“President Trump pledged a $5,000 payout to U.S. adults on Wednesday, but only if Republicans hold onto their majority in Congress come November,” The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “Here is my promise: if the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them … because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000.”
”The legality of this disbursal is unclear.”
“Sen. John Fetterman sought to tamp down speculation about his political future on Wednesday, vowing to remain a Democrat if his party wins the Senate in November,” the Washington Sun reports.
Sid Fetterman: “I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party-and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.”
“We have more money being spent from outside countries and companies — over $20 trillion. That’s five, six, seven times higher than any country. Not just here — any country ever. Now it’s over 20 for less than two years.”
— President Trump, quoted by the New York Times, claiming foreign investment which is nearly double what the White House has tallied. And most of that is just informal pledges.
“Some U.S. Postal Service facilities failed to properly handle ballots during this year’s primary elections, according to a new audit from the agency’s Office of Inspector General,” ProPublica reports.
“Election experts say the findings call into question the agency’s ability to meet even greater demands for the November election that are under consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
“The audit, which is dated Sept. 4 but has not been previously reported, found a lack of training for post office staff on how to properly and expeditiously handle mail ballots, deficiencies in how ballots were tracked and errors leading to delays, all of which risked ballots having incorrect postmarks or otherwise arriving late to election officials, which could lead to their rejection.”
“Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) accused Democratic Senate candidates of being ‘dangerous, radical and frankly weird’ and said they ‘hate what it means to be American’ during a speech Wednesday at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee (D) is projected to lose his reelection bid to former CVS executive Helena Foulkes (D) in the Democratic primary for Rhode Island,” according to Decision Desk HQ.
New York Post: Dan McKee becomes first elected governor to lose primary since 2014.
“President Donald Trump said he would ‘consider’ a pardon for his former fixer turned foe, Michael Cohen,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) delivered a video message at the Republican midterm convention, in which he praised a bipartisan effort to bolster the steel industry and distanced himself from his party’s left wing,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“It comes on the first night of the Republican midterm convention, in which multiple speakers have portrayed Democrats as radical extremists and out of touch with American values.”
Axios: Fetterman to praise Trump in bombshell GOP convention video.
“Rep. Jim Jordan said Wednesday he plans to end his eight-year run leading Republicans on two of the House’s most prominent committees after this Congress, raising fresh questions about what comes next for the veteran Ohio lawmaker,” Politico reports.
“Jordan, 62, said in an interview on the sidelines of the Republican midterm convention that he has no plans to seek a waiver of the GOP’s three-term limit on committee leaders to retain the top spot on the Judiciary Committee.”
“Nor, he said, would he seek to return to lead Republicans on the House Oversight Committee.”
“A group seeking to block Missouri from using a new congressional map that favors Republicans in November’s midterm elections has asked the Supreme Court to intervene,” the Washington Post reports.
”The appeal is the latest twist in an extraordinary legal fight that has plunged the state into electoral confusion just as it was supposed to finalize ballots and shortly before it begins distributing mail-in versions to voters.”
Reuters: Fight over Republican-drawn congressional map in Missouri returns to U.S. Supreme Court.
“President Trump prides himself on his television ratings. But on Wednesday night, his speech at the Republicans’ midterm convention will confront one of the few forces in American culture that reliably draws a bigger audience than the president: the National Football League,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump’s remarks, scheduled for around 9 p.m. Eastern time, will coincide with the first game of the NFL season, a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, which is set to air on NBC.”
Washington Post: For many attending the GOP’s midterm convention, the main draw is Trump.
“The Associated Press said it will not refer to Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America’ unless it’s deemed ‘relevant,’ despite President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename the body of water,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s push to calm the bond market is colliding with a more political role, as his planned Republican convention speech raises questions about the credibility he needs to manage U.S. debt markets,” CNBC reports.
“Bessent’s prime-time speech at the Republicans’ midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday will mark the first time in 50 years that a sitting Treasury secretary has spoken at a national political convention.”
“A sibling dispute is now playing out in the governor’s race in Maine, where the sister of Republican nominee Bobby Charles said publicly that she’s supporting his opponent,” the Washington Sun reports.
“Anita Charles, a Lewiston resident, wrote in the Portland Press Herald that she and her brother have never agreed politically but have historically managed their divisions with ‘civility.’ But, she said, an increasing amount of divisive language in her brother’s campaign has motivated her to endorse the Democratic nominee, Hannah Pingree.”
“The nation’s election system is in a messy legal limbo, with fights over mail-in voting, electoral maps and voter records still locked in court,” Axios reports.
“Americans are in the eye of the storm, with over half saying they don’t think the 2026 midterms will be conducted fairly or are unsure, according to a new poll.”
“Just 45% think the midterms will be conducted fairly, a sentiment shared by 37% of independents and 48% of both Democrats and Republicans.”
James Talarico (D) said his opponent, Ken Paxton (R), “is ‘lying to the people of Texas’ with a new AI advertisement that Talarico said puts ‘words in my mouth,'” CBS News reports.
Said Talarico: “When you look at this ad, they are using AI in order to mislead the people of this state, and that is completely consistent with a liar like Ken Paxton.”
“President Trump’s unusual midterm convention is also an unusual fund-raising opportunity for the Republican Party,” the New York Times reports.
“To begin with, the two-day extravaganza in Dallas is more like a cash-for-seat reception than it is a traditional experience for delegates who carry out party business at a normal presidential-year convention.”
“Mr. Trump’s convention will still have unofficial delegates, even if they have no formal business to conduct — and some state parties are charging them for the right to attend, much as fund-raising events charge those who want to attend a VIP reception.”
A new The Economist/YouGov poll finds President Trump’s approval at 37%, while 61% disapprove.
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.
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