Political Wire

Greenland, Denmark Say ‘No Thanks’ to U.S. Hospital Ship

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“Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Sunday ‘no thanks’ to U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of sending a hospital ship to Greenland, a territory that Trump has repeatedly said he wishes to take over,” NBC News reports.

“‘President Trump’s idea of ​​sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice,’ Nielsen said in a post on Facebook.”

“Nielsen said Greenland remained open to dialogue and cooperation, also with the U.S. ‘But talk to us instead of just making more or less random outbursts on social media,’ he said.”

New York Times: “Troels Lund Poulsen, the Danish defense minister, told Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, that his government had not been made aware of the plan. He said that there was ‘no need for special health care efforts’ in Greenland.”

“Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark also appeared to respond to Mr. Trump’s announcement, though she did not mention Mr. Trump or the United States. ‘I’m happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health care for everyone,’ she wrote in a post on Instagram on Sunday. ‘The same approach exists in Greenland,’ she said.”

DHS Reverses Course on Suspending TSA PreCheck

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The Department of Homeland Security reversed course Sunday morning after saying that it would suspend TSA PreCheck because of the partial government shutdown,” the Washington Post reports.

“A DHS official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal processes, said the change was ‘based off of conversations the secretary had with the White House and TSA.’”

“The Global Entry program, however, will remain paused, according to the official.”

California Democrats May Have Too Many Candidates

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“Democrats’ fear rising that too many candidates in governor’s race could lead to a Republican victory,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“Leaders of the California Democratic Party, along with liberal activists and loyal power brokers, are openly expressing fear that their crowded field of candidates running for governor may splinter the vote and open the door to a surprise Republican victory in November.”

Dark Money Fuels Texas Senate Primaries

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Texas Tribune: “If Texans want to know who’s funding the deluge of ads in the final stretch of the U.S. Senate primaries, they’ll need to keep guessing.”

“The race is awash with dark money, or contributions from political nonprofits that are not legally obligated to disclose donors, according to campaign finance reports that were due Thursday.”

“A super PAC supporting one of the Democratic candidates, James Talarico, reported $6.1 million in contributions from Jan. 1 through Feb. 11. But more than half that came from a political action committee that was entirely funded by a dark money group on its last monthly report.”

“And as Rep. Wesley Hunt of Houston tries to squeeze into a primary runoff on the Republican side, a group supporting him — and another opposing him — are also being mostly funded by anonymous sources, according to the filings with the Federal Election Commission.”

“Taken together, the reports show that big-money interests are heavily invested in the Texas primaries — but unwilling to reveal their identities at a critical juncture of the race.”

How Epstein Files Frustrate White House

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Wall Street Journal: “When the Justice Department released its last trove of millions of files about Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump found himself in the same place he had spent a year trying to avoid — dealing with the fallout, again.”

“The files showed his own commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, had visited with Epstein long after Lutnick said they had cut ties.”

“Lutnick had to publicly explain his past statements, provoking a direct conversation with Trump, according to administration officials familiar with the matter. Trump questioned why he previously denied connections to Epstein when he knew he had visited Epstein’s island, the officials said.”

“The latest episode started during a conference call just before Christmas, when aides broke the news to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche that another million documents attorneys believed were likely duplicates in fact weren’t.”

“Blanche sighed in exasperation, eventually alerting senior White House aides, who shared his anger and received updates for days, according to administration officials. In the ensuing weeks, the agency ordered hundreds of additional prosecutors to review the files, working through weekends to redact sensitive information and at times plying them with pizza to keep going at night.”

DHS to Suspend TSA PreCheck and Global Entry

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“The Department of Homeland Security will temporarily suspend two popular programs that allow some travelers to move more quickly through airport security starting Sunday at 6 a.m. Eastern due to the shutdown of much of the agency, according to a DHS spokesperson,” the Washington Post reports.

“The department is pausing its TSA PreCheck and Global Entry programs — one of several emergency measures the agency said it is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress failed to send more money to the agency. DHS Secretary Kristi L. Noem said in a statement that the agency is ‘making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions’ and prioritizing the ‘general traveling population’ at airports and ports of entry.”

On Gallup’s Decision to End Presidential-Approval Polling

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David Frum: “The Dire Meaning of Gallup’s Announcement”

“Last week, the polling firm gallup announced that it would no longer survey presidential-approval ratings. This news stirred suspicions. President Trump’s numbers are declining badly, much worse than Joe Biden’s at the equivalent point in his presidency. Gallup’s most recent presidential-approval poll, in December, had Trump at 36 percent—well below the RealClearPolitics poll average of 42 percent. Trump is known for taking punitive action. He sued The Des Moines Register and its pollster, Ann Selzer, for an ego-bruising 2024 survey that suggested he might lose Iowa to Kamala Harris.”

“Assuming the worst is often prudent, but Gallup’s own explanation—citing changes in the company’s business strategy—makes a sad commercial sense. Quality polling companies such as Gallup inhabit a world of rising costs, declining rewards, and multiplying competition. Polling worked because people once accepted a call on the phone the same way they accepted jury duty: as one of the small obligations of citizenship that helped democracy work better. Large numbers of citizens have come to perceive the institutions of democracy as unfriendly to them. The dispassionate stranger on the phone inquiring how a citizen intended to vote—and why—is one of those institutions.”

Pentagon Seeking Ways to Spend Additional $500 Billion

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Washington Post: “Trump administration officials have struggled to figure out how to increase U.S. military spending by a whopping $500 billion in their forthcoming budget, slowing the overall White House spending plan, four people familiar with the matter said.”

“President Donald Trump last month agreed to a roughly 50 percent funding boost sought by Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, in the White House’s annual budget proposal.”

“Since Trump agreed to the higher number, White House aides and defense officials have run into logistical challenges surrounding where to put the money, because the amount is so large, the people said. The White House is more than two weeks behind its statutory deadline to send its budget proposal to Congress, in part because it is unclear how precisely to spend the additional $500 billion, according to the people familiar with the matter.”

Trump to Raise Global Tariff to 15 Percent

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“President Trump announced that he would raise his new, global tariff to 15 percent, a day after he took steps to replicate some of the punishing duties that had been struck down by the Supreme Court,” the New York Times reports.

“For some countries, Mr. Trump’s new 15 percent tariff may actually be higher than the rates that previously applied to their exports to the United States. Those tariffs were invalidated on Friday, after a majority of the court’s justices found that the president did not have the authority to issue them using a set of emergency powers.”

“’I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,’ the president wrote on Truth Social.”

New Tests Loom Between Chief Justice and President

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“Other tests loom for the relationship between the president and the chief,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“In the next few months, the court will rule on another one of Trump’s assertions of power: his bid to remake the Federal Reserve by firing one of its governors. And it will also soon take up a cornerstone of Trump’s immigration agenda, his attempt to eliminate automatic birthright citizenship.”

“Those disputes will be the next milestones in a decadelong string of Trump controversies that have largely defined the Roberts court.”

Gorsuch Calls Out Justices for Lack of Consistency

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NBC News: “Conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch pulled no punches in taking aim at his colleagues on the Supreme Court for a lack of consistency in approaching broad assertions of presidential power made by Joe Biden and Donald Trump.”

“His colleagues were effectively applying the same Supreme Court precedent differently under Trump than they did under Biden, he argued, writing: ‘It is an interesting turn of events.’”

“His invective focused on a theory known as the “major questions doctrine,” which adherents say bars sweeping presidential action not specifically authorized by Congress. The conservative-majority court embraced the doctrine while Biden was in office to strike down broad plans, such as his effort to forgive student loan debt.”

“‘It shows you how much internal dissension there is on the Supreme Court right now,’ said Robin Effron, a professor at Fordham University School of Law.”

Businesses Want Their Tariff Money Back

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“Corporate America is lining up for refunds from President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs after the US Supreme Court ruled they were illegal, with more than $130bn at stake,” the Financial Times reports.

“The US Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation were among the industry groups to immediately push for reimbursement for the billions of dollars in duties paid since Trump’s tariffs took effect last year.”

“But analysts warned that it could take years for the government to return funds to businesses and said the process would be “handled case by case”, meaning not all companies would necessarily get money back.”

“’Any refunds will arrive gradually,’ said Shannon Grein at Wells Fargo. ‘Payments are expected to trickle in over months, if not years, and should be delivered directly to the importers who originally paid the tariffs.’”

New Secret Service Agents To Get Tailored Suits

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“New Secret Service protective detail agents are about to get a wardrobe upgrade, courtesy of taxpayers,” CNN reports.

“The Secret Service will soon offer each agent who graduates from protective detail training two tailored suits, according to sources familiar with the matter and a public contract solicitation. The initiative to have the Secret Service purchase suits happened because Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem disliked how a protective detail was dressed in the suits they bought for themselves, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.”

“DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied that account, telling CNN, ‘This does not have to do with optics” but aims to fix inequities for the “men and woman who are just starting their career.’”

UT to Ensure Students Avoid ‘Unnecessary Controversial Subjects’

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“The University of Texas System’s Board of Regents unanimously approved a rule requiring its universities to ensure students can graduate without studying ‘unnecessary controversial subjects,’ despite warnings it could leave them less prepared for the real world,” the Texas Tribune reports.

“The rule also requires faculty to disclose in their syllabi the topics they plan to cover and adhere to the plan, and says that when courses include controversial issues, instructors must ensure a ‘broad and balanced approach’ to the discussion.”

Pritzker Sends Invoice for Tariff Refunds

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“Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sent a letter—and invoice—to the White House on Friday demanding $8.6 billion be refunded to his state’s 5.1 million households, roughly $1,700 each,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“’Your tariff taxes wreaked havoc on farmers, enraged our allies, and sent grocery prices through the roof,’ wrote Pritzker, a possible 2028 presidential candidate and frequent Trump critic. ‘This letter and the attached invoice stand as an official notice that compensation is owed to the people of Illinois, and if you do not comply we will pursue further action.’”

What Comes Next

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NBC News: “Longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon, the host of the “War Room” podcast and an influential voice in the MAGA movement, replied with a four-character text message when asked what would come next on the tariff front.”

“#War.”

Canada to U.S.: ‘It’s Not Us, It’s You’

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Politico: “New results from The POLITICO Poll suggest a lasting chill has settled over the world’s former bosom buddies. Americans are rosy as ever about their northern neighbors, but Canadians don’t share the love.”

“Their message to America: It’s not us, it’s you.”

“In survey question after survey question, Canadians say the U.S. no longer reflects their values, is more likely to provoke conflict than to prevent it and, as a result, is pushing Canada to consider closer ties with other global powers — including overtures to China that would have seemed unthinkable only a couple of years ago.”

Olympians Respond to Trump, Vance Comments

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The Athletic: “Hunter Hess says last two weeks ‘probably hardest’ of his life after President Trump remarks. 

Trump labeled Hess “a real loser”, adding  that it would be “’very hard to root for someone like (Hess)’ after the Olympian said in a news conference that representing the United States in these Milan Cortina Games ‘brings up mixed emotions’ and was ‘a little hard.’”

“’It was probably the hardest two weeks of my life,’ Hess said Friday in Livigno, where he aced both of his qualifying runs in the freeski halfpipe to easily advance to the evening’s final. ‘I’ve never been subject to that type of criticism before.’”

USA Today: “Eileen Gu responds to criticism from JD Vance, others in United States. In an interview with Fox News, Vance said, referring to Gu, he hoped someone who grew up in the U.S. would ‘want to compete with the United States.’”

“Gu didn’t take offense to Vance’s words, she said, and as for Vance wanting her to compete for the U.S., she replied playfully, ‘I’m flattered. Thanks, JD! That’s sweet.’”

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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