Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), the Georgia Republican who got an earful from angry constituents at a town hall on Thursday, pulled out of a scheduled interview on CNN Friday, Mediaite reports.
Said Jake Tapper: “He was booked when we started the show. We were under the impression he was coming, but he canceled the appearance less than an hour ago.”
“One month after President Trump was sworn in for a second term, Democratic despair and denial are giving way to an angry message from party activists and voters to their leaders,” the New York Times reports.
“Do something.”
“Across the country, anti-Trump protests and fiery town halls are flickering back to life. In polling, Democratic voters are venting disapproval at congressional Democrats. And in interviews this week with voters, activists and elected officials, many said Democrats were failing to curb Mr. Trump or offer a meaningful countermessage.”
“Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency say they have saved the federal government $55 billion through staff reductions, lease cancellations and a long list of terminated contracts published online this week as a ‘wall of receipts,’” the New York Times reports.
“President Trump has been celebrating the published savings, even musing about a proposal to mail checks to all Americans to reimburse them with a ‘DOGE dividend.’”
“But the math that could back up those checks is marred with accounting errors, incorrect assumptions, outdated data and other mistakes.”
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
“People booed and jeered at Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) as he walked into the Algoma Town Hall just outside Oshkosh Friday morning,” Wisconsin Public Radio reports.
“Boos and shouts erupted around the room. When Grothman praised orders ending birthright citizenship and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, the crowd only got louder.”
“President Trump fired the country’s senior military officer on Friday after weeks of turmoil at the Pentagon, injecting a political element into selecting the nation’s top military leader,” the New York Times reports.
“Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., a four-star fighter pilot known as C.Q. who became only the second African American to hold the chairman’s job, is to be replaced by a retired three-star Air Force general, John Caine, who endeared himself to the president when they met in Iraq six years ago.”
“Joint Chiefs chairmen traditionally remain in place as administrations change, regardless of the president’s political party.”
Washington Post: Trump says he is replacing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“The U.S. and Ukraine are nearing a deal that would hand valuable mineral rights to the U.S., an agreement that the Trump administration has sought as compensation for military aid to fight off Russia’s invasion,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Supreme Court, in its first decision on President Trump’s use of executive power in his second term, ruled on Friday that he cannot, for now, remove a government lawyer who leads the watchdog agency that protects whistle-blowers,” the New York Times reports.
“But the court’s brief, unsigned order indicated that it may soon return to the issue, noting that a trial judge’s temporary restraining order shielding the lawyer, Hampton Dellinger, is set to expire next week.”
“New York City Mayor Eric Adams filed a lawsuit Friday against President Donald Trump and others in his administration over $80 million the White House removed from a city bank account without permission, after Elon Musk threatened the withdrawal on X,” Politico reports.
“A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out certain directives of the president to crack down on diversity, equity and inclusion – or DEI – programs,” CNN reports.
“US District Judge Adam Abelson said that the government could not freeze or cancel “equity-related” contracts, nor could it require recipients of grants to certify that their programs do not promote DEI.”
Politico: Judge blocks Trump’s effort to deter DEI programs.
“The Pentagon is planning to fire 5,400 civilian employees starting next week as it prepares to eliminate 8 percent of its civilian workforce,” Politico reports.
Washington Post: “Town halls this week for congressional Republicans from Georgia to Wisconsin to Oregon grew testy as voters showed up to vent, outraged at the firing of workers and the Department of Government Efficiency’s access to sensitive data. Protesters showed up around the country at lawmakers’ offices.”
“The backlash extends far beyond federal workers in the Beltway, reaching purple districts that will decide control of Congress in 2026 and swing states like Georgia that helped return Trump to the White House.”
“President Donald Trump said he is weighing a move that would absorb the US Postal Service, an independent agency, into the Department of Commerce, a sweeping change that comes as his administration looks to overhaul the US federal government,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “It’s been just a tremendous loser for this country, tremendous amounts of money they’ve lost, and we think we can do something that will be very good, and keep it a very similar way.”
“The Associated Press sued three Trump administration officials Friday over access to presidential events, citing freedom of speech in asking a federal judge to stop the 10-day blocking of its journalists,” the AP reports.
“The AP says its case is about an unconstitutional effort by the White House to control speech — in this case not changing its style from the Gulf of Mexico to the ‘Gulf of America,’ as President Donald Trump did last month with an executive order.”
CNN: “Other countries do not recognize the new name, and the AP is a global news outlet with customers all around the world, so its stories – and influential stylebook – are still referring to the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ while also acknowledging Trump’s decree.”
“A federal judge on Friday cleared the way for the Trump administration to pull thousands of U.S. Agency for International Development staffers off the job,” the AP reports.
“U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols removed his temporary block on the effort to remove all but a small fraction of USAID staffers from their posts and give those abroad a 30-day deadline to move back to the U.S. at government expense.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News that Jeffrey Epstein’s client list was on her desk and being reviewed when she was asked her about releasing it.
Said Bondi: “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) told The Breakfast Club it’s “really wild” she finds herself “rooting for Canada and Mexico” these days because of their opposition to President Donald Trump.
“We are in the middle of the biggest Constitutional crisis our nation has ever seen & every day we’re inching further from the democracy our founders created. Now is not — and cannot be — the time to stand idly by. I’m urging my colleagues to wake up and protect this institution.”
— Sen. Angus King (I-ME), on the Senate floor.
Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys and who was recently pardoned by President Donald Trump, was arrested at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, ABC News reports.
Taegan 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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.