Good morning. Here’s your Daily SITREP for Wednesday, 29 November 2023.
Forward Observer’s Cyber Monday deals are live. Next year is going to be turbulent. Protests, riots, civil unrest, supply chains, markets, elections — you name it, it’s going to get disrupted. You don’t have to go it alone in 2024. The Early Warning intel team keeps you informed on what matters, when you need to know it. Put us on your team with a new Early Warning membership.
- (1) SUPREME COURT COULD DEAL MAJOR BLOW TO BIDEN GREEN AGENDA: The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) v. Jarkesy which could force federal agencies to bring civil suits in federal court instead of using in-house judges.
- A group of energy industry lawyers said in an amicus brief that “multiple, grave, constitutional violations” occurred in the original SEC administrative hearing against hedge fund founder George Jarkesy.
- Why It Matters: The Supreme Court’s affirmation of the 5th Circuit’s decision that the SEC cannot use in-house judges for civil suits could have widespread effects on federal power. Federal regulators like the SEC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would be required to bring civil suits in federal courts, instead of using their own in-house judges, which would require agencies to show they have standing to bring the suit in the first place. This case could also revive the “nondelegation doctrine” that Congress cannot delegate law-making authorities to federal agencies, putting another nail in the Chevron Deference coffin and becoming a thorn in the side of the Biden administration’s green energy agenda. – R.C.
- (2) WALL STREET AND BILLIONAIRES’ NEW POTUS PICK: Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, said the U.S. needs bipartisan “smart moderates” in national leadership positions – a direct swipe at the 2024 frontrunners President Biden and former President Trump.
- “If you bring the sides together in a bipartisan way, and you create a strong middle, that’s what the country needs in order to be healthy, I believe,” Dalio said yesterday.
- Dalio said that Americans should alienate those with “extreme political views,” and he expects an alternative candidate to former President Trump.
- Americans for Prosperity Action, a political network backed by billionaire Charles Koch, endorsed former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley for U.S. President yesterday.
- Why It Matters: Wall Street and some in the U.S. billionaire class are lining up behind Nikki Haley as the preferred moderate presidential candidate, as President Biden struggles in recent polls against former President Trump. Haley could pick up more similar endorsements in December, which would give her momentum going into next year’s primary season. – H.B.
- Ray Dalio has been beating the drum, warning of domestic conflict for several years. In one video a couple of years ago, he boiled it down to socialists versus capitalists and has, at many other times, been quick to say that the U.S. is headed down the path of internal conflict. He almost certainly sees a strong centrist as a moderating force that could deter a conflict. Expect him and his billionaire-class circle to use their money towards this cause. – M.S.
- (3) KREMLIN RESPONDS TO POLISH TROOP MOVEMENTS: Kremlin officials say that two major Polish troop deployments are escalating regional tensions.
- Earlier this month, Polish officials announced they were sending a tank battalion to reinforce their border with Belarus, and this week announced a possible deployment of troops to bolster the Finnish border with Russia.
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peksov characterized the movements as a possible threat.
- Finnish officials, meanwhile, say Russia is behind a refugee crisis on their border and have requested Polish military support. “Russia is enabling the instrumentalization of people [refugees] and guiding them to the Finnish border in harsh winter conditions. Finland is determined to put an end to this phenomenon,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.
- Why It Matters: Russia continues its gray zone warfare against its neighbors. Pushing refugees into Europe is one of Russia’s gray zone mainstays and is unlikely to lead to an expansion of armed conflict. One recent report concluded that Russia needs to spend 5-10 years rearming and refitting its military before being in a position to expand armed conflict outside of Ukraine. – M.S.
Forward Observer’s Cyber Monday deals are live. Next year is going to be turbulent. Protests, riots, civil unrest, supply chains, markets, elections — you name it, it’s going to get disrupted. You don’t have to go it alone in 2024. The Early Warning intel team keeps you informed on what matters, when you need to know it. Put us on your team with a new Early Warning membership.