“For three months, President Trump has been deeply engaged in the Iran conflict, planning the 38 days of attack, struggling to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and proclaiming ‘a whole civilization will die tonight,’ then backing away to declare a cease-fire and a naval blockage of Iranian ports,” the New York Times reports.
“But on Monday, after days of haggling with Iranian officials through intermediaries on a preliminary agreement, Mr. Trump declared it was starting ‘to get very boring.’”
“Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist congressional candidate endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, deleted a previous Twitter account that included thousands of posts and reposts expressing support for abolishing police, prisons and borders, as well as seizing private property and nationalizing major industries and calling into question Israel’s right to exist,” CNN reports.
“Maine Democratic Senate primary frontrunner Graham Platner is scheduled to meet with Democratic senators in Washington on Tuesday afternoon,” Axios reports.
“Minnesota Republicans left their state convention with endorsed candidates and a renewed focus on winning statewide office in 2026, but a delegate-driven tribute to Derek Chauvin is giving Democrats a fresh line of attack as the campaign season begins,” the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
“The brief moment of silent prayer for the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of second-degree murder in George Floyd’s killing was not planned by party leaders, but it prompted swift condemnation from Democrats.”
Bloomberg: “The Trump administration intends to scrap a controversial $1.8 billion legal fund for victims of alleged government weaponization.”
“The move came after blowback from Republicans and Democrats, who derided it as a slush fund for President Donald Trump’s political allies. It’s the latest setback for the president, who recently suffered a court defeat over his plans to overhaul the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and has struggled to end the war in Iran.”
Said one source to Axios: “It’s dead for now.”
Punchbowl News reports that “the administration is expected to announce that they are going to comply with the court order and not go forward on the weaponization fund.”
CNN: “Problematic candidates have mostly been a hurdle for Senate Republicans in recent years. But in 2026, they could be a real problem for both parties — and could potentially decide Senate control.”
New York Times: “In a move that disproportionately targets women and minority officers, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of at least seven Navy officers who had been selected by a board of senior Navy admirals.”
“The net result of Mr. Hegseth’s intervention is a slate of 22 nominees to be one-star admirals that bears little resemblance to the broader force these officers will help lead.”
“At least two of the officers removed by Mr. Hegseth from the promotion list are women and two are Black men. An additional three are white men.”
Washington Post: “The Defense Department has designated its press office a classified space and banned journalists from accessing it to meet with the public affairs officers who have traditionally answered their questions.”
Jordan Heller: “Fearful of being labeled antisemitic, the University of Pennsylvania has acquiesced to the demands of a punitive Trump administration and vindictive donors—and it’s chilling speech both inside and outside the classroom.”
Colorado gubernatorial candidate Victor Marx sat down for an interview with KUSA’s Kyle Clark:
CLARK: Your claim that your abusive stepfather forced you to kill a man when you were seven years old — is that the only person you’ve ever killed?
MARX: Well, I would say… as a child, yes, without question, but I’ve been in other situations where possibly people or persons died as a result of me defending myself in other countries.
CLARK: Do you think that you’ve killed people as an adult?
MARX: Does it matter? I don’t think that’s important. It’s actually kind of — it’s an odd question to me.
New York Times: “The government lawyers whose honesty the judges have called into question are a mix of career civil servants, political appointees and newcomers brought in as the Justice Department makes a public hiring push to fill its depleted ranks. Their missteps in court come as the department’s leadership takes an unusually combative tone with judges who rule against them, and department lawyers try to balance judges’ demands against the often stubborn posture of the executive-branch clients they represent.”
“But regardless, an increasing number of judges appear to be questioning the longtime assumption that Justice Department lawyers can be taken at their word, part of the ‘presumption of regularity’ that experts say allows federal courts to operate swiftly and smoothly.”
Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) “is reminding voters that her name is still on the ballot in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
Said Mills: “People have the impression that I ‘withdrew’ or ‘dropped out’ but I simply suspended active campaigning. I am still on the ballot.”
President Trump claimed peace talks with Iran are continuing again “at a rapid pace.”
“If you’re a conservative watching Democrats talk themselves into supporting Graham Platner, the Maine Democrat who until recently wore what sure looked like a Totenkopf tattoo (he covered it up after it became a political embarrassment), you’re probably experiencing déjà vu. To a lesser but still familiar degree, I’m seeing Democrats engage in the same process of absurd accommodation and justification that Republicans use to excuse their deep love for Trump.”
— David French, writing in the New York Times early last month.
Oliver Darcy: “On Monday morning, the staff of ’60 Minutes’ convened for an introductory meeting with Bari Weiss’ handpicked new executive producer of the program, Nick Bilton. Bilton, the technology journalist who lacks both broadcast news and managerial experience, opened the meeting by reading from some prepared notes. He didn’t get far…”
“In the extraordinary back and forth, an impassioned Pelley relentlessly pressed Bilton on Weiss’ intentions for the storied newsmagazine, pointed out that he has no relevant experience to helm television’s most prestigious news program, grilled Bilton on what he knew about the firings, and more.”
Said Bilton, according to audio of the meeting: “Bari loves this institution. She loves ’60 Minutes.'”
Pelley countered: “She’s murdering ’60 Minutes.’ She does not love this place. She was brought in to kill it—and she’s doing exactly that.”
President Trump told CNBC he doesn’t care about the possible collapse of peace negotiations with Iran: “I don’t care if they’re over, honestly.”
He added: “I really don’t care. I couldn’t care less.”
CNN: “Many Senate Republican remain furious at the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and are refusing to advance a separate bill to fund immigration enforcement until they are satisfied that payouts won’t go to people who assaulted police during the January attack on the US Capitol and other guardrails are put in place.”
“Yet despite vocal public complaints from those GOP senators over the last two weeks, the White House has yet to offer a serious solution to their concerns, according to two Republican aides who say the immigration funding will remain stalled until it does.”
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.
