“The United States will appoint President Donald Trump’s longtime friend and current U.S. ambassador to Turkey, Thomas Barrack, as a special envoy for Syria,” Reuters reports.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“DOGE is an advisory group. We’re doing the best we can as an advisory group. The progress made thus far as an advisory group is excellent. I don’t think any advisory group has done better in the history of advisory groups for the government. Now, we do not make the laws, nor do we control the judiciary, nor do we control the executive branch. We are simply advisors.”
— Elon Musk, quoted by the Daily Beast, defending his promise that DOGE would cut $2 trillion in government spending.
Don Jr. Says He Might Run for President
Donald Trump Jr said in Qatar that he could maybe run for president one day, adding “that calling is there,” USA Today reports.
Said Trump: “So the answer is I don’t know, maybe one day. You know, that calling is there. I’ll always be very active in terms of being a vocal proponent of these things. I think my father has truly changed the Republican Party.”
Pittsburgh’s Mayor Defeated in Primary
“Corey O’Connor, the son of a popular former mayor, won the Democratic primary for Pittsburgh mayor on Tuesday night, signaling voters’ dissatisfaction with the city under its current progressive leader, Ed Gainey,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Gainey’s defeat is the latest in a string of losses in deep-blue cities, most notably in San Francisco and Oakland, that have raised the volume on questions about progressive officeholders, as their wing of Democratic Party seeks to wrest control from centrist leaders who have struggled to counter President Trump.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “It was the second time in two elections that Democrats ousted an incumbent mayor — something that hadn’t happened in Pittsburgh in nearly a century before Mr. Gainey accomplished the feat just four years ago when he defeated former Mayor Bill Peduto.”
Russians Ordered Killing of Surrendering Troops
“The radio crackled, but the order barked into it was clear: Capture the commander and kill the others,” CNN reports.
“The chilling exchange was part of a series of radio transmissions between Russian forces that Ukrainian officials say provide further evidence that Russian superiors are ordering soldiers to execute surrendering Ukrainian troops in violation of international law.”
Rules Committee Debates Bill That’s Not Even Finished
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Wealthy Gain, Low-Income People Lose
“Tax cuts in House Republicans’ megabill would lead to increased assets for the richest Americans, while reducing them for the lowest-income households through cuts to federal spending on Medicaid and food aid, according to a new preliminary analysis from the Congressional Budget Office,” Politico reports.
Trump’s FEMA Risks ‘Flying Blind’ Into Hurricane Season
“President Trump’s campaign to dismantle FEMA is on the verge of a high-stakes stress test, as the U.S. hurtles toward peak disaster season under uniquely dangerous conditions,” Axios reports.
“Extreme weather is growing deadlier and more destructive. But instead of strengthening the systems that help states respond, the Trump administration is gutting FEMA, banning climate change research and urging governors to go it alone.”
Trump’s $4 Trillion Deficit Bomb
“President Trump yesterday declared himself the biggest ‘fiscal hawk’ in Washington,” Axios reports.
“He then spent the next hour urging Republicans to unite behind the most budget-busting legislation in modern U.S. history.”
“Some Republicans now find themselves trapped between two of the party’s most animating principles: Deficit reduction vs. absolute loyalty to Trump.”
Trump’s Agenda Hinges on Tax Bill That Divides His Party
“President Trump’s multitrillion-dollar economic agenda hinges on fractious GOP lawmakers who are at odds over the details of a tax package that could determine their fate in next year’s midterm elections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Trump is betting that the legislation will win over voters who are skeptical of his stiff tariffs, which threaten to raise prices for American consumers. The bill contains versions of his campaign-trail pledge to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits, and boosts the child tax credit.”
“The economic and political stakes are enormous. If Trump is able to secure passage of his ‘big, beautiful bill,’ he could take credit for delivering tax cuts ahead of the midterms. If the legislation falters, millions of voters could instead be focused on the economic fallout from his trade agenda. On top of that, many tax cuts put in place during Trump’s first term would expire, triggering tax increases for many U.S. households.”
Washington Post: Divided House GOP tries to push Trump’s tax bill over the finish line.
Investors Don’t Like Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’
New York Times: “Tax cuts pushed by the Trump administration are amplifying debt and deficit concerns among bond investors, a powerful group of market players who strongly influence how much it costs for the government to finance its budget. The buying and selling of government debt, known as Treasuries, also influences interest rates on a wide variety of debt extended to American households and businesses, including mortgages, credit cards and car loans.”
“Those investors were already on edge over President Trump’s whipsawing tariff policy. Then this week’s attempt to push through sweeping tax cuts without significantly slashing spending — in what the president has called a ‘big, beautiful bill’ — set off a fresh bout of bond market turmoil.”
Wall Street Journal: Dow futures fall, bonds extend selloff.
Inside Kristi Noem’s Polygraph Operation
Wall Street Journal: “Polygraph exams have long been a routine tool used inside intelligence agencies, including DHS, as part of security clearances, job applications and certain investigations. But under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s direction, they have been used to search for leaks of information that Noem and her top deputies consider disloyal or embarrassing… The information the employees are accused of leaking often isn’t classified.”
“The exams are being administered by a little-known office inside the Transportation Security Administration, the part of DHS commonly known for screening passengers and baggage at airports.”
How Trump Has Targeted New Groups for Deportation
“The Trump administration has taken a flurry of actions to drive up deportation numbers as part of its large-scale immigration crackdown,” the New York Times reports.
“These efforts include expanding the group of people who can be targeted for removal, speeding up the deportation process for others and, in some cases, tightening the rules for legal immigrants.”
Axios: Enraged Democrats plan to “double-down” on ICE visits.
Trump to Press South Africa’s President
“President Trump plans to press President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa to roll back the country’s racial equity laws and to do more to protect Afrikaners, a white ethnic minority, in a meeting scheduled at the White House on Wednesday,“ the New York Times reports.
“The meeting comes a little more than a week after the Trump administration welcomed a group of white South Africans to the United States as refugees after they claimed they were persecuted in their home country. Tensions between the two countries have ratcheted up over racial issues, as Mr. Trump’s administration has sought to make global his crusade to eradicate policies around diversity and redressing historical inequities.”
Washington Post: Trump plans to press South African leader on “genocidal rhetoric.”
GOP Leaders Agree to $40,000 SALT Deduction
“Speaker Mike Johnson and a group of blue-state Republicans have reached a critical but tentative deal to boost the cap on state and local tax deductions to $40,000 in the GOP megabill,“ Politico reports.
“The new deduction cap, which would be per household, will be limited to taxpayers making below $500,000. Under the tentative deal, the income cap and the deduction will grow 1 percent every year over a ten-year window. The deduction stays in place after the 10-year window and doesn’t snap back to previous levels.”
Quote of the Day
“What the hell are Republicans so afraid of? What the hell are so scared of that you guys are holding this hearing at 1 in the morning … if Republicans are so proud of what’s in this bill, why are you trying to ram it through in dead of night?”
— Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), at a Rules Committee hearing at 1 a.m. ET.
Democrats Should Not Have Been Surprised
Mark Leibovich: “Just as scores of Republicans in Washington have been privately horrified over the years by Trump’s conduct while they’ve smothered him in rhetorical smooches on the record, Democrats confidentially expressed near-unanimous awareness of Biden’s feeble state, but claimed the exact opposite in front of cameras and microphones.”
Justice Department Opens Inquiry Into Cuomo
“The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation of Andrew Cuomo, a front-runner in the New York City mayoral race, after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about decisions he made during the coronavirus pandemic as governor,” the New York Times reports.
“The inquiry, begun about a month ago by the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, comes after senior Justice Department officials in February demanded the dismissal of an indictment of the city’s current mayor, Eric Adams, on corruption charges.”
“That puts the Trump administration in the unusual position of having ended a criminal case against the leader of the nation’s largest city and opened one into his chief rival in the span of a few months. Mr. Adams is running for re-election as an independent, and Mr. Cuomo is leading the Democratic primary field in the polls.”
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