Bloomberg: “Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is on track to narrowly lose a national referendum to overhaul Italy’s judicial system, which has become a vote on the leader herself.”
“About 54.4% of Italians voted ‘No,’ rejecting Meloni’s reform, according the Italian interior ministry, with 20% of the ballots counted. About 45.6% voted ‘Yes.'”
President Trump took questions from reporters:
REPORTER: Whose idea was that to put ICE in the airports?
TRUMP: Mine. That was mine. That was like the paper clip. Do you know the story of the paper clip? 182 years ago, a man discovered the paper clip. It was so simple. ICE was my idea.
Tara Palmeri: “Over the weekend, I spoke with Republican sources in the administration, on Capitol Hill, and on K Street about what they are really saying behind closed doors about the war in Iran.”
“What emerged was a picture of growing unease: no clear plan to end the conflict, frustration with how Israel is handling it, anxiety about wider escalation across the region, and deep discomfort with the administration’s wartime posture, especially at the Pentagon.”
One Senate source put it bluntly: “There’s zero confidence in Pete Hegseth.”
President Trump took questions from reporters:
REPORTER: Iran’s foreign ministry says you’re not telling the truth when it comes to productive conversations to end the war.
TRUMP: Well, they’re gonna have to get themselves better public relations people. We’ve had very strong talks. Mr Witkoff and Kushner had them. They went perfectly.
Referring to the U.S. talks with an unnamed Iranian leader, President Trump says the Strait of Hormuz will be open very soon “if this works,” Bloomberg reports.
Trump says the strait will be jointly controlled, “maybe by me” and whoever the Ayatollah is.
President Trump claimed once again that the U.S. is speaking with a “top person” in Iran who is not the Supreme Leader, Bloomberg reports.
He said Iran wants “very much to make a deal,” adding the U.S. and Iran will likely speak soon by phone.
He would not identify the person: “I do not want them killed.”
Trump told CNBC that “we are very intent on making a deal with Iran.”
Washington Post: “The nascent Make America Healthy Again movement got one of its biggest wins last spring: Casey Means was selected to be the nation’s top doctor.”
“But more than 10 months later, the controversial surgeon general pick has yet to assume the position advising Americans on how to improve their health. Her nomination has stalled as some Republicans question her stance on vaccines, her medical credentials and her pushes against the medical establishment.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said President Trump could get “somebody killed” after the president accused Democrats of being the country’s “greatest enemy” after Iran, Politico reports.
Said Jeffries: “Donald Trump should keep his reckless mouth shut before he gets somebody killed.”
Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump said he did not want Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detailed to airports to wear masks as they assist with security screenings — even as he continued to support officers using face coverings during deportation operations.”
Wall Street Journal: “A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators are introducing legislation Monday to prohibit entities regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including prediction-market exchanges Kalshi and Polymarket’s U.S. platform, from listing contracts related to sporting events.”
The Iranian ministry of foreign affairs suggested Iran was not engaging with the United States on ending the war and said President Trump’s statement was part of an effort “to reduce energy prices and to buy time for implementing his military plans,” the New York Times reports.
New York Times: “It took an act of Congress to create the John F. Kennedy Performing Arts Center. It may take two federal lawsuits to stop President Trump from remaking it with his name attached.”
“There is no guarantee that either lawsuit will succeed, nor three others challenging Mr. Trump’s plans to build a championship-level golf course in the nation’s capital, erect a 250-foot arch next to the Arlington National Cemetery and append a ballroom to the White House.”
CBS News: “The Supreme Court is considering Monday a major elections dispute involving whether federal law bars states from counting mail ballots that are postmarked by, but received after Election Day.”
“The case before the high court involves Mississippi’s deadline for late-arriving mail ballots and whether its law, as well as similar measures from 13 other states, conflicts with federal statutes that set Election Day as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November in certain years.”
“Arguments are taking place as President Trump pushes to end mail voting, with some exceptions, and a decision in the case from the Supreme Court is expected to come months before the November midterm elections.”
Related from the New York Times: Postal Service changes could cause delays for votes cast by mail.
Los Angeles Times: “Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a leading Republican candidate for governor, has seized more than 650,000 ballots from last November’s election to determine, he says, whether they were fraudulently counted.”
“There are politicians who have the ‘it factor,’ and are highly charismatic. That’s not who I am.”
— DNC chair Ken Martin, quoted by Rolling Stone.
“I don’t like where we are with having to fight this battle in Iran, but remember — this is cleaning up Joe Biden and Barack Obama’s mess. Unfortunately it landed in President Trump’s lap.”
— Rep. James Comer (R-KY), on Fox Business.
The AP reports Iranian state television said: “U.S. president backs down following Iran’s firm warning.”
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.
