“The first four months of fiscal year 2026 got off to an expensive start for the U.S.,” Fortune reports.
“The CBO released a report yesterday detailing that, for the first third of FY26 (which began in October), the U.S. government operated at a deficit, and so borrowed $696 billion. That included $94 billion in January alone, and works out to an average of $43.5 billion for each of the 16 weeks of the four months since.”
A new GBAO poll found 58% of Americans have negative views of ICE, and that assessment is even more negative — 64% — among independent voters.
Fifty-two percent support securing reforms for ICE before funding the Department of Homeland Security.
A new NBC News Decision Desk Poll finds nearly 3 in 4 U.S. adults support some changes to ICE, with 29% saying it should be abolished outright.
Playbook: “Trump is set to meet — for the seventh time — with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in the White House at 11 a.m. But this visit in particular comes not just as the Gaza peace plan moves into its second phase, but also as the world awaits what’s next in Iran…”
“Trump has been hearing a lot from Arab allies in recent weeks as he mulls another strike. Their message has focused on the risks of sparking a prolonged war with severe consequences for the region and perhaps global oil markets…”
“Netanyahu is likely to try to convince Trump that Iran’s nuclear program is still a threat, even after U.S. strikes last summer. And he’ll make it clear that Israel opposes any possible deal with Iran that allows the regime to keep its ballistic missiles, something Tehran will not discuss relinquishing.”
“President Donald Trump is privately musing about exiting the North American trade pact, injecting further uncertainty about the deal’s future into pivotal renegotiations involving the US, Canada and Mexico,” Bloomberg reports.
“The Federal Aviation Administration is closing the airspace around El Paso International Airport in Texas for 10 days, grounding all flights to and from the airport,” the AP reports.
“The former top deputy to Jack Smith, the special prosecutor who twice indicted Donald Trump, is expected to announce on Wednesday that he is running for Congress in Virginia, pitching himself as the only Democrat who actually prosecuted the president,” the New York Times reports.
“J.P. Cooney, a veteran of the public corruption division of the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, was fired in January 2025, after Mr. Trump purged all prosecutors associated with Mr. Smith.”
“If these fuckers think that they’re going to intimidate us and threaten and bully me into silence, and they’re going to go after political opponents and get us to back down, they have another thing coming. The tide is turning.”
— Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), quoted by CNN, on the Trump administration’s failed attempt to indict him.
Punchbowl News: “The House is now going to have open season on President Donald Trump’s tariffs.”
“Trump suffered a serious political blow Tuesday night when the House voted down a rule blocking members from offering resolutions to end the numerous tariffs the president has levied since returning to office.”
Playbook: “Last night’s 217-214 defeat should open the door to a rolling series of Dem-led votes targeting Trump’s tariffs, starting this afternoon with a resolution put forward by Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) to overturn the levies on Canada. Given the current mood in the House — every single Dem showed up to vote last night, while plenty of Republicans are uncomfortable with tariffs — Johnson looks all but certain to lose.”
“The Senate has already voted against Trump’s tariffs, with four rebel Republicans siding with Dems last October. Both chambers now appear to have an anti-tariff majority — meaning we are reaching the point where Congress is now actively rebuking the president over his signature economic policy.”
“Support for President Trump’s immigration agenda is in free fall in early 2026 after federal immigration agents shot and killed two Americans last month,” according to the new NBC News Decision Desk Poll.
“In a double-digit shift, 49% of adults strongly disapprove of how Trump has handled border security and immigration, up from 38% strong disapproval last summer and 34% in April. Self-identified independents drove the erosion, with the share of strong disapprovers in that group having risen 11 points since August.”
“Fully 60% of those surveyed in the week after the death of Alex Pretti in Minnesota somewhat or strongly disapproved of Trump’s actions on border security and immigration.”
A new Emerson College survey of Minnesota likely voters finds Democratic candidates for office leading Republican counterparts for governor, U.S. Senate, and on a generic state legislature ballot.
In the election to replace retiring Gov. Tim Walz, Amy Klobuchar leads the hypothetical matchups against Republican Speaker of the Minnesota House Lisa Demuth, 51% to 38%, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, 53% to 31%.
Looking ahead to the U.S. Senate race, Lieutenant Gov. Peggy Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig lead Republican Michele Tafoya in hypothetical matchups, 47% to 40% and 47% to 41%, respectively.
“Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn abruptly canceled a Tuesday fundraiser that was set to be co-hosted by a Democratic operative who was mentioned in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files as allegedly transporting young girls for the late convicted sex offender,” Politico reports.
The House rejected a procedural motion that would’ve blocked lawmakers from bringing up resolutions disapproving of President Trump’s tariff regime, a rebuke of the White House, Punchbowl News reports.
The vote was 214 to 217. Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE), Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Kevin Kiley (R-CA) all voted against the rule containing the provision.
House members can now bring up resolutions disapproving of the Trump administration’s tariffs. These resolutions will now flood the floor in the months running up to the election.
“Federal prosecutors in Washington sought and failed to secure an indictment against six Democratic lawmakers who posted a video this fall that enraged President Trump by reminding active-duty members of the military and intelligence community that they were obligated to refuse illegal orders,” the New York Times reports.
“It was remarkable that the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington — led by Jeanine Pirro, a longtime ally of Mr. Trump’s — authorized prosecutors to go into a grand jury and ask for an indictment of the six members of Congress, all of whom had served in the military or the nation’s spy agencies.”
“But it was even more remarkable that a group of ordinary citizens sitting on the grand jury in Federal District Court in Washington rejected the effort, sending a signal that they did not believe that the lawmakers had committed any crimes.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) trashed the economy under her former boss President Trump and warned Republicans some big losses could be coming in the midterms, Mediaite reports.
Said Haley: “There has not been enough focus on the affordability issue for Americans. You still have too many kids living at home, you still have people who can’t deal with rent, you see people, they have less money in their wallets, and you can’t look at the stock market and say the economy is doing well.”
“A large Pride flag was quietly removed from the Stonewall National Monument in Manhattan after a directive from the federal government, the latest step in the Trump administration’s nationwide assault on diversity initiatives and the second time in less than a year it has targeted the Greenwich Village site, which commemorates the birth of the LGBTQ rights movement,” the New York Times reports.
Wall Street Journal: “Overhauling the Kennedy Center has become a fixation for Trump—and no detail is too small for the real-estate-developer-turned-president.”
“Despite Trump’s focus on the Kennedy Center, and in some cases because of it, the president faces major challenges as he seeks to remake the cultural center in his image. Ticket sales have fallen, and skeptical artists are canceling performances. And there is mounting consternation from Democrats—and, privately, some Republicans—that he will drastically alter the look and feel of the venue.”
“The FDA has refused to accept an application from Moderna to review its first mRNA seasonal flu vaccine, in another setback for the technology that’s been a target of some Trump administration health officials,” CNN reports.
Republicans are calling on the FCC “to investigate Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime performance, suggesting the content and lyrics of the Puerto Rican star’s show were ‘illegal,’” Axios reports.
“Many of the explicit lyrics cited by Bad Bunny critics are literal translations of his songs but were not actually performed during the February 8 halftime show.”
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.