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“The White House believes it’s getting close to an agreement with Iran on a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations,” Axios reports.
“The U.S. expects Iranian responses on several key points in the next 48 hours. Nothing has been agreed yet, but the sources said this was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.”
Former Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) is making a big move in the state’s Senate Democratic primary, throwing her support to Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), the Detroit News reports.
“The U.S. Department of Justice appears to be preparing to drop a nearly two-year criminal investigation of Tennessee Congressman Andy Ogles, agreeing to return or destroy evidence seized from the diehard MAGA Republican before the FBI ever got a chance to review it,” WTVF reports.
“The new filing came on a news-packed day as Tennessee lawmakers were convening for a special session to redraw congressional districts to put the state under complete Republican control. As part of that redistricting process, the GOP is expected to attempt to insulate Ogles from what had been expected to be a serious Democratic challenge.”
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Rachel Bade: “FDA Commissioner Marty Makary is expected to get the ax in the coming weeks, according to two well-placed individuals familiar with the matter — the latest sign that Trump’s pre-midterm, house-cleaning isn’t over.”
“With gas prices continuing to surge, more than 8 in 10 Americans said pain at the pump is putting a strain on their household budgets — and a strong majority blames President Trump,” according to the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
“The poll also found that Trump is more unpopular than he ever has been, and he faces major declines with key groups since being sworn in for a second term.”
“Six months from when votes will be counted this November, Democrats lead by 10 points on the congressional ballot test.”
“For a brief moment in American history, the rich didn’t control politics,” the New York Times reports.
“Back in 1974, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, Congress passed new campaign finance restrictions that would have largely eliminated the ability of wealthy people to buy elections. In addition to donor disclosure rules and contribution limits, the new legislation capped so-called ‘independent expenditures’ on behalf of political candidates at $1,000 a year. There were even curbs on what rich people could spend to get themselves elected…”
“Flash forward to the 2024 presidential campaign. Six of the nation’s wealthiest billionaires spent more than $100 million apiece to help get another billionaire, Donald J. Trump, elected president. Independent expenditures by wealthy outsiders for the first time in history exceeded what the candidates’ own campaign committees spent.”
“Republicans’ party-line immigration bill provides $1 billion for securing Trump’s East Wing project — which means, though the word ‘ballroom’ isn’t mentioned, the party is about to plunge into that fight anyway,” Semafor reports.
Said one senior Republican aide: “If there is a billion taxpayer dollars for the ballroom, then the whole debate over reconciliation becomes a ballroom debate. Maybe it survives. Just becomes a huge distraction and liability when trying to pass the fucking thing.”
New York Times: “Officials at the Food and Drug Administration have blocked publication of several studies supporting the safety of widely used vaccines against Covid-19 and shingles in recent months.”
“The studies, which cost millions of dollars in public funds, were conducted by scientists at the agency, who worked with data firms to analyze millions of patient records. They found serious side effects to be very rare.”
Paul Krugman: MAGA will kill many Americans.
“We’re still on a rescue mission. Remember how bad it was before?”
— NRCC Chair Richard Hudson (R-NC), quoted by NOTUS, explaining why he’s not worried about Democrats running on affordability.
“Tom Steyer is trying to sell himself to voters as an agent of change,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“He has vowed to take on entrenched political and economic forces to create affordable housing, make the wealthy pay more in taxes, lower energy bills and protect the environment.”
“But perhaps the biggest change he is selling is his own.”
“The hedge-fund billionaire turned climate activist has faced criticism throughout his campaign for past investments in coal plants and private prisons, to name a few, that helped build his fortune and gave him the means to spend more than $150 million of his own money in his quest for the governor’s mansion.”
“Americans are deeply uncomfortable with recent religion-related statements by President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — a striking rebuke in a closely divided country,” according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.
“The poll finds positive ratings for Pope Leo XIV, who has criticized U.S. actions on immigration and in Iran, clashing with Trump.”
“Eighty-seven percent of Americans have a negative view of Trump’s social media post appearing to depict himself as Jesus.”
“Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is scheduled to be questioned Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee as part of its investigation related to Jeffrey Epstein,” CBS News reports.
“Lutnick’s voluntary closed-door deposition comes amid a monthslong procession of powerful people summoned before the committee, many of whom have been subjected to embarrassing revelations in the more than 3 million pages of records known as the Epstein files.”
“Just two months before she was selected as President Donald Trump’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Nicole Saphier suggested the administration was hiding that measles was spreading widely enough in the United States for the country to lose its ‘elimination’ status until after the midterm elections,” CNN reports.
“That post has since been deleted, along with numerous others from Saphier’s X account posted in 2025 and 2026 criticizing the administration’s health policies and attacking Trump personally.”
“President Trump chose to look the other way after Iran launched three salvos of missiles and drones into the United Arab Emirates, one of America’s main Middle Eastern partners, despite a cease-fire he negotiated nearly a month ago,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The likely conclusion in Tehran, Gulf governments fear, is that further escalation pays off because Trump is so intent on extricating himself from the war that he will ignore renewed Iranian attacks on America’s regional allies.”
“European and Asian nations—allies and strategic adversaries alike—are watching this closely, too.”
“President Trump scored decisive victories in a slate of Indiana state Senate primaries Tuesday, a sign that his grip on the party’s base remains firm after he pushed to oust GOP lawmakers who rebuffed his demands to redraw the state’s congressional maps,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Playbook: “Trump’s loyal and energized supporters turned out to punish the incumbents, showing his endorsement remains the gold-standard of GOP politics. That’s a bright flashing red warning to any Republicans who might be eyeing a break from Trump as he approaches the back half of his second term.”
CNN: Trump gets revenge in Indiana.
“Senate Democrats are salivating at the chance to force every Republican to vote on $1 billion for security upgrades tied to President Trump’s new White House ballroom,” Axios reports.
“A billion-dollar, Trump-branded gilded ballroom — which the president insisted would be privately funded — is the kind of affordability contrast Democrats have dreamed about for the 2026 midterms.”
Punchbowl News: “For the last 15-plus years, hardline conservative Republicans have tormented their speakers and wannabe-speakers, forcing two out of office and ruining the lives of others.”
“But progressives are lining up behind Hakeem Jeffries as the next speaker if House Democrats win the majority in November, despite the anti-establishment fervor sweeping over the party base.”
“While a smattering of progressive Democratic candidates have expressed skepticism that Jeffries is the right person to lead the caucus, rank-and-file House Democrats see Jeffries as their pick next year — provided they win first — according to interviews with dozens of House Democratic insiders.”
“A majority of Republican state senators whose opponents were endorsed by President Donald Trump lost on Tuesday, dealing the president wins in a deep red state just four months after lawmakers rejected his redistricting plan,” the AP reports.
The Indianapolis Star reports that of the seven challengers endorsed by Trump, at least five won.
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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