Toto, I’ve a Feeling

THE LATEST

Donald Trump has scrapped a weekend trip to campaign with GOP Sen. Roger Marshall in Kansas. The president has completed a bruising blitz of events ahead of Election Day, but the White House denied that the scheduling change signals trouble, saying “every candidate” wants Trump to come to their districts.

• “We hadn’t even left Ohio and they were asking us to come back. Standing up telerallies allows him to hit EVERYWHERE with everything tightening. There will be over 20 telerallies before Election Day,” a White House official told The Washington Sun.

THE ADMINISTRATION

Pete Hegseth has fired Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon’s top military planner, amid allegations that Sylvia leaked classified information to reporters.

Senate Democrats are asking Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to cease efforts to build data centers on public lands in light of The Sun’s recent reporting that revealed the extent of development the Trump administration is considering.

The FBI’s Video Surveillance Unit is installing antennas on the roofs of Trump Plaza in New Rochelle, New York, and Trump World Tower in New York City, according to previously unreported federal contracting documents.

An activist hacking group posted the personal information of more than 40,000 DHS employees online this week following a massive breach of the agency’s computer systems.

THE HILL

House Oversight Chair James Comer launched an investigation into an alleged scheme operated by Mary Peltola’s campaign and other Democratic operatives to recruit a Senate candidate with the same name as Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued an opinion today that Rep. Kevin Hern should take office upon his likely election to the Senate on Nov. 3, The Sun’s Reese Gorman reports. It’s a blow to Sen. Alan Armstrong — the pair had been in a heated fight about who gets to fill the remainder of former Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s term.

• In the opinion, Drummond said that Armstrong’s “appointment ends when the successor is elected and qualifies,” rather than the senator’s preferred date of Jan. 3, 2027.

House Democrats asked the State Department’s inspector general to investigate the agency’s internal personnel decision making after The Sun reported that nonpartisan foreign service officers up for promotion had been asked about their voting and political donation histories.

The Sun’s Congress newsletter starts Nov. 9. Sign up to get The Stakeout.

THE COURTS

A construction company is suing the State Department for $461 million in unpaid bills stemming from work it performed during the pandemic, alleging that the decision not to pay the charges “came from the top” of the Trump administration.

A federal judge sided with 25 Democratic-led states and D.C., blocking the Trump administration’s requirement that states force chronically ill Medicaid users to prove they are unable to work, Politico reports.

A federal appeals panel signaled that it is unlikely to let DHS resume its crackdown on alleged illegal voting, Politico reports.

• “So, why’s the rush? … What are you prevented from doing in the next four days?” asked Judge Sidney Thomas, a Clinton appointee. “You can’t prosecute anybody in four days. You can’t convict them in four days. … Why do you need this?”

THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Senate nominee Ken Paxton is homing in on Texas’ ultraconservative voters who have long powered his political career in his final push to win the grueling race.

The Sun’s Oriana González looked everywhere for Republican candidate Casey Askar in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. But as soon as she left the state, a public campaign event got posted on Eventbrite: Askar is having a meet-and-greet in Palm Beach County with Rep. Guy Reschenthaler this afternoon.

FRAT BASEMENT CORE

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe and Erik Schutz. 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.