“I will not yield to disrespectful men.”
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in a late night exchange with Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) during a committee markup of the House megabill.
“I will not yield to disrespectful men.”
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in a late night exchange with Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) during a committee markup of the House megabill.
“A White House push to seize control of the Library of Congress over the past week has run temporarily aground due to quiet but firm resistance from Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune,” Politico reports.
“While they have not challenged Trump’s abrupt firing last week of Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, they have questioned his power to name an acting successor and other library officials, including the nation’s top copyright official. That opposition has left Trump’s intended leader for the library, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, in at least temporary limbo.”
At a congressional hearing, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem repeatedly refused to acknowledge that President Trump brandished an doctored image of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s tattoos.
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New York Times: “For more than a century, most scholars and the courts have agreed that though the 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution after the Civil War, it was not, in fact, all about slavery. Instead, courts have held that the amendment extended citizenship not just to the children of former slaves but also to babies born within the borders of the United States.”
“The notion that the amendment might not do so was once considered an unorthodox theory, promoted by an obscure California law professor named John Eastman and his colleagues at the Claremont Institute, a conservative think tank — the same professor who would later provide Mr. Trump with legal arguments he used to try to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.”
“The story of how the theory moved from the far edges of academia to the Oval Office and, on Thursday, to the Supreme Court, offers insight into how Mr. Trump has popularized legal theories once considered unthinkable to justify his immigration policies.”
“Before a courtroom packed with members of the national media, Milwaukee County Judge Hannah Dugan pleaded not guilty May 15 to federal charges that she tried to assist an undocumented immigrant escape arrest from her courtroom last month,” the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
“Dugan entered her plea at an early morning arraignment hearing at the federal courthouse before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephen Dries. She was accompanied by members of her high-powered defense team, including former U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic.”
Washington Post: Judge pleads not guilty, seeks to throw out charges she blocked immigration arrest.
Politico: “For years, the run-up to the presidential primary has been marked by a wink-wink approach — defined by intense behind-the-scenes preparations and a public coyness about national ambitions.”
“But the days of the shadow primary are giving way to a franker, more overt set of potential 2028 presidential primary candidates, many of whom are bluntly acknowledging they’re taking a serious look at running — two and a half years out.”
“In his eagerness to accept a plane from Qatar, Donald Trump has achieved a remarkable feat, uniting many partisans across America’s bitter political divide. The problem for the White House is that unity is happening in opposition to it,” the BBC reports.
“Predictably, Trump’s opponents in the Democratic Party slammed the president after he indicated he would accept a luxury jet from the Qatari royal family.”
“More noteworthy – and potentially more troubling for the president – is that some of his strongest supporters also have serious reservations about the deal, even as it’s yet to be finalized.”
“President Donald Trump has been taking an unusually active role in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s consideration of his nominees to top diplomatic posts, fueling a record confirmation pace on the Senate floor,” Punchbowl News reports.
Said Senate Foreign Relations chair Jim Risch (R-ID): “He’s totally immersed in it… I get calls morning, noon and night from him. A lot of the nominees are people that are close to him. They call him. And you know what he does? He calls me.”
“There’s a significant number who have very strong reservations. We didn’t come here to claim that we’re going to reform things and then not do it, right?”
— Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), quoted by NOTUS, on the budget reconciliation bill being considered by the House.
Fox News anchor Bret Baier said the news media should “100%” scrutinize Donald Trump’s family the same as Joe Biden’s, but, after a review, Media Matters reports Baier “hasn’t come close” to doing so himself.
“President Trump is taking steps to clear the Republican primary field for Rep. Elise Stefanik to run for New York governor, bolstering an ally once poised to serve in his administration,” Axios reports.
“Trump last week endorsed two of Stefanik’s potential rivals for governor — New York Rep. Mike Lawler and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — for re-election to their current posts.”
“President Trump’s recent series of audacious foreign policy moves have astounded even some of his harshest critics,” Axios reports.
“Just in the Middle East and just in the past week, Trump has met with a leader the U.S. officially considers a terrorist, announced he’ll lift all sanctions on Syria, and cut a truce with the Houthis plus a hostage deal with Hamas, both of which excluded Israel.”
“Biden administration veterans who spoke with Axios raised questions about Trump’s motivations but grudgingly saluted his boldness.”
Said former Biden State Department official Ned Price: “He does all this, and it’s kind of silence, it’s met with a shrug. He has the ability to do things politically that previous presidents did not, because he has complete unquestioned authority over the Republican caucus.”
Texas Democrats are trying to ban Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) from attending college playoff games, saying he’s “a well-known curse” for teams in the state, Axios reports.
Said Harris County Democratic Party precinct chair Bill Kelly: “The nine scariest words for any college fan to hear are ‘I’m Ted Cruz, and I’m coming to your game.”
“This is maybe the most grotesque public display of corruption and contempt for the Constitution in modern presidential history. The fact that he wants to take this jet for himself for his personal use after his presidency is even more offensive, and every Republican official and candidate in Georgia has a duty to answer on the record whether they stand by the Constitution or are blindly loyal to President Trump.”
— Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA), quoted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
“Twin celebrations of President Donald Trump’s birthday and the Army’s 250th anniversary will include as many as 25 tanks rolling through Washington in a celebration that will cost $25 million to $45 million,” Reuters reports.
“Two New York Republicans signaled that the cap on the state and local tax deduction may rise to as much as $80,000 as GOP lawmakers from high-tax states demand a boost in exchange for their votes on President Donald Trump’s tax package,” Bloomberg reports.
“The Trump administration has sharply expanded its campaign against experts who track misinformation and other harmful content online, abruptly canceling scores of scientific research grants at universities across the country,” the New York Times 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.
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