Times of London: “Although few details have been made public, including exact dates and locations, there will be two events in June and one in July.”
“Insiders said the former president, who was impeached twice, was hoping to capitalise on a series of perceived crises facing President Biden, including a surge in arrivals at America’s southern border. This week he decamped from his base in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, to spend the summer at his New Jersey golf club, taking him closer to donors.”
Science Daily: “Scientists at Brown University measured and compared the brain activity of committed partisans (both liberals and conservatives) as they watched real political debates and news broadcasts. In a recent study, they found that polarization was indeed exacerbated by intolerance of uncertainty: liberals with this trait tended to be more liberal in how they viewed political events, conservatives with this trait tended to be more conservative.”
“Yet the same neural mechanisms was at work, pushing the partisans into their different ideological camps.”
Politico: “The rift between the two parties over the insurrection is worse today than it’s been at perhaps any point since early January, with lawmakers openly berating each other in the hallways and refusing to partner on legislation.”
“The fractious breakdown of what little bipartisan comity remained in the House is playing out, of course, in the long shadow of the former president. And the growing tide of GOP insurrection revisionism could turn the already-bitter divide between House Democrats and Republicans who voted to support Donald Trump’s election challenges into permanent cold war.”
Politico: “Senate Republicans dramatically changed their party rules to take a hard line on the debt limit in the coming months. Democrats don’t care.”
“In fact, the Democratic majority says it has no intention of negotiating with Republicans bent on slashing spending as a condition for avoiding default after the July 31 deadline. Democrats say they won’t haggle with the minority party over the faith and credit of the United States, citing lessons from the presidency of Barack Obama.”
“The diametrically opposed views heading toward a cutoff point that regularly vexes Washington could become highly consequential as Congress labors to cut bipartisan deals on a host of issues.”
Politico: “Federal investigators are intensifying their sex-crimes probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz as they discuss a potential immunity arrangement with his former girlfriend and have struck a tentative deal with his one-time ‘wingman’ who will likely plead guilty.”
“The U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section also continues to interview potential witnesses who could provide prosecutors with evidence against Gaetz.”
Playbook: “The day-to-day storylines in political media emphasize the divisions within the Republican Party and how those divisions weaken the GOP and help President Joe Biden push through his agenda. But if you step outside that narrative, you’ll see something very different.”
“While it might look like a shitshow in Washington, the party is more like a hurricane gathering strength off shore that will wallop Democrats beginning in 2022. The Republican Party has a structural advantage in the House, Senate and Electoral College. It controls redistricting in a majority of states. Most ominously for Democrats — and democracy — it is using its power in statehouses and governors’ mansions across the country to pass voting laws that solidify these advantages.”
Jeff Greenfield: “The pattern is striking, if you want to survive as a Republican official, you will support the former president; if you support the former president, you will support laws that reflect his conviction that the election was stolen; if you enact those rules, you are making it more possible that he will win a second term. The party is talking with one voice; the voice is Trump’s, and it’s one that plenty of Americans are still perfectly receptive to.”
“New York prosecutors have subpoenaed a Manhattan private school as they seek the cooperation of the Trump Organization’s chief financial officer in their investigation of former President Donald Trump and his company,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The subpoena seeks information from Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School, where grandchildren of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg are students… From 2012 to 2019, more than $500,000 of the children’s tuition was paid for with checks signed by either Mr. Weisselberg or Mr. Trump.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told Fox News that he plans to pardon “any Floridian” who faces “outstanding infractions” for violating COVID-19 guidelines like mask mandates.
Washington Examiner: “Rep. Liz Cheney is poised to pour her energy into winning reelection in Wyoming, an uncertain contest she views as a proxy war with former President Donald Trump and the critical first phase of her effort to wrestle away control of the Republican Party.”
“Cheney confidants acknowledge that an important step in that broader campaign for influence in the party is winning a fourth term as the statewide, at-large representative for Wyoming.”
In an interview in which he slammed Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) as a “loser,” former President Donald Trump teased the notion of running again for president in 2024, The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “I’m loving what I do and I’m loving the result that we’ve had and I think people will be very happy with my decision. We’ve done a real job and I look forward to making people very happy.”
“As dissension boiled in their ranks, House Republicans quickly turned on the chairman of their conference, the member of the leadership team responsible for party messaging. After a swift vote, the occupant of that office was unceremoniously dumped,” the New York Times reports.
“The year was 1998 and the ousted leader was Rep. John Boehner (R-OH), who became a casualty of election losses that November and internal unrest over the tumultuous reign of Speaker Newt Gingrich.”
“It was an episode that could be instructive for Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who was bounced from that same leadership post on Wednesday.”
New York Times: “The bills demonstrate how disinformation can take on a life of its own, forming a feedback loop that shapes policy for years to come. When promoted with sufficient intensity, falsehoods — whether about election security or the coronavirus or other topics — can shape voters’ attitudes toward policies, and lawmakers can cite those attitudes as the basis for major changes.”
“Lawmakers in at least 33 states have cited low public confidence in election integrity in their public comments as a justification for bills to restrict voting.”
“Texas lawmakers have sent Gov. Greg Abbott (R) a bill that would allow anyone in the state to sue over an abortion performed past six weeks—essentially turning right-to-lifers into courthouse vigilantes,” the The Daily Beast reports.
“A former staffer is suing Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), accusing the congressman of taking a ‘reckless’ approach to COVID-19, exposing his staff and himself to the virus,” NBC News reports.
“The suit alleges the congressman flouted U.S. House safety rules, ignored warnings about unsafe conditions, and required staff to provide personal favors and tasks for the congressman’s family.”
“The lawsuit also said the congressman allowed his son to live in a storage space in the basement of the Capitol for weeks when his son was relocating to Washington.”
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) will launch a last-minute, long-shot bid for GOP Conference chair, challenging Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) who has the endorsement of former President Trump and top House GOP leaders, The Hill reports.
Angela Nagle: “During the Trump years, while many were relishing the carnivalesque thrill of ‘owning the libs’, the libs were rethinking themselves and plotting their route back to power. Within four years they had consolidated the elites into a united front, while American elites have become more united than ever.”
“What the liberals have done is to synthesize appealing elements of each of their rivals once in power while also appearing more moderate than either. Their policy proposals have included major national infrastructure spending, including expanding the train system, a capital gains tax increase and a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. Whether they fulfill these promises is another question, I know. I have to be honest though. These are good policies.”
“In a dramatic shift that comes amid fighting in the Gaza strip and clashes between Jewish and Arab citizens in Israel, right-wing kingmaker Naftali Bennett has announced he will no longer seek an alternative government to oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” Axios reports.
“Bennett had been on the verge of a power-sharing deal with centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid that would have made him prime minister for two years until Lapid rotated into the job. Without Bennett, Lapid has no path to a majority, and Israel will almost certainly head for its fifth election since 2019 with Netanyahu still in his post.”
Ben Wakana, of the White House COVID-19 Response Team, offered these reasons why masks can come off now:
Philip Bump: The vaccination slowdown has slowed down.
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.