Supreme Court Likely To Give Trump Authority To Fire; And Trump Casts Himself To Star in Kennedy Center Honors

The Narativ | Monday, Dec 8, 2025

📍 FIVE STORIES TO WATCH

1. SUPREME COURT HEARS PROJECT 2025 WISH LIST

The Supreme Court hears arguments today on whether Trump can fire Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter without cause—a case that could overturn the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent protecting independent agencies from presidential control. Trump has already fired Democrats from the FTC, NLRB, Merit Systems Protection Board, EEOC, and Consumer Product Safety Commission. The 6-3 September ruling allowing Slaughter’s removal while litigation proceeds signals where this lands.

Project 2025 called Humphrey’s Executor “ripe for revisiting.” The New York Times Editorial Board says the Roberts Court is “failing to live up to its constitutional role,” noting it has denied only one of Trump’s 32 emergency petitions this term. At stake: the independence of the Federal Reserve, FCC, SEC, and every other agency Congress designed to operate free from political interference.

---

2. PARAMOUNT LAUNCHES $108B HOSTILE BID

David Ellison went straight to shareholders Monday with a $108.4 billion all-cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery—$18 billion more cash than Netflix’s deal. Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners is backing the bid, along with Saudi, Qatari, and UAE sovereign wealth funds. Paramount argues it won’t face CFIUS review because the foreign investors “forgo any governance rights.”

Trump attacked Paramount on Truth Social minutes after the announcement—over an MTG interview on 60 Minutes. Then told CNBC he’s had “great conversations” with Ellison about competition. Ellison claims $30/share isn’t his final offer and says he texted Zaslav he’s willing to go higher. Netflix gets studio and streaming; Paramount wants everything including CNN. The fight for American media now runs through Riyadh and Mar-a-Lago.

---

3. EUROPE BREAKS WITH TRUMP ON UKRAINE

Macron, Merz, and Starmer met Zelensky in London to reject Trump’s Russia-favoring peace plan. Trump claimed Sunday that Zelensky hasn’t read the proposal but “his people love it”—though it’s unclear which people he means, since previous versions reflecting Kremlin demands were broadly rejected in Ukraine. Russia wants all of Donbas. Kyiv has power 6 hours a day.

The Trump administration’s national security strategy released last week criticized European officials for “unrealistic expectations” and “trampling on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition.” Macron responded that Europe and Ukraine have “a lot of cards in our hands”—a direct shot at Trump’s claim that Zelensky “doesn’t have the cards” to negotiate. The transatlantic alliance is fracturing in real time.

---

4. KENNEDY CENTER: FIRST PRESIDENT EVER TO HOST

Trump became the first president to host the Kennedy Center Honors Sunday night, joking about renaming it the “Trump-Kennedy Center.” He said he was “98% involved” in picking honorees—normally a bipartisan process with artist committees. The lineup: Stallone (his Hollywood ambassador), KISS (Gene Simmons from Celebrity Apprentice), Gloria Gaynor, George Strait, Michael Crawford.

Zero Democratic lawmakers attended. Trump fired the president and board chair in February, installed himself as chairman, and replaced the iconic rainbow ribbon with a Tiffany & Co. design. Senate Democrats are investigating for “cronyism and corruption.” Another American institution captured, rebranded, and stripped of non-partisan tradition.

---

5. CONGRESS DEFIES TRUMP ON DEFENSE SPENDING

The House will vote this week on a $900 billion defense bill—$8 billion MORE than Trump requested. It’s a rare GOP divergence after a year of total capitulation. The bill codifies Trump executive orders on border troops and the “Golden Dome” missile defense but does NOT rename the Pentagon the “Department of War” as Trump and Hegseth demanded.

The legislation includes $400 million in Ukraine aid through 2027, repeals the 1991 and 2002 Iraq war authorizations, and bans transgender women from service academy sports. Mike Johnson stripped IVF coverage for service members at the last minute—despite Trump’s pledge to improve access. When $8 billion counts as resistance, you know how far the guardrails have moved.

---

📖 COMING SOON:

THE GREATEST HEIST BOOK 2

Chapter 5 “The Lair” is coming soon

---

📅 TODAY’S SHOWS

3 PM ET: THE FIVESTACK WITH DEAN BLUNDELL

Watch Narativ Live | Subscribe at narativ.org