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The Supreme Court Goes All In on Gerrymandering

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“Only two decades ago, all nine Supreme Court justices agreed that extreme partisan gerrymandering could violate the Constitution, though they differed on what courts should do about it,” the New York Times reports.

“On Thursday, by contrast, the court’s conservative majority allowed Texas to use voting maps made to disadvantage Democrats in the 2026 election, without a hint of constitutional difficulty. To the contrary, the majority chastised a lower court for not taking the state at its word that politics, not race, motivated the maps. The court, it said, had ‘failed to honor the presumption of legislative good faith.’”

Hegseth Is Seriously Testing Trump’s ‘No Scalps’ Rule

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The Atlantic: “So far, Trump continues to profess support. But he, too, is starting to tire of the scandals surrounding Hegseth and does not push back when others suggest Hegseth is not up for the job, an outside adviser to the White House and a former senior administration official told us.”

“Trump has not been happy that a number of Republicans on Capitol Hill are using Hegseth’s record as a reason to stand up to the White House, a further sign of cracks in what had until recently been unwavering GOP fealty to Trump.”

Trump’s Security Strategy Focuses on Profit

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New York Times: “President Trump has shown all year that his second term would make it a priority to squeeze less powerful countries to benefit American companies. But late Thursday, his administration made that profit-driven approach a core element of its official foreign policy, publishing its long-anticipated update to U.S. national security aims around the world.”

“The document, known as the National Security Strategy, describes a world in which American interests are far narrower than how prior administrations — even in Mr. Trump’s first term — had portrayed them. Gone is the long-familiar picture of the United States as a global force for freedom, replaced by a country that is focused on reducing migration while avoiding passing judgment on authoritarians, instead seeing them as sources of cash.”


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Trump Takes to Campaigning for His Economic Agenda

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“Donald Trump is going on the road next week as he tries to break through Americans’ gloom about the economy,” Bloomberg reports.

“The president is heading Tuesday to Pennsylvania — a key swing state he beat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election but lost to Joe Biden in 2020 — to talk up his economic record and what his administration is doing to tame inflation.”

“Since returning to office in January, Trump has made few of the campaign-style domestic trips that marked his first term, instead focusing more on his foreign policy agenda.”

National Parks Now Prioritize Trump’s Birthday

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“The Trump administration has changed which holidays qualify for free entrance to national parks, removing two holidays celebrating Black people and adding the president’s birthday,” SFGate reports.

“Now, visitors to the 116 parks that charge entrance fees will no longer get in for free on MLK Day or on Juneteenth, a federal holiday on June 19 that celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. They will, however, on Trump’s June 14 birthday, which was added to the list this year.

Supreme Court Agrees to Review Birthright Citizenship

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“The Supreme Court announced on Friday that it would hear a landmark dispute over the constitutionality of President Trump’s effort to end birthright citizenship,” the New York Times reports.

“The legal fight stems from an executive order signed by the president on his first day back in office declaring that children born to undocumented immigrants and to some temporary foreign residents would no longer be granted citizenship automatically.”

“The executive order, which was immediately paused by courts without going into effect, would upend the commonly accepted view of American citizenship guaranteed since 1898: that citizenship should be extended to anyone born in the United States.”

Indiana House Passes New Map

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“Indiana’s mid-decade redistricting bill has cleared its first chamber, passing the House by a 57-41 vote,” the Indianapolis Star reports.

“It’s a significant milestone for the new congressional map proposal, drawn in direct response to a request from President Donald Trump after months of pressure, both direct and indirect. A dozen Republicans joined with Democrats in voting against the proposal.”

“The map proposal now goes to the Indiana Senate, where its fate is far less certain.”

Trump’s Numbers Don’t Come Close to Adding Up

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“President Trump has made increasingly sweeping claims about new investments flowing into the United States, citing figures as high as $21 trillion since taking office,” CBS News reports.

“But a CBS News review found no evidence that total commitments or new investments approach the scale the president has cited.”

What Happens to Trump’s War Chest?

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“A political group tied to President Trump is quietly spending millions to help Republicans in Utah in the 2028 election cycle, offering a window into how Mr. Trump could keep wielding influence in his party even after he is no longer president,” the New York Times reports.

“The effort is focused on recapturing a House seat that Republicans anticipate will flip to Democrats next year. All of Mr. Trump’s other moves this year on redistricting are meant to help Republicans maintain control of the House after the 2026 midterm elections, which would help him stave off Democratic investigations and continue to advance his agenda.”

“The Utah effort, by contrast, would redound to Republicans’ benefit only in 2028, when Mr. Trump will be constitutionally ineligible to run for re-election.”

AI Chatbots More Effective at Swaying Voters Than Ads

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MIT Technology Review: “A multi-university team of researchers has found that chatting with a politically biased AI model was more effective than political advertisements at nudging both Democrats and Republicans to support presidential candidates of the opposing party.”

“The chatbots swayed opinions by citing facts and evidence, but they were not always accurate—in fact, the researchers found, the most persuasive models said the most untrue things.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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