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A Spectacular Diplomatic Disaster

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Paul Krugman: “America has spent decades trying to cultivate good relations with India, which could be a useful counterweight to China. Now we have a nearly complete rupture, with India actually cozying up to China.”

“And what was that about? Apparently Trump, in his bizarre pursuit of a Nobel peace prize, tried to bully Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, into giving him undeserved credit for a cease-fire between India and Pakistan. The two men haven’t talked since.”

Axios: Modi joins hands with Xi and Putin in message to Trump.

U.S. Population Could Shrink for the First Time Ever

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Derek Thompson: “The math is straightforward. Population growth has two sources: natural increase (births minus deaths) and net immigration (arrivals minus departures). Last year, births outnumbered deaths by 519,000 people. That means any decline in net immigration in excess of half a million could push the U.S. into population decline. A recent analysis of Census data by the Pew Research Center found that between January and June, the US foreign-born population fell for the first time in decades by more than one million.”

“While some economists have questioned the report, a separate analysis by the American Enterprise Institute predicted that net migration in 2025 could be as low as negative 525,000. In either case, annual population growth this year could easily turn negative.”

“This would be a historic first. For nearly 250 years, America has only known growth.”

Barrett Defends Overturning Abortion Rights

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Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett in a new memoir defends her vote reversing a half century of national abortion rights, declaring that Roe v. Wade usurped the will of the American people and “came at a cost,” CNN reports.

Barrett writes that the “complicated moral debate” about abortion distinguishes it from other rights more traditionally recognized as fundamental that enjoy broad public support, including “the rights to marry, have sex, procreate, use contraception.”

Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution
Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Coney Barrett, Amy (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 317 Pages - 09/09/2025 (Publication Date) - Sentinel (Publisher)
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Republicans Fret About Inflation and the Midterms

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“Republican operatives and lawmakers are increasingly anxious about how inflation could affect the GOP in the 2026 midterms, and want President Trump to take more aggressive steps to address rising prices,” Axios reports.

“GOP insiders and lawmakers believe the cost of drugs and consumer items — and how the White House deals with Trump’s tariffs potentially turbocharging prices and creating shortages — will be key to whether the GOP keeps control of Congress next year.”

Shutdown Seems More Likely Than Not

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Punchbowl News: “In 28 days, funding for federal agencies expires. Both chambers are out the week of Sept. 22 for Rosh Hashanah. That leaves just 14 legislative days for Congress and the White House to avert a shutdown.”

“Right now, a potential government shutdown seems more likely than not. And if there isn’t a shutdown, federal agencies could limp along on a series of short-term funding bills — continuing resolutions — throughout this year and next, giving Trump and White House officials even more sway over federal spending.”

Semafor: Why the government shutdown threat is real this time.

GOP Lawmaker Faces Reckoning Over Wind Power

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“President Donald Trump’s bid to kill wind power is straining the clean energy industry — and imperiling GOP lawmakers whose communities have seen wind as an economic boon,” Politico reports.

“Few of those lawmakers are more endangered than Iowa’s Mariannette Miller-Meeks.”

“Hailing from a state that gets nearly two-thirds of its electricity from wind turbines while paying some of the lowest power bills in the nation, Miller-Meeks has been a leading GOP champion in the House for an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy supporting the growth of renewables alongside fossil fuels. But she also cast a crucial vote for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, which wiped out billions of dollars in wind’s economic incentives — throwing Iowa’s 50-plus wind-related companies into uncertainty.”

Republicans Struggle to Sell Their Megabill

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Playbook: “House Republicans bet big that their newly-minted megabill would help them hold their majority in next year’s midterms. But what they learned during August recess is that they’re facing major challenges in selling their sweeping revamp of the tax code and safety-net programs.”

“The White House is gearing up to press Republicans to do better in messaging around the president’s ‘big, beautiful bill.’“

“The handful of GOP lawmakers who held town halls last month were often met with fierce voter pushback. Efforts from Reps. Bryan Steil and Mike Flood to explain what the law would deliver were interrupted by jeers and blistering questions, including over provisions that would result in people losing Medicaid. The party’s attempts at branding it as a gift to working families fell short when Rep. Josh Brecheen couldn’t answer a constituent’s question about how Congress was working to lower grocery prices.”

Bipartisan Group Pushes for Vote on Epstein Files

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Politico: “Expect the discharge petition standoff to come to a head this week. Rep. Thomas Massie said he and Rep. Ro Khanna will start the process of forcing a vote ‘immediately’ now that lawmakers are back.”

Said Massie: “This has not gone away like the speaker had hoped. If anything, now that the DOJ is releasing documents, it’s increasing the momentum.”

“Rep. Riley Moore, a West Virginia Republican, indicated over recess that he will support the discharge petition, adding to Massie’s confidence that they can gather the necessary 218 signatures. The GOP dissent threatens Speaker Mike Johnson’s control over the House as the shutdown deadline approaches.”

Quote of the Day

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“I thought the easiest war to end would be this one, in a certain way, because of relationships — because, you know, I just felt I knew. But it doesn’t seem, it’s going to get, it’s going to get done, but it’s taking long… You know, sometimes people aren’t ready for it.”

— President Trump, in an interview with the Daily Caller.

Trump Family Amasses $5 Billion After Crypto Launch

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Wall Street Journal: “The Trump family notched as much as $5 billion in paper wealth on Monday after its flagship crypto venture opened trading of a new digital currency. The launch is akin to an initial public offering, in which the cryptocurrency, called WLFI, can now be bought and sold on the open market.”

“The Trump family, including President Trump himself, holds just under a quarter of all WLFI tokens in existence.”

“WLFI is likely now the Trumps’ most valuable asset, exceeding their decades-old property portfolio.”

Trump’s September Is Filled With Tough Deadlines

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“President Trump faces a challenging September at home and abroad,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“An end-of-month deadline will force the president to negotiate with Congress to avoid a government shutdown. While Republicans control the House and Senate, they will need Democratic votes to do so. Trump’s recent clawback of billions in foreign aid without congressional approval has brewed distrust between lawmakers and the administration.”

“Trump gave the leaders of Russia and Ukraine an early September deadline to move forward with a peace process or face possible U.S. retaliation. Progress has stalled since the president’s closely watched meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska last month, dimming optimism that an end to the war is in sight.”

“Beyond dealmaking, Trump faces uncertainty about the legality of his tariffs, the main plank of his economic agenda and a key campaign promise.”

Big Majority Say American Dream Is Dead

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A new Wall Street Journal-NORC poll finds that “the share of people who say they have a good chance of improving their standard of living fell to 25%, a record low in surveys dating to 1987.”

“More than three-quarters said they lack confidence that life for the next generation will be better than their own, the poll found.”

“Nearly 70% of people said they believe the American dream—that if you work hard, you will get ahead—no longer holds true or never did, the highest level in nearly 15 years of surveys.”

Jerry Nadler Calls It Quits

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“Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat who has been one of Congress’s leading liberal voices for three decades, will not seek re-election next year, heeding a call for generational change roiling his party,” the New York Times reports.

“The decision will mark the close of a 34-year congressional career that put Mr. Nadler at the center of major civil rights battles and three presidential impeachments. It will also almost certainly touch off a crowded primary fight over a rare open Democratic seat in the heart of Manhattan.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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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