“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is warning Republicans they’ll risk a government shutdown all alone if they ram through cuts to PBS and foreign aid,” Axios reports.
“Now he just needs them to take that threat seriously.”
“A shutdown fight in this political climate could put Democratic senators under the most intense pressure of their careers. But the threat of a shutdown is Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) only real leverage.”
“Iowa Democrats are urging the national party to restore the state’s traditional place as the first contest of the presidential primary season — and some are pushing for Iowa’s caucuses to be first even if the Democratic National Committee disagrees,” Axios reports.
“Iowa returning to the lead-off spot could scramble the 2028 presidential contest, and significantly affect who becomes the Democratic nominee.”
Six U.S. Secret Service agents were suspended in relation to their conduct concerning the assassination attempt on President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year, ABC News reports.
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“Top MAGA influencers warn the Trump administration is bleeding trust over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, and that the president is drifting out of step with the movement he built,” Axios reports.
“The MAGA base was blindsided by the Justice Department’s conclusion that the notorious sex trafficker died by suicide in 2019 and had no ‘client list.’ Days after the initial shock, Trump’s insistence on moving on is fueling a deeper sense of betrayal.”
Ahead of a Senate Appropriation Committee markup today, senators don’t have an agreement on spending for the next fiscal year and there’s “no sense that they’ll be able to reach one,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) raked in millions of dollars in campaign funds during the second fundraising quarter, his biggest haul ever, after his marathon speech on the Senate floor,” NBC News reports.
“Booker’s Senate campaign and an affiliated joint fundraising committee raised $10 million from April through June, according to fundraising figures shared first with NBC News. It’s the most money Booker has ever raised in a single quarter, including when he was running for president in 2019.”
Wall Street Journal: “It is boom time in Washington for the influence industry, according to interviews with more than a dozen Republican lobbyists. The top 10 lobbying firms in Washington took in about $123 million in the first quarter of 2025, compared with about $80 million in the same time frame of both Joe Biden’s presidency and Trump’s first term.”
“Lobbyists with close ties to Trump are having a particularly lucrative year, covering their office walls with photos of the president and expanding their offices, with some firms even turning down clients because they already have too many.”
“Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Wednesday the state Legislature will focus on redistricting during a special session later this year, as Republicans look to defend their narrow House majority in 2026,” Politico reports.
“The move could potentially reshape the state’s congressional map — which already heavily favors Republicans.”
“President Donald Trump’s allies have encouraged Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s maps to create more House districts that favor Republicans ahead of next year’s midterms.”
The Dallas Morning News says the effort comes just days after DOJ sent Abbott a letter “raising concerns over the legality of the racial makeup” of four Democratic seats.
“People in California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orbit have signaled their boss’s willingness to counter any redistricting in Texas with a similar move to redraw the maps in his own state, in an attempt to offset potential GOP gains,” the Texas Tribune reports.
Wall Street Journal: “Investors are looking through the tariff chaos, wagering the White House won’t ultimately follow through on its harshest threats.”
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, responded to President Trump’s attempt to interfere in his country’s legal system by threatening a 50% tariff: “Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions, and will not accept any form of tutelage.”
“After half a year of White House skepticism toward Kyiv and friendliness toward Moscow, President Donald Trump and top Republicans have shifted course, with the White House preparing to send additional weaponry to Ukraine and Congress moving to enact tough new sanctions on Russia,” the Washington Post reports.
“The change this week came as Trump’s frustration mounted over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unwillingness to engage seriously in discussions about an end to his war on Ukraine. Trump vowed last year that he would move quickly to halt the conflict but has been unsuccessful.”
Playbook: “Nevertheless: Before we get too carried away with this new world order, it’s worth remembering that Trump has the propensity to flip back and forth on issues — and on people — all the time.”
President Trump responded to reports that former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey are being investigated over allegations that they made false statements to Congress during the Russia probe, Axios reports.
Said Trump: “I know nothing about it other than what I read today, but I will tell you, I think they’re very dishonest people.”
He added: “I think they’re crooked as hell and maybe they have to pay a price for that… I believe they are truly bad people and dishonest people. So whatever happens, happens.”
“President Trump said late Wednesday that he was tapping Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to lead NASA on an interim basis after Trump yanked his original nominee for the post,” The Hill reports.
Wall Street Journal: “As world leaders and lawmakers seek to curry favor with the president, they have learned that flattery is often the most effective strategy. In lengthy Oval Office meetings in front of television cameras, they have lavished Trump with praise, hailing him as a peacemaker, a visionary and a transformational leader. Increasingly, they are adding to the list a public declaration that Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.”
“As monstrous floodwaters surged across central Texas late last week, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency leapt into action, preparing to deploy critical search and rescue teams and life-saving resources, like they have in countless past disasters,” CNN reports.
“But almost instantly, FEMA ran into bureaucratic obstacles.”
“Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — whose department oversees FEMA — recently enacted a sweeping rule aimed at cutting spending: Every contract and grant over $100,000 now requires her personal sign-off before any funds can be released…”
“Noem didn’t authorize FEMA’s deployment of Urban Search and Rescue teams until Monday, more than 72 hours after the flooding began.”
“Before Republican Sen. Thom Tillis bucked his own party and voted against President Donald Trump’s agenda last week, he warned the president how its toxic political ripple effect could soon wipe out Congress’ GOP majority,” CNN reports.
Said Tillis: “As I told the president, if we don’t get this right, he’s probably going to have two of the most miserable years of his life if Democrats take the gavels in the House. And I’m trying to avoid that.”
He added: “I told the president, I really do believe it could be his Obamacare.”
Earlier for members: Trumpcare Claims Its First Victim
“President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. will slap a 50% tariff on Brazil’s imports, partly in retaliation for the ongoing prosecution of the country’s former president, Jair Bolsonaro,” CNBC reports.
New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s effort to use tariffs to intervene in a criminal trial in a foreign nation is an extraordinary example of how he views levies as a one-size-fits-all cudgel.”
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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