“JD ‘I don’t give a shit’ Vance says killing people he accuses of a crime is the ‘highest and best use of the military.’ Did he ever read To Kill a Mockingbird? Did he ever wonder what might happen if the accused were immediately executed without trial or representation??”
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), on X, tearing into Vance’s defense of the U.S. military’s strike on an alleged drug vessel leaving Venezuela.
New York Times: “The Trump administration continues to erode the power of Congress, trampling on its constitutional prerogatives in ways large and small. Through it all, Republicans in charge have mostly shrugged — and in some cases, outright applauded — as their powers, once jealously guarded, diminish in ways that will be difficult to reverse.”
“In recent weeks, GOP leaders have looked on passively as the president has fired a litany of agency leaders whom senators worked for weeks to confirm, from the CDC to the Internal Revenue Service to the Federal Reserve.”
“And they have shown little appetite for challenging the administration, even as a few have expressed occasional displeasure about the consequences of their decisions earlier this year to swallow their reservations about some of his nominees and confirm them.”
“Donald Trump this spring dubbed himself the ‘fertilization president,'” Politico reports.
“But some conservative family policy advocates say he’s done little so far to publicly back that up and are pushing to get the White House in the remaining months of the year to prioritize family policy — and help Americans make more babies.”
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The Jan. 6 rioter seen in photos wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” hoodie inside the U.S. Capitol building has been arrested in Virginia on charges stemming from a dog attack, ABC News reports.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was interviewed on Meet the Press by Kristen Welker:
WELKER: Hasbro says they’re going to have to increase their prices. Goldman Sachs says 86% of the tariff revenue collected so far has been paid by American businesses and consumers. So just bottom line, Mr. Secretary, do you acknowledge that these tariffs are a tax on American consumers?
BESSENT: No, I don’t.
WELKER: Even though you have companies saying they are going to have to increase prices, and given the fact that 86% of these tariffs so far have been paid by Americans.
BESSENT: No, no, no, no, no, you’re quoting Goldman Sachs.
WELKER: Yes, Goldman Sachs. That’s correct, which I said, yeah.
BESSENT: I made a good career of trading against Goldman Sachs.
“As the Trump administration’s contentious trade talks with China were set to begin in Sweden last July, staffers on the House committee focused on U.S. competition with China began to get puzzling inquiries,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Several trade groups, law firms and U.S. government agencies had all received an email appearing to be from the committee’s chairman, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), asking for input on proposed sanctions with which the legislators were planning to target Beijing.”
“‘Your insights are essential,’ the email read, asking the groups to review a draft of the legislation attached to the message. But why had the chairman sent the message from a nongovernment address?”
“It turned out to be the latest in a series of alleged cyber espionage campaigns linked to Beijing, timed to potentially deploy spyware against organizations giving input on President Trump’s trade negotiations.”
Ed Kilgore: “Democrats shouldn’t reflexively ape Trump’s every excess, particularly in formulating an agenda for their eventual return to power. They currently have the high ground with a small but strategically critical share of voters who dislike partisan power grabs no matter who is carrying them out. These voters may not want to restore Democrats to power in 2026 or 2028 if they believe that when it comes to lawless conduct, ‘both sides do it.’”
“Americans’ views of President Donald Trump’s job performance remain negative amid a flurry of activity from his administration on tariffs, immigration and public health,” according to the latest NBC News Decision Desk Poll.
“Notably, the poll shows U.S. adults expressing strong, bipartisan support for vaccines as Trump’s health and human services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has moved to limit certain shots.”
A new CBS News poll finds 58% of Americans are opposed to President Trump deploying the National Guard to major cities to fight crime.
“Senate Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated after a series of President Trump’s nominees tapped to key posts have been ousted or have left after only a short stint in office, leaving lawmakers scratching their heads after they poured considerable time and effort into their confirmations,” The Hill reports.
“At least five such people have departed for various reasons, but a majority have left after dust-ups with key administration officials.”
Washington Post: “Once intermittently cordial with Trump, the governor has embraced all-out warfare, taunting him daily in what his team calls a ‘flood the zone’ strategy. Trump, in turn, has mentioned Newsom more than any other potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate since the start of his second term…”
“The result: a remarkable back-and-forth between the president and the governor of the most populous state in the country that reached a low point last week. Trump posted multiple doctored videos of Newsom on social media, while the governor suggested Trump has dementia and pinned an unflattering photo of the president atop his official press account.”
“Many Democrats eager for direction are delighting in Newsom’s high-profile clashes and aggressive trolling of the president, though some in the party remain skeptical that a California liberal will be their best candidate in 2028.”
“South Korea and the U.S. have reached a deal to release Korean citizens who were detained last week in a large-scale immigration raid at a Hyundai Motor plant in Georgia,“ the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Some administrative procedures remain, but once they are cleared, a chartered plane will be sent to the U.S. to bring the South Korean citizens home.”
“For more than six months, Donald Trump and his justice department have insisted they would get to the bottom of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, but nine attorneys – who have represented approximately 50 Epstein survivors – told the Guardian they have not been recently contacted by the justice department.”
“The revelation casts doubt on the effort by the Trump administration to fully investigate Epstein’s crimes and activities and reveal everything that the government knows about him.”
“President Donald Trump and his top political advisers are plotting an aggressive push to oust one of his most persistent Republican adversaries: Rep. Thomas Massie,” CNN reports.
“And House GOP leaders won’t stand in Trump’s way.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team are sending their clearest signals to date that their conservative colleague will have to fend for himself as Trump’s allies prepare to dump millions into Massie’s district to purge him from the Northeastern Kentucky district he’s represented for nearly 13 years.”
Ron Brownstein: “As Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. intensifies his drive to reverse decades of vaccine policy, the medical profession joins a growing list of fields and institutions facing unprecedented threats from the federal government under President Donald Trump. But this time the administration may have chosen an adversary with more capacity to fight back than the law firms, major universities and media organizations it has targeted so far.”
“To many medical professionals, Kennedy’s hostility toward vaccines represents the greatest threat to the nation’s public health system in memory.”
“The United States Tennis Association asked broadcasters of the U.S. Open to censor any protests or reaction to President Donald Trump’s appearance at the men’s singles final Sunday,” The Athletic reports.
“According to the memo, Trump will be shown on feeds from the tournament during the pre-match ceremony, which includes the presentation of the U.S. national anthem, ahead of the final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.”
Former president Joe Biden has decided to build his presidential library in Delaware and has tapped a group of former aides, friends and political allies to begin the heavy lift of fundraising and finding a site for the museum and archive, The Guardian reports.
Politico: “Pentagon officials are proposing the department prioritize protecting the homeland and Western Hemisphere, a striking reversal from the military’s yearslong mandate to focus on the threat from China.”
“A draft of the newest National Defense Strategy, which landed on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s desk last week, places domestic and regional missions above countering adversaries such as Beijing and Moscow.”
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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