“House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s concessions to conservatives on his right flank to win his leadership position have diminished the worth of the position,” Politico reports.
Said Pelosi:”I think it’s an ever incredibly shrinking speakership. It became that the first night when he had to make all these pledges, promises to become speaker. Really, it isn’t worth it to be speaker to abdicate that much jurisdiction over the House.”
“A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday rejected the Biden administration’s latest effort to save a program that has shielded hundreds of thousands of undocumented young adults from deportation, saying that it remained unlawful even after recent changes,” the New York Times reports.
“The judge, Andrew S. Hanen of the Federal District Court in Houston, maintained that President Barack Obama exceeded his authority when he created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, by executive action in 2012.”
“The decision is the latest twist in a five-year-long court saga that has left the program and its beneficiaries, known as Dreamers, hanging in the balance.”
“Vivek Ramaswamy, the Republican presidential candidate whose strident and sometimes unrealistic proposals have helped him stand out in the crowded primary field, said in a policy speech on Wednesday that he would fire more than 75 percent of the federal work force and shutter several major agencies,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Ramaswamy also claimed he could make the changes unilaterally if he were to be elected president, putting forward a sweeping theory that the executive wields the power to restructure the federal government on his own and does not need to submit such proposals to Congress for approval.”
“Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he wants to close the Department of Education and have state governments ‘run the education of our children,’ pushing for a long-held Republican goal that has been endorsed by several other 2024 GOP candidates,” CNN reports.
Said Trump, in a video: “We’re going to end education coming out of Washington, DC. We’re going to close it up – all those buildings all over the place and people that in many cases hate our children. We’re going to send it all back to the states.”
“But eliminating the US Department of Education would not necessarily give any more power to states over K-12 schools. While the federal agency helps the president execute education policies, the power to set curriculum, establish schools and determine enrollment eligibility already lies with the states and local school boards.”
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told CNN that he never recommended a US military attack on Iran during the Trump administration, pushing back on claims made by Donald Trump and his White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Said Milley: “I can assure you that not one time have I ever recommended to attack Iran.”
Punchbowl News: “We are now 17 days before a government shutdown and House Republicans are absolutely nowhere on their individual spending bills. The right is revolting over passing a short-term funding bill. Meanwhile, McCarthy has vowed not to pass an omnibus spending bill.”
“A shutdown is more likely than not at this point.”
“The U.S. approved the sale of as many as 25 F-35 fighter jets to South Korea, a major weapons offer to a key regional ally after a summit aimed at expressing unity in the face of China’s growing assertiveness,” Bloomberg reports.
Wall Street Journal: “America’s electric-vehicle drivers are increasingly unhappy with public charging, as problems that include glitchy or inoperable equipment seem to be getting worse, not better.”
“Now the U.S. government plans to launch a $100 million effort to try to tackle the reliability issue and make public charging less annoying and more consistent. The funding aims to repair and replace thousands of old or out-of-commission chargers.”
“Donald Trump on Wednesday offered to ‘exchange’ his right to a speedy trial in his Georgia election-conspiracy case for an Atlanta judge ruling that would have the former president tried separately from 18 other defendants,” CNBC reports.
“Trump’s co-defendant Mark Meadows, who served as his White House chief of staff, shortly afterward filed an identical offer waiving a speedy trial in exchange for his own case being tried separately.”
Wall Street Journal: “Ramaswamy is among the youngest candidates ever to run for president, and he’s doing it in an election where both parties’ leading contenders would be the oldest nominees in U.S. history. The distinction has both helped him stand out in a crowded GOP field and emerged as a liability at a time when voters and Republican party leaders are giving his candidacy more scrutiny.”
“The critique of inexperience is familiar to the long list of young contenders who have challenged establishment orthodoxy in recent presidential elections.”
Punchbowl News: “The House Republican Conference is in an extended state of confusion about how – and whether – rank-and-file GOP lawmakers rally around a funding plan in advance of the Sept. 30 funding deadline.”
“McCarthy told House Republicans in a closed party meeting this morning that it’s “three against one” right now because the White House, Senate Republicans and Senate Democrats are in agreement on funding.”
Rep. Scott Perry’s (R-PA) conversations with allies in Congress and the Trump White House about overturning the 2020 election are off-limits to special counsel Jack Smith, an appeals court ruled in a newly unsealed court opinion, Politico reports.
“Sen. Tim Scott’s campaign is pushing the Republican Party to change the qualifying and podium placement rules for the upcoming GOP presidential debates, calling for more emphasis on polls in early voting states rather than national polls,” Axios reports.
“Qualifying for the third debate will be critical for every campaign — and being closer to the center of the stage often correlates with more speaking time, as it largely did in the first debate last month.”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) said that talk by No Labels of mounting an independent candidacy in 2024 was a mistake and would only help to reelect Donald Trump, the Washington Post reports.
He also said he has spoken “many times” to Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WV), who is flirting with such a bid: “I lobby continuously that it would only elect Trump.”
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) has a blunt warning for his party as it struggles to round up the votes to bring up — let alone pass — its own defense spending bill: “It means we’re in trouble,” Politico reports.
Said Simpson: “Fasten your seat belts because it’s going to be a shit show.”
“An unusual outdoor excursion by the jury that convicted Peter Navarro — just 30 minutes before delivering its verdict last week — is threatening to unravel the former Donald Trump adviser’s trial for defying a subpoena from the Jan. 6 select committee,” Politico reports.
“Navarro’s attorneys say that brief respite may have exposed the jurors to a smattering of protesters, some of whom wielded signs about Jan. 6 defendants and one of whom was later seen holding a sign referencing Navarro himself.”
A new Quinnipiac national poll finds Donald Trump leading the Republican presidential race with 62%, followed by Ron DeSantis at 12%, Vivek Ramasway at 6%, Nikki Haley at 5%, Mike Pence at 5%, Tim Scott at 3% and Chris Christie at 2%.
Key finding: “Among those voters supporting Trump in the Republican primary, 68% say they are firmly set on Trump no matter what happens leading up to the Republican primary, while 29% say they might change their candidate choice depending on what happens leading up to the Republican primary.”
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.