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Iowa Democrat Wins Big Upset

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The Downballot: “Iowa Democrat Catelin Drey won a major upset on Tuesday night, flipping a deep-red seat in the state Senate and breaking the GOP’s supermajority in the chamber.”

“Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch by a wide 55-44 margin in a district Donald Trump carried by 11 points last year.”

“It’s the second conservative district that Iowa Republicans have lost in the legislature this year, and the results will further buoy Democratic hopes for similar victories in contests for governor and the U.S. Senate in 2026.”

Starship Completes Nearly Flawless Test Flight

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“After several disappointing failures, SpaceX’s Starship — the mammoth rocket that Elon Musk hopes to use to take people to Mars — made it all the way up to space and all the way back down to Earth during a 10th test flight,” the New York Times reports.

“The largely successful mission was a likely relief to both SpaceX and NASA, suggesting that the development program is back on track. NASA is counting on Starship as the lander to put its astronauts on the moon in the coming years.”

Reuters: SpaceX’s Starship deploys first mock Starlink satellites on 10th test flight.


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‘You Have Committed a Federal Crime’

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Ryan Lizza: “Probably more than one. In fact, if you’re an average professional who has filled out lots of government forms, signed and mailed contracts, has semi-complicated taxes, some investments, financial relationships, and a mortgage, you’ve almost certainly run afoul of several federal statutes over the years.”

“Though plenty of people get swept up in life-ruining investigations by overly zealous prosecutors, most Americans go about their lives, occasionally breaking federal laws without fear of prison, because no free country would unleash its prosecutors to pursue every violation of every statute in our labyrinthine criminal code.”

“Federal prosecutors make choices. This vague concept of prosecutorial discretion prevents millions of technical lawbreakers from losing their freedom or suffering the devastating consequences of a criminal accusation by the government.”

“Not long ago, conservatives dreaded the possibility that an unconstrained executive branch might unleash its prosecutors to pursue violations of every law on the books.”

Trump Again Escalates Power Grabs

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“President Trump’s bid to fire a member of the Federal Reserve board is a new escalation of his efforts to amass more power over American government and society: Congress generations ago structured the agency, crucial to the health of the economy, to be independent of White House control,” the New York Times reports.

“In purporting to fire the board member, Lisa Cook, Mr. Trump is setting up another test of how far the Republican-appointed supermajority on the Supreme Court will let him go in eroding the checks and balances Congress has long imposed on executive power.”

“His attempt to fire Ms. Cook presents a new twist. It raises the question of whether he alone can decide whether there is cause to fire an official at an independent agency whose leaders are protected by law from arbitrary removal — or whether courts will be willing and able to intervene if judges believe his justification is a pretext.”

Aaron Blake: Trump’s new “dictator” comment betrays his trick for expanding his power.

Researcher Who Distorted Data in Election Integrity Role

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“A conservative election researcher whose faulty findings on voter data were cited by President Donald Trump as he tried to overturn his 2020 election loss has been appointed to an election integrity role at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” the AP reports.

“Pennsylvania activist Heather Honey is now serving as the deputy assistant secretary for election integrity in the department’s Office of Strategy, Policy and Plans, an organizational chart on its website shows.”

Exxon Held Secret Talks About Going Back to Russia

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“After huddling with President Trump in Alaska, President Vladimir Putin told reporters Russia and the U.S. could do more business together—for example, between their Pacific coastlines,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Trump: “We look forward to dealing.”

“What the two leaders didn’t say: Behind closed doors, their countries’ biggest energy companies had already sketched out a road map to going back into business, pumping oil-and-gas fields off Russia’s far-east coast.”

Trump Wants to Rebrand His ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday at a Cabinet meeting that he wants to rebrand his “one big beautiful bill” after he persuaded Republicans to call it that, NBC News reports.

Said Trump: “Last month, in a landmark achievement, I also proudly signed the largest working-class tax cuts in American history. So the bill that — I’m not going to use the term ‘great, big, beautiful’ — that was good for getting it approved, but it’s not good for explaining to people what it’s all about.”

He added, without explaining: “It’s a massive tax cut for the middle class.”

New Vanity Fair Boss Sparks Fury Among Staff

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“The new editor of Vanity Fair has enraged his staff by considering putting Melania Trump on the magazine’s cover—which then sparked a MAGA backlash to the backlash,” the Daily Beast reports.

Said a mid-level editor to the Daily Mail: “I will walk out the motherfucking door, and half my staff will follow me. We are not going to normalize this despot and his wife; we’re just not going to do it. We’re going to stand for what’s right.”

Trump Wants No Less than $500 Million from Harvard

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President Donald Trump called for Harvard University to pay a sweeping $500 million settlement to restore its federal funding, CNN reports.

Said Trump, to Education Secretary Linda McMahon: “We want nothing less than $500 million from Harvard. Don’t negotiate, Linda.”

He added: “They’ve been very bad. Don’t negotiate.”

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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