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“Former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) declined to commit to voting for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) as speaker if she wins back her old House seat,” Axios reports.
“Bush joins dozens of candidates — particularly Democratic Socialists of America members and their allies — who are stopping short of committing to a Jeffries speakership.”
Wall Street Journal: “Hegseth has spent much of his tenure as Pentagon chief largely snubbing Congress. His appearances before committees on Capitol Hill often turn contentious, frustrating both Republicans and Democrats who say they want more answers on the Iran war, the military’s drug-boat strikes and defense spending.”
“Now, finding himself in need of their help, he has visited Capitol Hill several times in recent days to huddle privately with Republicans to shore up support for Trump’s spending plan.”
“The Trump administration is conducting a far-reaching investigation into whether Yale University’s admissions practices violate anti-discrimination laws, prompting one of the country’s most elite schools to pursue settlement talks with the government,” the New York Times reports.
“The Justice Department last month accused Yale’s medical school of giving illegal preferential treatment to Black and Hispanic applicants. But the department’s review is reaching beyond the medical school, the people said, encompassing undergraduate and law school admissions as well.”
“Senate Republicans are elevating Colombia as a role model in their push for stricter voting rules in the U.S. — and using California as their foil,” Axios reports.
“Republicans don’t have the votes to jam through President Trump’s SAVE Act, but some conservatives are using Colombia’s election system to keep the up the pressure on GOP leaders.”
“Colombia just elected Abelardo de la Espriella, a populist business owner who secured President Trump’s endorsement. The country requires voters to present a national I.D. card, relies on paper ballots and does not generally allow mail-in voting. Republicans want the U.S. to follow suit.”
“Federal prosecutors in Washington said Friday that citations have been issued by the U.S. Park Police this month at the Lincoln Memorial’s reflecting pool, which has filled with algae and peeling paint since its $16 million makeover,” the New York Times reports.
“But no records are available, and it remains unclear exactly what those citations were for, or how many people received them.”
The Atlantic: “A desultory, grievance-filled speech on what should have been a joyous occasion. The last-minute cancellation of a rare bipartisan bill signing in favor of yet another push for doomed, unpopular legislation. A loud confrontation with members of his own party followed by sneering remarks about some of the nation’s oldest allies. And a nonsensical accusation that, if we have it right, blames the algae-filled Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool not on his rushed renovations but on knife-wielding vandals … and maybe Barack Obama.”
“And that was just yesterday.”
“For President Trump, things aren’t going great. He normally thrives in chaos, reveling in unpredictability to keep his opponents off-balance. But right now, he’s just flailing.”
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that Israel and Lebanon had reached a framework agreement aimed at achieving ‘lasting peace and security,'” CNBC reports.
“The agreement, which came as a result of talks mediated by the United States, calls for the implementation of ceasefire between the two nations.”
The Atlantic: “This previously undisclosed spending is part of an enormous shift of taxpayer cash away from National Parks around the country and into the Washington area. In order to pay for the president’s projects, the parks have had to cancel needed repairs, slash their budgets, and operate with fewer employees.”
“Taxpayer spending on projects in the National Capital Region has increased 92 percent over the past year, according to the budget documents. The windfall draws on revolving maintenance accounts and more than $100 million in fees collected almost entirely from National Parks elsewhere.”
“The Great American State Fair, a 16-day celebration of the nation on the National Mall that opened Thursday, had a less-than-great beginning,” the Washington Post reports.
“Thirty minutes after gates were meant to open to the free event, small crowds were still waiting outside security entrances as organizers sorted out power outages and moved the last of the construction material out of view.”
“Visitors were eventually allowed in, but problems continued to nag the fair throughout the day.”
CNN: What we know about Trump’s Great American State Fair.
“President Trump is returning Friday to the site of his most recent assassination attempt — but the Washington Hilton’s security looks remarkably similar to what it did ahead of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” the New York Post reports.
“Americans’ Social Security benefits will have to be cut by roughly a quarter in six years due to depleted funds, according to a June 9 report from the Social Security Board of Trustees,” PBS reports.
“That’s months sooner than the group had estimated in 2025.”
A group of Senate Democrats is pressing Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for more information about the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund and whether the Justice Department violated its own rules when it agreed to create the controversial program as part of a settlement with President Trump, CBS News reports.
New York Times: “Of the more than 70 investigations into transgender school policies that the Education Department has announced since last year, about one-fourth have been based on complaints from nonprofit groups with ties to the Trump administration. Many of the investigations have been aimed at blocking transgender women from playing on female sports teams.”
“If federal investigators determine that schools have broken civil rights laws, educators face a choice. They can adopt the Trump administration’s policy prescriptions on gender and diversity, or fight the findings and risk losing federal funding.”
Alexandra Petri: “The Reflecting Pool is an image so perfect, it feels as though symbolism as a whole gave up and decided to sign off.”
“President Donald Trump threatened to impose 100% tariffs on goods imported from countries that impose digital services taxes, escalating pressure on European nations that just ratified a trade pact with the US,” Bloomberg reports.
“Trump said the threatened tariff would be imposed ‘immediately’ and would supersede any existing trade deals made with affected countries. The president’s comments come a day after the European Union gave its final sign-off to a trade agreement with Washington that sets a 15% tariff ceiling on most of the bloc’s exports to the US.”
Financial Times: Trump warns of 100% tariff on countries implementing digital services tax.
New York Times: “At a moment of political peril for the president and Republicans, Mr. Trump’s priorities seem increasingly detached from the concerns of voters and his party. His focus is trained on his own obsessions and pet projects, including his expansive and costly renovations at the White House and around the nation’s capital, a topic that he returns to again and again.”
“Oman has told European officials there’s no way of going back to the pre-war status quo with the Strait of Hormuz and transiting ships may have to be charged some fees,” Bloomberg reports.
“While Omani officials said they will always abide by international maritime law, they added there could be fees for services related to de-polluting the strait or helping ships navigate it.”
New York Post: Rubio warns Iran of Strait of Hormuz toll “fantasy.”
“Young senator, vice president, writes some best-selling books, is hated by the media. It kind of sounds like JD Vance. I’ve always liked Richard Nixon.”
— Vice President JD Vance, quoted by the New York Times.
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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