“President Donald Trump said on Monday he would impose a 100% tariff on all films produced overseas that are then sent into the U.S., repeating a threat made in May that would upend Hollywood’s global business model,” Reuters reports.
“The step signals Trump’s willingness to extend protectionist trade policies into cultural industries, raising uncertainty for studios that depend heavily on cross-border co-productions and international box-office revenue.”
“I have no faith in Donald Trump’s judicial system. He has turned this judicial system to be his own political fighter, do what he wants politically, so that he tells them to go after people he doesn’t like, he tells them to exonerate people that he likes.”
— Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), quoted by The Hill.
“The number of people charged with breaking federal drug laws dropped to the lowest level in decades this year after the Trump administration ordered enforcement agencies to focus on deporting immigrants,” Reuters reports.
“So far this year, about 10% fewer people have been prosecuted for drug violations compared to the same period of 2024, court records show, a drop of about 1,200 cases and the slowest rate since at least the late 1990s. The pullback was more dramatic for the types of conspiracy and money-laundering cases often used to pursue higher-level traffickers. The number of people charged with money-laundering dropped by 24%, according to Reuters’ analysis.”
Oregon and its largest city, Portland, are suing to block President Trump from deploying the state’s National Guard, calling it an unconstitutional abuse of power, Politico reports.
President Trump accused former FBI Director Christopher Wray of “inappropriate” behavior during his tenure and said he “would think” the Justice Department is investigating him, NBC News reports.
Said Trump: “I would imagine. I would certainly imagine. I would think they are doing that.”
The Financial Times profiles Stephen Miller.
“Washington’s most powerful unelected bureaucrat slashes immigration and threatens his political enemies.”
“Australian beef has replaced U.S. supply in China since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars that have in previous years gone to the U.S. cattle industry into Australian pockets,” Reuters reports.
In their meeting at the White House today, President Trump will try to close the gap with Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “who Trump believes is losing his grip on power,” Politico reports.
Said one Trump adviser: “Bibi is on his own island. Not just from us, from his own government.”
Axios: Trump plans to squeeze Netanyahu to sign Gaza peace deal.
“Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a new U.S. House map into law Sunday as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to try to hold on to a narrow Republican majority in next year’s congressional election,” the AP reports.
“Public polling makes clear that generational change is coming that is set to reshape U.S. policy toward Israel in fundamental ways,” Politico reports.
“On both the left and the right, young Americans are growing more skeptical of offering unconditional U.S. support to Israel, particularly as the death toll in Gaza rises and the possibility of Palestinian statehood dims. At the same time, younger Israelis are veering hard to the right, becoming more nationalist and religious and less sympathetic to the Palestinians, a shift that will create more tension in the U.S.-Israel relationship in the years to come. A collision looks unavoidable.”
A source close to President Trump told CBS News that the president privately welcomes the prospect of a shutdown because it will enable him to wield executive power to slash some government programs and salaries.
That sort of provocation isn’t limited to Oregon. Yesterday in Chicago, “dozens of armed federal immigration agents” patrolled the downtown area in a “show of force,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
“Feeling more anxious? More unsure? Unless you’re heavily sedated, you should be: We’ve never witnessed so many population-wide shifts simultaneously in our lifetime,” Axios reports.
“Three titanic tectonic plates are shifting at once: our technology, our governing and our reality-shaping. Washington, D.C., is the epicenter of all three.”
“You can’t navigate business, politics, social media or life generally without understanding the speed, consequence and interconnectedness of these shifts.”
“Some congressional Democrats are going so far as to check their own personal finances after the indictment of James Comey,” Axios reports.
“With President Trump calling for Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) to be prosecuted for mortgage fraud, members fear that a loose thread could provide an opening to go after them next.”
Wall Street Journal: “Many of FEMA’s core functions related to preparing for natural disasters and leading recovery efforts after they strike have ground to a halt as the Trump administration redefines the agency.”
“Crucial contracts and grants haven’t been approved, caught up in layers of new bureaucracy. A wave of senior staff departed the agency when Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency offered buyouts, taking decades of experience with them. Around 400 FEMA employees have been detailed to work at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as that agency rapidly expands. And the administration has started dismantling the agency’s disaster-response infrastructure, which was strengthened in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.”
“The Senate is returning to Washington on Monday with no clear path to avoid a federal shutdown, as both parties continue to blame the other for lawmakers’ failure to keep the government funded,” the Washington Post reports.
“If Congress fails to approve a funding extension by the end of Tuesday, spending laws will expire and the U.S. government will become a bare-bones operation, only continuing functions that are necessary to protect life or public property.”
Punchbowl News: “During a virtual Senate Democratic Caucus meeting on Sunday, there was no noticeable shift in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s strategy, according to two senators on the call. It wasn’t contentious, added another senator, signaling that Democrats remain willing — at least for now — to shut down the government to get what they want.”
Politico: Shutdown staring contest heads to the Oval Office.
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.
