Bruce Springsteen is dedicating his new song to the people of Minneapolis, criticizing President Trump’s ongoing immigration enforcement operations in the city, the AP reports.
The lyrics of “Streets of Minneapolis,” describe how “a city aflame fought fire and ice ‘neath an occupier’s boots,” which Springsteen calls “King Trump’s private army.”
“When Republicans muscled President Trump’s signature domestic policy bill through Congress last year, they gave a windfall to the Department of Homeland Security — including for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — with effectively no strings attached,” the New York Times reports.
“Republicans allocated a total of $190 billion over four years, including $75 billion for ICE alone, making it the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency. At the time, Democrats warned that the money would supercharge the department without any checks on its operations. But Republicans used a special maneuver to shield the measure from a filibuster and get it to Mr. Trump’s desk on a simple majority vote, leaving Democrats powerless to block it.”
“The FBI executed a search warrant on the elections warehouse of Georgia’s most populous county Wednesday seeking ballots from the 2020 election, the latest apparent move in President Donald Trump’s campaign to find widespread voter fraud from that election despite five years of debunked claims and dozens of dismissed court cases,” the Washington Post reports.
“An agency spokesperson confirmed its agents were executing a court-authorized law enforcement action at the Fulton County elections warehouse but declined to provide more details.”
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says he has “nothing for you” on whether he will leave the Fed board when his term as chair is up in May, Bloomberg reports.
Washington Post: “In Europe, there’s a growing clamor from some corners to boycott the World Cup — and questioning of the fitness of the U.S. to host the tournament.”
“The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to take a break from a recent run of interest rate cuts, as the central bank navigates questions about its independence and awaits a new leader,” CNBC reports.
“The two federal agents who opened fire on a Veterans Affairs nurse in Minneapolis have been placed on leave, as more voices, including some in the Republican Party, broke with the White House over its handling of the fatal shooting,” the New York Times reports.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN that Democrats are likely to introduce a privileged impeachment resolution on the House floor targeting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Said Jeffries: “Well, as you know, the impeachment process is one of the few areas where every single member has the privilege to bring a resolution to the floor of the House of Representatives and at the appropriate time force an up or down vote.”
FBI agents were executing a search warrant at the Fulton County elections office near Atlanta on Wednesday, the AP reports.
“If I nominate Ted Cruz for the Supreme Court, the Democrats will vote for him because they want to get him the hell out. And the Republicans will vote for him because they want to get him the hell out, too.”
— President Trump, during a speech.
Financial Times: “Close ties between business and previous administrations have long fuelled a sense that America’s free market tilts towards well-connected elites. But this administration has normalised case-by-case dealmaking as a basis for policy and regulation. Under Trump’s transactional leadership, the returns to presidential access have rarely been higher.”
“This insider economy takes several forms. Those on good terms with the president over time tend to be first in line for deals… Others have found they need to scurry to placate the president to secure favourable treatment, or avoid his ire.”
“President Trump sharply intensified his threats against Iran on Wednesday, suggesting that if it did not agree to a set of demands the administration had made of the country’s leaders, he could soon mount an attack ‘with speed and violence,'” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Trump’s threat of a second direct attack on Iran by U.S. forces in eight months came as the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, along with other naval ships, bombers and fighter jets, took up positions in the region in striking distance of the country.”
“Nine progressive prosecutors from cities around the country are launching a coalition to assist in prosecuting federal law enforcement officers who violate state laws,” the New York Times reports.
“The organization, which is called the Project for the Fight Against Federal Overreach… Its acronym, F.A.F.O., references a slang term for negative consequences…”
“This is moral injury that we’re living through. They still have an active federal investigation into the wife of Renee Good. And that is demented shit right there.”
— Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), in an interview with The Bulwark.
CNN: “The earlier incident started when he stopped his car after observing ICE agents chasing what he described as a family on foot, and began shouting and blowing his whistle, according to a source who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution.”
“Pretti later told the source that five agents tackled him and one leaned on his back – an encounter that left him with a broken rib. The agents quickly released him at the scene.”
“The South Carolina measles outbreak has surpassed the recorded case count in Texas’ 2025 outbreak, as health officials have logged almost 600 new cases in just over a month,” the AP reports.
The Federal Reserve has not yet complied with grand jury subpoenas issued as part of a criminal investigation of Fed Chair Jerome Powell by federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., CNBC reports.
Out this summer: This Is The Plan: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy by Ben Wikler.
How the hell do we get out of this mess?
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.