Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) “will attempt to force a House vote on a congressional stock trading ban in September, creating a new headache for Speaker Mike Johnson when members return to Washington from their summer recess,” Politico reports.
“The Florida lawmaker said Tuesday she plans to file a discharge petition at that time seeking a floor vote on legislation written by Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) that would end members’ ability to trade individual securities.”
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) broke a rib after he was “accidentally kicked by a horse” while working on his farm over the weekend, The Hill reports.
Joe Rogan called out President Trump’s administration for the way it has gone after foreign-born college students who’ve criticized the government, Mediaite reports.
Said Rogan: “Isn’t a university supposed to be a place where someone’s allowed to express themselves and have opinions?”
He added: “They’re writing something down and they’re not calling for violence either; and they’re getting challenged. That’s supposed to be how it happens. You get challenged. Smarter people have better arguments or your argument stands.”
“A child sex abuse survivor from Palm Beach County who testified at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial in 2021 said she had met Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein at Mar-a-Lago in the 1990s when she was 14 and was once a contestant in Trump’s Miss Teen USA beauty pageant,” the Palm Beach Post reports.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a plan to annex territories in Gaza, ABC News reports.
Time: “White House officials and a close circle of conservative lawyers are preparing for President Donald Trump to be able to hit the ground running if a Supreme Court vacancy opens up during the remaining three and a half years of his second term.
“The discussions are in early stages and focus on finding a nominee in the mold of Samuel Alito, 75, and Clarence Thomas, 77, the two oldest justices… A White House official said it was ‘premature’ to say the White House was getting ready for a vacancy.”
President Trump told reporters that he’s working with Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a solution to the starvation in Gaza and that “we’re going to try and get things straightened out for the world.”
“Jeffrey Epstein’s imprisoned associate Ghislaine Maxwell would be willing to testify to Congress if lawmakers offer her immunity and provide her with the questions in advance,” the Washington Post reports.
Said attorney David Oscar Markus: “Our initial reaction was that Ms. Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and decline to testify at this time. However, after further reflection we would like to find a way to cooperate with Congress if a fair and safe path forward can be established.”
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball moves the Wisconsin governor’s race to Toss Up because Gov. Tony Evers (D) will not run again.
Jon Stewart commented on President Trump being caught cheating while playing golf in Scotland:
“When the going gets tough, the tough pay someone to cheat for you. But this moment on the course, seemingly random, could not be more representative of Trump’s entire existence.”
Noah Rothman: “If nothing else, Carr seems set on raising the costs that media companies invite by broadcasting content that cuts against the president’s political interests.”
“That is an ugly thing to write of any American regulatory agency chair, much less a conservative Republican who is — or, at least, should be — properly wary of state power.”
For members: The Quiet War on Trump’s Enemies
David Graham: “Trump has arrived at the right conclusion in a terrible way. As president, Trump has access to the most powerful information-gathering network in the world, yet he takes his cues from what he watches on television.”
“This helps him see the news from the same perspective as the general public, which has enabled his political success. But it also narrows his understanding, and it makes him highly susceptible to manipulation.”
Matt Labash describes himself as “about as pro-Israel as they come. (God’s Chosen People, and all.)”
“But when even Donald Trump admits that the Gazans are getting starved, well then maybe partisans need to start acknowledging reality on the ground. And that Bibi is ignoring it, and insisting otherwise, for political advantage. These photos ain’t AI. It’s no-joke suffering, from people who can’t escape their lot. However corrupt their leaders, they have nowhere else to go. They’re just starving.”
“Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday the U.K. will recognize a Palestinian state in September – unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza and takes steps toward long-term peace,” the AP reports.
“The Trump administration has terminated more than half of all federal funding for gun violence prevention programs in the U.S., cutting $158 million in grants that had been directed to groups in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Baltimore,” Reuters reports.
Axios: “Trump’s ‘announce first, details later’ approach to trade deals has caught some global leaders off guard and led to contradictions about the billions of dollars the administration says foreign nations have pledged.”
“These are not traditional, word-heavy trade deals with text agreed to by all negotiators.”
“Instead, news of deals comes via flashy announcements with big numbers and little specificity, leaving global investors wondering about the durability of such frameworks.”
“Roy Cooper raised $3.4 million in the first 24 hours of his Senate campaign — a record-breaking sum for the former North Carolina governor in one of the most competitive upcoming Senate races,” Politico reports.
“The fundraising haul includes more than $2.6 million raised directly to Cooper’s campaign account, with 95 percent of those donations totaling $100 or less, according to his team.”
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.