“JD Vance has an Israel problem,” Politico reports. ”The vice president’s pugnacious defense of a ceasefire agreement with Iran that rattled Israeli diplomats — and his tough talk on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government — has damaged his standing with some pro-Israel GOP donors who have backed the party under President Donald Trump.”

“Sen. Gary Peters on Monday waded into the messy Democratic primary contest to fill his seat after months on the sidelines, getting behind fellow Oakland County lawmaker Haley Stevens,” the Detroit News reports. Wall Street Journal: Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary will measure how far left the party is willing to go in the industrial heartland […]

“Saddened to hear of Lindsey’s death though we so regularly disagreed. But he was a good friend and an amazingly effective Senator. Also, the funniest. One Christmas break I told him my family was going to Puerto Rico. He said, ‘Do two fundraisers. One for those who are pro-statehood and one for those who are […]

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) reportedly joked ‘I can’t die now’ after complaining he felt unwell – hours before he passed away at the age of 71 from a suspected ruptured aorta brought on by chronic heart disease,” the New York Post reports. Said Graham: “I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia […]

Jonathan Martin: “I’m not sure there was a more deft, pure politician in the Senate in this era than Graham.”

Playbook: “Former Rep. Trey Gowdy briefly surfaced last night as a possible short-term pick to finish out Graham’s term, per multiple GOP sources. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) made a round of calls supporting Gowdy.” “One person familiar said South Carolina Republican Gov. Henry McMaster is leaning in a different direction and could move early this […]

Punchbowl News: “Trump may be the kingmaker in picking Graham’s successor. The president’s endorsement is always influential for Republicans, but it’s especially valuable in elections with a compressed timeline.” ”South Carolina GOP Gov. Henry McMaster will appoint someone to serve out the remainder of this year’s term. There will also be a special primary election […]

“Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have high hopes they can use the dwindling pre-midterm legislative calendar to bolster their case for reelection,” Politico reports. ”First, they’ll have to put down a weekslong internal revolt that has ground the House floor to a halt.”

“The Supreme Court is asking for millions of dollars from Congress to draft plans for a new facility to screen visitors outside the court’s home on Capitol Hill, as security threats against the justices mount,” the New York Times reports. “The $6.5 million proposal is preliminary but could result in visitors at the court being […]

“Senator Chuck Schumer of New York is accustomed to getting his way in Democratic primaries for Senate,” the New York Times reports. “But even as Mr. Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate for nearly a decade, has successfully recruited a number of nominees in marquee races this year, he is getting a clear message […]

“Josh Shapiro says the 2028 presidential race should be a once-in-a-generation battle over the Democratic Party’s core identity. But so far, he isn’t picking up his sword to fight,” Axios reports. “As progressives and socialists have won primary after primary in recent weeks, the more moderate Shapiro often has been gun-shy about criticizing the left, […]

“For two months, under a quiet arrangement with the U.S. Navy, commercial tankers turned off their transponders to avoid detection by Iran as they crossed the perilous Strait of Hormuz to carry oil and gas out to the world,” the New York Times reports. “The military offered some air cover in case Iran attacked, as […]

“Four months ago, President Donald Trump emerged from a White House meeting with America’s largest weapons makers with a big promise: The companies had agreed to quadruple production of some of America’s most important missiles, and the ramp-up had already begun,” NOTUS reports. “Last week at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, he floated an […]

“President Donald Trump is working to gain unprecedented control of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections this fall through a series of new assertions of presidential power, including firing key leaders of the federal Election Assistance Commission on July 9,” USA Today reports. The Guardian: How to plan for an election that leaders are trying to […]

“The overnight death of Sen. Lindsey Graham touched off a sudden scramble to fill his Senate seat, as ambitious potential candidates and shocked Republican leaders mixed public expressions of grief with fierce private maneuvering over Graham’s job,” Politico reports. Wall Street Journal: The scramble to replace Lindsey Graham after his sudden death.

“Iran insisted on Monday that it controlled the Strait of Hormuz — an assertion the United States has denied — as it launched a fresh barrage of strikes aimed at American military assets throughout the Middle East. The new attacks, following dozens more American strikes overnight, extended a cycle of attacks that is unraveling the […]

“Sen. Ron Johnson is poised to take over the Budget Committee in the wake of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death late Saturday,” Politico reports. ”The third-term Republican is effectively next in line to wield the committee gavel. Two more senior Republicans, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Crapo of Idaho, are expected to keep […]

The Atlantic: “Lindsey Graham’s death has thrown into question the path forward on a number of Trump priorities, including a new reconciliation bill—which could contain portions of his SAVE America Act on voting—as well as the looming confirmation battle over attorney-general nominee Todd Blanche.” “Trump’s relations with GOP senators have been rocky, to say the […]

“The United States was carrying out another round of strikes on Iranian targets early Monday morning local time, the U.S. military said, extending a pattern of attacks between the two sides as their fragile cease-fire continued to unravel,” the New York Times reports. “It was the second volley of U.S. attacks in a matter of […]

“For more than a month since Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, entered the hospital, Washington has been on something of a death watch for the frail 84-year-old former leader, who has provided no information about his condition,” the New York Times reports. “So the news of the sudden death on Saturday night of another […]

“Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death stands to scramble an array of Republican policy efforts, as Congress loses one of its top White House whisperers and coalition builders,” CNBC reports. “Graham, who died at 71, was a titan of the Senate whose close relationship with President Donald Trump helped the upper chamber broker numerous deals and secure […]

Mark Leibovich: “Senator Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly last night, was a pivotal citizen of the Washington conversation. He loved being in the mix, slapping bipartisan backs off camera, and then, when the lights came on, cracking wise, weighing in, and, yes, currying favor with a certain Audience of One.” “What could be more fitting, […]

“Sen. Mitch McConnell said Sunday night his hospitalization was caused by a fall, providing the most detailed update on his health after weeks of silence about his condition and growing questions over the 84-year-old Kentucky Republican’s health,” the Washington Post reports. “McConnell said he wasn’t healthy enough yet to return to the Senate and that […]

Hollywood Reporter: “Over more than two decades in the Senate, Lindsey Graham was one of its most well-known hawks and, in recent years, one of Donald Trump‘s staunchest defenders.” “But the South Carolina Republican has also been among media and pop culture’s favorite legislators — a staple both of the Sunday morning talk shows and […]

“Last summer, as many one-time adversaries of President Trump sought to bury the hatchet with him, he met with someone who seemed like a intractable enemy: his former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Cohen and Mr. Trump had a brief yet significant conversation at the president’s private, […]

“Lindsey Graham had reached the end of his rope on the night of Jan. 6, 2021, declaring his alliance with Donald Trump over,” NOTUS reports.   Said Graham: “Trump and I, we’ve had a helluva journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my god, I hate it. All I can say is, count […]

“The sudden death over the weekend of Sen. Lindsey Graham is increasing the urgency in the Senate for Sen. Mitch McConnell to return to work to cushion the GOP’s increasingly slim voting majority,” USA Today reports. “McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized for a month, and Graham unexpectedly passed away on Saturday, July 11 – leaving […]

“The sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina sets up a succession drama in the deeply conservative state that risks throwing the race into chaos less than four months before the midterm elections,” Bloomberg reports. “He had been set to face off against Democrat Annie Andrews, a pediatrician, in November.” “South Carolina Republican […]

“To hear establishment Democrats tell it, Republicans are as excited as progressives about the prospect of Abdul El-Sayed winning a pivotal two-person Democratic U.S. Senate primary in this battleground state on Aug. 4,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The former local public-health official holds left-wing policy views that could turn off swing voters in November’s […]

“For the Iranian regime, keeping a chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz has turned out to be more important than the tens of billions of dollars in sanctions relief from the Trump administration,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “That is because Tehran is playing a long game. Iranian officials believe the country has finally emerged […]