“Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a sharp critique of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday, suggesting he had forfeited a crucial bargaining chip by allowing a vote on Republicans’ government funding bill,” Politico reports.
Said Pelosi: “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing. I think that’s what happened the other day.”
“A federal judge on Tuesday indefinitely blocked implementation of President Trump’s executive order effectively barring transgender people from serving openly in the military, a stark blow to the administration’s efforts to curb transgender rights,” The Hill reports.
“U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, an appointee of former President Biden, barred Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other military officials from implementing Trump’s order or otherwise putting new policy into place effectuating it. She also said the plaintiffs’ military statuses must remain unchanged, until further order of the court.”
“For nearly 75 years, it has been a distinctly American responsibility to have a four-star U.S. general oversee all NATO military operations in Europe — a command that began with then-World War II hero and future president Dwight D. Eisenhower,” NBC News reports.
“But the Trump administration is considering changing that.”
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Wired: “Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has spent the first six weeks of the new Trump administration turning the federal government upside down. It has moved from agency to agency, accessing sensitive data and payment systems, all on a supposed crusade to audit the government and stop fraud, waste, and abuse. DOGE has posted some of its ‘findings’ on its website, many of which have been revealed to be errors.”
“But two federal auditors with years of experience, who have both worked on financial and technical audits for the government, say that DOGE’s actions are the furthest thing from what an actual audit looks like.”
“Traders are ratcheting back wagers on US interest-rate cuts as they seek clarity from the Federal Reserve amid a thicket of economic and political crosscurrents,” Bloomberg reports.
CNBC: “Fed officials at this week’s meeting are expected to hold interest rates steady but adjust their views on the economy and possibly the future path of interest rates.”
“A new book details the extent of Donald Trump’s obsession with the destruction of Ron DeSantis’ political career during the 2024 presidential campaign and the ruthless tactics his team employed to try and make it impossible for the governor to run for anything ever again,” the Miami Herald reports.
“In Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump’s Return to Power, reporter Alex Isenstadt writes that in the run-up to DeSantis’ presidential campaign launch in 2023, Trump was incredulous that he was actually going through with it.”
Said Trump: “Is Ron really that stupid to run against me? Why doesn’t he just wait until 2028?”
“The Health and Human Services Department is weighing plans to drastically cut the federal government’s funding for domestic HIV prevention,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The discussions come as the Trump administration is preparing for deep cuts of personnel at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, part of a reorganization of the agency.”
Minnesota state Sen. Justin Eichorn (R) was arrested on suspicion of soliciting a minor for sex, the Minnesota Reformer reports.
At least one Republican legislator — Rep. Elliot Engen (R) — has already called on Eichorn to resign: “Resign in disgrace. Prosecute to the fullest. Throw away the key.”
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency likely exercised unconstitutional authority “in multiple ways” in dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development, The Hill reports.
Bloomberg: “Although the decision on Tuesday is limited to the US Agency for International Development, it marks the most direct ruling to date regarding the lawfulness of the role that the billionaire chief executive officer of Tesla Inc. has occupied in the White House since President Donald Trump took office in January.”
Tara Palmeri interviewed Alex Isenstadt — author of the new book Revenge — and learned that Donald Trump was worried that if he hit Joe Biden too hard in the early days, he would take him out and face a much stronger opponent like Gavin Newsom in the 2024 campaign.
Said Isenstadt: “Trump saw Newsom as slick and as the future of the Democratic party. Trump had some respect for Newsom, he saw him as a well-put-together individual.”
A new Gallup poll finds 46% of Americans believe the U.S. is not doing enough to help Ukraine in its war with Russia, marking a 16-percentage-point increase since December to a new high in the trend that dates back to 2022.
“President Vladimir Putin committed in a phone call with Donald Trump to limit Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy assets but declined to agree to a broader 30-day ceasefire as the US had sought,” Bloomberg reports.
Washington Post: Trump and Putin agree to partial ceasefire in Ukraine, but plan still needs Kyiv’s approval.
As former Vice President Kamala Harris considers running in California’s gubernatorial race, many of her powerful and longtime national supporters tell ABC News they are lukewarm on a potential 2028 presidential run.
Said one donor: “I think she’s done at the top of the ticket. I think the country will not have moved in a progressive direction during that time, it will have become more conservative.”
Vice President J.D. Vance will serve as the RNC’s finance chair, telling Fox News that he will work with the party to “fully enact the MAGA mandate” and grow the Republican majority in Congress in 2026.
New York Times: “Mr. Vance will serve as the finance chair of the Republican National Committee, an unusual arrangement for a sitting vice president. In both national parties, the finance chair role has typically gone to a reliable party fund-raiser who has time on his or her hands, not someone with significant governing responsibilities.”
“Chief Justice John Roberts said the impeachment of federal judges is ‘not an appropriate response’ to disagreement with their rulings,” Bloomberg reports.
“The extraordinary statement from the leader of the Supreme Court comes hours after President Trump called for the impeachment of a judge who tried to pause the deportation of hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members.”
Said Roberts: “For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision. The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should remain at the top of the party ranks despite the outcry over his support for a GOP spending bill last week, The Hill reports.
“Chinese state media is gloating about drastic budget cuts to Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, U.S. government-funded media outlets that have for decades drawn protests from Beijing over their coverage of human rights abuses in China,” the New York Times reports.
“Voice of America and Radio Free Asia had long transmitted news into countries where access to accurate information from the outside world was severely limited.”
An invitation to a “candlelight” dinner held this past Saturday at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club asked prospective guests to spend $1 million per seat, Wired reports.
Trump attended the dinner along with Elon Musk.
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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