Cook Political Report: “Wisconsin’s sprawling, largely rural 3rd District voted for Trump by a seven-point margin in 2024. But Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden won reelection by less than three points against Rebecca Cooke, a 37-year-old small business owner who ran as an unabashed moderate.”
“Cooke’s early momentum, coupled with encouraging results for Democrats in this month’s state Supreme Court race, moves this race from the Lean Republican column to Toss Up.”
“President Trump has done more to target traditional media companies than any other modern U.S. president,” Axios reports.
“Even as he and his allies wage a historic trade war, they have not lost sight of their stated goal of going after the press.”
For members: What Won’t Be Mentioned During Trump’s Interview
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he will wind down a Pentagon program that boosts the participation of women in peace building and conflict prevention that President Trump signed into law in his first term, Politico reports.
Hegseth called the program “yet another woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative that overburdens our commanders and troops.”
Yet it was Trump who signed the program into law and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who wrote the House version of the legislation when she was in Congress.
“Despite promises to cut spending during the campaign and his first few months in office, President Trump’s federal government has spent about $220 billion more in his first 100 days compared to the same time period last year,” CBS News reports.
“In fact, the government is now spending more, day to day, than was spent in nine of the last 10 years. The exception: 2021, when the government was spending trillions to fight the coronavirus pandemic and prevent an economic disaster.”
“Republicans love that The Trump Organization is now selling ‘Trump 2028‘ merchandise, with some of them even arguing that the outrage is the point,” NOTUS reports.
“But many Republicans who count themselves as fans of President Donald Trump are less sure about personally wearing that slogan.”
“A lawyer for John Reid, the GOP’s nominee for Virginia lieutenant governor, sent a cease-and-desist notice to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s top political adviser Monday, escalating a political spectacle that began last week when the governor asked that Reid abandon his bid over racy social media posts that Reid says are not his,” the Washington Post reports.
A new PRRI poll finds 52% of Americans say President Trump is a “dangerous dictator” who poses a threat to democracy and believe he’s overstepped his authority by actions such as the mass firing of federal employees.
Said pollster Melissa Deckman: “It’s only been 100 days into the Trump administration, yet we’ve really seen a pushback among most Americans to the Trump agenda.”
“Two of President Donald Trump’s biggest allies in the Senate are sharply criticizing Medicaid policy changes under consideration in the House, a sign of further Republican friction ahead over the health insurance program for low-income Americans,” Semafor reports.
“Sens. Bernie Moreno of Ohio and Josh Hawley of Missouri, both warned in interviews that proposals to cut the federal government’s share of the costs in states that have expanded Medicaid, and to otherwise cap Medicaid expansion spending, could lead to coverage losses.”
Said Moreno: “We don’t need to cut benefits. And it actually really infuriates me to hear people here talking about that, because it stresses people out. This is life and death for them.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that he’s got a trade deal negotiated but would not name the country.
Said Lutnick: “I have a deal done, done, done, done, but I need to wait for their prime minister and their parliament to give its approval, which I expect shortly.”
President Trump called Amazon founder Jeff Bezos this morning to complain about the reported move to list tariff costs with retail prices of goods sold on the website, CNN reports.
An administration official described Trump as “pissed” after learning of the news.
Speaker Mike Johnson said he was “having conversations” with Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) about their potential runs for New York governor, Punchbowl News reports.
However, Stefanik quickly denied it: “This is not true. I have had no conversations with the Speaker regarding the Governor’s race.”
DNC Vice Chair David Hogg told NewsNation that his organization ‘Leaders We Deserve’ will focus on challenging more than a dozen Democratic incumbents in 2026, The Hill reports.
The group will focus on mobilizing a younger generation of leaders. They’ve slated $20 million for the initiative.
“House Republicans discussed a new, controversial proposal to cut federal spending for Medicaid in a closed-door meeting late Monday night, as lawmakers even beyond the moderate bloc are warning GOP leaders they will not swallow another alternative,” Politico reports.
“The emerging plan would still risk Medicaid health care services for millions of low-income people by shifting the costs of any additional coverage beyond the federal allotment to states as Republicans hunt for savings to pay for the party-line package to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda. The expansion program that many GOP-led states have embraced has helped contribute to record-low rates of uninsured people.”
“Shipments of goods from China to the U.S. are dropping sharply with the Trump administration’s steep tariffs in place, leading major U.S. retailers to warn about impending supply shortages,” CBS News reports.
“At the Port of Los Angeles, which, along with the Port of Long Beach, receives roughly 40% of all imports from Asia, shipments last week were down 10% compared with the same period one year earlier. That number is expected to keep falling.”
The Trump administration’s emerging media strategy targets the 8 a.m. hour of a cable news program frequently watched by President Trump, CBS News reports.
Said one White House official: “Often, there’s an audience of one. No other press really matters.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) “is drawing a red line on Medicaid cuts,” Politico reports.
“The Nebraska Republican has privately told the White House he won’t accept more than $500 billion in reductions to the program… That could complicate the GOP’s effort to pass a domestic policy bill that is set to include an extension of President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.”
“Bacon’s vote could be crucial, and other lawmakers share his concerns about Medicaid cuts. If all members currently sworn are present and voting, Speaker Mike Johnson can lose no more than three Republicans on a party-line vote.”
Time: “So far, Congress has only passed six bills—five of which have been signed into law—the fewest of any president in the first 100 days of an administration in the last seven decades.”
“At this point in his first term, Trump had already signed 30 bills into law—a high watermark for Presidents this century. Former President Joe Biden signed 10 bills by his 100th day in 2021, compared to 14 by Barack Obama in 2009 and seven by George W. Bush in 2001. Some earlier presidents—including Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter—signed 20 or more pieces of legislation within their first 100 days.”
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.