Afternoon Sun: Greece Lightning

Good afternoon. This is the Afternoon Sun newsletter for Oct. 13, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

Kimberly Guilfoyle is resigning as U.S. ambassador to Greece, saying her time as a diplomat is “coming to an end” shortly after press secretary Katie Zacharia announced the White House had asked for her resignation.

• She “wasn’t a member of my family,” Donald Trump told reporters outside the White House. “She, I guess, dated my son a long time ago. She went to Greece, she was doing a good job, but we didn’t like what we were reading.”

• Zacharia’s first press briefing lasted less than 15 minutes but still left many viewers, including some Republicans, questioning her fitness for the role.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Trump announced the “largest steel plant in American history” would be built in Iowa, where Republicans are facing several competitive races. The timing is raising eyebrows.

The administration will use the Defense Production Act to augment fuel production at a refinery in Tyler, Texas, JD Vance announced.

THE HILL

Tom Emmer gathered some of the GOP’s top House recruits to bond ahead of Election Day, feeling bullish about their chances to expand their grip in Texas thanks to midcycle redistricting.

Illinois Rep. Sean Casten informed Rep. Maxine Waters (D-California) today that he will run to be the House Financial Services Committee’s top Democrat, Punchbowlreported and The Washington Sun confirmed. There has been mounting discontent within the caucus about whether Waters, 88, should serve another term in the leadership role.

The House committee overseeing local D.C. affairs has launched an investigation into “politicized jury nullification initiatives by left-wing activist groups,” Rep. James Comer (R-Kentucky) announced.

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The Cook Political Report’s latest leftward shifts are in red-state governor’s races: Alaska moved to “lean Democrat,” while Oklahoma, Nebraska and Vermont shifted to “likely Republican.”

The Texas Senate race is the second non-presidential race ever to cross $500 million in combined ad spending and reservations across primary, runoff and general elections, AdImpact reports. Republicans account for nearly three-quarters of that total spending.

Far-right personalities spent the weekend amplifying a bogus conspiracy theory that James Talarico received mental health treatment in Ohio during a recent nine-day absence from the campaign trail — instead of being at home with the flu, as the Texas Senate candidate’s team said he was.

THE COURTS

The Supreme Court, siding with the Trump administration, agreed to hear arguments in a watchdog’s lawsuit seeking public records about Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Two Supreme Court justices joined forces to highlight the “constitutional absurdity” of an immigration case that the high court declined to take up today.

A federal judge barred the Trump administration from cutting down trees on the East Potomac Golf Course in D.C. through at least Oct. 26.

MOVE SO I CAN SEE THE PRICE

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe and Nikie Johnson. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at newsletters@washsun.com.