“On the text chains, on the phone calls, everyone is complaining… There’s a few little provisions people will say something positive about, but no one is happy with the Senate version. It’s amazing to a lot of us — how did it get so much fucking worse?”
— A moderate House Republican, quoted by The Hill, expressing frustration with the Senate version of President Trump’ tax bill.
President Trump and CBS are in “advanced” settlement talks in the lawsuit over a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris, attorneys told a judge Monday, Variety reports.
The parties requested a stay in all proceedings in the case until Thursday, July 3, suggesting that a settlement could come soon.
With Rep. Don Bacon’s (R-NE) announcement that he won’t run for re-election next year, Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball says Democrats are now favored to flip his seat.
“Time for a new political party that actually cares about the people.”
— Elon Musk, on X, once again slamming President Trump’s tax bill.
“President Trump on Monday suggested there won’t be a trade deal with Japan, sharing that the trading partner will be getting a letter from the administration to set a tariff rate,” The Hill reports.
President Trump dropped his lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer over her late-campaign poll showing Kamala Harris competitive in Iowa.
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) “has made up his mind: the centrist Nebraska lawmaker is leaving Congress after this term. But he still has a big decision to make on President Trump’s agenda, after years of scraps with the president and the MAGA movement,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“His announcement that he won’t run for re-election comes as the party has just days to pass the president’s tax and spending bill ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline. Bacon, who is considered a pivotal vote, says he is waiting to see what passes out of the Senate before he decides what to do.”
Said Bacon: “I’m not a ‘yes’ necessarily.”
“Dozens of House Republicans are scrambling behind the scenes to head off the deep Medicaid cuts in the Senate version of the party-line megabill that could pass as soon as tonight,” Politico reports.
“Group texts are blowing up and frantic phone calls are being exchanged among GOP lawmakers alarmed about the Senate Medicaid provisions… Even some conservatives in states that will be hit hard by the Senate’s crackdown on state-directed payments and medical provider taxes don’t want to vote on the Senate’s Medicaid text.”
“The Senate is just about four hours into a vote-a-rama for the Republicans’ massive reconciliation bill that senators predict won’t come to a close until late tonight or early Tuesday morning,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Senators have only voted on a handful of amendments so far. There have also been some procedural votes allowing Republicans to use an accounting tactic to zero out the cost of making the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent.”
“The vote-a-rama is moving somewhat slowly for now. We’re still waiting for votes on key amendments, including on Medicaid and artificial intelligence regulation.”
“I would retire, too, if I voted against this bill.”
— Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), quoted by Fox News, on Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) decision to forgo reelection next year.
Cook Political Report: “The surprise move from Tillis moves this race into the Toss Up category and officially makes the Tar Heel State Democrats’ top pickup opportunity. The contest was already edging in this direction, but we had been awaiting former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s decision about whether to challenge Tillis.”
“The vulnerability of this seat, however, does not alter the overall Senate math for 2026. Even if Democrats were to win here in 2026, they’d still need to flip three more seats, including at least two in deep red states, in order to win a bare majority.”
“Oh my God, I just want to go home! I’ve already missed our entire trip to the beach… There’s no drama that we know the votes are going to go.”
— Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), quoted by Mediaite, wishing he didn’t have to be at work.
Gallup: “A record-low 58% of U.S. adults say they are ‘extremely’ (41%) or ‘very’ (17%) proud to be an American, down nine percentage points from last year and five points below the prior low from 2020.”
“Democrats are mostly responsible for the drop in U.S. pride this year, with 36% saying they are extremely or very proud, down from 62% a year ago. This is only the second time Democrats’ pride has fallen below the majority level, along with a 42% reading in 2020, the last year of the first Trump administration.”
“It was a busy weekend for the U.S. Senate, which narrowly advanced signature tax and spending legislation. The people most worried about the risks from U.S. fiscal deficits do not like what Republican senators came up with,” Axios reports.
“In a four-way tug-of-war among different Republican policy goals — pro-growth tax relief, populist goodies, spending cuts, and deficit concerns — the Senate compromise neglected the last in favor of the other three.”
“Deficit hawks are also worried that Republicans have set a new precedent that will allow future Congresses more freedom to blow out the deficit on narrow, party-line votes — by ignoring the reduced revenue from extending current tax policy in tabulating the bill’s deficit impacts.”
New York Times: “The plan to write a policy agenda for the next Democratic president is at the center of a raging debate within the party: whether its biggest problem is its ideas or its difficulty in selling them.”
Running to about 1,000 pages, the U.S. tax package known as the “big beautiful bill” covers a bewildering array of topics. Yet one tweak that ought to have been included wasn’t: the “carried interest” distortion that plumps the feather beds of private equity executives, the Financial Times reports.
Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA) said he will not seek reelection “after some discussions this weekend and thoughtful reflection,” opening up a solid-blue seat in Philadelphia, Politico reports.
“Evans faced mounting questions about his ability to serve after suffering a stroke last year and missing months of votes. He insisted until recently he still intended to run for reelection, though several primary challengers were already starting to make moves.”
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.
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