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Foreign Students Scrub Their Social Media

July 9, 2025 at 7:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Students from around the world who hope to study in the United States are winding down much of their online activity, unfollowing celebrities and politicians, asking friends and family to stop sending news links and scouring their own internet presence for posts that carry even the faintest whiff of hot-button politics,” the Washington Post reports.

“International student visa applicants told The Washington Post that the sanitization is driven by fear that a single ‘like’ or meme, if taken the wrong way, could derail years of hard work, should it run afoul of sweeping new visa-vetting procedures under President Donald Trump. Tech companies have also been marketing account-scrubbing and screening tools to foreign visitors.”

Musk Acolytes Fight for Control of DOGE

July 9, 2025 at 7:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Elon Musk has left the government, but his clout at DOGE lives on,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Weeks after the billionaire left his role at the Department of Government Efficiency amid his feud with President Trump, a small band of Musk loyalists is fighting to preserve the legacy—and power—of the government-slashing office.”

U.S. Botched a Deal to Swap Venezuelans for Americans

July 9, 2025 at 7:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was overseeing a deal to free several Americans and dozens of political prisoners held in Venezuela in exchange for sending home about 250 Venezuelan migrants the United States had deported to El Salvador,” the New York Times reports.

“But the deal never happened.”

“Part of the reason: President Trump’s envoy to Venezuela was working on his own deal, one with terms that Venezuela deemed more attractive. In exchange for American prisoners, he was offering to allow Chevron to continue its oil operations in Venezuela, a vital source of revenue for its authoritarian government.”


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Trump Takes Reins of U.S. Economy

July 9, 2025 at 7:31 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“His expensive tax cuts have been signed into law. His steep global tariffs are taking clearer shape. And his twin campaigns to deregulate government and deport immigrants are well underway,” the New York Times reports.

“With the major components of his agenda now coming into focus, President Trump has already left an indelible mark on the U.S. economy. The triumphs and turbulence that may soon arise will squarely belong to him.”

“Not even six months into his second term, Mr. Trump has forged ahead with the grand and potentially disruptive economic experiment that he first previewed during the 2024 campaign. His actions in recent weeks have staked the future of the nation’s finances — and its centuries-old trading relationships — on a belief that many economists’ most dire warnings are wrong.”

Two Kevins Battle to Be Next Fed Chair

July 9, 2025 at 7:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Two Republicans named Kevin are vying to be the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. One is rising to the top of the list of potential candidates, while the other is facing skepticism from President Trump’s allies,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Kevin Hassett, one of Trump’s closest economic advisers, is emerging as a serious contender to be the next Fed chair, according to people familiar with the matter. Hassett’s rise threatens the other Kevin—former Fed governor Kevin Warsh—an early favorite for the job who has angled for the position ever since Trump passed him over for it eight years ago. Some people close to the president worry that Warsh, who isn’t in Trump’s inner circle, won’t be a champion of lower rates.”

Trump Strikes Unprecedented Deal with News Outlet

July 9, 2025 at 7:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The company that owns the social media platform Truth Social and counts President Donald Trump as its largest shareholder said Monday that it had reached a deal with Newsmax, which its founder has described as ‘supportive of the President and his policies,’ to stream Newsmax content globally,” the Washington Post reports.

“The unprecedented deal links a company whose largest shareholder is the sitting president with a conservative media ally, in a deal that could benefit both parties financially.”

Republicans Push Back on Double-Duty for Bessent

July 9, 2025 at 6:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Republicans like Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary, and they’d support him as chair of the Federal Reserve. Just maybe not at the same time,” Semafor reports.

“As President Donald Trump criticized current Fed Chair Jerome Powell yet again on Tuesday for not cutting interest rates, Republicans cautioned the president to take his time before announcing who could replace Powell next year — whether that’s Bessent or someone else.”

“Most crucially for the administration, though, two senior GOP senators on key fiscal committees aired worries about one person holding both the Treasury job and the Fed chairmanship. That idea, which the White House dismissed after Bloomberg reported this month that Trump’s advisers had discussed it with him, would break nearly a century of precedent and spark questions about its effect on the central bank’s independence.”

New York Times: Bessent steps up criticism of Fed as auditions for Chair.

Wall Street’s Debt Warnings Went Unheeded

July 9, 2025 at 6:41 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “In passing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last week, GOP leaders blew past a host of warnings to potentially add several trillion dollars of additional borrowing — brushing off concerns that they were missing a late opportunity to put the nation on a more sustainable fiscal trajectory in favor of piling on expensive new tax cuts.”

Roy Cooper Inches Closer to Senate Bid

July 9, 2025 at 6:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) is inching closer to launching a campaign to succeed retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), the North State Journal reports.

Pam Bondi Draws the Ire of Trump’s Supporters

July 9, 2025 at 6:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Pam Bondi’s tendency to exaggerate is catching up to her,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Right-wing influencers and allies of President Trump are calling for the attorney general’s resignation after she backtracked on a promise to release what she once called a ‘truckload’ of documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.”

“Bondi also previously implied that she had a list of Epstein’s clients sitting on her desk waiting for her review. The Justice Department on Monday denied the existence of such a list and said it would make no further disclosures about the case.”

Playbook: “And it’s striking that while Trump was quick to rally to the defense of FBI chiefs Kash Patel and Dan Bongino — who are also getting it in the neck from the MAGA faithful — there’s been no such show of love for Bondi as yet.”

Trump to Impose 50% Tariff on Copper

July 9, 2025 at 6:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump said he will announce a 50% tariff on copper, hoping to boost U.S. production of a metal critical to electric vehicles, military hardware, the power grid and many consumer goods,” Reuters reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Copper prices surged and the Dow industrials slipped on Tuesday after President Trump announced a surprisingly large tariff on imports of the metal, and declared that he would hold firm on his latest deadline for trade deals with foreign countries.”

Trump Delayed Tariffs After Bessent Wanted More Time

July 9, 2025 at 6:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump decided to delay the implementation of his so-called reciprocal tariffs to Aug. 1 after advisers including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told him he could get trade deals with more time,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Administration officials including Bessent felt as if they were making progress on deals with several trading partners such as India and the European Union as Trump’s previous deadline approached.”

Washington Post: Trump combats TACO reputation as White House extends tariff deadline.

Can Congress Avert a Shutdown?

July 9, 2025 at 6:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “Here’s the scary reality: No one has any idea yet how Congress is going to avert a shutdown come Sept. 30.”

“There’s virtually no chance the House and Senate are going to pass all 12 appropriations bills between now and the end of September. It’s not even clear that GOP appropriators can get them all out of their respective committees by then. At least one continuing resolution is needed, maybe multiple CRs.”

“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer caught hell from the Democratic base when he helped Republicans keep federal agencies open in March by passing a long-term CR, a decision that will come back into play later this year.”

“GOP leaders can’t avert a shutdown without the help of Democrats. Yet so far, the White House is demanding tens of billions of dollars in spending cuts that Democrats oppose.”

Ted Cruz Toured the Parthenon Before Heading Home

July 8, 2025 at 8:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Ted Cruz, whose superpower is always doing the wrong thing, appears to have gone sightseeing in Athens the day after a devastating natural disaster hit his home state, killing more than 100 people, including more than two dozen girls and staff members from a summer camp,” Vanity Fair reports.

“In addition to being in deeply poor taste, the revelation suggests that the lawmaker did not actually attempt to get back to Texas ‘as fast as humanly possible,’ as his office claimed.”

Pete Hegseth Goes Rogue

July 8, 2025 at 8:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he authorized a pause on weapons shipments to Ukraine last week, setting off a scramble inside the administration to understand why the halt was implemented and explain it to Congress and the Ukrainian government,” CNN reports.

FBI Launches Criminal Probes of Brennan and Comey

July 8, 2025 at 7:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are under criminal investigation for potential wrongdoing related to the Trump–Russia probe, including allegedly making false statements to Congress,” Fox News reports.

Loss of Foreign Workers Begins to Bite U.S. Economy

July 8, 2025 at 7:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration is starting to ripple across the U.S. economy,” Politico reports.

“From small farms in California, to meat packing facilities in Nebraska to corporate giants like Disney, businesses are scrambling to replace workers after recent administration actions have taken immigrants, both legal and illegal, out of the labor force, including several hundred thousand people who had been given temporary work permits under President Joe Biden.”

Elon Musk’s Grok Praises Hitler

July 8, 2025 at 7:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Elon Musk’s AI platform Grok faced backlash Tuesday for repeated use of an antisemitic phrase and other offensive posts in its replies on X,” Axios reports.

“Musk has recently expressed frustration with Grok’s way of answering questions and suggested in June that he would retrain the AI platform. It’s unclear how well that’s going.”

The Atlantic: Elon Musk’ Grok is calling for a new holocaust.

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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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