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“A new National Park Service report backs President Donald Trump’s proposed arch, despite what it says are adverse effects to the sightline between a host of iconic landmarks in Washington, including the Washington Monument and Lincoln and Jefferson memorials,” the Associated Press reports.
“The report released Friday says the 250-foot-tall (76-meter) memorial arch is likely to disrupt the historical significance of dozens of sites near its planned location adjacent to Memorial Bridge.”
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is blocking the promotions of four Army officers selected for promotion to one-star rank, a highly unusual move that appears to be targeting officers who worked for generals he does not like,” the New York Times reports.
“So far this year Mr. Hegseth has removed at least 45 officers, selected by boards made up of peers, from promotion lists. More than half of those officers have been female or Black.”
“Mr. Hegseth’s actions appear to violate the rules governing a promotion system that is meant to be apolitical and merit-based.”
“In the latest salvo in California’s ongoing environmental battle with the White House, the state on Friday sued the Trump administration over its attempt to kill offshore wind farms,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump has long despised offshore wind power, falsely saying that it does not work and kills whales. This spring, his administration struck deals with energy companies. In exchange for refunds for what they paid for offshore wind leases, the companies agreed to use the money on oil and gas projects.”
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“The Trump administration on Friday appealed a freeze on President Trump’s plan to restrict mail-in voting, teeing up another series of legal decisions about whether the U.S. Postal Service can make changes to how ballots are handled ahead of the midterm elections,” the New York Times reports.
“The issue will likely be settled by the Supreme Court.”
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“Texas’s outgoing agriculture commissioner is warning fellow GOP leaders that if they don’t take action soon against data centers, they could lose key races in November,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Miller: “I’ve been leading the charge against these data centers for a year or more, and it’s all falling on deaf ears. It’s going to hurt us in the midterms. I think we could lose some statewide races.”
“Among the Republicans most at risk, he said: Gov. Greg Abbott, who is seeking a fourth term; Attorney General Ken Paxton, who’s running to replace Sen. John Cornyn; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick; and Nate Sheets, who is running to replace Miller.”
“The Trump administration told the Supreme Court two weeks ago that construction of a new White House East Wing was ‘65% finished,’ part of its argument that the work was too far along for the court to halt,” the Washington Post reports.
“But by the White House’s own standard for measuring the project’s progress, established in a confidential agreement with contractor Clark Construction, work on the controversial project was far less complete.”
“A top pollster for President Donald Trump is pushing back on recent public polling showing Republican Mike Rogers trailing progressive Abdul El-Sayed in the marquee Michigan Senate race,” Politico reports.
“Tony Fabrizio, who is conducting polling for Rogers, says the polls released this month are over-sampling Democratic-leaning voters, specifically college-educated and Black voters, according to an internal memo.”
“The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to allow the U.S. military to fully enforce its ban on transgender service members, setting up the latest test of the administration’s policy priorities in front of the court,” the New York Times reports.
“The justices are expected to consider whether to review the legality of the administration’s ban this fall and, if they accept the case, could schedule oral arguments during the Supreme Court’s term that begins in October.”
“Far-right political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos is currently in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody,” CBS News reports.
“As primaries wrap up, most Democratic candidates who battled it out in intense nominating contests have come out in full force to support their party’s nominees as they try to regain control of the Senate,” the Washington Post reports.
“But there’s one notable exception: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D).”
“Crockett, who has repeatedly declined to endorse state Rep. James Talarico, doubled down Thursday night. Asked in an interview with CNN’s Laura Coates if she would campaign with Talarico, Crockett said: ‘I will be campaigning downballot.'”
“President Trump is not planning to attend a ceremony in Manhattan for the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, in part because he wanted to deliver a speech and the annual event has long barred remarks,” the New York Times reports.
New York Magazine: Trump snubs 9/11 ceremony because he can’t give a speech.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is considering inviting hundreds of senior military personnel back for an address at Marine Corps Base Quantico this year, where he delivered his ‘no more beardos’ speech last fall,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Last September, Hegseth ordered all of the country’s generals and admirals to gather at Quantico on short notice and without a stated reason, surprising senior military officers and stirring some consternation in their ranks.”
“Billionaire Elon Musk’s super PAC launched digital ads in key Senate battlegrounds this month, the group’s first significant advertising spending since last year’s state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin,” NBC News reports.
“The new digital ads are running in Maine, Michigan and New Hampshire target specific lists of people and urge viewers to register to vote, according to a review of Meta political ad data. Some ads are generic, featuring reminders that the Senate races in their states could decide control of the chamber.”
“A federal judge on Friday rejected an effort by President Donald Trump to transfer to federal court the New York state criminal hush money case that ended with his conviction,” CNBC reports.
“President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order to create a new military academy — the U.S. Space Academy — dedicated to educating those pursuing jobs in space,” NBC News reports.
“Announcing the plan in an appearance at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Trump said ‘the rapid growth of the Space Force and the commercial space industry and the expansion of our ambitions to the moon and far beyond the moon’ inspired the new academy.”
“A year out from Argentina’s presidential election, Peter Thiel has become an avatar for the left’s charge that President Javier Milei is putting the country up for sale,” Bloomberg reports.
“Opposition lawmakers launched a five-hour congressional hearing Friday into Thiel’s interests in Argentina, ramping up scrutiny on the tech billionaire who has purchased a mansion in Buenos Aires and a stake in the country’s biggest oil exporter.”
“Thiel also met with Milei and members of the cabinet earlier this year, just as the libertarian leader began pushing one bill to make it easier for foreigners to purchase Argentine land and another that would allow companies to be run entirely by AI.”
“President Trump updated his defamation lawsuit on Thursday against The New York Times and the book publisher Penguin Random House, expanding on his argument that several reporters had disparaged his record as a businessman in articles and a book about him,” the New York Times reports.
“The new filing adds specific claims of inaccuracies to a lawsuit Mr. Trump first filed last year over the articles and the book, which was written by two Times journalists. Lawyers for Mr. Trump said then the reporting was ‘specifically designed to try and damage Mr. Trump’s business, personal and political reputation’ ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. They asked for $15 billion in damages.”
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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