“A mix of high borrowing costs, dwindling job openings and growing economic and political uncertainty have left many U.S. households at a standstill, with many Americans saying they feel unable to buy new homes, take new jobs or move to new cities,” the Washington Post reports.
Republicans Quietly Intervene to Help Immigrants
“Congressional Republicans have been some of the loudest cheerleaders of President Trump’s mass deportation agenda. But some lawmakers are now quietly asking the administration for help freeing detained immigrants in their districts,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In recent months, Republicans in the House and Senate have intervened in cases where residents have been held in federal custody, according to the lawmakers as well as lawyers and advocacy groups involved with their release.”
Huge Crowds Expected at Charlie Kirk Memorial
“As many as 100,000 mourners are expected to attend the memorial for slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk Sunday in Arizona, including President Trump, cabinet officials and right-wing pundits,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
New York Times: “The memorial to celebrate Mr. Kirk and galvanize a political movement in his name is the culmination of scores of recent public vigils across the country that have drawn thousands of Mr. Kirk’s supporters, as well as scattered protests.”
“But nothing so far has approached the scale of what the police and organizers are expecting in Arizona, where Mr. Kirk lived with his wife and two young children, and where his conservative organizing group, Turning Point USA, is based. The speakers list includes not just the president and vice president but also the highest-profile members of Mr. Trump’s cabinet and White House staff, along with a who’s who of the Make America Great Again pantheon.”
Washington Post: Charlie Kirk memorial to be on par with a state funeral in scale, security.
Putin Decides He Can Step Up Attacks on Kyiv
“President Vladimir Putin has concluded that military escalation is the best way to force Ukraine into talks on his terms and that Donald Trump is unlikely to do much to bolster Kyiv’s defenses,“ Bloomberg reports.
“Russian forces have already stepped up their attacks on military and civilian targets in Ukraine since the two leaders met in Anchorage last month and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected Putin’s demand to give up more territory in eastern Ukraine. Putin intends to continue targeting Kyiv’s energy network and other infrastructure.”
Trump’s $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee Sets Off Scramble
Wall Street Journal: “Amazon, Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft and others warned H-1B holders not to leave the country and urged employees overseas on the visa to get back to the U.S. on Saturday because it could be difficult to re-enter… Companies worried they could be on the hook for enormous fee payments given how many of their employees use such visas.”
“Human-resources staffers divided up lists of workers and tried to determine employees’ locations so they could help them book flights, if needed. Immigration lawyers, meanwhile, sent bulletins to companies and visa holders and tried to address concerns—but often found themselves with few answers.”
Border Czar Investigated for Accepting $50K Bribe
“In an undercover operation last year, the FBI recorded Tom Homan, now the White House border czar, accepting $50,000 in cash after indicating he could help the agents — who were posing as business executives — win government contracts in a second Trump administration,” MSNBC reports.
“The FBI and the Justice Department planned to wait to see whether Homan would deliver on his alleged promise once he became the nation’s top immigration official. But the case indefinitely stalled soon after Donald Trump became president again in January… In recent weeks, Trump appointees officially closed the investigation.”
New York Times: “The cash payment, which was made inside a bag from the food chain Cava, grew out of a long-running counterintelligence investigation that had not been targeting Mr. Homan.”
Trump Demands Bondi Move ‘Now’ to Prosecute Foes
“President Trump demanded on Saturday that his attorney general move quickly to prosecute figures he considers his enemies, the latest blow to the Justice Department’s tradition of independence,” the New York Times reports.
Said Trump: “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility… They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
“Mr. Trump named James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director; Senator Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California; and Letitia James, the New York attorney general, saying he was reading about how they were ‘all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done.’”
Trump Administration Cancels Annual Hunger Survey
“The Trump administration is canceling an annual government effort to gather data on how many Americans struggle to get enough food,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Quote of the Day
“If there’s a political strategy here, it’s a bad one. There’s an awful lot of grievances and finger-pointing that really doesn’t serve a political agenda.”
— David Axelrod, quoted by Politico, on Kamala Harris’ new book.
Meanwhile, Harris launched a Substack with a new excerpt from the book.
Google Warns H-1B Employees Not to Leave the U.S.
Alex Heath: “President Trump’s executive order targeting H-1B visas has thrown the tech industry into chaos.”
“Inside Google, employees with H-1B status received an email last night warning them not to leave the US and to return if they’re traveling abroad by 12:01 am ET on Sunday, when Trump’s proclamation is scheduled to take effect.”
RFK Jr.’s Poll Numbers Turn Sour
CNN: “For the past few years, Kennedy’s image numbers have proven remarkably resilient. Even as he espoused debunked claims about vaccines and science and moved from Democratic presidential candidate to independent to endorsing and serving under President Donald Trump, Americans as a whole have often liked him more than they’ve disliked him.”
“Whether that’s because of the Kennedy name or anything else, it’s enabled him to obtain significant political power.”
“But his level of public support appears to be changing, which could also be a bad sign for the man he serves, President Donald Trump, and could give the administration pause about truly turning him loose on vaccines.”
Stefanik Puts Capitol Hill Townhouse Up for Sale
“As she explores a 2026 run for governor of New York, Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik is looking to sell the Washington, D.C., house that has been her home base in the city for 15 years,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Stefanik wants $2.195 million for the three-bedroom, roughly 2,700-square-foot townhouse, located about half a mile from the Capitol building.”
White House for Sale
CBS News: “Contribute money to the new White House ballroom President Trump is constructing and, in exchange, donors may be able to choose a Trumpian option: their names etched inside the White House forever. At least that’s one option that has been discussed.”
Qatar Wants an Apology from Israel
Qatar wants an apology from Israel for its strike in Doha before it resumes its mediation on a Gaza peace deal, Axios reports.
‘Throw Some Tacks in the Road’
Sen. Chuck Schumer is signaling that he’s not caving on the government funding bill— and privately, Democrats are weighing the ramifications of not averting a shutdown, CNN reports.
Said one Democratic lawmaker: “I can’t tell you if it’s gonna be a good play or a bad play on shutting it down. The point is, nothing else has worked to stop their momentum. You gotta throw some tacks in the road.”
Pressure Mounts on Disney
“Disney is under siege from all sides,” NBC News reports.
“Within 48 hours of its decision to pull late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air indefinitely, the parent company of ABC has once again found itself at the center of a bitter political battle. The company now faces protests outside its studios, celebrities threatening to break ties and political pressure from Republicans and Democrats.”
The YouTube Election
“The 2028 presidential primaries are already unfolding on YouTube,” Politico reports.
“Amid the rapid decline of cable news, potential candidates and other elected officials are locked in a digital arms race to draw subscribers, boost their reach and build what amounts to their own broadcast networks.”
“Taken together, it signals the arrival of a fast-changing attention economy that has scrambled what effective political communication looks like. The 2028 cycle has the potential to be the first post-cable TV election, heralding the dawn of a post-literate era in which technology fully displaces reading and consumption of news from traditional outlets.”
We discussed these trends on Trial Balloon this week.
Donald Trump’s Most Authoritarian Week Yet
Rolling Stone: “It was clear Donald Trump and his allies would ramp up their crackdown against any and all opposition in the wake of the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk — and this week, the president’s second administration unleashed its most authoritarian blitz yet…”
“This ugly, authoritarian week didn’t happen in a vacuum. Trump just last month mused about how Americans want a “dictator,” and the administration now appears to be using Kirk’s shocking murder as an excuse to escalate Trump’s ongoing campaign for total power.”
“The ramp-up began on Monday, as Vice President J.D. Vance hosted Kirk’s podcast from the White House and huddled with Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy White House chief of staff and the man responsible for leading his mass vengeance campaign.”
For members: A Week That Changed Everything
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