“President Trump’s top aides have discussed whether he should kill the administration’s nearly $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund in exchange for getting immigration enforcement funding passed next month,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“More than a dozen Republican senators have privately urged top Trump aides to drop the fund since its creation last week, said people familiar with the outreach, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is usually supportive of the president’s efforts.”

“Administration officials have grown increasingly concerned about the viability of the fund, people familiar with the matter said, which had been expected to provide payouts to an array of Trump allies.”

A federal judge in Miami made a striking turnabout on Friday, reopening President Trump’s $10 billion case against the I.R.S. and saying that she wanted to investigate “grievous allegations” that the hasty deal to resolve it was “premised on deception,” the New York Times reports.

The ruling by the judge, Kathleen Williams, was a significant blow both to Mr. Trump, who had voluntarily dismissed the suit last week, and to the Justice Department.

New York Times: “John Solomon, a reporter who gained President Trump’s favor through his work questioning the federal investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russians who meddled in the 2016 election, is in discussions to join the White House as special government employee.”

“A judge on Friday ​ordered the removal of President Donald ‌Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, ruling that the ​iconic Washington venue cannot be ​renamed without an act of Congress,” Reuters reports. 

“The judge also temporarily blocked the Washington, D.C., cultural landmark from being closed for two years for renovations.”

Washington Post: “The ruling throws the Kennedy Center’s near future into uncertainty, blocking leaders from shutting down the performing arts venue in July after they have canceled most performances in anticipation of the closure.”

CNN: “The White House has yet to release any results from President Donald Trump’s most recent physical exam, a break from its own past practice that’s likely to fuel further questions about his health and fitness.”

Los Angeles Times: “President Trump plans to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary — and his own 80th birthday — next month by watching bare-chested and bloody UFC fighters kick, punch and choke each other on the storied South Lawn of the White House.”

“Later, during the administration’s summer-long festival to commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, IndyCars will race in a fossil fuel-burning extravaganza around and around the National Mall — home to the U.S. Capitol and the Washington and Lincoln monuments.”

“The Pentagon is moving to recruit hundreds of troops to appear as spectators at President Donald Trump’s UFC cage-fighting event at the White House, and requiring those who attend to pay their own way and meet height and weight requirements,” the Washington Post reports. 

A federal judge has temporarily blocked any payouts from the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” settlement fund, the Associated Press reports. 

NOTUS: “Four massive bronze horses positioned along the roads surrounding the Lincoln Memorial still shine in the sun from their first restoration in the 1970s. But their gold-toned coating is faded and patchy, and their heavy stone bases are cracked and dirty.”

“The Trump administration wants them glittering with a fresh coat of gold in time for America’s 250th anniversary on July 4. So in mid-April, the National Park Service handed a $5 million contract to a gilding studio in Maryland to repair the statues and cover them with a thick layer of 23.75-karat gold leaf.”

White House adviser Peter Navarro asked the Pentagon to loan $620 million to a company linked to Donald Trump Jr., ProPublica reports.

Jonathan Lemire and Michael Scherer: “Even though Trump’s power over his party appears at its pinnacle, many Republicans believe that the president has actually accelerated his own political decline.”

“Many of those primary winners may struggle in November, darkening the GOP’s prospects for keeping control of Congress. And at least some of the defeated incumbents, who will serve on Capitol Hill until next January, now feel liberated to push back on what they dislike in Trump’s agenda.”

“Others in the Senate who are not up for reelection are bitter about the president’s role in their colleagues’ defeat and have shown little interest in helping him pursue his personal-grievance campaign.”

New York Times: “The Justice Department’s examination of E. Jean Carroll’s lawsuits against President Trump could prove to be a significant shift in the administration’s campaign of retribution, moving from targeting of public officials to scrutinizing a case brought by an 82-year-old private citizen who has accused him of sexual assault.”

“What sets Ms. Carroll apart is the profoundly personal nature of her assertions about the president. And unlike other prominent figures facing investigative scrutiny — James B. Comey, Letitia James, Adam B. Schiff, John O. Brennan — Ms. Carroll, an author and columnist, never sought a public role, political power or governmental authority.”

New York Times: “It is unlikely that the president does not actually ‘care’ about the midterms, the results of which will determine much of the success of the back half of his final term.”

“But Mr. Trump has increasingly adopted a posture of nonchalance in the face of mounting fallout on multiple fronts: an unpopular war that has dragged on longer than he said it would, the creation of a government fund that could benefit his allies, and his fixation on remaking Washington into his vision of a gilded city.”

“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday that his agency had been working on a mock-up of a $250 note bearing the face of President Trump in preparation for an addition to the nation’s paper currency that would for the first time include the portrait of a living president,” the New York Times reports. 

“Such a move would represent a dramatic remaking of American money, which currently is only allowed to bear the image of the deceased. Mr. Trump has also pushed for the creation of a $1 coin bearing his image and is having his signature added to U.S. currency this year.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was asked a question by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins:

COLLINS: About the $1.8 billion fund. Is it accurate that the general counsel of the Treasury Department resigned over that?

BESSENT: I will not be taking any other questions.

CBS News: “The White House has yet to release a summary of the results of President Trump’s latest physical exam, following his Tuesday visit to Walter Reed National Military Hospital.”

New York Times: “In a freewheeling first year in office, Mr. Lutnick, one of President Trump’s most influential deputies, has used the power of the federal government in unorthodox and aggressive ways. Some of his tactics have been creative. Others were blunt-force. Still others were downright outlandish.”

“All of them were honed during decades at the helm of the Wall Street investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, a period in which he amassed wealth and prominence and assumed leadership positions at a dizzying array of corporate entities, at least 818 in all.”

Ashley Parker: “President Trump delights in playing what he calls ‘the gay national anthem‘ whenever he wants to rev up a crowd. He’s obsessed with Elton John, was once friendly with Liza Minnelli, and has a Liberace-esque flair for gilded interiors. One of his favorite sports to watch—mixed martial arts—is basically sweaty, semi-naked dudes. And he is a deep and vocal admirer of the physique of fellow men…”

“Some of Trump’s allies note that years before gay marriage was legalized, Trump had gay friends, took pro-gay stances, and allowed gay people to join his private club in Palm Beach starting in the mid-1990s. Ric Grenell became the first openly gay person to hold a Cabinet position when Trump appointed him acting director of national intelligence…”

“To be clear: Trump says he is attracted only to women and, in fact, has been married to three of them. He once hosted the Miss Universe pageant, was caught on tape saying that he loves to grab women “by the pussy,” and was found civilly liable for sexually abusing a woman. Loads more have accused him of sexual misconduct…”

“But there’s also little doubt that Trump has unabashedly embraced the aesthetic—the je ne sais quoi—of a certain kind of gay man.”