Political Wire

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Trump’s Quiet Consolidation

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There’s little doubt the resistance to President Trump has scored some significant victories in recent weeks.

Federal courts have repeatedly ruled against his administration. Elon Musk, once Trump’s most important ally in reshaping the executive branch, has been sidelined. And despite full control of Congress, Republican lawmakers have struggled to pass even a single major piece of legislation.

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Off the Map—for Now

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Both parties released their initial House target lists this spring, and the omissions may be as telling as the inclusions.

The Hotline points out this morning that Democrats are ignoring Rep. Kevin Kiley’s (R-CA) seat in a district Donald Trump carried by fewer than five points.

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Today’s Press Conference Promises to Be Epic

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President Trump and Elon Musk are set to appear together at a 1:30 p.m. ET press conference in the Oval Office today—an event that promises to be even more combustible by a damning new New York Times investigation.

The report details Musk’s extensive drug use, raising urgent questions about his role as a trusted adviser to the president.

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Backlash Presidents

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A provocative new book set for release this fall, Backlash Presidents by political scientist Julia Azari, offers a sobering framework for understanding Donald Trump.

Azari’s central thesis is striking: Most presidents preserve the racial status quo. But when one dares to challenge it, the result isn’t necessarily lasting progress — it often clears a path for a successor driven by resentment, lawlessness, and norm-breaking.

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The Resistance Is Working Better Than You Think

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For all the bluster and bravado, Donald Trump is losing. A lot.

Despite reclaiming the White House and commanding a Republican-controlled Congress, Trump’s presidency has hit a wall in the federal courts.

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The End of Independent Agencies as We Know Them

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In the four months since Donald Trump returned to the presidency, few events have had as seismic an impact as the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to gut the independence of federal agencies.

In a sweeping opinion, the conservative majority effectively dismantled a 90-year-old precedent that insulated expert regulators from direct presidential control.

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Obama’s Base Is Slipping Away From Democrats

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Ever since Donald Trump squeaked out his victory in the 2016 presidential campaign, political analysts have marveled at his strength among white working class voters.

This has long been a trouble spot for Democrats.

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A Few Thoughts on the Bill Republicans Just Passed

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House Republicans muscled through a sweeping budget reconciliation bill in the early hours of the morning — capping off a chaotic night of closed-door dealmaking, frantic vote-counting, and relentless arm twisting on the House floor.

The final vote came just before sunrise, after GOP leaders spent the night corralling holdouts, rewriting sections of the bill on the fly, and making last-minute concessions to both hardliners and swing-district Republicans.

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No Surrender

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Bruce Springsteen didn’t just kick off his Europe 2025 tour with rock anthems — he opened with political fire.

For two straight nights, the iconic singer delivered blistering speeches onstage, condemning Donald Trump and his administration as “corrupt, incompetent and treasonous.”

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Democrats Are Losing Young People

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A new postmortem on the 2024 election by the Democratic data firm Catalist delivers a sobering warning: The party’s biggest problem is with young voters.

Support among voters under 30 dropped from 61% in 2020 to just 55% in 2024. That’s still a majority, but the trend is moving in the wrong direction. And it’s not just white voters.

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Rules Committee Debates Bill That’s Not Even Finished

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The House Rules Committee has been meeting since 1 a.m. ET this morning in a desperate attempt to advance what President Trump calls a “big, beautiful bill” to the House floor.

There’s just one problem: The bill isn’t done yet.

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Trump’s Trade Contradictions

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Donald Trump has made tariffs central to his economic agenda, insisting they will both revive American manufacturing and generate massive new revenue streams.

But the logic behind those claims doesn’t hold up. In fact, his trade policy is built on a pair of contradictions.

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Biden Didn’t Think Harris Could Win

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One of the more revealing threads in Original Sin, the new book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, is how little confidence Joe Biden and his top advisers had in Kamala Harris.

Biden never believed Harris could beat Donald Trump.

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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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