New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is challenging President Trump to face off in a televised debate — calling out the White House for trying to get involved in the heated race, the New York Post reports.
Said Mamdani: “Let’s cut out the middle man. Why should I debate Donald Trump’s puppet when I could debate Donald Trump himself?”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) questioned Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at a hearing:
CASSIDY: Do you agree with me that President Trump deserves a Nobel Prize for Operation Warp Speed?
KENNEDY: Absolutely.
CASSIDY: But you just told Sen. Bennet that the Covid vaccine killed more people than Covid.
“The White House has targeted opponents, including a Fed governor, for having more than one primary residence on their loan papers,” ProPublica reports.
“In one case, a Trump cabinet secretary got two such mortgages in quick succession.”
“Underscoring how common the practice is, ProPublica found that at least three of Trump’s Cabinet members call multiple homes their primary residences on mortgages.”
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“By ordering the U.S. military to summarily kill a group of people aboard what he said was a drug-smuggling boat, President Trump used the military in a way that had no clear legal precedent or basis,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump is claiming the power to shift maritime counterdrug efforts from law enforcement rules to wartime rules. The police arrest criminal suspects for prosecution and cannot instead simply gun suspects down, except in rare circumstances where they pose an imminent threat to someone.”
“By contrast, in armed conflicts, troops can lawfully kill enemy combatants on sight.”
“Because killing people is so extreme — and doing it without due process risks killing the wrong people by mistake — the question of which rules apply is not simply a matter of policy choice.”
“Northwestern University President Michael Schill said Thursday he was resigning, marking the latest university leader to step down during a tumultuous period in higher education,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Like many of its peers, Northwestern has faced pressure from the Trump administration over its handling of pro-Palestinian protests on campus following the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel.”
“The Midwestern university has had $790 million in federal research money frozen, affecting hundreds of scientific projects, including clinical trials with patients on lifesaving medicine.”
“Gabriel Sterling, a leading defender of Georgia’s voting system who famously called for President Donald Trump to condemn election threats in 2020, entered the Republican race for secretary of state on Thursday,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) announced her state will require health insurers operating in the state to cover vaccines recommended by the state’s department of public health, Axios reports.
“In the wake of the Minneapolis Catholic church shooting, senior Justice Department officials are weighing proposals to limit transgender people’s right to possess firearms,” CNN reports.
“Such a move would represent a dramatic escalation of the Trump administration’s fight against the rights of transgender Americans.”
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, raised eyebrows when he suggested some of Kennedy’s vaccine views were jeopardizing public safety and eroding medical progress, Axios reports.
Said Barrasso: “I’ve grown deeply concerned.”
He added: “There are real concerns that safe, proven vaccines like measles, Hepatitis B and others could be in jeopardy, and that would put Americans at risk and reverse decades of progress.”
“Barrasso does not usually break from his party, and as a leadership member, could be reflecting broader concerns within the GOP caucus.”
MSNBC: Senators tear into RFK Jr. over vaccine restrictions in explosive hearing.
“New York Attorney General Letitia James sent formal notice Thursday that her office will appeal a decision last month that threw out the half billion-dollar civil fraud penalty imposed on President Donald Trump in his civil fraud case,” ABC News reports.
“The Senate Republican campaign arm sent a memo to donors touting Rep. Ashley Hinson’s potential strength in the Iowa Senate race, while stopping short of fully endorsing her to replace outgoing Sen. Joni Ernst,” NOTUS reports.
“Senate Democrats have been looking for ways to expand their difficult 2026 map to take back the majority, eyeing red states like Iowa and Alaska as potential places to do so.”
“Facing hostile questions from senators in both parties, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dug in Thursday on some of his most controversial actions since taking office in February, fiercely interrupting senators on both sides to push back on their onslaught,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Eleven of the 13 Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee called for Kennedy to resign or be fired before the hearing even began, a very clear signal about how contentious the session was going to be. And it then lived up to that preview, with Kennedy and numerous senators getting into angry exchanges…”
“Yet Kennedy continued to push conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 vaccine, spurring sharp criticism from even Republican senators.”
“Federal Reserve nominee Stephen Miran, a senior White House economic adviser, told Senate lawmakers Thursday that he does not plan to resign from the Trump administration if confirmed to the Federal Reserve’s board of governors — an unusual arrangement likely to raise concerns about the central bank’s independence,” the Washington Post reports.
“If confirmed, he would be the first modern-day Federal Reserve Board member to maintain such close ties to the White House.”
“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Thursday that former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Susan Monarez lied to Americans when she said she was fired for refusing to endorse vaccine recommendations not supported by science,” Axios reports.
“Kennedy’s public rebuke will likely cause additional turmoil at the CDC.”
Said Monarez, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed: “The CDC can’t fulfill its obligation to the American people if its leader can’t demand proof in decision-making. That isn’t reform. It is sabotage.”
“The District of Columbia’s attorney general said that he was suing to end the deployment of the National Guard in Washington, two days after a federal judge ruled the Trump administration’s use of troops in Los Angeles had been unlawful,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said the world during Donald Trump’s second presidency has entered a period of danger, The Guardian reports.
Said McConnell: “I think this is the most dangerous period since before World War II. There’s certain similarities right now to the 30s.”
He added: “Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley tariff bill in 1930, widely believed by historians and economists to have taken the depression worldwide. Those who were totally anxious to stay out of all of what was going on in Europe were called ‘America First’. Sound familiar?”
More: “So what do we have today? North Korea, China, Russia, Iran and Iran’s proxies. They’re very different kinds of countries, but they have one thing in common: They hate us.”
Twelve Democratic members of the Finance Committee and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to resign minutes before he was testify before them, the Washington Post reports.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) did not sign on to the statement.
“Federal judges are frustrated with the Supreme Court for increasingly overturning lower court rulings involving the Trump administration with little or no explanation, with some worried the practice is undermining the judiciary at a sensitive time,” NBC News reports.
“Some judges believe the Supreme Court, and in particular Chief Justice John Roberts, could be doing more to defend the integrity of their work as President Donald Trump and his allies harshly criticize those who rule against him and as violent threats against judges are on the rise.”
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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