☕ The death of the filibuster?

Good morning!

A nice story for your Friday morning: a newly discovered Dr Seuss manuscript will be published in June next year. Titled Sing the 50 United States!, it was discovered earlier this year in the University of California San Diego Geisel Library archives.

The library is named in honour of Audrey and Theodor Seuss Geisel — better known as Dr Seuss. Random House Children’s Books announced the discovery, which includes an original, never-before-seen manuscript and cover sketch.

They are set for release in time for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July, 2026, which Haut called a “notable cultural and printing moment”.

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Some headlines from this morning:

• Hurricane Melissa has killed at least 19 people as it battered Jamaica and Cuba this week before moving east across the Caribbean. The Category 4 storm is now approaching Bermuda and the Bahamas with strong winds and heavy rain, though forecasters expect it to weaken to a tropical storm once it reaches the Atlantic. Recovery efforts in Jamaica and Cuba are being hampered by tropical storms following in Melissa's path. The hurricane is expected to lose strength over the next 48 hours.

• King Charles III stripped Prince Andrew of his royal titles and ordered him to leave his Windsor residence, Buckingham Palace announced yesterday. Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after formally losing his "styles, titles and honours," the palace said. The decision follows reports that the London Metropolitan Police are investigating whether Andrew tried to find incriminating information about his alleged victim, Virginia Giuffre, in 2011. Andrew announced on October 17 that he would stop using royal titles and has denied all accusations against him.

• French authorities have arrested four more suspects in the Louvre heist on Thursday, including one who allegedly carried it out. Prosecutors said the suspects can provide details about how the daytime robbery was organized, though the $100 million in stolen French crown jewels remain missing. Police used DNA evidence and other investigative techniques to make the arrests, bringing the total number of suspects apprehended to six. The jewels were stolen from the Paris museum in a brazen daylight robbery last month.

• New York Governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency on Thursday to fund food assistance for residents, following the expiration of federal SNAP benefits on November 1 during the government shutdown. Oregon and Virginia made similar declarations after President Trump and congressional Republicans refused to exempt the food program from the shutdown, which now enters its 31st day. The emergency measures should keep food assistance running in those states for at least a month, likely outlasting the shutdown. Around 42 million Americans rely on SNAP benefits.

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President Trump has called on Republicans to scrap the Senate filibuster rule, which would mean that all legislation - including the budget needed to end the government shutdown - could be passed with just 50 votes.

Senate Republicans have historically been strong defenders of the filibuster, but the President’s demand comes as the government shutdown is in its 31st day and threatens to set a record for the longest shutdown in history. Here is what you need to know.

What happened?

While flying back to the U.S. from a week-long tour of Asia, President Trump posted "THE CHOICE IS CLEAR — INITIATE THE 'NUCLEAR OPTION,' GET RID OF THE FILIBUSTER" to Truth Social.

This comes against the backdrop of an extended government shutdown caused by Democrats’ refusal to support a Republican funding measure known as a ‘Continuing Resolution’ (CR).

Unlike most legislation that comes before the Senate, funding bills like the CR require 60 votes to end debate and initiate a vote to pass the measure. In essence, this means the 53-seat Republican majority needs to enlist at least seven Democrats to vote with them. Refusing to agree to end the debate is known as a filibuster.

Will Republicans end the filibuster?

To remove the filibuster, a majority of the Senate would need to consent.

Securing 50% of the Senate vote for a motion such as this has historically proved difficult. Former President Joe Biden also urged Democrats to scrap the filibuster, but the motion was denied by two Democratic Senators.

Similarly, Republicans are hesitant to remove this check on power. Earlier in October, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters that filibusters had historically been a "bulwark against a lot of really bad things happening."

According to Axios, Republican insiders do not believe the Senate will have enough votes to repeal the filibuster for these reasons.

What’s next?

The Senate is away for a long weekend that began yesterday, meaning the earliest possible date for a filibuster-repeal bill would be Monday. The longest shutdown in history was 35 days and happened during the first Trump term.

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President Trump has announced restrictions on refugee admissions. The new restriction is back-dated to 1 October. In the year following that, a maximum of 7,500 refugees will be allowed to enter the U.S. In 2024, the country admitted 100,060 refugees.

Trump said the 7,500 places will “primarily be allocated” to a group of white South Africans called Afrikaners.

Background

Afrikaners are a South African community of mostly Dutch origin. Members of the group led the party that established the 1948 Apartheid system, which enforced racial segregation. Under Apartheid, land ownership was heavily concentrated among white South Africans.

Though apartheid ended in 1994, land ownership disparities remain. Black South Africans comprise more than 80% of the population but own approximately 4% of the land.

In January 2025, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a bill into law allowing the Government to redistribute land deemed to be in the public interest. The law allows redistribution without compensation in some cases, such as when land is abandoned.

In response, Trump accused South Africa of “confiscating land, and treating certain classes of people VERY BADLY”. He signed an executive order to allow Afrikaners to apply for refugee status.

In May, 59 Afrikaner refugees arrived in the U.S.

Refugee limits

This week, the U.S. Government released to the public restrictions on the number of refugees to be admitted to the U.S. The 7,500 limit is the lowest since the U.S. established its modern refugee program in 1980.

On average, around 73,000 refugees have been admitted annually.

Trump has limited the 7,500 places to prioritize Afrikaners “who are victims of unjust racial discrimination”. He said the restrictions are “justified by humanitarian concerns” and are “in the national interest.”

In 2024, the countries with the highest number of refugees were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Syria.

In order for a country to appear in annual U.S. refugee intake records, a minimum of 10 of its citizens must seek refugee status in a given year. South Africa has not met this threshold for at least 10 years.

Criticism

Amnesty International labeled the restrictions “racist”.

“[It] will turn the U.S.’s back on tens of thousands of people... fleeing persecution, violence, and human rights abuses,” Director for Refugee and Migrant Rights Amy Fischer said.

Global Refuge President and CEO Krish O’Mara Vignarajah said refugees need a pathway to safety that is “consistent, principled, and grounded in the promise that every life matters equally — not just the few who fit a favoured profile.”

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