful orders. It is not only the right thing to do, but also our duty,” they said.
Leavitt later told reporters that Trump doesn’t want the Democrats executed but to see them “held accountable.”
“To suggest and encourage that active duty service members defy the chain of command is a very dangerous thing for sitting members of Congress to do,” she said.
The comments mark the latest instance of Trump threatening political opponents, but they are a step up from most past comments.
House Democratic leaders denounced the comments as “disgusting and dangerous,” demanding Trump “immediately delete these unhinged social media posts and recant his violent rhetoric before he gets someone killed.” They called on Republicans to also reject them.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) pushed back on the Democrats’ video but said he “certainly” doesn’t agree with Trump suggesting the death penalty. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said he believes Trump was only defining sedition.
“That is a factual statement,” he said.
The video featured Democratic Sens. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Mark Kelly (Ariz.), and Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Chris Deluzio (Pa.) and Maggie Goodlander (N.H.).
▪ The Hill: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) calls Trump’s posts ‘dangerous.’
▪ The Hill: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) urges influential Americans to pick a side.
DC DEPLOYMENT BLOCKED: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard into the nation’s capital, finding it likely exceeded federal authority.
The guard has been deployed in Washington, D.C., for months to combat what Trump has argued is out-of-control crime. But local officials have rejected that, and D.C.’s attorney general sued to block the deployment in September.
Some of the guard members deployed have been D.C.’s own, and some have been from other states.
The judge paused her order until Dec. 11 so the administration can appeal. But if it holds, it would be a major blow to the administration's efforts to deploy troops in cities without the consent of local leaders.
▪ Oregon Public Broadcasting: Oregon National Guard remaining under federal control.
▪ Tennessee Lookout: National Guard allowed in Memphis while state appeals ruling.
PLAYING BALL: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he's ready to work with the U.S. on its "vision" for ending the war with Russia following reports of a 28-point plan the Trump administration has crafted.
Zelensky told Ukrainians in his nightly address Thursday that U.S. military officials presented the plan's key points in Kyiv, the BBC reported. He said Ukraine must not face another Russian invasion in the future.
"From the first days of the war, we have upheld one very simple position: Ukraine needs peace," he said.
Zelensky plans to speak with Trump in the coming days about the plan, after discussing it with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. The White House said Driscoll had felt optimistic about the meeting.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had been working on the plan for the past month, according to the White House press secretary.
The plan in its current form would have Ukraine make significant concessions to Russia, including giving up some of its territory, which Zelensky has thus far said is a nonstarter. It was drafted in consultation with Russian officials and caught many lawmakers and European officials off guard when it was first reported.
▪ The Hill: Trump special envoy for Ukraine leaving post.
▪ The New York Times: Ukraine, Europe chafe at being excluded from negotiations.
MAGA WOMEN REBEL: A small group of women known as the fiercest backers of Trump's MAGA agenda in the House are defying the president and GOP leadership of some of the most high-profile issues recently, The Hill's Sudiksha Kochi and Emily Brooks report.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have been some of Trump's most ardent backers, but they held their ground against pressure from the White House to remove their names from a petition forcing a vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, a thorny issue for the president.
And they were key in pushing a censure resolution against a fellow Republican, Rep. Cory Mills (Fla.), over allegations against him of sexual misconduct, which he denies. The resolution was referred to the House Ethics Committee, infuriating them and the other Republican women who pushed for the censure.
“I think we ran out of patience a long time ago, and we’re honey badgers, and so I hope that …there will be more of us that will speak out. I’m very grateful for both Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert for being strong,” Mace told The Hill.
LONGTIME DEM RETIRING: New York Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D) announced she would not seek reelection after serving more than 30 years in the House. She was the first Puerto Rican woman elected to serve in the body.
CHENEY HONORED: Some of the top current and former names in Washington gathered Thursday to honor former Vice President Dick Cheney at his funeral at Washington National Cathedral.
Former Presidents Joe Biden and George W. Bush; former Vice Presidents Kamala Harris, Al Gore and Dan Quayle; and many current and former members of Congress were in attendance. Bush gave a eulogy for his vice president, noting Cheney’s “steadiness, his low-key style and his absolute loyalty.”
Trump, whom Cheney criticized, was not invited to the ceremony and has not commented on the former vice president's death. But Vice President Vance offered his condolences while at another event.
“Obviously there’s some political disagreements there, but he was a guy who served his country, and we certainly wish his family the best in this moment of grieving,” he said.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the former vice president’s daughter, eulogized her father, remembering him as a “giant to the end.”
▪ The Hill: 5 notable moments from Cheney’s funeral.
▪ Time: Cheney’s funeral was also one for a bygone era.
▪ Axios: Scenes from Cheney’s funeral.
