“Iran and Oman are closing in on an agreement to reopen shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian and American officials, but if the accord goes into effect it could come at a high price — ratifying Tehran’s control over what, before the war, was an open, international waterway,” the New York […]

Wall Street Journal: “In recent months, ICE has deployed a round-the-clock digital dragnet to scour the public internet—from Facebook to Instagram to X—for speech that could endanger the agency’s mission. The government has paid millions to private contractors to surface everything from potential threats to agents to activities that could disrupt ICE’s operations.” “The program […]

“The deal that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche struck with two holdout Republican senators to formally kill the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund has a major loophole that could allow it to come back to life,” NBC News reports.

“The Senate’s stopgap funding bill to avert a shutdown Oct. 1 has cleared the first procedural hurdle, putting it on track for passage before lawmakers leave for the August recess,” Politico reports. “Senators voted 89-4 to advance the measure, which would fund federal agencies through Dec. 11 at current levels, with some exceptions.” New York […]

“House Democrats are privately mulling whether to force a vote to expel Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) from Congress over domestic abuse allegations, which he denies,” Axios reports. “While it is rare for a House member to be forcibly ousted, the mere threat of expulsion has been enough to precipitate multiple resignations this year.” CNN: Trump […]

“The U.S. Treasury Department was sued by a nonprofit group claiming the government is improperly withholding legal settlements that the Trump administration could use to cover payouts to pardoned Jan. 6 defendants and other supporters of the president,” Bloomberg reports.

“California and 22 other Democratic-led states urged the Supreme Court on Monday to block President Trump’s plan to take control of voting by mail through the U.S. Postal Service,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “They said it is too late in the election year to impose a new set of regulations for mail ballots.” “Doing […]

“Americans picked Democrats ​over Republicans as better stewards of the economy for the first time in nearly a decade in a Reuters/Ipsos ‌poll, which also found their approval of President Donald Trump’s performance falling to 35%.” “The finding, in a poll conducted Wednesday through Monday, showed how Trump’s handling of the economy, including rising energy […]

A popular suggestion in the recent member survey was to offer a way for readers to weigh in on the biggest political stories of the day beyond just commenting. So I’m testing Whip Count, a new feature that lets members cast a quick vote on timely questions and instantly see what fellow Political Wire readers […]

“A coalition of 25 Democratic-led states sued the Trump administration Monday, arguing President Donald Trump exceeded his authority by imposing sweeping tariffs on goods from 60 U.S. trading partners,” CNBC reports.

“Jack Smith, the former special counsel who brought criminal charges against President Donald Trump, has been invited to testify Sept. 22 before the Senate Judiciary Committee,” Politico reports. “Smith previously testified before the House Judiciary Committee in January, but Grassley (R-IA) and his team have been probing Smith and his investigations for months.”

“President Trump will travel to Los Angeles on Tuesday and Las Vegas on Wednesday as part of a two-day West Coast trip aimed at highlighting his administration’s economic record ahead of the midterm elections,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“President Donald Trump scolded ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. and Chevron Corp. for their soaring profits, as oil prices surged amid the war in Iran he launched in February alongside Israel,” Bloomberg reports. “Trump on Monday said the biggest U.S. oil companies are ‘making too much money,’ urging them to ‘give some of that back to the […]

“This month’s Democratic primaries in Michigan and Minnesota are already shaping up to be major battles about the party’s future, with voters heading to the polls to choose between moderate members of Congress and insurgent local candidates intent on shaking up the status quo,” NBC News reports. “But on the sidelines of these at times […]

“President Donald Trump is considering removing Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, over a Justice Department conclusion that problems with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool stemmed from a flawed renovation rather than vandalism,” CNN reports. “The president is ‘furious’ with Pirro, one of the sources said, telling CNN that he fumed […]

“President Donald Trump lamented his second administration has done such a good job closing the Southern border and keeping illegal immigrants out that the American public has already forgot it was a big issue and moved on,” Mediaite reports. “Trump told reporters inside the White House on Monday he would have been better off from […]

New York Times: “Mr. Trump is not so much a student of history as a rewriter of it. In his second term, he is so set on avenging his election loss and pursuing retribution against his political enemies that he has Americans looking backward when many have signaled they would rather he explain why the […]

“The House Ethics Committee found Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) violated House Rules by ‘failing to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers,’ according to a 25-page report released Monday,” Axios reports.

“Jay Clayton, who was confirmed last week to oversee U.S. spy agencies, was sworn in as the director of national intelligence on Monday, his office announced,” the New York Times reports. “He was confirmed by the Senate last Tuesday, but the White House did not immediately swear in Mr. Clayton, giving Bill Pulte, a key […]

“The request from a senior officer at the U.S. military command carrying out President Donald Trump’s war with Iran came in an email: We need ideas,” CNN reports. Said the email: “We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.” “The crowdsourcing-style query, which military officials said was unusual over […]

Wall Street Journal: “Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei rejected Trump’s suggestion that talks were under way, noting that Iran hadn’t sent any delegations or negotiators to take part in any discussions. He said all of Iran’s negotiators were still in the country, with the exception of Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting a […]

“An FBI counterintelligence agent has been charged with amassing about $1 million worth of cryptocurrency, largely by making unauthorized withdrawals from a criminal target overseas, according to court papers,” the New York Times reports.

“From the moment President Trump was re-elected, he has muscled his way into the driver’s seat at the Justice Department, leaving tread marks on its time-honored independence from the White House by demanding, and sometimes directing, investigations into his enemies,” the New York Times reports. “But his tight grip on the steering wheel has often […]

“The Justice Department told Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) that it has never investigated her over allegations that she shared insider information about President Trump’s vice presidential pick before it became public,” Axios reports.

New York Times: “Hundreds of members of the group, the country’s largest socialist organization, gathered here at a moment of surging political influence, some wearing bright red shirts, swapping labor-strike tips with their ‘comrades,’ sharing voter turnout strategies and admiring far-left merchandise (guillotine earrings, ‘Land Lords Suck’ pins and red roses, a symbol of the […]

“President Trump on Monday blasted Iran’s leadership as ‘unbelievably duplicitous,’ accusing Tehran of privately pursuing peace talks with the U.S. while publicly denying any negotiations were taking place days after he called off a massive military campaign planned for the weekend,” the New York Post reports. Said Trump: “They ask for a meeting, some would […]

“Former Vice President Kamala Harris made a recent slate of suggestions to help Democrats win in future presidential elections, including ‘revisit the Electoral College.'” NewsNation reports. Said Harris: “I know this is going to be controversial coming from me in particular — we need to revisit the Electoral College. We need to revisit the point […]

“Embattled Ohio Rep. Max Miller has released audio he surreptitiously recorded of his ex-wife in a bid to fend off her abuse accusations against him — but it actually lends credence to at least some of her allegations,” the New York Post reports. “The GOPer on Sunday publicly released the recordings in a Dropbox dump, […]

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“President Donald Trump criticized Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth for failing to mention his administration’s pro-fossil fuel policies in an interview with Fox Business Network and called on oil companies to bring pump prices ‘DOWN, NOW!,'” Bloomberg reports.