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Justices Take Up Hawaii’s Restrictions on Concealed Guns

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“The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to take up a major new gun rights case focused on recent measures enacted in Hawaii that restrict where people with a license to carry a concealed handgun can bring their weapons,” NBC News reports.

“At issue are provisions of a law that requires people with concealed carry permits to seek permission to bring their weapons onto private properties that are otherwise open to the public unless the owner already allows it. The law, enacted in 2023, also restricts gun owners from possessing their firearms in certain ‘sensitive places,’ including beaches, parks and bars.”

Associated Press: Supreme Court will consider overturning Hawaii’s strict ban on guns on private property.

Trump Charts Path to Total Control

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“President Trump is seizing on the government shutdown as an ‘unprecedented opportunity’ to consolidate control in the Oval Office, accelerating a trend toward unchecked power,” Axios reports.

“Many Democrats see the shutdown as a necessary evil to halt — or at least slow — Trump’s steamrolling of democratic norms and independent institutions. So far, the standoff is only emboldening the White House.”


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Trump Enlists Business to Push Democrats on Shutdown

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“President Trump and top aides are enlisting powerful business and labor groups to push Senate Democrats to end the government shutdown,” Axios reports.

“Trump, while threatening mass firings of government workers, is also playing an inside game by cultivating support from influential D.C. interests — a tactic he typically dismissed during his first administration.” 

Funding for WIC Will End Soon

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“Funding for a program that helps millions of women and children with neonatal care and nutrition could run out within two weeks as the federal government plunges deeper into a shutdown,” the Washington Post reports.

“Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought warned that the federal government likely can only support the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children — commonly known as WIC — for another week. Other experts have predicted funds could last up to two. After that, states will have to reach into their own coffers to cover the costs.”

The Jobs Report That Wasn’t

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“Every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics produces the most reliable gauge of U.S. employment. But close watchers of the economy were left rudderless when the bureau withheld the data on Friday because of the federal government shutdown,” the New York Times reports.

“Without the data, the outlook is foggy as hazards abound, so businesses could be even less willing to make decisions about the future.”

The Modern GOP Is Inherently Authoritarian

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Paul Krugman: “Nixon, who was a piker by comparison to Donald Trump, was repudiated by his own party. Not only is Donald Trump a wannabe dictator, surely the worst person on multiple dimensions ever to occupy the White House, but he made his intentions clear in the January 6th insurrection and his promises of retribution if re-elected.”

“But unlike Nixon, Trump is backed by a Republican party that has become so extreme, so unwilling to acknowledge that opposition is even legitimate that none of his actions matter. Today’s Republicans show no hesitation whatsoever in adopting the Führerprinzip, the ‘leader principle’, in which Trump’s diktats override all written law and democratic norms.”

“Is calling the modern GOP an extremist party just my subjective assessment? No, it’s an assertion backed by solid evidence.”

A Shutdown With No Clear Exit Ramp

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I underestimated one thing about this shutdown: both parties have strong political incentives to keep the government closed.

In past shutdowns, one side has always pushed to reopen the government. This time, large factions in both parties see value in prolonging the fight.

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Democrats Fret Over Shutdown Messaging

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Playbook: “When Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) dropped their three-minute video on Wednesday explaining the stakes of the shutdown, it instantly set ablaze Democratic group chats and X accounts, inspiring no small amount of wishcasting that these two figures could be the voice of the Democratic Party at this moment.”

“But on a deeper level, it revealed that the party — as represented by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — is pinioned by two competing pressures on the shutdown: the demand to fight, and the pressure to be responsible governing partners. The former comes from the party’s base; the latter, from its establishment.”

“The challenge for leadership is this: At this moment, they are fighting. But it’s still not landing with the Democratic base, much of which believes Schumer is prosecuting the case all wrong.”

‘Your Neighbors Are Watching’

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“As the race for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District heats up, some Tennessee residents have expressed concerns after getting a political postcard in the mail,” WKRN reports.

Said the postcard: “Your neighbors are watching and will know if you miss this critical special election. The TN Republican party HQ will see whether you have voted… We are compiling an official list of Republicans who fail to vote.”

Jeanne Shaheen Is Democrats’ Shutdown Whisperer

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“If Republicans want to quickly bring the government shutdown to an end, they will need to get one particularly formidable Senate Democrat on board,” Politico reports.

“New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen has emerged as a central player in the bipartisan back-channeling that has ramped up this week as congressional leaders and President Donald Trump remain locked in a bitter stalemate.”

Putin Warns of ‘New Stage of Escalation’

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Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the potential supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine would mark a “completely new stage of escalation” between Washington and Moscow, CNBC reports.

His comments come after a series of reported incursions into European airspace in recent weeks.

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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