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Appeals Court Ends Inquiry Into Deportation Flights

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“A federal appeals panel on Friday terminated a district-court judge’s plan to assess whether Trump administration officials were guilty of criminal contempt for sending flights of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador, despite the judge’s verbal order that they turn around and return to the United States,” the New York Times reports.

“The ruling by the three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will make it far more difficult for Judge James E. Boasberg to determine the details of who was made aware of his order in March, and why the planes continued on to El Salvador.”


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Senate Heads for a ‘Nuclear’ Showdown on Nominees

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“Senate Republicans are actively exploring unilateral changes in Senate rules to speed confirmation of Trump administration nominees in the fall after they failed to break stiff Democratic resistance to executive branch picks before leaving on their August recess,” the New York Times reports.

“Senior Republicans say that talks are ongoing and that changes in confirmation procedure are likely in order to overcome Democratic insistence on holding formal roll call votes on every executive branch nominee. That requirement has slowed approval of President Trump’s picks for scores of top executive branch jobs.”

Trump Warns Courts Against Knocking Down Tariffs

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President Donald Trump warned U.S. courts against blocking his tariff policy, citing its “positive impact” on the stock market and saying such a move could cause a severe economic downturn, CNBC reports.

Said Trump: “If a Radical Left Court ruled against us at this late date, in an attempt to bring down or disturb the largest amount of money, wealth creation and influence the U.S.A. has ever seen, it would be impossible to ever recover, or pay back, these massive sums of money and honor.”

He added: “It would be 1929 all over again, a GREAT DEPRESSION.”

Mexico’s President Denies U.S. Will Use Military

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“President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico denied that the United States would use its military in her country on Friday, responding to news that President Trump had directed the Pentagon to target drug cartels that the United States considers terrorist organizations,” the New York Times reports.

Said Sheinbaum: “The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military. We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out. It is not part of any agreement, far from it. When it has been brought up, we have always said no.”

Weekly News Quiz

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Think you’ve been keeping up with the headlines?

Test your political smarts with this week’s quiz — a quick way to see if you caught the biggest stories. 

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Mysterious Crime Spree Targeted National Guard

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Wired: “A string of previously undisclosed break-ins at Tennessee National Guard armories last fall marks the latest in a growing series of security breaches at military facilities across the United States, raising fresh concerns about the vulnerability of US armories to theft and intrusion.”

“At least some of the break-ins seem to point to potential insider help.”

Justice Department Subpoenas Office of Letitia James

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“The U.S. attorney in Albany has issued two broad subpoenas to Attorney General Letitia James of New York, one related to her office’s civil fraud case that resulted in a half-billion dollar penalty against President Trump,” the New York Times reports.

“The second subpoena is related to another of the office’s long-running cases, against the National Rifle Association.”

Trump Directs Military to Target Foreign Drug Cartels

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“President Trump has secretly signed a directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that his administration has deemed terrorist organizations,” the New York Times reports.

“The decision to bring the American military into the fight is the most aggressive step so far in the administration’s escalating campaign against the cartels. It signals Mr. Trump’s continued willingness to use military forces to carry out what has primarily been considered a law enforcement responsibility to curb the flow of fentanyl and other illegal drugs.”

U.S. Peace Deal Would Lock in Russia’s Gains in Ukraine

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“Washington and Moscow are aiming to reach a deal to halt the war in Ukraine that would lock in Russia’s occupation of territory seized during its military invasion,” Bloomberg reports.

“US and Russian officials are working toward an agreement on territories for a planned summit meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin as early as next week… The US is working to get buy-in from Ukraine and its European allies on the deal, which is far from certain.”

The Great Crime Paradox

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Violent crime in the U.S. is on track to hit its lowest level in decades.

Rates of violence and homicide have fallen by more than half since their peaks in the 1990s and are now approaching historic lows. The FBI says crime declined in every major category last year.

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Michigan Lawmaker Drops Out of Senate Race

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Michigan state Rep. Joe Tate (D), who was the first Black speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, said that he is suspending his U.S. Senate campaign to move “in a different direction of service,” the Detroit News reports.

Tate struggled to compete with the fundraising numbers put up by the three other Democratic candidates, Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and public health official Abdul El-Sayed.

Greg Abbott Amps Up Pressure on Democrats

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) vowed to call “special session after special session after special session” in response to Democratic lawmakers who have fled the state to block redistricting legislation, saying they’ll have to stay out of Texas for years to prevent it becoming law, NBC News reports.

Said Abbott: “We are in the process as we speak right now of searching for, preparing to arrest Democrats who may be in Texas, may be elsewhere.”

He added: “But I’ll tell you this also, Democrats act like they’re not going to come back as long as this is an issue. That means they’re not going to come back until like 2027 or 2028, because I’m going to call special session after special session after special session with the same agenda items on there.”

So Much for the ‘Best Health-Care System in the World’

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Jonathan Chait: “Here’s a piece of Republican rhetoric that used to be ubiquitous but that you never hear anymore: America has the best health-care system in the world.”

“Republican politicians liked this line because it helped them dismiss the idea that the system needed major reform. American health care at its finest offered the most advanced treatments anywhere. Democrats wanted to expand coverage, but why mess with perfection?”

“In Donald Trump’s second term, Republicans haven’t given up their opposition to universal coverage—far from it—but they have mostly stopped singing the praises of American health-care innovation. Indeed, they are taking a meat axe to it, slashing medical-research funding while elevating quacks and charlatans to positions of real power. The resulting synthesis is the worst of all worlds: a system that will lose its ability to develop new cures, while withholding its benefits from even more of the poor and sick.”

Nancy Mace Melts Down at Reporter

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After a reporter called out Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) for boasting about having secured infrastructure funding for South Carolina that she voted against, Mace attacked her a “raging leftist.”

Said Mace: “You’re very confused. And you’re a raging Democrat, so raging leftist with that kind of questioning. And I would say as a woman, like, you might wanna think about how you view other women and how you treat other women the way that you question them, because women are gonna lead this country off the brink. And conservative women, the first female president of this country is going to be a conservative woman, not some liberal like you.”

Daily Beast: Nancy Mace loses it after being fact-checked to her face.

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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