“This is exactly the moment for people to stand up. And do I see enough people doing it? No, I don’t. It shouldn’t be that there are Democrats that are afraid, because you know what? We’re the targets. We need to be strong, we need to fight back.”
— Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), quoted by the New York Times.
New York Times: “Of the president’s 98 Senate-confirmed appointees to the administration’s most senior leadership roles in its first 200 days, ending on Aug. 7, only two, or 2 percent — Scott Turner, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Earl G. Matthews, the Defense Department’s general counsel — are Black.”
New York Times: “As Mr. Trump dismantles parts of the government, remakes institutions and takes on perceived enemies, he has often put his allies in charge of multiple federal agencies and offices — an approach that has little precedent.”
You're reading the free version of Political Wire
Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.
Retired Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said Wednesday he was troubled that partisanship seemed to be “creeping its way into the court,” and that the state of political discourse in the country has gotten so vulgar and vile that he worries for the country, Politico reports.
“The IRS will furlough just under half of its staff and pause most of the agency’s taxpayer services as gridlock in Congress pushes the government shutdown into its second week,” Bloomberg reports.
“President Trump is at the brink of the biggest diplomatic accomplishment of his second term — a cessation of the brutal war between Israel and Hamas — and on Wednesday evening he made clear he was eager to fly to the Middle East to preside over a cease-fire and welcome hostages who have spent two long years in underground captivity,” the New York Times reports.
“For Mr. Trump, success in this venture is the ultimate test of his self-described goal as a deal maker and a peacemaker — and a pathway to the Nobel Peace Prize he has so openly coveted. By chance, the winner for 2025 is scheduled to be announced just hours before he may be departing to take his victory lap in Egypt and Israel.”
Playbook: “This is only phase one of the deal. Enormously complex negotiations lie ahead to make this agreement permanent — not least over the decommissioning of Hamas’ arsenal; the future governance and reconstruction of the Gaza strip; and Israel’s future activities in the West Bank. To repeat: It’s still very possible it all falls apart.”
Washington Post: Trump wants a Nobel Prize. He’ll learn Friday if his campaign paid off.
“Americans blame both Republicans and Democrats for the ongoing government shutdown and are worried services could falter as a third of the federal workforce sits on unpaid leave,” according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll.
“The five-day poll, completed on Tuesday, asked Americans nationwide how much blame Democrats, Republicans and President Donald Trump deserve for the shutdown, now in its ninth day. Some 67% of respondents said Republicans deserved a fair amount or a great deal of blame, while 63% said the same of Democrats. Some 63% also said Trump, a Republican, deserves at least a fair amount of blame.”
Punchbowl News: “Missouri GOP Gov. Mike Kehoe signed his state’s new congressional map into law last month, but it is far from a done deal.”
“Some Republicans are growing concerned that Democrats may be on the verge of success in their Hail Mary attempt to block the new map from going into effect for the midterms.”
“If Democrats can get roughly 110,000 valid signatures by mid-December, they can trigger a referendum on the new map next year. That likely would save Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) for at least two more years and longer if voters reject the proposal. The new GOP-drawn map turns Cleaver’s Kansas City-based seat deep red.”
Punchbowl News: “When you take stock of where things stand, it’s not difficult to see why House and Senate Democrats feel good about their strategy — for now.”
“It’s important to note that Democrats instigated this shutdown. They rejected a “clean” funding proposal and demanded significant and expensive health care policy changes in exchange for their votes.”
“But as we enter the second week of the standoff, Democrats are nowhere close to buckling. In fact, top Democrats feel like they’re gaining political momentum.”
“After months of deadlock, Israel and Hamas have reached an agreement for the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a long-awaited breakthrough that could point toward an end to the two-year war in Gaza,” the New York Times reports.
“President Trump, who helped broker the deal, said on social media Wednesday that both sides had agreed to the first phase of his plan, including that Israel would pull back their troops to an agreed-upon line.”
Washington Post: Trump announces ceasefire deal to begin ending the war in Gaza.
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is considering bringing full-year appropriations bills — such as one to fund the Pentagon and pay the military — to the floor for a vote,” Axios reports.
“Bipartisan talks to reopen the government via a short-term spending stopgap bill are frozen. Now, Thune is at least contemplating other options.”
“New York City Council member Chi Ossé, a close ally of Zohran Mamdani, is privately discussing a run against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.),” Axios reports.
“Just talking about a potential campaign could drive a further wedge between Mamdani — the democratic socialist in line to be New York’s next mayor — and Jeffries, who so far has declined to endorse Mamdani.”
“Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other senior GOP lawmakers have quietly advised the White House not to move forward with mass layoffs and sharp cuts to government assistance programs as the shutdown enters its second week,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“A measure to stop President Trump’s strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean failed to advance the Senate on Wednesday, despite some Republican support,” Axios reports.
The Democratic Party’s favorability ratings have just about hit their lowest point of the year. Overall, 59% view the party unfavorably, equal to the party’s nadir in late July, according to Decision Desk HQ.
Only 36% hold a favorable opinion, resulting in a -23 net favorability rating.
“The shutdown stalemate is showing signs of provoking one of the most powerful forces in the federal bureaucracy: an army of overworked, currently unpaid air traffic controllers,” Politico reports.
“A string of staffing shortages in airport control towers this week caused hourslong delays for travelers from California to Tennessee, demonstrating the outsize influence of a more than 13,000-person-strong workforce whose pay stopped when the government shut down.”
“A newly surfaced video shows Katie Porter — the frontrunner in next year’s race for California governor — blasting a staffer who interrupted a meeting the former House member was taping for the Biden administration,” Politico reports.
Said Porter: “Get out of my fucking shot!”
In the video call, Porter also complained to Jennifer Granholm that she had not visited the White House despite raising a “shit ton” of money for then-President Joe Biden.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) “broke sharply with her party leaders on Wednesday as they tried to project a united front in the deepening standoff with Democrats over health care and the government shutdown, calling on Speaker Mike Johnson to bring the House back into session and warning that Americans would be hammered by higher costs if her party doesn’t help right the ship,” CNN reports.
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.