“The longer the government stays shut down, the shorter House Republicans’ patience seems to be getting with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA),” Politico reports.
“Johnson’s decision to keep his chamber on an indefinite break in the middle of a government shutdown isn’t sitting well with some in his conference — and that could put pressure on the speaker to change course.”
For members: The More Trump Talks, the More He Screws This Up
A Public Policy Polling survey in New Jersey finds Mikie Sherrill (D) with a small lead over Jack Ciattarelli (R) in the governor’s race, 49% to 43% with 8% unsure.
Ciattarelli, now in his third bid for governor, came within 3 points of defeating Gov. Phil Murphy in 2021, despite polls showing Murphy with a larger single-digit lead.
“President Trump said on Wednesday he may travel to the Middle East at the end of the week as his son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy to the region Steve Witkoff try to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Jamelle Bouie: “Here, I will say that this effort to use the military against American citizens — an effort backed, it seems, by almost the entire Republican Party — makes a mockery of the longstanding conservative claim that theirs is a movement of small government and states’ rights.”
“Trump’s push to invade cities using the National Guard is as aggressive a use of federal power as one can imagine.”
“The Pentagon has investigated nearly 300 Defense Department employees, including service members, civilian workers and contractors, for comments appearing online after last month’s shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk,” the Washington Post reports.
“The sweeping, ongoing inquiry, which has resulted in a smattering of disciplinary action so far, follows an extraordinary directive by the department’s political leadership to silence criticism of a prominent, polarizing figure who was unabashed in his views and fervent support for President Donald Trump.”
“White House officials have held increasingly serious discussions in recent days about President Donald Trump invoking the Insurrection Act, a rarely used 19th century law that gives the president the power to deploy active-duty troops inside the U.S. for law enforcement purposes,” NBC News reports.
For members: Man Who Led Insurrection Threatens to Invent Another
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) sounds unlikely to keep the chamber in over the weekend.
Said Thune: “If enough Democrats start to come to their senses and want to have conversations about how to get the government open, then I’m certainly open to be here.”
He added: “If they’re just gonna continue to vote down keeping the government open, I’m not sure what purpose that’ll serve.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) “was invited last month to attend the grand opening of Trump’s ‘Rose Garden Club’ at the White House, but she turned it down,” NBC News reports.
“Nearly a quarter of FBI agents across the country are currently assigned to immigration enforcement, with the number climbing to upward of 40 percent in the nation’s largest field offices,” the Washington Post reports.
“The intense focus on immigration has raised alarm among current and former FBI agents who say morale is low across the bureau as agents have less time to dedicate to the often complex cases they were hired to work on.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday had a heated, face-to-face exchange with two Democratic senators over the government shutdown and the swearing-in of Arizona’s Democratic Rep-elect Adelita Grijalva, who will be the 218th signature on an effort to end-run Johnson and force a vote on releasing Jeffrey Epstein-related documents,” Politico reports.
“Arizona Sens. Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly were talking to reporters outside Johnson’s office about what they said was the speaker’s failure to swear-in Grijalva.”
“But Gallego accused Johnson of wanting to ‘cover up for pedophiles on the Epstein list.'”
“The FBI has fired at least three special agents who worked in connection with former special counsel Jack Smith’s probe of now-President Donald Trump,” NBC News reports.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) agreed to buy cookies from Sen. John Fetterman’s (D-PA) kid during a one-on-one meeting between the two senators, NBC News reports.
“Late spending, exacerbated by a mid-battle candidate switch, and lack of attention to voters’ top concerns are among the reasons Democrats’ lost the White House last year, the Democratic National Committee says in its assessment of the defeat,” Politico reports.
“DNC officials argued Democrats didn’t spend early or consistently enough to engage and persuade voters, one of several problems the party faced in 2024… Swapping Joe Biden with Kamala Harris atop the ticket intensified those systemic, long-term problems for the party… So far, Biden’s age has not come up.”
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that around 58 percent of Americans — including seven in 10 Democrats and half of Republicans — feel that the president should only deploy armed troops to “face external threats.”
The poll also showed Trump’s approval rating ticking down to 40%.
Nine months into President Trump’s mass deportation campaign, registered voters largely support the idea of removing immigrants who have arrived in the country illegally, even as majorities say they feel his methods have gone too far, according to a new New York Times/Siena poll.
“Federal prosecutors investigating former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly making false statements to Congress determined that a central witness in their probe would prove ‘problematic’ and likely prevent them from establishing their case to a jury,” ABC News reports.
“Daniel Richman — a law professor who prosecutors allege Comey authorized to leak information to the press — told investigators that the former FBI director instructed him not to engage with the media on at least two occasions and unequivocally said Comey never authorized him to provide information to a reporter anonymously ahead of the 2016 election.”
Rick Wilson compares Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony before a Senate committee to a fake orgasm — “loud, theatrical, sweaty, and meant to trick just one man into keeping her around by flattering his ego.”
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.
