“President Donald Trump’s furious rhetoric toward Russia is ‘a negotiating tactic’ intended to pressure the Kremlin, a senior White House official said Wednesday, a day after the president stunned global policymakers and delighted Ukrainian leaders by embracing Kyiv’s ambitions for a decisive defeat of Russia,” the Washington Post reports.
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White House Dares Democrats to Shut It Down
“Russ Vought just turned the shutdown standoff into a ticking time bomb for numerous federal workers and lawmakers in both parties,” Politico reports.
“In the Trump administration’s most aggressive pre-shutdown salvo yet, the OMB director is threatening to pursue mass firings at agencies if Congress fails to enact a funding bill to keep the government open past next Tuesday at midnight…”
“The move doesn’t just up the ante for Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. It also threatens broader political fallout that could hurt Republicans, too — as Jeffries was quick to point out late Wednesday night, when he immediately raised the prospect of a GOP backlash and said Democrats ‘will not be intimidated.’”
Punchbowl News: “The unprecedented move by OMB Director Russ Vought dramatically raises the stakes of the shutdown fight just five days before the deadline.”
Billions in Public Funds Have Become Virtually Untraceable
NOTUS: “Across federal agencies, the Trump administration’s aggressive slash-and-burn approach to federal programs, grants and contracts has repeatedly challenged Congress’ power of the purse. The administration has claimed it has the discretion to redirect funds to programs aligned with Trump’s agenda — and Republican congressional leaders have largely let them do it.”
“The outcome: Billions in taxpayer dollars have become virtually untraceable — a level of opaqueness in government funds that’s raising questions around the legality of the administration’s actions. Some of these taxpayer funds expire on Sept. 30. If they’re not spent by then, like all funds Congress appropriated specifically for 2025, they disappear.”
Jimmy Kimmel Goes Right Back to Roasting Trump
“In case you thought Jimmy Kimmel would pull punches on Trump in the face of threats from federal officials and still-boycotting affiliates – he’s not,” The Wrap reports.
“The Jimmy Kimmel Live! host did a 15-minute monologue on Wednesday night, nearly all of it focused on roasting the president, calling him, among other things, a bully in the style of Biff from Back to the Future.”
CNN: Kimmel nods to big ratings, heckles Trump as an “80s-movie-style bully” in second post-suspension show.
Deadline: Kimmel predicts Trump “Will try to sue” ABC.
Republicans Show Divisions Ahead of Shutdown Fight
Politico: “The diverging messages from GOP leaders comes after Trump reversed his decision to hold a White House meeting with top Democratic leaders — an about-face that came after Johnson and Thune privately warned him that it would undercut the party’s negotiating position.”
“Taken together, the visible cracks in the GOP front are raising internal concerns as party leaders face off against Democrats who are largely united behind a plan to focus on health care — particularly an extension of expiring insurance subsidies.”
Tensions High in Utah Redistricting Fight
“Utah is getting closer to redrawing its congressional boundaries in an unusual mid-decade redistricting process, but it’s not yet clear what that map will look like,” NPR reports.
“Unlike other Republican-led states redistricting this year, Utah’s new map is expected to give Democrats more of a chance at winning at least one of the state’s four congressional districts, which could help Democrats in the race to control the U.S. House. State lawmakers were ordered to draw the new districts after an Utah judge ruled they had acted unconstitutionally in creating the map used in 2022.”
Chuck Schumer Becomes Campaign Trail Punching Bag
Washington Post: “Across the country, Democratic Senate candidates from Texas to Maine have distanced themselves from Schumer, 74, amid a growing appetite in a rebuilding party for newer, younger leaders eager to wage more aggressive fights against President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Some are openly critical of Schumer, who has been in elected office since 1975, while many others have sidestepped questions about him.”
GOP Senate Candidates Run From Mitch McConnell
“On the precipice of retirement, Mitch McConnell has become a pariah among the Republicans trying to succeed him,” CNN reports.
“The top three Republicans running in Kentucky’s Senate primary started in state politics interning for McConnell. Two of them once referred to him as a mentor. Now, they are racing to distance themselves, insulting not just McConnell, but their rivals for alleged closeness to him.”
“It’s a reflection of how President Donald Trump has all but extinguished the influence of any challengers within the GOP.”
Disorder at DOGE Jeopardized Americans’ Data
“At the height of its power, the Department of Government Efficiency was operating out of headquarters that had become a haphazard scene of armed guards, makeshift bedrooms, children’s toys and windows obscured with garbage bags, according to a new report from Senate Democrats that accuses President Trump’s federal cost-cutting operation of putting Americans’ data security at risk,” the New York Times reports.
“Staff members for Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, reported that young DOGE aides living and working on the sixth floor of the General Services Administration building sat at workstations eight or 10 laptops deep, where they were able to operate on Starlink networks that could have allowed them to work without being tracked.”
Pat Ryan Launches PAC to Boost ‘Patriotic’ Candidates
“Rep. Pat Ryan wants (D-NY) to build a bench of patriot-leaders — and is planning to raise millions of dollars to do it,” Politico reports.
“The two-term House lawmaker is launching a political action committee today to elect candidates with public service backgrounds, including those with experience in the military, teaching or as first responders. The new group, called Patriot PAC, has the goal of raising more than $2 million for candidates this election cycle.”
Poland Becomes Top Importer of Taiwanese Drones
“Poland has become the biggest buyer of drones from Taiwan as the Eastern European country, on Russia’s doorstep, bolsters its defense capabilities and seeks to reduce reliance on Chinese parts,” Bloomberg reports.
Wall Street Journal: Every nation wants to copy Iran’s deadly drone.
Jimmy Kimmel Drew Huge Audience
Nearly 6.3 million people tuned in to the Jimmy Kimmel broadcast last night, despite the blackouts in many cities, the AP reports.
And there was a larger audience online, with more than 15 million people watching Kimmel’s opening remarks on YouTube by Wednesday evening.
White House Prepares for Mass Firings in Event of Shutdown
“The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue,” Politico reports.
“The Office of Management and Budget move to permanently reduce the government workforce if there is a shutdown… escalates the stakes of a potential shutdown next week.”
Punchbowl News has the memo.
Republicans Work to Block Vote on Epstein Files
“Top congressional Republicans and White House allies are working behind the scenes to prevent a politically charged floor vote to release the government’s Jeffrey Epstein case files next month,“ CNN reports.
“While the exact strategy to avoid a vote is not yet clear, some of the GOP lawmakers who have signed on are privately being pressured to withdraw their name from the petition, which would prevent a vote from taking place.”
Democrats Must Drop ‘Planetary Emergency’ Talk
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said that his party needed to change the way it talked about climate change if Democrats hoped to win over new voters, the New York Times reports.
Said Schatz: “You could talk about the planetary emergency and mitigation and adaptation, and you could throw in some environmental justice rhetoric, and by the time you’re done talking, people think you don’t care about them.”
Instead, he said, policymakers who care about climate change need to be “recapturing momentum with regular people who are watching their utility bills spike like a hockey stick.”
Trump to Sign TikTok Deal on Thursday
President Trump is expected to sign a deal Thursday to facilitate the sale of TikTok from a Chinese-based company to a group of American investors, NBC News reports.
Trump Demands Probe Into ‘Triple Sabotage’ at U.N.
President Trump called on the United Nations to investigate what he deemed was “triple sabotage” after he dealt with an escalator mishap, a teleprompter glitch and audio issues during his trip to the U.N. General Assembly meeting, The Hill reports.
Said Trump, on Truth Social: “A REAL DISGRACE took place at the United Nations yesterday — Not one, not two, but three very sinister events!”
He added: “The people that did it should be arrested!”
Vance Tries to Walk Back Trump’s Remarks at Kirk Memorial
Vice President JD Vance said that President Trump was “joking” when he spoke about hating his enemies during a memorial for conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, NewsNation reports.
Said Vance: “I think it’s interesting, if you go back and watch the full speech, what the president was trying to do, in this very humorous and very unique way, was highlight how hard it is for us to forgive our enemies.”
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