“The Trump administration is making plans to release the audio of former President Joe Biden’s interview with Robert Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents and raised questions about his mental acuity,” Politico reports.
“Biden’s camp is girding for the possible release.”
President Trump on Wednesday night teased a trade deal announcement with a “big and highly respected country,” The Hill reports.
The New York Times says the country is the United Kingdom.
“Details of the agreement were not immediately clear. Both nations have discussed lowering British tariffs on U.S. cars and farm goods, as well as removing British taxes on U.S. technology companies. It also was not clear whether the agreement had actually been finalized, or if the countries would announce a framework for an agreement that they would continue negotiating in the coming months.”
New York Times: “As the weeks pass by at the White House, the corner of the residence long used by first ladies remains dark, because this first lady does not really live in Washington.”
“Melania Trump vanishes from view for weeks at a time, holing up in Trump Tower in Manhattan or in Florida, where she can lie low at Mar-a-Lago. Administration officials say she is at the White House more often than the public knows, but when exactly, and for how long, these officials will not (or perhaps cannot) say for certain.”
“It’s like having Greta Garbo as first lady.”
President Donald Trump is declaring that Republicans are “making great progress” as the GOP conference wrangles with key policy holdups that could delay the package central to his agenda, Politico reports.
“Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to pass on a Senate bid has top Republican officials scrambling to find a backup plan and avoid a divisive primary — or, at the very least, one divisive candidate,” NBC News reports.
“There are growing concerns in Georgia GOP circles that if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes the Republican nominee to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, she could hurt the party’s chances to flip the seat, given her divisive reputation and rhetoric.”
“President Trump said he would nominate Dr. Casey Means, a California doctor and wellness influencer, to be the next surgeon general,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Means has become more prominent with the rise of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ movement. She and her brother, Kennedy adviser Calley Means, wrote a book, Good Energy, that became popular with Trump campaign staffers and later with Kennedy.”
“President Donald Trump plans to revive an effort to dramatically slash drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medicines to lower prices abroad,” Politico reports.
“Trump early next week is expected to sign an executive order directing aides to pursue the initiative, called ‘most favored nation,’ for a selection of drugs within the Medicare program. The idea would use the administration’s authorities to force prices down.”
“The White House is expected to pull its nomination of Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as U.S. surgeon general just a day before she was expected to appear before the Senate for her confirmation hearing,” ABC News reports.
“The news comes as right-wing activist Laura Loomer called on the president to pick a new nominee after it came to light that Nesheiwat received her medical degree from American University of the Caribbean instead of the University of Arkansas. Loomer also criticized Nesheiwat for being pro-vaccine.”
“President Donald Trump gave JD Vance and Marco Rubio huge portfolios and has openly named both as his potential successors — putting two unlikely friends on a collision course for the GOP nomination in 2028,” Semafor reports.
“Vance and Rubio aren’t exactly rivals; in fact, White House officials and people close to the vice president note he’s developed a close relationship with the secretary of state during their time together in the Senate and now in the Trump administration. Intentionally or not, though, the president is stoking future competition between the duo, and those around him are taking notice.”
“President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would not consider lowering the United States’ 145% tariffs on China in order to spur trade-war negotiations with Beijing,” CNBC reports.
“Trump flatly answered ‘no’ when asked at the White House if he was open to pulling back on the steep import duties to get China to the negotiating table.”
“Senate GOP leaders said Wednesday that the House isn’t being nearly aggressive enough in its drive to cut federal spending — including Medicaid — as part of the budget reconciliation talks,“ Punchbowl News reports.
“The private comments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) mark a significant change in tune from Senate Republicans, who have sought to temper expectations among fiscal hawks in both chambers.”
“House GOP tax writers are eyeing a scaled-back $4 trillion tax cut amid concerns their colleagues will not be able to come up with the full slate of spending cuts required under their budget plan,” Politico reports.
“Nothing is final, and Republicans are still hoping for a full $4.5 trillion tax cut, but they’re making contingency plans as colleagues struggle to find agreement on how to cut Medicaid and a slew of other government initiatives.”
Vice President J.D. Vance said that Iran should be allowed to have a “civil nuclear program” but not a “nuclear weapons program,” Jewish Insider reports.
Kevin Williamson: “When I write ‘socialist,’ I do not use the word the way most right-leaning commentators use it, meaning: ‘bad.’ If you want to get a feel for exactly how insipid and repetitious the contemporary online right is, do a search for ‘cackling socialist’—you don’t even need to include ‘Kamala Harris.’ You’ll be hip-deep in stupid in two clicks.”
“The thing about socialism is, it stays socialism—whether you like socialism or dislike it. It is a word that means something, and what it means isn’t every dumb thing you don’t like up to and including publicly funded sex-change operations for currently incarcerated illegal-immigrant felons…”
“Socialism does not mean government-funded education and retirement benefits and health care subsidies—those things are simply welfare, and there are better and worse ways to go about doing such things. Socialism means a centrally planned economy, one that is dominated by state action irrespective of whether it is dominated by formal state enterprises.”
“With trade talks between the U.S. and China finally getting underway, President Xi Jinping is setting off on an ideological victory lap to assert his vision of a world with waning American influence,” Bloomberg reports.
“The Chinese leader begins a four-day trip to Russia today for his first meeting with Vladimir Putin since US President Donald Trump rocked global trade with America’s most disruptive tariff regime in a century.”
“The visit further showcases the ‘no-limits’ partnership declared by Xi and Putin, even as Trump seeks to rebuild US relations with Moscow. And it’s a reminder of Beijing’s sway with a contingent of countries eager to see US hegemony replaced by a multipolar world order embraced by Xi and Putin.”
Law.com: “Some in-house lawyers are quietly pulling work away from some law firms that have made deals with President Trump, citing their objections to such deals.”
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.