State & Federal Update – December 2, 2024

It’s Monday, December 2, 2024. The 2025 General Assembly will convene in 37 days. 

These updates are curated from multiple news sources and designed to be a “choose-your-own-adventure.” Please read any coverage of interest and skip anything you deem to be irrelevant. Hyperlinks are provided to add additional context. With the 24/7 news-cycle I hope to keep us all in the loop on items we may want to know about or better understand. Please feel free to share if you think someone outside FGMC needs to be aware of this information.

Disclaimer – The news and articles contained within this update do not represent any political positions or policy opinions of Foster Graham Milstein & Calisher, LLP. This update is designed for informational purposes only.

Today’s Big Three Things-To-Know:

1. How incoming immigration policies could impact Colorado industries. President-elect Donald Trump’s policy proposals targeting undocumented immigrants could significantly impact key industries in Colorado, such as restaurants, construction, and agriculture, which rely heavily on immigrant labor. Mass deportations could worsen labor shortages, leading to higher construction costs and grocery bills, according to P. Deep Gulasekaram, a professor at Colorado Law School. In 2022, the construction industry contributed $26 billion to Colorado’s GDP but is already facing job losses as metro Denver’s growth slows. Around 1.4% of Colorado’s 5.8 million residents are undocumented, and 10% of the state’s population is foreign-born, making up 11% of the labor force, according to the American Immigration Council. While Sophie Shea of the Colorado Fiscal Institute couldn’t specify the proportion of undocumented workers in key industries, undocumented immigrants contribute to state and federal tax revenue, paying income and sales taxes. Gulasekaram warns that mass deportations could lead to billions in lost tax revenue and harm roughly 4 million mixed-status families, pushing many into poverty and increasing reliance on public benefits. Harvard economist George Borjas claims immigrants lower wages for some American workers, but this view is disputed. Nationally, undocumented workers make up 13.7% of the construction and 12.7% of the agricultural workforce, per the AIC. A Pew Research report found that most U.S. voters believe undocumented immigrants primarily fill jobs that American citizens won’t take.
2. To be or not to be (under Trump) that is the question (for the arts).  So far, arts and culture have largely remained under the radar in President-elect Donald Trump’s policy discussions, particularly when it comes to campaign promises and conservative agendas. However, if his first term is any indication, this quiet period may not last long. Trump stands out as the only president to officially propose the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), two of the primary federal funding agencies for the arts and cultural initiatives across the country. Throughout his first term, Trump repeatedly sought to cut these agencies from the federal budget, though his efforts were blocked by bipartisan support for the NEA and NEH in Congress. Furthermore, the conservative Heritage Foundation, which was behind Project 2025, described the endowments as “wasteful” in 2020, suggesting that funding for the arts and humanities should come from private donations rather than government grants. While the NEA and NEH account for less than half a percent of the federal budget — with each agency spending approximately $207 million in the past year — the debate over their future extends beyond mere fiscal concerns.
3. The pardon heard round the world. Late Sunday, President Biden announced that he had issued a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, marking a significant shift in the final weeks of his presidency. Despite previously pledging not to pardon his son, who was convicted in June on three felony charges related to his 2018 purchase of a revolver while struggling with illegal drug addiction — during which he falsified information on a gun application — as well as pleading guilty to nine tax evasion charges in September, Biden reversed course. “Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter,” President Biden said in a statement. “From the day I took office, I pledged not to interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I’ve kept my word, even as I watched my son face what I believe to be selective and unfair prosecution.” The president argued that Hunter Biden had been treated unfairly, claiming that “the charges were pursued after several of my political opponents in Congress pushed for them as part of their attacks against me and my election.” “No reasonable person examining the facts could conclude anything other than that Hunter was targeted solely because he is my son — and that is wrong,” Biden concluded. Reactions from both sides of the aisle poured in in the wake of the announcement, with Republicans expressing furor over the president’s pardon.

***Bonus Story – Keep your eyes on the state budget. Colorado’s ability to maintain and repair key highways for transporting goods and people could face a $110 million reduction in the next fiscal year under budget-balancing proposals from Gov. Jared Polis. The proposed cuts include a permanent $65 million reduction each year and a one-time $49 million cut from other funds, as part of $638 million in overall spending reductions and revenue increases to address rising Medicaid costs and declining inflation. While officials recognize the need for budget cuts, both legislators and members of the Colorado Transportation Commission (CTC) warn that these reductions could severely impact transportation safety. Although Colorado Department of Transportation leaders, who discussed the proposed cuts with the CTC in two meetings last week, haven’t pinpointed specific projects that could be delayed, CFO Jeff Sudmeier noted that the effects would likely be felt in new projects set to begin in July 2026, rather than in ongoing projects due to contractual commitments.

***Bonus, Bonus Story – Congress preps for spending sprint. Lawmakers are back for the annual end-of-year legislative sprint, with a busy three weeks ahead in the final days of Joe Biden’s presidency. The most urgent issue: Congress faces a Dec. 20 deadline for government funding. While no one wants a government shutdown during the holidays, there’s significant disagreement over how long a short-term funding extension should last into President-elect Donald Trump’s term, and whether other priorities, such as billions in disaster aid, should be attached to the bill. As lawmakers return to Washington after Thanksgiving, expect decisions to begin taking shape on the way forward. The Senate returns on Monday, while the House reconvenes on Tuesday.

And now, more news…

From Denver…COVID-19, mayor’s priorities, immigrant influx led to woes in Denver’s homeless shelter program.

Via Colorado Politics, a recent audit of Denver’s Office of Housing Stability revealed gaps in security and fiscal accountability within Mayor Mike Johnston’s campaign to provide shelter to homeless people. Auditors noted that the city’s housing department — known as HOST — suffers from “poor organization” and could not provide documentation for tens of millions of dollars in shelter-related spending.

Some, including Denver Auditor Tim O’Brien and the department itself, said several developments and decisions led to the department’s current woes, notably the onset of COVID-19, the new mayor’s initiatives, and the influx of immigrants arriving in the Denver area after illegally crossing America’s southern border. The audit noted, for example, how the work to open a shelter “overwhelmed” staffers.  “The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the housing crisis,” HOST Executive Director Dr. Jamie Rife said in her 2023 annual report. “Denver saw unemployment quadruple, and requests for rent and utility assistance increased 270%.”

You can read more from CoPo here.

Also from Denver…Pay-as-you-throw isn’t paying for itself yet.

According to Axios, nearly two years since launching a pay-as-you-throw system, the city’s still figuring out how to ensure it succeeds.

The system that charges residents per trash bin was meant to improve Denver’s diversion rate, or the amount of waste recycled and composted. By giving more people the option to recycle and compost, they were expected to throw less away, prompting them to get smaller trash bins — which the system provides.

The city is nowhere close to its 2027 target of a 50% diversion rate, sitting at about 26% this year, a three-point bump from 2023. The program isn’t yet self-sustaining, Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) executive director Amy Ford told Denver City Council members during a meeting Monday.

You can read more from Axios here.

More from the capital city…Denver voted for high-quality mental and addiction care, but millions have gone to unlicensed providers with limited transparency.

This from CPR, the campaign’s premise was simple: For nothing more than a modest sales tax increase, Denver could create a $45 million-a-year stream of grants to nonprofit mental health and drug treatment programs. “This initiative will give us the capacity to get everybody who needs help into a place where they can get the help that they need,” said Dr. Carl Clark, the president and CEO of WellPower, a large Denver community mental health provider. “It’s the type of thing that is a gamechanger.”

Voters enthusiastically bought into the concept. And after six years and more than $170 million in tax dollars granted, a year-long review by CPR News found that the game has indeed changed, but perhaps not in the ways supporters and voters envisioned. Caring for Denver, the not-for-profit organization that advocated for the tax and now manages it, has funneled millions of dollars from Denver taxpayers to programs — some of them outside the city — with no history of providing behavioral or mental health resources, who also have no staff licensed by the state to provide professional counseling or drug addiction treatment. Other nonprofits appear to have misrepresented their partnerships with city and state agencies.

Millions more have gone to programs run by convicted felons, in some cases with prison stints that had barely ended before their ideas were funded by Denver taxpayers. One anti-violence nonprofit received nearly half a million tax dollars despite a history of domestic violence alleged to have been committed by its executive director, who now sits in the Adams County Jail awaiting trial for first-degree murder.

You can read more from CPR here.

From Denver City Council…Zoning changes, property tax petition slated for public hearing.

Via Colorado Politics, more zoning classification changes are slated for Denver City Council on Monday, and councilmembers are scheduled to pass several resolutions to tidy up end-of-year contracts.

Among the most notable include contracts for on-call financial services for Denver International Airport, a FEMA shelter grant agreement in the amount of $12.6 million, and a memorandum of understanding amending the 2023-2025 collective bargaining agreement between the City and County of Denver and Denver Firefighters Local 858 to address minimum staffing levels for certain fire apparatus companies.

During the 5:30 p.m. Monday session, council will issue two proclamations and hold three public hearings. The proclamations will honor Denver native and longtime activist Anthony Aragon and the legacy of former Denver City Councilman Hiawatha Davis, Jr. The public hearings focus on various district-specific and citywide initiatives.

You can read more from Colorado Politics here.

Around the metro…Arvada program to boost manufacturers is expanding to other cities.

As reported by DBJ, an Arvada program that helps small manufacturers grow is poised to expand to other Colorado communities.

Launched in 2014, the Arvada Manufacturing Initiative (AMI) initially sought six companies in the area looking to create or retain jobs through services offered by Manufacturer’s Edge, which is the Colorado arm of the federal Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

Funded in part by federal dollars, Manufacturer’s Edge is a nonprofit that offers support services to manufacturers statewide for a discounted fee. The Arvada program set aside up to $5,000 per company to help offset the fees that companies paid to Manufacturer’s Edge for their services.

You can read more from Denver Business Journal here.

From the Gold Dome…Budget cuts could shrink funding for highways.

According to The Sum & Substance, Colorado’s ability to build and fix the highways that are key to transporting goods and people could take a $110 million hit in the next fiscal year under budget-balancing proposals being offered by Gov. Jared Polis.

The two-tiered reductions — a permanent cut of $65 million per year and a short-term cut of $49 million in other funds — are part of $638 million in expenditure cuts and revenue boosts Polis has suggested to deal with rising Medicaid costs and falling inflation. And while officials acknowledge that such spending rollbacks must happen somewhere in the budget, both legislators and Colorado Transportation Commission members warn these cuts could be particularly deleterious for transportation safety.

Colorado Department of Transportation leaders, who dissected the proposed cuts for the CTC in two meetings held last week, haven’t identified particular projects that could be delayed due to the proposal. Because of contractual obligations, CFO Jeff Sudmeier said the impacts likely wouldn’t be felt in ongoing projects but instead in new projects slated to launch in the fiscal year that begins in July 2026.

You can read more from TSS here.

Also from the Gold Dome…Colorado only thinks of bison as livestock. A new bill could mean new protections for their wild counterparts.

Vai CPR, wild bison that wander into Colorado might get new protections against being poached, under a bill being introduced in the upcoming legislative session.

The proposal is one of three produced by the American Indian Affairs Interim Study Committee that met through the summer and fall. Jefferson County Sen. Jessie Danielson is championing the bison bill. Currently in Colorado, bison are considered livestock. The bill would give Colorado Parks and Wildlife a role in managing any of the animals that don’t belong to domestic herds.

“The idea for the bill to reclassify bison or buffalo as wildlife was brought to us by leaders in the Native community and supported by that broad coalition, which includes both of the tribal councils (in Colorado). We want to solve a pretty simple problem,” Danielson said. This bill is for already existing free-ranging bison, who journey over from surrounding states such as Utah, where they already have these protections, not a command to CPW to reintroduce the animal anywhere.

You can read more from CPR here.

On regulation…Contamination data falsified at hundreds of Colorado oil and gas sites, state says.

This from Colorado Newsline,  two consulting firms working for a trio of Colorado oil and gas giants submitted falsified data about the environmental conditions at hundreds of locations in Weld County, regulators alleged in a public hearing Tuesday.

Julie Murphy, director of the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, told the agency’s five-member board of commissioners that employees of two firms, Eagle Environmental and Tasman Geosciences, “created false laboratory data and reports” relating to soil and groundwater contamination, which were submitted to the ECMC as part of spill cleanup and site remediation procedures between 2021 and summer 2024.

Murphy said regulators first became aware of potential falsification in July, and the ECMC is investigating the data submitted for approximately 350 sites, all of which are located in Weld County. In an emailed statement, the ECMC said that its “awareness of the scale of the issue grew over time.” The agency “determined that urgent notification was not warranted,” Murphy told commissioners.

You can read more from Colorado Newsline here.

Across the state…How Trump’s immigration policies could impact Colorado industries

Via Axios, President-elect Donald Trump’s policy proposals targeting undocumented immigrants could have significant consequences for key industries in Colorado. Trump’s proposed policies, particularly those involving mass deportations, could exacerbate labor shortages in critical sectors such as restaurants, construction, and agriculture. These industries rely heavily on immigrant workers, and a reduction in their workforce could lead to higher costs for consumers, including increased construction prices and higher grocery bills, according to P. Deep Gulasekaram, a professor at Colorado Law School.

With fewer workers available for these labor-intensive sectors, consumers could face increased prices. The construction industry, which contributed $26 billion to Colorado’s GDP in 2022, is already dealing with job losses as metro Denver’s growth slows. Approximately 1.4% of Colorado’s 5.8 million residents are undocumented, according to a 2021 report from the state’s labor department. Additionally, 10% of the state’s population is foreign-born, making up 11% of the state’s labor force, according to the American Immigration Council (AIC). Sophie Shea, a policy analyst at the Colorado Fiscal Institute, noted that while the impact on undocumented workers is significant, she couldn’t specify the exact percentage of undocumented versus lawful immigrants working in these industries. Undocumented immigrants pay taxes, and their mass departure could result in billions of dollars less in state and federal tax revenue, Gulasekaram points out. R

Research by Carl Davis, director of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, shows that between half and three-quarters of undocumented immigrants pay income taxes, either through withholding or by filing returns. Additionally, all undocumented immigrants contribute to taxes in some way, particularly through sales taxes. Gulasekaram also notes that the impact of losing a large number of undocumented workers in Colorado won’t be as severe as in states like California, Texas, and Florida, where undocumented immigrants make up a significantly larger share of the population. Gulasekaram highlights the human cost of such policies, particularly for the roughly 4 million mixed-status families in the U.S. He warns that Trump’s policies could drive these families into poverty, increasing their reliance on public benefits. “I think one of the things we need to prepare for is seeing millions of American families fall below the poverty line,” Gulasekaram says.

Harvard economist George Borjas has argued that immigrants in the U.S. may lower wages for some American workers by competing for lower-skilled jobs, a view that has been disputed by many. Trump’s supporters have cited Borjas’ research to justify his immigration policies. Nationally, undocumented workers represent 13.7% and 12.7% of the construction and agriculture workforce, respectively, according to the AIC. A report from Pew Research in October found that most U.S. voters believe undocumented immigrants primarily fill jobs that American citizens are unwilling to take.

You can read more from Axios here.

More around the state…Why is the EPA spending money on an old Colorado theater, auditorium and grocery?

As reported by The Denver Post, the Brownfields program began in 1995 and has distributed more than $2.7 billion in the past 29 years. But the agency received more than $230 million to distribute in 2024 through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, a federal bill passed in 2021 to provide money to improve the nation’s roads, bridges, environment and broadband service.

Colorado this year received $6.9 million for projects in Greeley, Kersey, Lakewood, Monte Vista, Northglenn and Pueblo along with another $1 million for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Brownfields program. “Normally we don’t have this kind of funding,” said KC Becker, administrator for the EPA’s Region 8, which includes Colorado. “It’s the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and it’s accelerating projects like this.”

The federal agency does not grant the money to private developers. The money can be used to clean up property that is contaminated by lead or asbestos or where old storage tanks may be underground environmental hazards, Becker said. The grants also can be used to study sites where contamination is suspected. “It’s expensive work because there are strict rules on disposal,” Becker said. “It’s spending money on pollution cleanup. Otherwise, the properties get abandoned.”

You can read more from DP here.

Speaking of the environment…Court case in North Dakota calls federal environmental review regime into question

Via Colorado Newsline, a lawsuit before a North Dakota federal district court could upend nearly five decades of environmental regulations affecting infrastructure projects.

The Council on Environmental Quality was created through an executive order by President Richard Nixon in 1969. It implements the National Environmental Policy Act, which directs federal agencies to assess how projects under their jurisdiction will impact environmental factors like air and water quality.

A coalition of 21 Republican-led states, including North Dakota, seeks to overturn a new regulation adopted by the council that took effect in July. The states argue that the rule introduces unreasonable requirements that will slow or even sink important infrastructure including new highways, airports, bridges and water systems, and unlawfully over-emphasizes climate change and environmental justice in the environmental review process.

You can read more from Colorado Newsline here.

On arts and culture…Colorado receives millions of dollars in federal arts funding every year. Will that change under Trump?

According to The Colorado Sun, so far, arts and culture seem to be flying under President-elect Donald Trump’s radar, at least as far as campaign promises and conservative policy blueprints go. But if Trump’s first term is any indicator of what’s to come, the quiet period won’t last. That’s because Trump is the only president to have formally proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities, two of the major funding agencies for arts and culture nationwide, which he repeatedly tried to write out of the federal budget during his first term, only to be blocked by bipartisan support for both agencies in Congress.

On top of that, the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, called the endowments “wasteful” in 2020 and suggested that grants supporting arts and humanities are “better done by private contributions.”

You can read more from The Colorado Sun here.

From the Biden White House…How President Biden came to the decision to pardon his son Hunter.

Via ABC News, President Joe Biden and his family discussed whether to pardon Hunter Biden during their time together in Nantucket for Thanksgiving, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News Monday.

Senior White House staff learned of the possibility of a pardon on Saturday evening. President Biden made his final decision on Sunday, the source said.

Biden did not answer questions on the issue as he left late Sunday for a three-day trip to Africa. Hunter Biden, the president’s only surviving son, was convicted on federal gun-related charges in June and pleaded guilty to nine tax-related charges in September. Both cases carried the possibility of significant prison time and he was set to be sentenced in both later this month.

President Biden had long said he would not pardon his son, including in an interview with ABC’s David Muir as Hunter Biden’s gun trial was underway this past summer. In his statement on Sunday evening, Biden contended his son was “unfairly” prosecuted after pressure from his political opponents.

You can read more from ABC News here, The Hill here, and CBS News here.

Speaking of pardons…Trump raises prospect of pardons for Jan. 6 crimes.

According to The Washington Post, President-elect Donald Trump raised the prospect Sunday night of pardoning those convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. In a social media post, Trump referenced President Joe Biden’s decision to issue a pardon for his son Hunter, asking if it included “the J-6 Hostages,” whom Trump said were subject to “abuse and miscarriage of Justice.” Trump, meanwhile, is continuing to roll out picks for his incoming administration, including a plan to replace FBI Director Christopher A. Wray with Kash Patel, a staunch loyalist who has vowed to fire the agency’s leadership.

You can read more from WaPo here.

From the transition…Trump doubles down on defiance after the collapse of the Matt Gaetz selection.

As reported by The New York Times, his first selection for attorney general collapsed in spectacular fashion. His choice for defense secretary is awash in scandal. His picks for intelligence, health and other posts are being panned. But if anyone thought that President-elect Donald J. Trump might be chastened, he has quickly demonstrated otherwise.

Even with so many appointees already under fire, Trump has doubled down on defiance as he assembles his next administration. Rather than turning to more credentialed and respected choices with easier paths to Senate confirmation, Trump in rapid-fire fashion keeps naming more ideological warriors, conspiracy theorists and now even family members to senior government positions. Most striking is his decision to push out the F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, a career law enforcement veteran he himself appointed in his first term, and turn the nation’s premier investigative agency over to Kash Patel, who calls himself an avenger against the supposed “deep state.” Patel, seen as a provocateur of the first order, was widely considered a disruptive force and even dangerous by other Trump advisers who spent much of the last administration trying to keep him out of positions of power.

While attention focused on Patel, Trump over the weekend also named the fathers-in-law of two of his children to important jobs. He announced that he would nominate Charles Kushner, the father of Ivanka Trump’s husband, Jared Kushner, and a felon pardoned by Trump at the end of his last term, to be ambassador to France. And he tapped Massad Boulos, the father of Tiffany Trump’s husband, Michael Boulos, to be his White House senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs.

You can read more from NYT here.

More from the President Trump camp…Trump Labor pick surprises unions, rattles business.

Via The Hill, President-elect Trump’s pick for Labor secretary has organized labor cheering and business groups sounding worried as the atypically labor-friendly choice could signal a new and more receptive stance toward unions from Republicans, who have long resisted labor’s agenda.

Following a recent increase in popularity among unions and the precedent-breaking appearance of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien at the Republican National Convention in July, the choice of Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) reflects the growing political importance of labor after an election in which working-class voters delivered a strong turnout for Trump and the GOP.

You can read more from The Hill here.

From Congress…Congress preps for spending sprint amid Biden pardon fallout.

According to Politico, lawmakers are back for the annual legislative end-of-year sprint, in what should be a busy three weeks in the waning days of Joe Biden’s presidency.

The most immediate issue: Congress faces a Dec. 20 government funding deadline. While a shutdown isn’t atop anyone’s holiday wish list, there’s significant disagreement about how long a short-term government funding patch should last into President-elect Donald Trump’s new term — and what other priorities, like tens of billions in sought-after disaster aid, might hitch a ride to that bill. With lawmakers now back in Washington post-Thanksgiving, look for some decisions to start being made on the way forward.

You can read more from Politico here.

Also from Congress…Grijalva drops bid for top panel spot as House Dems confront generational reckoning.

Via Politico, Rep. Raúl Grijalva has dropped out of the race for the top Democratic spot on the Natural Resources Committee, according to two people familiar with the matter, potentially averting a generational clash over the leadership position.

Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who’d been absent from Congress while going through treatment for cancer, had faced a challenge from Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), as House Democrats weigh whether to cast aside some of their most senior committee leaders. Huffman had launched a bid to be the top Democrat on the panel at the end of November, and as late as last week, had insisted he could still win.

You can read more from Politico here.

From the Democratic machine…Congressional Democrats want more guardrails for presidential nominees.

According to Government Executive, as President-elect Donald Trump continues to tap prospective nominees to serve in his cabinet come January, Democrats have penned a pair of companion bills seeking more transparency into the potential foreign influence on several selections.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s, D-Mass., and Rep. Andy Kim’s, D-N.J., National Security Officials’ Foreign Employment Disclosure Act (H.R.10224), introduced on Nov. 21, would require nominees seeking Senate confirmation at the Defense, State and Treasury departments, as well as the Intelligence Community, to disclose any work done or compensation received from a foreign power within the last five years.

“At a time when trust in government is at historic lows, we need to be taking steps to show the American people they can have faith that their government officials are working to serve their interests first,” said Kim, the senator-elect from New Jersey, in a statement. “This bill would help prioritize transparency in the confirmation process, mitigate foreign influence and bolster people’s confidence in presidential nominees as they seek to represent our country’s national security interests.”

You can read more from Government Executive here.

On immigration…Texas offers Trump a blueprint for illegal-immigration crackdown.

This from The Wall Street Journal, as President-elect Donald Trump prepares for border restrictions and deportations that formed the bedrock of his election victory, the state that has pioneered extreme immigration crackdowns is reaching out to lend a hand.

In recent weeks, Texas leaders offered some 1,400 acres of land on the border to the federal government for construction of deportation facilities and said the state was looking to offer more. Incoming Trump administration border czar Tom Homan joined Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this past week in two Texas border cities, where he learned about the state’s border operation and visited its National Guard soldiers and state troopers.

The budding alliance comes as Abbott over the past three years has used his signature policy priority, Operation Lone Star, to challenge federal authority over immigration and push militarization of the border to new levels. The state has spent more than $11 billion to deploy thousands of National Guard and state troopers to border towns, erect barriers and create a system to jail migrants on low-level state misdemeanor charges.

You can read more from WSJ here.

Around the globe…Russia’s plunging currency spells trouble for its war effort.

Via The Economist, at first glance, it did not look that different from other sanctions. On November 21st America’s Treasury Department imposed new restrictions on more than four dozen Russian banks, including Gazprombank, the financial arm of the giant state gas firm. The bank, the largest in Russia not already subject to American sanctions, had been excluded from previous packages in order to allow some central and eastern European countries, including Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, to continue paying for imports of Russian gas. After December 20th, when the measures take full effect, European buyers of Russian gas will be forced to find workarounds involving either third-party banks or currencies other than the dollar, which will take time.

America’s announcement came at a bad moment for the Russian economy, meaning that foreign-exchange markets were quick to respond. The prospect of new restrictions on access to hard currency sent the rouble down by 10% against the dollar to a low of 115 on November 27th, before the central bank inspired a modest rally by using its reserves to buy roubles. Even after this rally, the rouble is still down by 8% against the dollar over the past month and by more than 15% in the year so far. Russia’s currency is at its weakest since immediately after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The government is putting a brave face on the news. Speaking in Kazakhstan on November 28th, Vladimir Putin told reporters that “there are certainly no grounds for panic.”

You can read more from The Economist here.

And in world news… As wars rage, cities face a dark new era of urban destruction.

From City Lab, not far from the pyramids of Giza, symbols of the endurance of civilization, a global group of urban planners and scholars recently gathered to confront the myriad threats afflicting the physical city.

Calamity associated with climate change continued to be top of mind at UN-Habitat’s World Urban Forum 12, a summit to promote equitable and sustainable global cities held in Cairo in November. But another driver of urban devastation loomed especially large: intensifying military conflict.

In Gaza and Ukraine, entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, following on the vast destruction seen in Syria, Iraq and the former Yugoslavia in the last nearly half-century. While attacking human settlement is hardly new — from the sacking of Rome to the London blitz to Hiroshima and Nagasaki — the razing of cities has grown in intensity and scope, researchers say, thanks to shifts in military strategy and advances in missile, bomb and drone technology.

You can read more from City Lab here.

That’s all for today! Have a wonderful start to your week.

Best,