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Senate GOP Trial Balloon Gets Grounded

October 9, 2025 at 5:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “The idea, which Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Majority Whip John Barrasso say is under discussion, would involve giving Democrats a commitment to hold a vote on an extension of the enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits. This would be in exchange for Democratic votes to reopen the government.”

“There are several caveats here, however. For starters, there have been no formal offers or bipartisan discussions at the leadership level. And senators from both parties who have been involved in the informal bipartisan talks are thus far batting it down.”

“Neither party is backing off from their public positions. Republicans still say Obamacare subsidy talks can’t happen until the government is open, and that they can’t promise a particular outcome on the issue. Democrats want guarantees that an Obamacare deal will materialize, pass both chambers and be signed into law by President Donald Trump before the Open Enrollment Period begins on Nov. 1. This is something that Speaker Mike Johnson is hesitant to commit to.”

A Weak Case Against Letitia James

October 9, 2025 at 5:39 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Molly Roberts: “It’s hard to imagine a worse case than the one against James Comey—until you see the one against the attorney general of New York.”

Mamdani Holds Double Digit Lead

October 9, 2025 at 5:36 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Quinnipiac poll in New York City finds Zohran Mamdani leads the race for mayor with 46% of likely voter, followed by Andrew Cuomo with 33% and Curtis Sliwa with 15%


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Letitia James Indicted

October 9, 2025 at 4:41 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Thursday in Alexandria, Virginia, as President Trump’s Justice Department continues to pursue charges against his political opponents,” CNN reports.

“James’ relationship with Trump has been adversarial for years as James campaigned on promises to investigate Trump and ultimately won a civil fraud case against Trump, his adult sons and his real estate business.”

A Deep Dive Into Two Key House Races

October 9, 2025 at 3:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just for members: The latest edition of Inside Elections.

This issue includes a deep dive into two of the most important House races in the country.

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Johnson In No Rush to Bring House Republicans Back

October 9, 2025 at 1:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republican leaders appear unlikely to bring the chamber back into session next week, extending the 20-day recess despite the ongoing government shutdown,” Punchbowl News reports.

“Johnson’s posture for the last few weeks has been that the House will return when Senate Democrats drop their opposition to the GOP’s stopgap funding bill, which would keep federal agencies open through Nov. 21…”

“We don’t expect Senate Democrats to suddenly change their posture… But we were a bit surprised that House Republican leaders didn’t get much pushback on the call on their strategy of keeping the chamber out of session.”

Charges Expected Soon Against John Bolton

October 9, 2025 at 12:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Federal prosecutors in Maryland are “expected in coming days” to charge former Trump national security adviser John Bolton with mishandling classified information, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Keeping a Finger on the Button

October 9, 2025 at 12:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

An interesting new book: Keeping a Finger on the Button: Presidential Continuity and the Nuclear Age by Rebecca C. Lubot.

The story of how lawmakers grappled with issues over presidential succession and inability and vice-presidential vacancy and ultimately ratified the Twenty-Fifth Amendment.

Keeping a Finger on the Button: Presidential Continuity and the Nuclear Age
Keeping a Finger on the Button: Presidential Continuity and the Nuclear Age
  • Lubot, Rebecca C. (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 332 Pages - 12/08/2025 (Publication Date) - Palgrave Macmillan (Publisher)
Amazon Prime
Check Price on Amazon

The Authoritarian Menace Has Arrived

October 9, 2025 at 11:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Matt Yglesias: “There’s no emergency requiring the dispatch of National Guard personnel into cities where they’re not wanted, and there’s no ongoing ‘invasion’ of the country by asylum seekers. What we have is an administration that refuses to tout good news, because it loves the idea of a country immersed in crisis as a pretext to seize even more power.”

“When the president’s top policy aide is tweeting that court rulings upholding basic federalism and America’s long tradition of keeping the military out of domestic law enforcement are ‘terrorism,’ the authoritarian menace has truly arrived.”

Americans Don’t Like RFK Jr.

October 9, 2025 at 11:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new KFF poll finds 59% of the public disapprove of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s overall job performance, while 62% disapprove of his handling of U.S. vaccine policy.

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

October 9, 2025 at 11:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“This is a convicted felon who is threatening to jail me. This guy is unhinged. He’s insecure. He’s a wannabe dictator. And there’s one thing I really want to say to Donald Trump: If you come for my people, you come through me. So come and get me.”

— Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D), on MSNBC.

It’s a Dangerous Job

October 9, 2025 at 11:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “Trump occasionally reminds aides about an incident last year in which Trump cut his hand on Bondi’s large wedding ring, causing him to bleed.”

Fifty Plus One

October 9, 2025 at 10:56 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

You’ll want to bookmark this new poll tracking site: Fifty Plus One.

Former Aides Turn on Katie Porter

October 9, 2025 at 10:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just hours after California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter (D) stumbled through a train wreck of a local TV interview, another damaging video surfaced—this one far worse.

In the new footage, Porter is sitting beside then–Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, filming a conversation about electric vehicles. As they talk, a staffer walks behind the camera to correct one of Porter’s claims.

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Harvard Seeks Assurances as Trump Talks Restart

October 9, 2025 at 10:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Last week, President Trump made a surprise announcement that Harvard and the government were near an agreement that would allow the university to continue to receive billions in research funds. But a day later, his administration sent letters to nine universities that asked campus leaders to embrace a plan that would align the Trump administration’s political agenda with preferred access to federal research dollars.”

“Harvard officials have since discussed internally the possibility of seeking additional assurances from the administration that the university will not be subject to further demands once an agreement has been signed.”

Inside Trump’s Plan to Investigate the Left

October 9, 2025 at 9:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump’s threatened crackdown on the finances and activities of liberal non-profits and groups opposed to his agenda is a multi-agency effort with top White House aide Stephen Miller playing a central role,” Reuters reports.

“The Trump administration plans to deploy America’s counter-terrorism apparatus — including the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department — as well as the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department against certain left-wing groups it accuses of funding and organizing political violence.”

Graham Platner Has a Growing Senate Fan Club

October 9, 2025 at 9:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Senate Democrats are warming up to an upstart oyster farmer in the crucial Maine Senate race. Now they’ll have to decide if they are willing to snub their party’s dream recruit to support him,” Politico reports.

“So far, Graham Platner only has one public endorsement from a sitting senator, Vermont independent Bernie Sanders. But more than a half-dozen Democratic senators sang his praises in interviews this week, even as Minority Leader Chuck Schumer grows closer to landing his top recruiting target to run against Sen. Susan Collins — not Platner, but Gov. Janet Mills.”

Trump’s Order to Pam Bondi Was Intended to Be Private

October 9, 2025 at 9:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “On Sept. 20, Trump meant to send a private message to Attorney General Pam Bondi urging her to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and his other favored targets…”

“Trump believed he had sent Bondi the message directly, addressing it to ‘Pam,’ and was surprised to learn it was public… Bondi grew upset and called White House aides and Trump, who then agreed to send a second post praising Bondi as doing a ‘GREAT job.'”

“The misfire provided a window into how, through command and chaos, Trump has executed a wholesale transformation of the Justice Department.”

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Word of the Day

Machine Politics: “Machine politics” is a phenomenon sometimes seen in an urban political context, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries.

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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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