“The Trump administration knew that the vast majority of the 238 Venezuelan immigrants it sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador in mid-March had not been convicted of crimes in the United States before it labeled them as terrorists and deported them,” ProPublica reports.
“The government’s own data showed that officials knew that only 32 of the deportees had been convicted of U.S. crimes and that most were nonviolent offenses, such as retail theft or traffic violations.”
Politico: “The president’s aides and allies view the visa revocations as the initial step in clamping down on Chinese influence in the U.S., with a White House official suggesting it could lead to a wider exclusion of international students from the country.”
“Congress is a coequal branch of government empowered to make laws, control government spending and declare war. But according to Trump voters, the role of the legislative branch is to rubber-stamp the president’s agenda — and they don’t appreciate Republicans who deviate from the party line,” the New York Times reports.
“In two recent focus groups that quizzed older Trump voters from across the country about their views of Congress and congressional leaders, participants consistently praised lawmakers who displayed ‘loyalty’ to President Trump and disparaged those whom they viewed as failing to fall in line behind him.”
“More than $14 billion in clean energy investments in the U.S. have been canceled or delayed this year, according to an analysis released Thursday, as President Donald Trump’s pending megabill has raised fears over the future of domestic battery, electric vehicle and solar and wind energy development,” the AP reports.
“Many companies are concerned that investments will be in jeopardy amid House Republicans’ passage of a tax bill that would gut clean energy credits.”
Katie Miller, who had served as a senior adviser and spokesperson for DOGE — and who is married to Trump adviser Stephen Miller — is also leaving the administration and will continue to work with Elon Musk, ABC News reports.
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) is facing new ethics questions following the release of a report by the Office of Congressional Conduct calling for a full-scale probe into an earmark she obtained for a Florida nonprofit, Punchbowl News reports.
The third-term Florida Democrat “may have accepted campaign contributions linked to an official action” and “may have dispensed special favors or privileges to friends in connection with her congressional office’s requests for community project funding.”
“This will be his last day, but not really, because he will, always, be with us, helping all the way.”
— President Trump, on Truth Social, on Elon Musk.
“As Elon Musk became one of Donald Trump’s closest allies last year, leading raucous rallies and donating about $275 million to help him win the presidency, he was also using drugs far more intensely than previously known,“ the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Musk’s drug consumption went well beyond occasional use. He told people he was taking so much ketamine, a powerful anesthetic, that it was affecting his bladder, a known effect of chronic use. He took Ecstasy and psychedelic mushrooms. And he traveled with a daily medication box that held about 20 pills, including ones with the markings of the stimulant Adderall, according to a photo of the box and people who have seen it.”
“It is unclear whether Mr. Musk, 53, was taking drugs when he became a fixture at the White House this year and was handed the power to slash the federal bureaucracy. But he has exhibited erratic behavior, insulting cabinet members, gesturing like a Nazi and garbling his answers in a staged interview.”
“At the same time, Mr. Musk’s family life has grown increasingly tumultuous as he has negotiated overlapping romantic relationships and private legal battles involving his growing brood of children.”
“It’s raining tacos today.”
— California Gov. Gavin Newsom, quoted by Politico, on the two court rulings striking down President Trump’s tariffs.
“President Trump is employing the vast power of his office to redefine criminality to suit his needs — using pardons to inoculate criminals he happens to like, downplaying corruption and fraud as crimes, and seeking to stigmatize political opponents by labeling them criminals,” the New York Times reports.
CNN: “Rather than set government straight, Elon Musk is leaving Washington with the federal budget all cattywampus. Deficit spending is increasing, not waning, and there is a growing school of thought that his “efficiency” effort could end up costing the government as much as or more than it saved.”
Marina Hyde: So long, Elon: the cuts didn’t go to plan, but you completely shredded your reputation.
Wall Street Journal: “Musk is known for maniacal focus on whatever is in front of him, and for years has carved up his time to try to advance difficult technologies across his business empire. The companies he is returning to are still wrestling with those kinds of heady challenges, but now must do so with Musk transformed into a deeply polarizing figure.”
Financial Times: Musk counts the cost of his “government efficiency” blitz.
“President Trump’s trade team is readying its Plan B,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The administration’s tariff strategy was undermined when a court this week found it was illegal for Trump to impose sweeping duties by using emergency economic powers. A federal appeals court on Thursday allowed his duties to stay in effect while the administration’s appeal moves forward, but U.S. officials are weighing their options should they need to find a new legal authority to impose the president’s steep tariffs, which he argues will help rebalance trade in America’s favor.”
“The potential pivot reflects the challenges to Trump’s aggressive trade policy, which relied on a novel interpretation of trade law. Typically, tariffs are imposed using targeted authority delegated to the president by Congress, but Trump’s team relied on little-used emergency powers to impose the bulk of his wide-ranging second-term tariffs quickly.”
“With that strategy under threat, the president’s team is weighing a twofold response.”
Washington Post: Trump’s use of emergency law to enact tariffs imperils trade war strategy.
Bloomberg: Trump’s tariff options slower, more complex if court fight fails.
New York Times: “Across the country, Chinese students reeled Thursday from Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement that the Trump administration would begin ‘aggressively’ revoking visas for Chinese students studying in the United States. More than two dozen students studying in the United States, most of whom did not want their names published for fear of retaliation, told The New York Times that they worried they could lose their academic opportunities in an instant, with little explanation.”
Wall Street Journal: Targeting Chinese students threatens the bottom line of American universities.
“President Donald Trump leveled unusually pointed criticism of a prominent conservative legal activist and organization Thursday as he railed against a ruling that struck down his sweeping tariffs,” Politico reports.
“The president, in a post on his social media platform, slammed Leonard Leo, the former chair of the Federalist Society, calling him a ‘sleazebag’ who ‘probably hates America.’”
“It was a striking characterization of Leo, who played a key role in working with Trump to shape the conservative Supreme Court.”
“Federal authorities are investigating a clandestine effort to impersonate White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, after an unknown individual reached out to prominent Republicans and business executives pretending to be her,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In recent weeks, senators, governors, top U.S. business executives and other well-known figures have received text messages and phone calls from a person who claimed to be Wiles.”
“But the messages weren’t from Wiles—and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the White House are trying to figure out who is behind the effort and what their goal is.”
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.