Political Wire


Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!


Donald Trump’s Most Authoritarian Week Yet

By Leave a Comment

Rolling Stone: “It was clear Donald Trump and his allies would ramp up their crackdown against any and all opposition in the wake of the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk — and this week, the president’s second administration unleashed its most authoritarian blitz yet…”

“This ugly, authoritarian week didn’t happen in a vacuum. Trump just last month mused about how Americans want a “dictator,” and the administration now appears to be using Kirk’s shocking murder as an excuse to escalate Trump’s ongoing campaign for total power.”

“The ramp-up began on Monday, as Vice President J.D. Vance hosted Kirk’s podcast from the White House and huddled with Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy White House chief of staff and the man responsible for leading his mass vengeance campaign.”

For members: A Week That Changed Everything

Trump Invokes ‘Golden Share’ to Block U.S. Steel 

By Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration flexed its new authority over U.S. Steel, blocking the company’s plan to shut down production at an Illinois plant this fall,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Two weeks ago, U.S. Steel notified workers in Granite City, Ill., that plant operations would cease in November. The company, owned by Tokyo-based Nippon Steel, said it would continue paying the mill’s nearly 800 employees, even without them doing regular production work.”

“Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick got wind of the plan and called U.S. Steel Chief Executive Dave Burritt… Lutnick told Burritt the administration wouldn’t allow operations to cease, and the president would invoke his so-called golden share authority over plant operations.”


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.




Hamburger Helper Sales Rise 

By Leave a Comment

“In the 1970s, Hamburger Helper became a staple on American dinner tables as families, strained by inflation and soaring beef prices, looked to turn a pound of ground beef into an entire meal,” the New York Times reports.

“These days, those same pressures are why the flavored pasta mix is coming to the rescue again.”

“While most food companies are seeing declines in consumer demand for their products, sales of Hamburger Helper are up 14.5 percent in the year through August.”

SEC Plots New Era for Corporate America

By Leave a Comment

“Paul Atkins is laying the groundwork for a major regulatory overhaul that could tilt the balance of power between public companies and their shareholders in favor of corporate America,” Politico reports.

“In his first year as Securities and Exchange Commission chair, Atkins is acting quickly to pull back on how much information Wall Street giants, gadflies and the public at large may get about a company’s financial health as well as their ability to take those companies to court.”

Kirk Shooting Unleashes Flood of Conspiracy Theories

By Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “On the eve of Kirk’s funeral, this official version of events—presented by Utah’s governor and county attorney and the Federal Bureau of Investigation—has been met with a tsunami of disbelief by swaths of the public.”

“Without any basis in fact, Kirk’s killing has variously been attributed to Israel, the MAGA movement—of which Kirk was a part—transgender militants or the far-right Groypers. Robinson either acted alone, as the government has so far asserted, or as part of an organized cell, as the unfounded theories go.”

The Left Is Not More Violent

By Leave a Comment

Aaron Blake: “How do the right and left compare when it comes to 1) perpetrating violence and 2) their support for it?”

“The data, save for a few polls cherry-picked by the right, doesn’t generally back up Trump’s claims that this is a bigger problem on the left. In fact, it usually shows the opposite.”

U.S. Attorney Quits Before He’s Fired

By Leave a Comment

“The U.S. attorney investigating New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, and the former F.B.I. director James Comey said he had resigned on Friday, hours after President Trump called for his ouster,” the New York Times reports.

“Erik S. Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, had recently told senior Justice Department officials that investigators found insufficient evidence to bring charges against Ms. James and had also raised concerns about a potential case against Mr. Comey.”

However, Trump posted on Truth Social that he had withdrawn Siebert’s nomination: “He didn’t quit, I fired him!”

Trump Says Critical Coverage of Him Is ‘Really Illegal’

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump said Friday that news reporters who cover his administration negatively have broken the law, a significant broadening of his attacks on journalists and their First Amendment right to critique the government,” the New York Times reports.

“A day after asserting that broadcasters should potentially lose their licenses over negative news coverage of him, Mr. Trump escalated his condemnations of the press, suggesting reporters were lawbreakers.”

Pentagon Demands Journalists Take Pledge

By Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration unveiled a new crackdown Friday on journalists at the Pentagon, saying it will require them to pledge they won’t gather any information — even unclassified — that hasn’t been expressly authorized for release, and will revoke the press credentials of those who do not obey,” the Washington Post reports.

Trump Wants U.S. Attorney Fired

By Leave a Comment

“President Donald Trump said he wants the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia removed, after investigators reportedly failed to find sufficient evidence to charge New York Attorney General Letitia James with mortgage fraud,” Politico reports.

“The president pointed to endorsements from Virginia Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to justify the firing.”

Said Trump: “Yeah, I want him out. When I saw that he got approved by those two men, I said ‘pull it.’ Because he can’t be any good.”

Trump to Add $100K Fee for H-1B Visas

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump plans to introduce a new $100,000 application fee for H-1B worker visas, in an effort to reduce their use as part of his broader immigration crackdown,” Reuters reports.

“The H-1B program has become critical for technology and staffing companies who rely on foreign workers to fill a variety of technical roles.”

The Shutdown Showdown Is On

By Leave a Comment

Politico: “Democrats had telegraphed in advance of Friday’s vote that they would oppose the GOP bill because Republicans had not responded to entreaties from Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to hold a bipartisan summit meeting to discuss government funding.”

“But Republicans appear to be perfectly comfortable blaming Democrats — and particularly Schumer — for a funding lapse, as the Democratic leader faces pressure on his side of the aisle to put up a fight against Trump and congressional Republicans after caving in March.”

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.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.