During Hanukkah with a week to Christmas, the Coast Guard quietly let a policy take effect calling swastikas and nooses “potentially divisive” instead of hate symbols.
They only reversed it when senators blocked the nomination of the incoming commandant.
Peace on earth, good will toward men. Unless you’re on a boat in the Pacific (17 more killed this week, 104 total), a federal worker getting a 1% raise against 2.7% inflation, or one of the 1,000 IRS employees told to upload their resumes for jobs that don’t exist yet. But here’s two extra days off at Christmas.
Meanwhile Trump’s grift runs hot: Kennedy Center gets his name, Miami gifts $67 million in public land for his library, his media company merges into the energy sector he regulates. They’re not even pretending anymore.
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Trump demands Venezuela return oil assets nationalized decades ago, admitting blockade is motivated by disputes over seized U.S. investments.
Today’s GovBrief News
TikTok signs deal creating U.S. joint venture valued at $14 billion, with Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi's MGX taking 15% each while ByteDance retains nearly 20%.
Source: CNBC
December 18, 2025
HHS proposes barring hospitals from Medicare and Medicaid if they provide gender-affirming care to minors, with FDA issuing warning letters to 12 breast binder manufacturers.
Source: ABC News
December 18, 2025
Trump signs executive order directing agencies to reclassify marijuana as Schedule III drug, finishing process Biden started in 2022 after marijuana lobbyists courted president.
Source: Axios
December 18, 2025
EEOC chair asks white men to report workplace discrimination on social media, promising the agency will help them "recover money under federal civil rights laws."
Source: HR Dive
December 18, 2025
Justice Department sues Wisconsin, Illinois, Georgia, and D.C. for voter data, bringing total lawsuits to 22 as bipartisan Wisconsin commission said request violates state law.
Source: The Associated Press
December 18, 2025
Trump Media announces $6 billion merger with Google-backed nuclear fusion firm TAE Technologies, with Devin Nunes saying deal will "cement America's global energy dominance."
Source: The Independent
December 18, 2025
Coast Guard will remove policy language downgrading swastikas and nooses from hate symbols to "potentially divisive" after senators blocked commandant nomination this week.
Source: The Hill
December 18, 2025
Pentagon confirms Trump's $1,776 military bonuses come from housing funds Congress appropriated, not tariff revenue as president claimed in primetime address.
Source: USA Today
December 18, 2025
U.S. military kills five more people in boat strikes Thursday, bringing total to 104, hours after House rejected resolutions challenging the attacks on a 210-216 vote.
Source: CNN
December 18, 2025
Judge dismisses challenge to Miami Dade College gifting $67 million downtown lot for Trump presidential library after board redid vote at four-hour public meeting.
Source: NBC Miami
December 18, 2025
Jury convicts Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan of felony for leading man through courthouse side door after ICE agents arrived to arrest him in April.
Source: Wisconsin Public Radio
December 18, 2025
Court filings reveal Florida has received no federal reimbursement for Everglades immigration detention facility despite DeSantis claiming taxpayers "are not on the hook."
Source: WPTV West Palm Beach
December 18, 2025
Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation announces full separation from $30 million ICE detention center design contract after chairman drew parallels to forced removal of Native Americans.
Source: The Kansas Reflector
December 18, 2025
Trump suspends diversity visa lottery program that awards 55,000 green cards annually after suspect in Brown University shooting entered through system.
Source: Newsweek
December 18, 2025
Trump administration appeals ruling that restored $2.7 billion in frozen research funding to Harvard, two days before deadline expired.
Source: The Harvard Crimson
December 18, 2025
IRS reassigns 1,000 IT employees out of tech division effective Dec. 28 with no clear new roles, telling them to upload resumes to be considered for other positions.
Source: Federal News Network
December 18, 2025
Trump finalizes 1% pay raise for civilian federal employees in January, down from 2% this year and below the 2.7% inflation rate, after initially planning a freeze.
Source: Government Executive
December 18, 2025
Trump signs executive order giving most federal employees Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 off, first time in recent years they have received two extra days around Christmas.
Source: Federal News Network
December 18, 2025
White House website displays mystery YouTube livestream for an hour before midnight, hours after Senate confirmed new U.S. chief technology officer.
Source: Bloomberg
December 18, 2025
Kennedy Center board Trump installed after firing all members votes to add his name to facility, but Congress must approve and ticket sales are down 50%.
Source: UPI
December 18, 2025
Trump announces "Patriot Games," a four-day high school athletics competition where each state sends one male and one female athlete to compete for the nation's 250th birthday.
Source: The Hill
December 18, 2025
Delaware lawmakers introduce legislation stripping Avelo Airlines of jet fuel tax breaks and state contracts over ICE deportation flights the state's only commercial carrier operates elsewhere.
Source: News from the States
December 18, 2025