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Zelensky Says Trump Approves Hitting Russian Targets
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had the explicit backing of Trump to strike key Russian targets such as energy infrastructure and arms factories, and that if Ukraine gets sought-after long-range weaponry from the US, “we will use it,” Axios reports.
And he warned: “They have to know where the bomb shelters are. They need it. If they will not stop the war, they will need it in any case.”
Pentagon May Not Discourage Shutdown This Time
“A common ritual during the increasingly regular government shutdown fights is for the individual military branches to write to lawmakers warning how a funding lapse would threaten national defense,” Punchbowl News reports.
“That practice may not hold this time around.”
“With less than a week before the Sept. 30 funding deadline, the individual heads of the military branches have yet to send correspondence to lawmakers about the impact of a shutdown.”
Former French President Handed 5-Year Prison Sentence
“Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will soon be imprisoned after he was sentenced to five years in jail on Thursday by a court that found him guilty of criminal conspiracy over dealings with Libya, an unprecedented punishment for a leading French political figure,” Reuters reports.
“The sentence was harsher than many expected, and a first in modern French political history. Sarkozy, who was president between 2007-2012, will spend time in jail even if he appeals the ruling.”
Quote of the Day
“I think it’s frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.”
— White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, speaking to reporters.
European Officials Fear Trump Is Preparing to Blame Them
“European officials fear Donald Trump’s latest rhetoric on Ukraine aims to set them an impossible mission that will allow the US president to shift blame away from Washington if Kyiv falters in the war or runs short of cash,” the Financial Times reports.
Dead Heat for New Jersey Governor
A new Emerson College Poll of New Jersey voters finds 43% of voters support Mikie Sherrill (D) and Jack Ciatarelli (R), with 11% of voters undecided.
Decision Desk HQ: New Jersey’s 2025 race for governor could be close.
Trump Nominee Tried to Erase Thousands of Tweets
“Jeremy Carl, a top Trump State Department nominee, deleted thousands of social media posts, many demonstrating a history of inflammatory commentary— including incendiary posts about race, claims that ‘peaceful coexistence’ with Democrats is impossible, and even a call for a political opponent to face the death penalty,” CNN reports.
Inside the White House Struggle to Tame the Epstein Crisis
Wall Street Journal: “Trump told aides he couldn’t understand why people were so obsessed with the deceased financier and sex offender, according to people familiar with his comments. People don’t understand that Palm Beach in the 90s was a different time, he groused.”
Washington Post: Park Service removes statue of Trump and Epstein from National Mall.
Prosecutors May Charge James Comey As Soon As Today
Wall Street Journal: “Prosecutors are preparing to seek an indictment of Comey from a federal grand jury in Virginia as soon as Thursday, the people said, in a case involving allegations that he lied during 2020 congressional testimony concerning the bureau’s earlier investigation of Trump’s connections to Russian interference in the 2016 election.”
“The statute of limitations on such a case runs out next week.”
New York Times: “Lindsey Halligan, a former defense lawyer for Mr. Trump who was hastily appointed after the president forced out her predecessor last week, is rushing to draft an indictment under withering pressure from the White House.”
Playbook: “Even by Trump’s standards, it’s a stunning breach of presidential protocol and legal norms.”
Trump’s Reversal on Ukraine Is a ‘Negotiating Tactic’
“President Donald Trump’s furious rhetoric toward Russia is ‘a negotiating tactic’ intended to pressure the Kremlin, a senior White House official said Wednesday, a day after the president stunned global policymakers and delighted Ukrainian leaders by embracing Kyiv’s ambitions for a decisive defeat of Russia,” the Washington Post reports.
White House Dares Democrats to Shut It Down
“Russ Vought just turned the shutdown standoff into a ticking time bomb for numerous federal workers and lawmakers in both parties,” Politico reports.
“In the Trump administration’s most aggressive pre-shutdown salvo yet, the OMB director is threatening to pursue mass firings at agencies if Congress fails to enact a funding bill to keep the government open past next Tuesday at midnight…”
“The move doesn’t just up the ante for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. It also threatens broader political fallout that could hurt Republicans, too — as Jeffries was quick to point out late Wednesday night, when he immediately raised the prospect of a GOP backlash and said Democrats ‘will not be intimidated.’”
Punchbowl News: “The unprecedented move by OMB Director Russ Vought dramatically raises the stakes of the shutdown fight just five days before the deadline.”
Billions in Public Funds Have Become Virtually Untraceable
NOTUS: “Across federal agencies, the Trump administration’s aggressive slash-and-burn approach to federal programs, grants and contracts has repeatedly challenged Congress’ power of the purse. The administration has claimed it has the discretion to redirect funds to programs aligned with Trump’s agenda — and Republican congressional leaders have largely let them do it.”
“The outcome: Billions in taxpayer dollars have become virtually untraceable — a level of opaqueness in government funds that’s raising questions around the legality of the administration’s actions. Some of these taxpayer funds expire on Sept. 30. If they’re not spent by then, like all funds Congress appropriated specifically for 2025, they disappear.”
Jimmy Kimmel Goes Right Back to Roasting Trump
“In case you thought Jimmy Kimmel would pull punches on Trump in the face of threats from federal officials and still-boycotting affiliates – he’s not,” The Wrap reports.
“The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host did a 15-minute monologue on Wednesday night, nearly all of it focused on roasting the president, calling him, among other things, a bully in the style of Biff from Back to the Future.”
CNN: Kimmel nods to big ratings, heckles Trump as an “80s-movie-style bully” in second post-suspension show.
Deadline: Kimmel predicts Trump “Will try to sue” ABC.
Republicans Show Divisions Ahead of Shutdown Fight
Politico: “The diverging messages from GOP leaders comes after Trump reversed his decision to hold a White House meeting with top Democratic leaders — an about-face that came after Johnson and Thune privately warned him that it would undercut the party’s negotiating position.”
“Taken together, the visible cracks in the GOP front are raising internal concerns as party leaders face off against Democrats who are largely united behind a plan to focus on health care — particularly an extension of expiring insurance subsidies.”
Tensions High in Utah Redistricting Fight
“Utah is getting closer to redrawing its congressional boundaries in an unusual mid-decade redistricting process, but it’s not yet clear what that map will look like,” NPR reports.
“Unlike other Republican-led states redistricting this year, Utah’s new map is expected to give Democrats more of a chance at winning at least one of the state’s four congressional districts, which could help Democrats in the race to control the U.S. House. State lawmakers were ordered to draw the new districts after an Utah judge ruled they had acted unconstitutionally in creating the map used in 2022.”
Chuck Schumer Becomes Campaign Trail Punching Bag
Washington Post: “Across the country, Democratic Senate candidates from Texas to Maine have distanced themselves from Schumer, 74, amid a growing appetite in a rebuilding party for newer, younger leaders eager to wage more aggressive fights against President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Some are openly critical of Schumer, who has been in elected office since 1975, while many others have sidestepped questions about him.”
GOP Senate Candidates Run From Mitch McConnell
“On the precipice of retirement, Mitch McConnell has become a pariah among the Republicans trying to succeed him,” CNN reports.
“The top three Republicans running in Kentucky’s Senate primary started in state politics interning for McConnell. Two of them once referred to him as a mentor. Now, they are racing to distance themselves, insulting not just McConnell, but their rivals for alleged closeness to him.”
“It’s a reflection of how President Donald Trump has all but extinguished the influence of any challengers within the GOP.”
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