NBC News: “The team assembled by the Justice Department to ramp up investigations into President Donald Trump’s political enemies includes several lawyers and FBI special agents who backed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.”
“The investigation is looking into the actions of officials who served in the Obama and Biden administrations… One potential avenue is to seek charges under a broad federal crime that would portray Trump as the victim of government overreach…”
“The Senate ground to a standstill on Thursday morning as Republicans found themselves short of the votes to defeat a motion offered by Democrats that would bar President Trump from establishing a fund to compensate his political allies,” the New York Times reports.
“The proposal, offered by Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, would send the $70 billion immigration crackdown bill back to committee and prohibit the creation of the fund.”
Steve Bannon warned Republicans on his podcast: “We’re going to lose the Senate in the fall anyway.”
He explained: “The old way of putting a couple hundred million dollars in and buying TV ads on Fox and CNN doesn’t work anymore. That’s old school. Does not work. There’s been a new day, and the Senate’s got to understand that, or we’re going to lose the Senate. There is no enthusiasm for going door to door, having voter engagements, canvassing, to actually lead to victory.”
CNBC: “The sprawling, 19.3-acre, $850 million campus blends museum exhibits chronicling former President Barack Obama’s political rise and presidency with contemporary art, public gathering spaces, athletic facilities and a branch of the Chicago Public Library.”
“The center is also poised to redefine the scale of the modern presidential project, setting new marks for construction time, cost and admission price. A general museum ticket will cost $30, making it the most expensive presidential museum or library to visit.”
New York Times: “The next act in the drama over Black representation will be driven in part by Democratic leaders, some of them Black, who face a difficult decision. Do they preserve the majority-Black, overwhelmingly Democratic districts in blue states like New York, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey?”
“Or do they maximize Democratic representation in the House by diluting urban districts dominated by Black voters and expanding their boundaries into the suburbs. Doing the latter would allow them to target Republican House members in those states.”
“Those new districts would remain Democratic, though less so, but they may no longer be majority-Black. So Black voters could lose power in two ways — by losing the number of districts they dominate and by losing the number of Black voices in Congress.”
“House Republicans aren’t having the best luck seeking higher office,” Semafor reports.
“Dusty Johnson of South Dakota and President Donald Trump-endorsed Randy Feenstra of Iowa both lost gubernatorial primaries this week, joining statewide primary losers Buddy Carter in Georgia and Wesley Hunt and Chip Roy in Texas.”
“Those losses may multiply.”
“Trump backed South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pam Evette over Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman in the state’s gubernatorial race. Rep. John Rose is an underdog to Sen. Marsha Blackburn in Tennessee’s governor race. Rep. Mike Collins is facing Derek Dooley for Georgia’s Senate nomination. And Arizona Reps. David Schweikert and Andy Biggs are facing off in their own gubernatorial primary.”
Quinnipiac Poll: “Sixty-one percent of Americans think the United States today is not living up to the ideal stated in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, while 35 percent think the United States today is living up to that ideal.”
“John Bolton, a former national security adviser turned outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, is expected to plead guilty in a case involving his alleged mishandling of classified materials,” the Washington Post reports.
A must-read: Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State by Michael Lewis.
An inside look at the early days of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, as told by the public servants it targeted.
The author to Politico: “Every now and then the world hands you the material for a wild story. The collision between the Trump Administration and the civil service is one of those moments.”
Bloomberg: “Iran said there had been no recent progress in talks with the US over an interim peace deal, while fighting persisted in Lebanon despite Washington’s declaration of a ceasefire between Israel and the country.”
Bloomberg: “A major perk of Donald Trump’s settlement with his own administration is now a big fat target for Democrats. The hits are about to come fast and hard.”
“Trump’s immunity from IRS audits (for him, his family, and businesses) is set to be a central line of questioning to Scott Bessent when the Treasury secretary testifies on the Hill later this morning, and it will also be targeted in charged amendment votes in the Senate.”
“The votes could force Republicans on record about another controversial and highly unusual piece of the deal between Trump and his own administration.”
Wall Street Journal: “While the Trump administration has reluctantly retreated from its $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund,’ the Justice Department is signaling a willingness to work through other legal channels to pay allies of the president who claim the government targeted them for political reasons.”
“Department officials have emphasized in recent days that, even without the contentious fund, they have the authority—and an uncapped source of money—to settle lawsuits against the federal government as they see fit.”
The Guardian: “Three scientific papers that raised questions about vaccine safety and were used by the Trump administration to justify controversial changes to US vaccine policies have over the last two months been removed, retracted or placed under investigation by the journals that published them.”
“In some cases, the actions occurred years after scientists first raised alarms about the studies’ scientific merits.”
CNN: “President Donald Trump is fighting back against states that refuse to aid his immigration agenda after a wave of court losses, with a series of new lawsuits that tee up untested legal questions about the power of state and federal governments.”
“The Justice Department last week filed four lawsuits against states that have refused to approve unmarked license plates for the cars of federal immigration agents.”
Mark McKinnon: “Yes, Virginia, there may in fact be a blue wave in Texas this year.”
“I’ve been in Texas politics for most of my adult life. I worked for Governor Ann Richards, a Democrat. And I worked for Republican George W. Bush when he ran for the governor’s mansion—and the White House. I’ve witnessed the best of times and the worst of times for both parties.”
New York Post: “President Trump shrugged off the House passage Wednesday of a war powers resolution that would formally end the conflict with Iran absent congressional approval.”
Said Trump: “Yesterday, in a meaningless vote, the House voted, 4 bad Republicans and all of the Dumocrats, to limit my War Powers, right in the middle of my final negotiations to end the War with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
He added: “Who would do such an unpatriotic thing. They know where the negotiations stand. The Democrats are fueled by Trump Derangement Syndrome. They would rather have our Country fail than give me another, of many, victories. The four Republicans, that’s a whole other story – They’re GRANDSTANDERS! They should be ashamed of themselves. MAGA!!!”
Elaine Godfrey: “You could be forgiven for ignoring the recent political goings-on in Iowa. The state, which was once a violet-hued hub of unpredictability, has lately elected and reelected Republicans.”
“In last night’s primaries, though, Iowa Democrats nominated the kind of candidates the national party has struggled to find. Josh Turek, a two-time Paralympic gold medalist with a record of winning red areas, is the party’s nominee for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. And Rob Sand, the affably idiosyncratic state auditor who didn’t have a challenger, is officially up for governor.”
“Which means that national Democrats and Republicans are now wrestling with a development that, until this week, had registered as little more than a quiet observation in the broadcast-standard English of farm country: Iowa is competitive again.”
Bloomberg: “OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman says he has no plans to make any financial contributions toward this year’s US elections, even as other Silicon Valley billionaires have already pledged to spend heavily to influence midterm races that will decide control of Congress.”
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.
