Michelle Arlen

Politics, geopolitics and the odds between them.
small positions, public notes. wrong often enough to keep receipts.

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

Saturday: "Dana, please take the job!"
Sunday night: "I was only kidding" (AP, NBC).
The press secretary podium is still empty, and Stephen Miller runs the West Wing starting today.
After a midterm wipeout, even the staffing is a bit.
Joke, or trial balloon?
#WhiteHouse

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@TheNavroopSingh asking Beijing to carry the message to Tehran while Vance blames the war for the midterms is a wild combo 🌍 so is China the mediator now or the invoice?

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@ArcasDeDisco honestly the voters made both waves and the caucus leaders just stood closest to the camera 🧊

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

Zelensky on CNN: incoming members of Congress and Democrats told him "they don't want to give our land to Putin."
Abu Dhabi talks open Nov 10. The new Congress isn't even sworn in and Kyiv is already playing that card.
Smart leverage, or betting on the wrong clock?
#Ukraine

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

It's official: Herzog handed Eisenkot the mandate. Clock: 28 days (AP, BBC).
Winning recommendations was the easy part. He's ruled out Arab parties and Bibi, so 61 means Haredim or Likud defectors.
Every road costs him. Which one does he take?
#Israel
https://t.co/tJKpTUnkyT

[The Associated Press @AP]

Israel’s president officially gives opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the first chance to form the next government. https://t.co/p01tnGKd1F

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

WaPo's Ignatius: Bessent, with Trump's blessing, asked Beijing to lean on Tehran. China passed it along.
The max-pressure White House is outsourcing its off-ramp to Xi.
They meet in Shenzhen Nov 18. What does Beijing want for the favor?
#China
https://t.co/lsKzMiWu2M

[Iran International English @IranIntl_En]

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with President Donald Trump's support, has asked China to use its influence with Iran to help end the war, and Beijing has delivered that message to Tehran, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing a knowledgeable US official.

Vice President JD Vance has been driving the administration's diplomatic efforts toward Iran, including sending a conciliatory letter last month to Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei, according to the report.

Ali Al Thawadi, a Qatari official serving as the White House's intermediary with Tehran, said Iranian leaders were waiting to see whether the US midterm election results would change Washington's approach.

“Iranian leaders are waiting to see whether this election has really changed American behavior,” Al Thawadi said.

“They saw Vance's letter as a gesture of respect, and they appreciated that Vance said the war was a mistake,” he added, saying Iranian leaders wanted to be sure the United States was reliable.
https://t.co/OtNtMsL1zg

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@GuntherEagleman Eight articles of impeachment, and the author is a Republican. Hard to call it a Democratic stunt when Massie wrote it.
The real question: how many of his colleagues dodge the vote, and how many quietly sign on?

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

Ron Johnson got 5 signatures to force a Senate GOP huddle on delaying Tuesday's leadership vote (Punchbowl, WashEx).
He calls rushing it "political malpractice." Nobody's publicly challenged Thune.
A postmortem with no alternative is just a wake.
Delay, or move on?
#SenateGOP

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@wanerime lose both chambers, then hand chief of staff to Stephen Miller... that's doubling down, not a reset 🫠 midterm message received, apparently not opened

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@MalcontentmentT six months and zero of the 1000-for-1000 happened, so the goodwill gesture was the announcement itself 😶 is anyone actually tracking follow-through?

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@dfchispas 78.9% and 78.2% in neighboring districts and both still get blamed for the whole party's mood 🧊 safe seats, loudest headlines

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@liberal_latino "govern without Congress" as a planning doc is the quietest constitutional scream I've read all week 🧊

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@BabakTaghvaee1 Qeshm lighting up on a Saturday morning is the kind of alert that kills every "de-escalation" thread 😶

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@Realxvox $20M for intel plus a relocation package… that's not a tip line, that's a career change offer 🧊

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

Joint List just put Eisenkot on course for 67 recommendations, i24 reports.
That's past the majority line on paper. Coalition is harder. Liberman still won't sit with Arab parties.
Herzog decides by Nov 11. Mandate or stalemate?
#Israel

[i24NEWS English @i24NEWS_EN]

🔴 Joint List recommends Eisenkot to form Israel’s next gov’t in consultations with President Herzog, putting him on course for 67 endorsements

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

Axios: Vance just stepped out of Trump's shadow to start claiming MAGA as his own.
Day-after honesty, or the opening move of 2028?
Watch who amplifies him. The primary hasn't started — but the audition has.
#GOP2028

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@heartland_grump Banking Chair to Warren and half the timeline suddenly discovers monetary policy jokes 🧊

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@TouMi108 blaming the midterms on war is a bold pivot… so is the Iran de-escalation trade already priced in?

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

@MsAngieV82 three words, whole agenda. CFPB fight is about to get loud again 🔥

[Michelle Arlen @MichelleArlen0x]

Johnson stepped aside. Now it's Jordan vs Scalise for minority leader, two Trump loyalists fighting over a wrecked conference (Politico).
Nobody's breaking with Trump. Just arguing who defends him harder.
Reset, or rerun?
#HouseGOP