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Judge Says Trump Administration Defied Court Order

May 21, 2025 at 3:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A federal judge in Massachusetts said Wednesday the Trump administration’s deportation of several immigrants to conflict-ridden South Sudan violated his order to give detainees a meaningful opportunity to challenge their removal to a country where they are not citizens,” the Washington Post reports.

“U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy said in a lengthy hearing that the removals Tuesday morning ‘obviously’ violated his prior order. He said the government notified seven immigrants — from Mexico, Cuba, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam — the day before they were deported that they would be sent to the African nation.”

Matt Gaetz Hasn’t Ruled Out Run for Florida Governor

May 21, 2025 at 2:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) hasn’t yet ruled out running for Florida governor, eyeing a potential three-way Republican primary against Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and first lady Casey DeSantis, NBC News reports.

Bonus Exchange of the Day

May 21, 2025 at 2:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump ambushed South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa in an Oval Office meeting:

RAMAPHOSA: I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you.

TRUMP: I wish you did. I would take it.


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Why Mike Johnson Is Pushing for a Vote Today

May 21, 2025 at 2:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News gives four reasons why Speaker Mike Johnson wants to hold a vote today on the reconciliation bill:

  • Vote counts rarely get better over time.
  • The speaker has said he wants to get this bill passed by Memorial Day and is intent on making that deadline.
  • Members will be very angry if Johnson cancels the Memorial Day recess.
  • Johnson is going to have attendance problems beginning Thursday.

Meanwhile, the House Freedom Caucus is clearly signaling it’s not ready to vote today. 

Trump Ambushes South African President

May 21, 2025 at 2:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump pressed South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa to protect White Afrikaner farmers from violent attacks in an extraordinary Oval Office conversation in which Trump made no mention of the African nation’s long-standing epidemic of violence against both White and Black people, nor its violent and discriminatory history of White rule,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump amplified false claims that White Afrikaners have been victims of a genocide, even showing video footage of crosses and earthen mounds that he said represented more than a 1,000 grave sites of murdered farmers. The mounds were in fact part of a protest against the violence, not actual graves.”

Trump Accepts Plane from Qatar

May 21, 2025 at 1:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a gifted Boeing 747 from Qatar for President Donald Trump to use as Air Force One, the AP reports.

Wall Street Journal: “The Air Force said it was preparing to modify the aircraft but wouldn’t provide further details about the plane, citing that information related to the aircraft was classified.”

White House Says Failure to Pass Bill Would Be ‘Betrayal’

May 21, 2025 at 12:49 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The White House issued a statement saying that it supports the House GOP’s reconciliation bill: “President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.”

J.D. Vance Says Supreme Court Should Be ‘Deferential’

May 21, 2025 at 12:41 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vice President J.D. Vance called Chief Justice John Roberts’ comments earlier this month that the judiciary’s role is to check the executive branch a “profoundly wrong sentiment” and said the courts should be “deferential” to the president, CNN reports.

Said Vance: “I thought that was a profoundly wrong sentiment. That’s one half of his job, the other half of his job is to check the excesses of his own branch. And you cannot have a country where the American people keep on electing immigration enforcement and the courts tell the American people they’re not allowed to have what they voted for.”

No Surrender

May 21, 2025 at 12:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bruce Springsteen didn’t just kick off his Europe 2025 tour with rock anthems — he opened with political fire.

For two straight nights, the iconic singer delivered blistering speeches onstage, condemning Donald Trump and his administration as “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.”

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It’s Getting Harder to Categorize Voters

May 21, 2025 at 12:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sarah Longwell: “Having conducted hundreds of focus groups since 2018, I’ve become well-acquainted with the complex varietals of the American voter. Our rapidly shifting information landscape and cultural incohesion makes them harder to categorize for tidy political-science purposes.”

“I personally find terms like ‘far-left’ and ‘far-right’ or even the word ‘conservative’ to be increasingly meaningless. And there are a fair number of things that used to be axiomatic about politics that no longer are.”

“But one axiom of politics remains true: In the end, it comes down to how people feel about their futures and well-being.”

Trump Imagines Hitting Bruce Springsteen with a Golf Ball

May 21, 2025 at 12:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump shared a spliced video of him hitting a drive at a golf event, with a clip of Springsteen tripping on stage at a concert, Rolling Stone reports.

A golf ball was edited into the clip to make it appear as if the president’s shot had knocked Springsteen over. 

A Big, But Not Beautiful Bill

May 21, 2025 at 12:01 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

From the Financial Times editorial board:

“Lawmakers ought to think twice. Trump gets the bill’s branding only partly right. It is, indeed, enormous. It could raise US debt by more than $3.3 trillion over the next decade. Yet, in its current form, the economic consequences risk being far uglier than the president portrays…”

“The bill’s passage isn’t guaranteed. The Republicans only have a narrow majority in both the House and Senate, and Trump’s agenda has created a schism between its fiscal hawks and those concerned about the impact of cutbacks on poorer voters. It may evolve. But ultimately, the bond market will have the final say. Without serious attempts to rein in U.S. spending, investors’ reaction won’t be pretty.”

Trump to Meet with GOP Hardliners

May 21, 2025 at 11:21 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump will meet at 3 p.m. today with Speaker Mike Johnson and members of the House Freedom Caucus, Punchbowl News reports.

Trump is expected to tell hardline conservatives that he wants the GOP’s reconciliation bill to pass the House today.

Mike Johnson Faces 11th Hour Blowup

May 21, 2025 at 11:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“House Republicans’ internal negotiations on the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ went south Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, with GOP hardliners publicly digging in their heels against the legislation,” Axios reports.

“Some of the anger centers on a deal House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is nearing with blue-state Republicans to raise the State and Local Tax Deduction cap.”

Said Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), one of the GOP holdouts: “Things are not looking good!”

Jared Golden Trails Paul LePage in a GOP Poll

May 21, 2025 at 11:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) “opted to run for reelection rather than for governor or Senate, but that doesn’t mean he’ll avoid a difficult race next year,” NOTUS reports.

“The incumbent trails former Republican Gov. Paul LePage 43% to 48% in a matchup in Maine’s 2nd congressional district, according to a new poll of likely voters from a Republican super PAC, Congressional Leadership Fund.”

Trump Pulls Back From Local Police Oversight

May 21, 2025 at 10:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration moved on Wednesday to scrap proposed agreements for federal oversight of police departments in Minneapolis and Louisville, as part of a broader abandonment of efforts by previous administrations to overhaul local law enforcement across the United States,” the New York Times reports.

Democrats Are Losing Young People

May 21, 2025 at 10:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new postmortem on the 2024 election by the Democratic data firm Catalist delivers a sobering warning: The party’s biggest problem is with young voters.

Support among voters under 30 dropped from 61% in 2020 to just 55% in 2024. That’s still a majority, but the trend is moving in the wrong direction. And it’s not just white voters.

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Senators Question Whether Trump Settlement Is a Bribe

May 21, 2025 at 10:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A trio of senators is seeking information about Paramount Global’s efforts to settle a lawsuit by President Trump against the company’s CBS News, probing whether the company risks violating a federal bribery statute,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

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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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