diff --git a/03-DESIGN/01-to-be/47-milestones/G-22-lead-answers-2.md b/03-DESIGN/01-to-be/47-milestones/G-22-lead-answers-2.md
index ea07643a..5952eda2 100644
--- a/03-DESIGN/01-to-be/47-milestones/G-22-lead-answers-2.md
+++ b/03-DESIGN/01-to-be/47-milestones/G-22-lead-answers-2.md
@@ -68,3 +68,6 @@ the principle that settles it, cited as "design 47 G A-n".
   is held. The pipelines' records are on the bus, so whichever runner holds the seat when the wait ends starts them:
   the wait ends on the node-engine seat's `running` for the runner's module at the awaited fingerprint with `healthy`
   true, on any node; its 30 minutes are a bound key, whose expiry starts the held pipelines and writes a finding.
+- **A-196** (§553 with A-91; principle 7; the operator, 2026-11-09: merges need no approval) An empty status makes a
+  step `optional`, as §553 says, except the approval step: a policy that names no approval status asks the operator
+  nothing, as A-91 says; only a policy that names approval asks for it.