“House Republicans are expected to take the lead as the GOP moves to fulfill President Trump’s call for a ‘comprehensive crime bill’ that coincides with his crackdown on Washington, D.C., and threats to extend his efforts to other cities,” The Hill reports.
“Exactly what the bill will include is unclear, but it’s expected to take aim at issues such as cashless bail, which Trump has blamed for crime.”
“Sen. Susan Collins of Maine is the latest Republican to face angry constituents while home this August recess,” NOTUS reports.
“Collins made a surprise appearance at an infrastructure project ribbon-cutting event in Searsport on Tuesday, and was met with a rowdy group of residents shouting, ‘Shame, shame, shame.'”
Paul Krugman: “Nations in which central banks lose their independence sooner or later suffer high inflation, especially when they are taken over by autocrats who buy into crackpot economic doctrines. And Trump, who has been demanding large rate cuts because, he claims, the economy is running hot — which almost every economist would say is a reason to raise rates, not cut them — certainly fits that pattern. Yet although there have been small tremors in the bond and currency markets, there have been no significant upheavals in financial markets that reflect the severity of the situation we are in. Throughout this episode, the stock market has remained fairly flat and bond yields haven’t spiked.”
“Why not? Do financial markets doubt that Trump will get his way? Or do they reject mainstream economics and the clear examples of countries like Turkey and Argentina?”
“Neither. My read of economic and financial history is that market pricing almost never takes into account the possibility of huge, disruptive events, even when the strong possibility of such events should be obvious. The usual pattern, instead, is one of market complacency until the last possible moment. That is, markets act as if everything is normal until it’s blindingly obvious that it isn’t.”
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“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday gave medical schools less than two weeks to ‘immediately’ add more nutrition education to their curricula,” Axios reports.
“Kennedy previously threatened the schools with loss of funding if they don’t beef up their nutrition education as part of his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ agenda, which also includes a planned revamp of federal dietary guidelines.”
“Russia launched a deadly barrage against Kyiv on Thursday, punctuating a lull during President Trump’s peace efforts and damaging buildings across the capital, including the British Council and EU delegation building, and prompting angry responses from European leaders,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The attack, which left at least 15 people dead, was the highest death toll in the capital since Trump held talks in Alaska earlier this month with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president who increasingly appears to be defying White House threats of sanctions and pressing on with his war on Ukraine.”
“President Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday afternoon to attack a Utah court ruling that ordered new congressional maps pursuant to an anti-gerrymandering lawsuit,” Axios reports.
“Trump claimed Monday’s order by state judge Dianna Gibson is ‘absolutely’ unconstitutional.”
Said Trump: “How did such a wonderful Republican State like Utah, which I won in every Election, end up with so many Radical Left Judges?”
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned the country is on the precipice of tipping into authoritarianism, predicting that President Donald Trump does not want to leave office after his term ends and accusing federal immigration officials of acting as “the largest private police force in history,” Politico reports.
Said Newsom: “I don’t think Donald Trump wants another election.”
“When legal drama arises in Washington, the longtime defense lawyer Abbe Lowell often has a piece of it. No stranger to the limelight, he is eagerly stepping into it in President Trump’s second term, with a client list of administration targets growing by the week,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“His latest addition is among his most consequential: Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, who is fighting Trump’s attempt to fire her, a battle that could have long-term ramifications for the central bank and for the scope of presidential power.”
Wall Street Journal: “In his first term, administration officials regularly curbed Trump’s impulses on matters big and small, including on tariffs, immigration and controlling the Federal Reserve.”
“In his second, Trump has been surrounded by fewer people who try to dissuade him, according to White House officials, Trump allies and observers of the presidency.”
“Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, surprised Central Intelligence Agency officials last week when she included an undercover senior CIA officer on a roster of 37 current and former officials she stripped of security clearances,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Most of the 37 people had either participated in intelligence assessments related to Russia’s attempt to influence the outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election or had signed a 2019 letter calling for President Trump’s impeachment.”
“Gabbard didn’t know the CIA officer had been working undercover.”
“The U.S. Air Force will provide January 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt with military funeral honors, reversing a Biden-era decision that denied her family’s request,” The Hill reports.
Brian Lowry: “Donald Trump looks lousy. He has unexplained bruises on his hands. His ankles are swollen. He’s walking oddly. He keeps mixing up names, or using the wrong word during press availabilities.”
“So is it fair game to publicly probe whether Trump is at death’s door? And before answering, think about what you said roughly 18 months ago about Joe Biden, especially after special counsel Robert Hur interviewed the president and described him as an ‘elderly man with a poor memory.’”
“The question about what’s legitimate in diagnosing presidents from afar has become more than just an academic exercise, given that they endure one of the world’s most demanding jobs.”
Oliver Darcy: “In late 2020, YouTube took a decisive step: The company suspended the right-wing conspiracy factory One America News, demonetized its channel, and declared that it was not an ‘authoritative’ source. It was the correct call: OAN has a lengthy record of spewing dangerous lies about everything from Covid to the 2020 election…”
“Now, less than five years later, Google boss Sundar Pichai and YouTube chief Neal Mohan have executed a shameless, whiplash-inducing reversal. On Wednesday, YouTube TV and OAN proudly announced that they had inked a carriage deal, catapulting the channel onto one of the country’s largest digital pay-TV platform. In effect, Google tossed a lifeline to the outlet, since most every other major carrier in the country had booted it from its lineup. The move will make YouTube TV among the biggest distributors of the MAGA propaganda outlet in America.”
“The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is refusing to leave her post, despite demands from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that she quit or be fired,” the New York Times reports.
“The clash between Mr. Kennedy and Susan Monarez, who was sworn in as CDC director just one month ago, burst into public view on Wednesday as four other high-ranking CDC officials quit en masse, apparently in frustration over vaccine policy and Mr. Kennedy’s leadership.”
“In the days leading up to President Donald Trump’s Aug. 15 Alaska summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the CIA’s senior-most Russia experts worked grueling hours, helping Trump and his team prepare for high-stakes diplomacy over Ukraine and making sure they were adequately briefed,” the Washington Post reports.
“Four days later, the CIA officer was at work at the spy agency’s Langley headquarters when she was abruptly ordered to report to the security office. She was informed that her clearance to look at classified material was being stripped.”
“In a span of minutes, her 29-year career in public service was essentially over.”
“At least three top officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention submitted their resignations Wednesday, saying the recent changes and leadership at their agency are preventing them from fulfilling their duties as public health authorities,” The Hill reports.
Washington Post: Top officials resign after RFK Jr. push to change vaccine policy.
“As President Trump threatens more federal incursions into American cities in the name of fighting crime, a group of Democratic mayors huddled on a private strategy call on Wednesday to discuss their plans to fight back,” the New York Times reports.
“The call, hosted by the Democratic Mayors Association, represented a new effort from Democratic officials to wrest the narrative from Republicans on public safety, an issue that Mr. Trump has effectively used as a cudgel. It was also an attempt to coordinate on messaging as national Democrats have strained to mount sustained and unified opposition to the Trump administration.”
“During the call, the mayors in attendance discussed what they saw as an urgent need for Democrats to define themselves as strong stewards of public safety — before Republicans brand them first ahead of pivotal elections.”
“A top Republican lawmaker in California has presented a longshot resolution to split the state in two as a response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s plan to redraw its congressional maps to favor Democrats,” Bloomberg reports.
“James Gallagher, the Republican leader in the California State Assembly, outlined a proposal to separate 35 GOP-friendly inland counties from coastal Democratic strongholds such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. The proposed new state would have more than 10 million people, he said, although it lacks a name and any visible support from the Democratic-controlled state legislature.”
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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