Bread and Circus: The Complete Record of American Governance
Today’s newsletter covers official U.S. government happenings from the executive, legislative, and judicial branches yesterday, as well as key economic indicators. Below, you’ll find concise summaries of each document, with links to the original sources for further reading.
What Happened Yesterday:
🦅 Executive Branch: 1 documents (1 Proposed Rule)
🏛️ Legislative Branch: 2 documents (1 Congressional Record - Daily Digest, 1 Congressional Record - House Section)
⚖️ Judicial Branch: No activity
📊 Economic Indicators: No activity
Total words condensed: 43,428 into 929
The Big Picture
Federal activity this week zeroed in on the transportation–energy policy space. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) formally proposed new corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) targets on Dec. 2, 2025 that would raise fleetwide mileage by about 0.5% per year through model year (MY) 2026 and 0.25% per year through MY2031, yielding roughly a 34.5 mpg fleet average by 2031; the proposal would also end credit trading and reclassify some vehicles beginning in MY2028. NHTSA has set a public hearing for Jan. 7, 2026 (registration by Dec. 31, 2025). Those changes, if finalized, would shape how automakers design and price vehicles, alter consumer fuel bills, and reduce manufacturers’ flexibility to meet standards.
On Capitol Hill the House on Dec. 12 passed H.R.3668, the “Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act,” on a 213–184 vote and continued routine bill introductions and committee activity; the Senate was out but is due back Dec. 15 to consider cloture on changes to the National Defense Authorization Act. The House vote signals congressional attention to permit and review processes for energy infrastructure; combined with the NHTSA proposal, the actions point to a near‑term policy emphasis on tightening performance and streamlining oversight. Both items are still at the proposal or passing‑one‑chamber stage: the CAFE rule is not final until rulemaking concludes after the Jan. 7 hearing, and the pipeline bill requires further Senate action and possibly reconciliation.
Pattern to Watch
A concentrated, cross‑cutting focus on transportation and energy governance is emerging — small, targeted regulatory tightening on vehicles plus moves to reshape how pipeline projects are reviewed. Indicators: the NHTSA proposal (signed Dec. 2, 2025) sets a clear numeric target (≈34.5 mpg by 2031), ends a long‑used compliance tool (credit trading), and schedules a public hearing on Jan. 7, 2026; the House passage on Dec. 12 of H.R.3668 shows parallel pressure to change permitting and interagency review for pipelines. If regulators finalize the CAFE rule after the hearing, and if the Senate advances or amends the pipeline bill (votes scheduled after Dec. 15, 2025), expect tangible effects on automakers’ product plans, compliance costs, and the timing/cost of energy infrastructure projects. Continued signals would include a final NHTSA rule notice, Senate passage or amendments to the pipeline bill, agency guidance implementing new review procedures, or legal challenges to either change.
🦅 Executive Branch
Federal Register
The government agency NHTSA has proposed changing the fuel‑economy rules (called CAFE) that carmakers must follow for passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2022 through 2031. The proposal would raise the fleetwide gas‑mileage target by about 0.5% each year through model year 2026 and then by 0.25% each year through model year 2031, aiming for about 34.5 miles per gallon on average by 2031; it also would stop credit trading and reclassify some vehicles starting in model year 2028. Car and light‑truck makers who sell vehicles in the U.S. would have to meet these targets for the listed model years if the rule is finalized; the proposal was signed on December 2, 2025, and NHTSA is holding a public hearing on January 7, 2026 (register by December 31, 2025). This matters because it can change how cars are built, how much people pay for gas, and the types and prices of vehicles available to buy. Read full document →
🏛️ Legislative Branch
Congressional Record
On December 12, 2025, the House met and introduced 19 public bills (H.R.6684–6702) and three resolutions (including H.J.Res.134 and H.Res.949–950), filed committee reports on eight bills (for example H.R.3962, H.R.4183, H.R.3496, H.R.5764, H.R.5788, H.R.5784, H.R.5763, and H.R.4638), and the Speaker named Paul Packer and Michael Goldfarb to a Smithsonian study commission; most importantly the House passed H.R.3668, the “Improving Interagency Coordination for Pipeline Reviews Act,” on a 213–184 vote (Dec. 12, 2025), after rejecting a last‑chance effort to send the bill back to committee (the motion to recommit failed 194–204); the Senate was not in session and will return Dec. 15, 2025, when it is scheduled to vote on a cloture motion (a vote to end debate) on the Thune motion to concur in the House changes to S.1071, the National Defense Authorization Act. Read full document →
Random excerpts from the House
Here is what he said: “In our Nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat” to American democracy--correction--“a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump.” Let me repeat it. “In our Nation’s 248-year history, there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump.” Then, he goes on to inspire because he says: “As citizens, we each have a duty”--I would add the word “responsibility.”
— Rep. Al Green (D-TX-9)
Particularly concerning is the threat posed by Islamists who are spreading sharia law into Texas, who are advancing throughout the country, and who have a stated goal of undermining American life, not assimilating into it. This is a political movement, well funded, targeted at the American people, Western civilization, our rule of law, and the Constitution. We should not be allowing more people into this country who are adherent to sharia law, period. The Muslim Brotherhood’s own motto is: “Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Koran is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.”
