U.S. officials have been told Israel is fully ready to launch an operation into Iran, CBS News reports.
New York Times: “The International Atomic Energy Agency declared on Thursday that Iran was not complying with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations, the first time the United Nations’ watchdog has passed a resolution against the country in 20 years.”
Playbook: “Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom’s warring administrations go head-to-head in court today as the president’s use of troops in Los Angeles meets its first legal test.”
“The California governor wants judges to block what he claims is the illegal deployment of the National Guard in supporting ICE raids across his state. Trump administration lawyers are pushing back hard, dismissing Newsom’s lawsuit as a ‘crass political stunt.’”
“It’s shaping up to be yet another seismic courtroom battle over the power of the executive, one of the central themes of Trump 2.0.”
“A key lesson from the latest skirmish in the U.S.-China trade war: The era of weaponized supply chains has arrived,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Earlier this week, Washington and Beijing ended a standoff involving the most potent new tool in superpower statecraft—export controls. As part of a monthslong trade fight, the two sides choked off the supply of such exports as rare earths or semiconductor technology in a bid to gain an edge.”
“So when Chinese and American negotiators finally met in London to discuss a truce, the talk focused far more on dialing back supply-chain curbs than they did on tariffs, market access and other standard trade-negotiation topics.”
A new Quinnipiac poll finds just 30% of American voters surveyed said they have a favorable opinion of Elon Musk, the world’s richest person
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was seen having dinner with Steve Bannon on Monday — which also happened to be his 17th wedding anniversary with Gisele Fetterman, Mediaite reports.
With Zohran Mamdani surging in the polls, Andrew Cuomo’s closing message in the mayoral race is a scorching ad saying New York City could be next after Los Angeles for Donald Trump’s crackdown, New York Magazine reports.
From the ad: “Trump is at the city gates. We need someone who can slam them shut.”
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) slammed President Trump after he and his family were disinvited from the annual White House picnic.
Said Paul: “I think I’m the first senator in the history of the United States to be uninvited to the White House picnic. I just find this incredibly petty. I mean — I have been, I think, nothing but polite to the President.”
He added: “The level of immaturity is beyond words.”
More: “So, it’s silly in a way, but it’s also just really sad that this is what it’s come to. But petty vindictiveness like this, I don’t know. It makes you wonder about the quality of people you’re dealing with.”
“President Donald Trump said he intended to send letters to trading partners in the next one to two weeks setting unilateral tariff rates, ahead of a July 9 deadline to reimpose higher duties on dozens of economies,” Bloomberg reports.
Said Trump: “We’re going to be sending letters out in about a week and a half, two weeks, to countries, telling them what the deal is.”
New York Times: “Since taking office in January, Mr. Trump has, step by step, expanded domestic use of the military, testing the legal and political limits on involving troops trained to fight foreign wars in roles traditionally carried out by the local police or Border Patrol.”
“There are now more U.S. troops deployed to Los Angeles than serving in Syria and Iraq, a fact the chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, promoted on social media on Wednesday.”
Washington Post: White House opens door to historic military deployment on U.S. soil.
Wall Street Journal: Legal fight over troops has little legal precedent.
“A motion by opposition parties to dissolve the Israeli Parliament failed in the early hours of Thursday morning,” the New York Times reports.
“But the vote itself presented the most serious challenge yet to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government, exposing splits in the ruling coalition and weakening his leadership credentials.”
“Israel appears to be preparing to launch an attack soon on Iran, according to officials in the United States and Europe, a step that could further inflame the Middle East and derail or delay efforts by the Trump administration to broker a deal to cut off Iran’s path to building a nuclear bomb,” the New York Times reports.
Wall Street Journal: U.S. moves to withdraw some Middle East personnel as Iran tensions rise.
“Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) told GOP senators Wednesday that the Senate will lower the House-passed SALT deduction cap in its reconciliation bill and revise the IRA clean energy tax credits,” Punchbowl News reports.
“Crapo gave GOP senators a broad overview of how Senate Republican leaders plan to change key elements of the House’s bill, according to senators who attended a closed-door conference meeting Wednesday afternoon. Crapo didn’t give specific numbers or divulge other details.”
“David Hogg will step down from his role as Democratic National Committee vice chair, capping months of party infighting and turmoil centering on the Gen Z activist’s pledge to involve himself in primaries and back challengers against some incumbents,” the Washington Post reports.
“Hogg said Wednesday that he will not to run to retain his position, following the conclusion of a DNC-wide vote that could have led to his ouster.”
Politico: Hogg declines to run again for DNC vice chair after new election is called.
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday insisted the Pentagon’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles was lawful. He just couldn’t cite the law he was following,” Politico reports.
“The Pentagon chief clashed with several lawmakers at a Senate budget hearing as he sought to defend President Donald Trump’s decision to send thousands of troops, including 700 active-duty Marines, to California in response to mass deportation protests.”
New York Times: “On the chopping block are some of Mr. Trump’s favorite parts of the bill, like not taxing overtime. Republican lawmakers have long been skeptical of some of the president’s tax ideas, with the view that the populist policies will not spur the economy like traditional supply-side conservatism can.”
Elon Musk called President Donald Trump on Monday night, after their bitter public feud last week, ABC News reports.
New York Times: “It remains to be seen how Mr. Trump will handle the attempted rapprochement and whether the two men’s relationship can be restored.”
“In the wake of their showdown, Mr. Trump told advisers that he had no interest in talking to Mr. Musk, and was done with him, a sentiment he reiterated in interviews with reporters.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent signaled the Trump administration’s openness to extending President Donald Trump’s current 90-day tariff pause beyond July 9 for the United States’ top trading partners, as long as they show “good faith” in ongoing trade negotiations, CNBC reports.
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.