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“The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota’s governor and the mayor of its largest city conspired to impede federal immigration officers,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The probe examines the statements of Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey amid last week’s killing of a woman by an ICE agent, escalating a weekslong battle between the Trump administration and Minnesota’s Democratic leaders.”
I spoke with the great Julie Mason about the biggest political story of the week.
“President Donald Trump has installed four allies on a federal commission set to review his White House ballroom plan, including its former chief architect — his latest move to secure rapid approval for the controversial project,” the Washington Post reports.
“University of Montana President Seth Bodnar is expected to run for U.S. Senate as an independent, part of an elaborate plan apparently backed by former Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) in a move that has angered Democrats,” the Montana Free Press reports.
“Rumors of the move swirled through Democratic circles last week as it appeared that Tester intended not to support a Democratic challenger to two-term Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), who played a heavy role in unseating Tester in 2024.”
Said Tester, in an apparent text: “Every race I ran as Montana Senator and U.S. Senator it was about distancing myself from the Democratic Party… During my last two races the Democratic Party was poison in my attempts to get re-elected.”
“The Virginia state Senate on Friday approved a constitutional amendment that paves the way for a special election in which voters will decide whether to approve congressional maps favoring Democrats ahead of the midterms,” NOTUS reports.
“If voters approve the referendum, Democrats could end up with lines that could net their party up to four seats, though the exact makeup of the final map is still unclear.”
NBC News: Virginia lawmakers pass redistricting amendment, sending it to voters for approval.
“Some people say you may outdrive him, but you’re not going to outdrive his caddy. It is what it is.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Mediaite, admitting Donald Trump cheats at golf.
A new AP-NORC poll finds just 16% of Republicans say President Trump has helped “a lot” in addressing the cost of living.
“There is little sign overall, though, that the Republican base is abandoning Trump. The vast majority of Republicans, about 8 in 10, approve of his job performance, compared with 4 in 10 for adults overall.”
New York Times: “The pardons, most of which have not been previously reported, were supported by people with close ties to Mr. Trump’s orbit, including lawyers who had previously worked for him.”
“They continue a trend in which the president has used the unfettered presidential clemency power to reward allies and those who have paid his associates or donated to his political operation. They stand in contrast to Justice Department guidelines that prioritize the clemency applications of people who have completed their prison sentences or demonstrated remorse and a lower likelihood of recidivism.”
“President Donald Trump mounted a dramatic intervention into the nation’s largest power market on Friday, aiming to quell political headaches over rising electricity prices fueled by new data centers across a clutch of swing states,” Politico reports.
“The unprecedented move by the White House is an attempt to ensure one of the brightest spots in the economy — the surge in construction of data centers devoted to artificial intelligence — isn’t hamstrung by one of the biggest drags — the rising cost of energy.”
“Mr. President, I have an offer I think you’re going to find difficult to refuse. If you — and only if you agreed to pull ICE out of Minneapolis and put them back at the borders where they belong — I am prepared to offer you one of the following trophies.”
— Jimmy Kimmel, quoted by The Wrap, offering President Trump one of his Emmy Awards.
President Trump is issuing a pardon to Puerto Rico’s former governor Wanda Vázquez Garced, who was previously indicted in a federal corruption case, CBS News reports.
“Donald Trump has played down the chances he will nominate Kevin Hassett as the next Federal Reserve chair, dealing a blow to the National Economic Council director, who has been considered the frontrunner,” the Financial Times reports.
“The president said on Friday that the prospect of Hassett leaving his current role was a ‘serious concern,’ sending the odds of his main rival Kevin Warsh taking the Fed role surging on betting markets.”
Said Trump: “I see Kevin’s in the audience and I just want to thank you, you were fantastic on television today. I actually want to keep you where you are if you want to know the truth.”
“Great books about senators aren’t especially plentiful,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The great heroes of modern American political history are presidents, not gifted inquisitors or master tacticians.”
“There are distinguished exceptions, of course: John A. Garraty’s Henry Cabot Lodge (1953) is a masterly rendering of a complicated figure; James T. Patterson’s biography of Robert Taft (Mr. Republican, 1972) is both graceful history and instructive political science. The trees felled to produce them may be said to have been sacrificed in a worthy cause.”
“And then there are three volumes (two memoirs, one biography) that fall somewhere short of the ideal, though that is not necessarily a reason to pass them by. The three senators under scrutiny, all Democrats, are well-known for different reasons. One is a party maverick, of sorts, much admired at home in West Virginia while ‘controversial’ in Washington (Joe Manchin). Another, from Nevada, was sufficiently distant from maverick status to have served as his party’s leader in the Senate for more than a decade (Harry Reid). The senator still in office is a Pennsylvania freshman whose singular status is both personal and political (John Fetterman).”
“At least a half-dozen states applied to be in the early nominating window for 2028’s Democratic presidential campaign, kicking off a contentious battle for securing an influential perch inside the primary calendar,” Politico reports.
“The usual suspects — New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and Michigan, who made up the early states in Democrats’ 2024 primary calendar, though not in the order set out by the Democratic National Committee — are all back, per their state parties. So is Iowa, hoping to reinsert itself into the process after it was bounced four years ago. Georgia also applied.”
“Virginia and North Carolina are both seriously considering applying.”
President Trump said he may punish countries with tariffs if they don’t back the U.S. controlling Greenland, the AP reports.
Said Trump: “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland. We need Greenland for national security.”
Jonathan Martin: “The primaries before the midterm elections haven’t even started yet, but Beshear is running for president. His local political advisers are thinking deeply about his strategy, and he’s tapped a handful of national strategists to guide him in these early days.”
“However, the real giveaway is that Beshear already has a two-pronged theory of the case about why he’s positioned to be his party’s nominee in 2028. And he was happy to say it out loud to me…”
Said Beshear: “I’m a guy who has won three straight statewide elections in a Trump plus-30 state… I think it’s a mixture of both electability and the idea that, here’s somebody that not only could win in a purple state, he wins in a red state.”
Zohran Mamdani will make his first appearance on ABC‘s The View next week since he was sworn in as mayor of New York, Deadline 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.
