Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has denied reports as “100% false” that he intends to run for president in 2028, the Telegraph reports.

“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is shaking up her team with several departures and new aides,” Axios reports.

“Why it matters: The personnel changes come months before the progressive leader will decide whether to launch a presidential campaign. She’s also weighing a run for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s seat, which is also up in 2028.”

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told close friends and associates that he is considering a run for president in 2028,” NBC News reports.

“Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer, have floated the idea of a presidential run for the past few months, believing he has some of the same attributes that have made Donald Trump popular with the MAGA movement… Trump’s core voters appreciate Hegseth’s toughness, defiance and conservative stance on social issues.”

“A sudden cut to Social Security checks — long seen as a far-off doomsday — is now an imminent problem for the next president and whomever voters send to Congress in the coming years,” Politico reports.

”The trust fund that bankrolls monthly checks to retirees is set to be drained of reserves in late 2032. That means tens of millions of Americans age 62 and older, as well as children and widowed spouses who get survivor benefits following the death of a family member, would see their monthly payments shrink by more than 20 percent — or an average of about $500 a month — unless Congress and the president act.”

“Vice President JD Vance’s allies are brushing off Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s declaration that Republicans have not yet coalesced around a potential Vance candidacy,” Semafor reports.

“Ted Cruz laughed off questions Monday about a potential presidential run in 2028, telling CBS News correspondent Major Garrett, ‘We’ll have this conversation another time,'” The Wrap reports.

“Pete Buttigieg has been to this small but historic city in South Carolina’s Midlands at least twice before, as an underdog presidential candidate in 2020 and then as the better-known transportation secretary under President Joe Biden in 2023,” CNN reports.

”Now a private citizen eying a second White House bid, Buttigieg returned this weekend with renewed urgency, appealing to Black voters who have newly solidified influence in the 2028 nominating process and whom he failed to win over in his last presidential campaign.”

“Vice President JD Vance’s return to his hometown this afternoon was in many ways a preview of the heavy load he will carry for President Donald Trump and the Republican Party on the midterm campaign trail,” NBC News reports.

“Against the backdrop of voters’ mounting affordability concerns, Vance emphasized an uptick in manufacturing jobs during a speech in Middletown, Ohio. He celebrated $1 billion in new investment, including a federal grant, that will help upgrade the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant where he delivered his remarks. And he urged support for Republican candidates this fall, singling out Sen. Jon Husted, who is running to keep Vance’s old Senate seat, and Vivek Ramaswamy, the party’s nominee for Ohio governor.”

Said Vance: “This is not, unfortunately, JFK or FDR’s Democrat party. Hell, it’s not even Bill Clinton’s Democrat Party.”

Semafor: Vance takes his first economic punch in the 2028 primary.

“Boston, Denver and Philadelphia are the three finalists to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention,” CBS News reports.

“The selection process now moves to the Democratic National Convention Committee. A DNC official stated that the process will take several months.”