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Republicans Show Divisions Ahead of Shutdown Fight

September 25, 2025 at 5:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

September 25, 2025 at 5:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“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

September 25, 2025 at 5:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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

September 25, 2025 at 5:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“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.”

Disorder at DOGE Jeopardized Americans’ Data

September 25, 2025 at 5:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“At the height of its power, the Department of Government Efficiency was operating out of headquarters that had become a haphazard scene of armed guards, makeshift bedrooms, children’s toys and windows obscured with garbage bags, according to a new report from Senate Democrats that accuses President Trump’s federal cost-cutting operation of putting Americans’ data security at risk,” the New York Times reports.

“Staff members for Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, reported that young DOGE aides living and working on the sixth floor of the General Services Administration building sat at workstations eight or 10 laptops deep, where they were able to operate on Starlink networks that could have allowed them to work without being tracked.”

Pat Ryan Launches PAC to Boost ‘Patriotic’ Candidates

September 25, 2025 at 5:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Rep. Pat Ryan wants (D-NY) to build a bench of patriot-leaders — and is planning to raise millions of dollars to do it,” Politico reports.

“The two-term House lawmaker is launching a political action committee today to elect candidates with public service backgrounds, including those with experience in the military, teaching or as first responders. The new group, called Patriot PAC, has the goal of raising more than $2 million for candidates this election cycle.”

Poland Becomes Top Importer of Taiwanese Drones

September 25, 2025 at 5:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Poland has become the biggest buyer of drones from Taiwan as the Eastern European country, on Russia’s doorstep, bolsters its defense capabilities and seeks to reduce reliance on Chinese parts,” Bloomberg reports.

Wall Street Journal: Every nation wants to copy Iran’s deadly drone.

Jimmy Kimmel Drew Huge Audience

September 24, 2025 at 8:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to the Jimmy Kimmel broadcast last night, despite the blackouts in many cities, the AP reports.

And there was a larger audience online, with more than 15 million people watching Kimmel’s opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday evening.

White House Prepares for Mass Firings in Event of Shutdown

September 24, 2025 at 8:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue,” Politico reports.

“The Office of Management and Budget move to permanently reduce the government workforce if there is a shutdown… escalates the stakes of a potential shutdown next week.”

Punchbowl News has the memo.

Republicans Work to Block Vote on Epstein Files

September 24, 2025 at 8:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Top congressional Republicans and White House allies are working behind the scenes to prevent a politically charged floor vote to release the government’s Jeffrey Epstein case files next month,“ CNN reports.

“While the exact strategy to avoid a vote is not yet clear, some of the GOP lawmakers who have signed on are privately being pressured to withdraw their name from the petition, which would prevent a vote from taking place.”

Democrats Must Drop ‘Planetary Emergency’ Talk

September 24, 2025 at 8:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said that his party needed to change the way it talked about climate change if Democrats hoped to win over new voters, the New York Times reports.

Said Schatz: “You could talk about the planetary emergency and mitigation and adaptation, and you could throw in some environmental justice rhetoric, and by the time you’re done talking, people think you don’t care about them.”

Instead, he said, policymakers who care about climate change need to be “recapturing momentum with regular people who are watching their utility bills spike like a hockey stick.”

Trump to Sign TikTok Deal on Thursday

September 24, 2025 at 8:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump is expected to sign a deal Thursday to facilitate the sale of TikTok from a Chinese-based company to a group of American investors, NBC News reports.

Trump Demands Probe Into ‘Triple Sabotage’ at U.N.

September 24, 2025 at 6:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump called on the United Nations to investigate what he deemed was “triple sabotage” after he dealt with an escalator mishap, a teleprompter glitch and audio issues during his trip to the U.N. General Assembly meeting, The Hill reports.

Said Trump, on Truth Social: “A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, but three very sinister events!”

He added: “The people that did it should be arrested!”

Vance Tries to Walk Back Trump’s Remarks at Kirk Memorial

September 24, 2025 at 5:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vice President JD Vance said that President Trump was “joking” when he spoke about hating his enemies during a memorial for conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, NewsNation reports.

Said Vance: “I think it’s interesting, if you go back and watch the full speech, what the president was trying to do, in this very humorous and very unique way, was highlight how hard it is for us to forgive our enemies.”

For Once, a Trump Controversy That Sticks

September 24, 2025 at 5:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

It often seems as if Donald Trump can weather any controversy without real political damage. Scandals erupt, outrage flares, and then the news cycle moves on.

But the past two weeks look different.

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Ukraine’s Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine

September 24, 2025 at 5:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Anne Applebaum: “The campaign against the oil industry has been helped by the degradation of Russian air defenses, which had been moved closer to the border of Ukraine and at the moment aren’t numerous enough to cover every possible economic target across a very large country…”

“The result: Russian overall oil exports are now at their lowest point since the start of the war, and the Russians are running out of oil at home. The commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces has said that more than a fifth of Russian refining capacity has been destroyed.”

“The regime has banned the export of refined oil products, because there isn’t enough for the domestic market. Gas stations are closed or badly supplied in areas across the country, including the suburbs of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Telegram accounts post videos of cars waiting in enormous lines.”

China Pledges to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

September 24, 2025 at 4:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“China, the world’s largest carbon polluter, announced at the United Nations on Wednesday that it intended to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 7 percent to 10 percent over the next 10 years, the first time Beijing has made such a strong commitment to halt global warming,” the New York Times reports.

Chinese president Xi Jinping made the announcement by video, saying: “Green and low carbon transition is the trend of our time.”

In an apparent reference to the United States, Xi added: “Some countries are against it.”

James Comey Expected to Be Indicted Soon

September 24, 2025 at 4:26 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former FBI Director James Comey is expected to be indicted in the coming days, MSNBC reports.

“The full extent of the charges being prepared against Comey is unclear, but the sources believe that at least one element of the indictment — if it goes forward — will accuse him of lying to Congress during his testimony on September 30, 2020 about whether he authorized a leak of information.”

CNN: “If a federal grand jury were to approve the case by next week, it would mark one of the highest-profile indictments of a political figure during President Donald Trump’s second term in office — and against one of the longtime figures whom Trump and his political allies detest the most from what they call the ‘deep state’ of the federal government.”