“The IRS said on Monday that churches and other houses of worship should be allowed to endorse political candidates to their congregations, carving out an exemption in a decades-old ban on political activity by tax-exempt nonprofits,” the New York Times reports.
Trump Says U.S. Must Send More Weapons to Ukraine
“President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv,” the AP reports.
“The comments by Trump appeared to be an abrupt change in posture after the Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some air defense missiles, precision-guided artillery and other weapons amid U.S. concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much.”
Said Trump: “We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves.”
Wall Street Journal: “President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he wasn’t responsible for a halt in weapons shipments to Kyiv, signaling U.S. openness to continuing military aid for Ukraine.”
Netanyahu Nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that he had sent a letter to the Nobel Prize Committee to nominate President Donald Trump for the peace prize,” Fox News reports.
U.S. to Resume Diplomatic Talks with Iran
“President Trump said the United States and Iranian officials will be meeting soon, returning to diplomacy after the U.S. bombed Iran’s nuclear sites and the country retaliated,” USA Today reports.
Waltz Finally Gets Senate Hearing for U.N. Post
“President Trump’s former national security adviser Mike Waltz is scheduled to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee next Tuesday or Wednesday for his confirmation hearing to be ambassador to the UN,” Axios reports.
“Waltz’s hearing will give Democrats an opportunity to put Trump’s foreign policy on trial and grill the former Florida congressman and Green Beret on everything from his role in Signalgate to the White House’s long-term goals on Iran and China.”
Trump Looks to Avoid Casting Blame in Texas Flood
“When a hurricane hit North Carolina last year, Donald J. Trump claimed without evidence that the Biden administration was avoiding helping residents in Republican areas. When wildfires burned through Los Angeles earlier this year, Mr. Trump excoriated local and state Democrats for the calamity, making false assertions about water use policy,” the New York Times reports.
“But after a catastrophic flood that tore through Texas last week, leaving at least 100 dead, Mr. Trump cautioned against casting blame.”
Trump Sends Markets Tumbling Again
Punchbowl News: “Trump can’t resist being in the middle of everything. Trump sees his presidency as driving the news, always being at the center of attention. Trump wants everyone — Congress, foreign leaders, the American people – to react to him, not the other way around. It’s his greatest asset in many ways, yet also his greatest vulnerability.”
“On that point, Trump announced on Monday that he was ready to impose 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea. While the new tariffs don’t kick in until Aug. 1 – giving Trump time to make a deal, naturally – this renewed trade war with two of the United States’ most important trading partners and allies made global financial markets swoon…”
“The sheer unpredictability of Trump’s direction and ultimate goals in this trade war and what it means for the U.S. and global economies is a problem for him. Trump likes to keep opponents off balance, yet markets crave predictability.”
Trump Defends Bolsonarro
President Trump lashed out at Brazil for the “terrible thing” it’s doing to its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of running a criminal spy ring.
Said Trump: “I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE.”
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Veterans Affairs Reverses Course on Large-Scale Layoffs
“The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday that it will no longer be forced to conduct a large reduction in workforce, unlike several other federal agencies that were forced to make mass layoffs because of the Trump administration’s U.S. DOGE Service,” the Washington Post reports.
It’s Hard to Create a Third Party
“Launching a new national political party in the United States may be more difficult than sending a man to Mars,” the New York Times reports.
“Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who last year was the nation’s biggest known political donor, now says that he is trying to do both. But while the effort to achieve interplanetary travel has made slow progress for over 20 years, the past several decades of American politics are littered with abandoned attempts to disrupt the two-party system.”
For members: Why Elon Musk’s Third Party Is Doomed
Sean Patrick Maloney Mulls Comeback Bid
Former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) is considering challenging Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) in New York’s 17th congressional district, Axios reports.
“Maloney’s entrance into the race would give Democrats a proven fundraiser and a political operative in what will likely be one of the most expensive races in the country.”
Eleanor Holmes Norton’s Staff Walks Back Things She Says
Michael Schaffer: “For people interested in how Washington works, it’s an increasingly common issue in our era of gerontocracy: Just how are you supposed to interact with an elected official who might not be all there?”
“It’s an ongoing private conversation among reporters, animated by a sense that the watchdogs haven’t been zealous enough — but featuring no real agreement on how to handle these moments.”
Democrats Want Their Party to Fight Dirty
“At town halls in their districts and in one-on-one meetings with constituents and activists, Democratic members of Congress are facing a growing thrum of demands to break the rules, fight dirty — and not be afraid to get hurt,” Axios reports.
Said one House Democrat: “This idea that we’re going to save every norm and that we’re not going to play the Republicans’ game… I don’t think that’s resonating with voters anymore.”
Said another: “Some of have suggested … what we really need to do is be willing to get shot. Our own base is telling us that what we’re doing is not good enough… that there needs to be blood to grab the attention of the press and the public.”
Is the Hispanic Red Wave for Trump Starting to Crash?
New Yorker: “In the Rio Grande Valley, bordering Mexico, ICE raids have emptied construction sites and restaurants. Recently turned Republicans are beginning to have doubts.”
U.S. Pouring Military Aid Into Building IDF Airbases
“The United States is building infrastructure to accommodate the Israel Air Force’s new refueling aircraft and helicopters, as well as a new headquarters for the Israeli army’s Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, and numerous other projects costing billions of shekels,” Haaretz reports.
“All these projects are funded by U.S. military aid to Israel.”
MAGA Stunned by Officials Debunking Epstein Theories
“The MAGA movement erupted in disbelief Monday after top administration officials said convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had not blackmailed elite figures, kept a ‘client list’ or been murdered in prison,” Axios reports.
“MAGA’s fundamental distrust of the ‘deep state‘ sparked years of conspiracy theories over Epstein’s suicide in prison while facing federal sex trafficking charges. Now, even declarations from movement stalwarts like Kash Patel and Dan Bongino, the top two officials at the FBI, are not enough to placate adherents.”
For members: A Conspiracy Theory That Won’t Die
Israel Thinks Trump Could Approve Another Iran Attack
“Israel is preparing for the possibility of further military action if Iran tries to revive its nuclear program, and Israeli officials think President Trump could greenlight renewed Israeli attacks,” Axios reports.
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