President Trump’s net approval rating has fallen to a record-low 25 points underwater, with just 35% approving of his job performance and 60% disapproving, The Economist reports. 

“Former President Barack Obama will hold a fund-raiser in late August for the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, a fresh sign that Democrats intend to continue their aggressive push to gerrymander congressional districts ahead of the 2028 election,” the New York Times reports.

“Democrats across the country agree that their new primary map will redraw the road to their party’s 2028 presidential nomination. But, as they look to what’s widely expected to be a crowded and competitive contest, no one is quite sure what turns it will take,” the New York Times reports. “Instead of Iowa and New […]

“The Pentagon is taking steps to rename a South Carolina military base after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham,” NOTUS reports.

“A thief scammed the cash-strapped Democratic National Committee out of nearly $29,000 last year, according to interviews with committee officials and previously unreported federal records,” NOTUS reports. “In February 2025, an unknown party sent a fraudulent email to a committee staffer pretending to be Chairman Ken Martin, a DNC official familiar with the matter confirmed […]

“The Trump administration is proposing a way for space companies to skip environmental reviews,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Transportation officials on Tuesday disclosed a plan that would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to waive requirements under environmental laws and regulations as it permits commercial rocket sites, launches and spacecraft reentries.”

“Federal politicians would be barred from using campaign contributions to fight or settle sexual misconduct allegations under a bill announced Tuesday by two House members from opposite sides of the political spectrum,” the Washington Post reports. “The proposal, from Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), aims to further shape the debate over […]

“President Donald Trump doesn’t appear to have followed through on his vow to launch a long-shot effort to convince the Supreme Court to reconsider its recent ruling on birthright citizenship,” NBC News reports. “The 25-day window for filing a petition for the court to re-hear the case closed on Monday night, with the docket showing […]

“President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in the Oval Office Tuesday for a ‘productive’ 90-minute session on the Iran war — free of any public sign of tensions that have marked their relationship over the past several weeks,” Axios reports. “The meeting could have gone the other way, given Trump’s frustration with […]

Puck: “As his portfolio has grown, rumblings about his broader mismanagement have also resurfaced. His Banking Committee office has one of the highest turnover rates in the entire Senate: 20 committee employees have left during Scott’s tenure, and he is currently looking for his fourth staff director since becoming chairman 18 months ago.” “His personal […]

A new Glengariff Group survey shows Mike Rogers (D) beating Abdul El-Sayed (D) by 10 points in a hypothetical match-up, 49% to 39%. Meanwhile, Haley Stevens (D) barely edges out Rogers in a head-to-head, 46% to 45%.

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The Downballot released the latest update to their ‘hexmap’ of congressional districts that shows every district as the same size — including the new maps adopted by 10 states since the 2024 elections. Why a new map? “Even though every member of Congress gets just one vote, traditional maps of congressional districts over-emphasize sprawling rural […]

“A federal judge on Monday ordered President Trump to turn over financial documents to BBC from his trust, a partial success for the broadcaster that forces the president to provide evidence for his claims of financial loss,” The Hill reports. “It would provide insight on his crypto and stock profit, as well as business transactions […]

“A crucial committee vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general could be postponed, Sen. John Cornyn said Tuesday, amid a struggle over changing a settlement agreement Blanche brokered between President Donald Trump and the IRS,” Politico reports.

“The Secret Service awarded a $90 million contract to an untested firm this month for a nationwide advertising campaign aimed at recruiting thousands of personnel ahead of a grueling protective schedule in 2028,” NOTUS reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Thanks to U.S. crude prices averaging $95 a barrel between March and June—up from about $66 before the Iran war—ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum are expected to collectively rake in some $31 billion in earnings for the second quarter of the year, according to FactSet estimates. That is up from about […]

“Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has a warning and a plea for President Donald Trump: Don’t deport the hundreds of thousands of Haitians who have been living in the U.S. sometimes for longer than a decade,” Bloomberg reports. Said DeWine: “What good does it do to ship them out of the United States? And I think […]

“The Trump administration launched a plan Tuesday to channel hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers directly into deportation proceedings, a change that some attorneys said could lead to people being removed from the United States without a hearing,” the Washington Post reports.

“Iran’s skies have been free of the sound of explosions and airstrikes for the past several days, after a bout of renewed fighting with the United States. But Iranian officials say they have not agreed to a cease-fire and are in no hurry to hold direct talks with American negotiators,” the New York Times reports. […]

A new Reuters/Ipsos survey finds that just 33% of Americans approve of U.S. attacks on Iran, with 62% who said they disapprove.

“President Trump responded to recently released entries from Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday, saying he grew tired of the former White House medical adviser,” NewsNation reports. Said Trump: “He was a much bigger player in the Biden administration. I grew tired of him… He wanted to close everything down. I allowed it to be up […]

“President Donald Trump on Tuesday said new U.S. tariffs are functionally the same as the ones the Supreme Court struck down as illegal earlier this year,” CNBC reports. Said Trump: “It’s a shame that I have to go a harder way for the tariffs because the Supreme Court, in a very close decision, you know, […]

“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear called on Monday for Sen. Mitch McConnell to either ‘verbally’ show proof to Kentuckians that he can still serve in the Senate or to resign from Congress,” ABC News reports. Said Beshear: “Important events are happening in our country right now during your absence.” Axios: Speak or resign: Beshear ups demand […]

“An aide who had an affair with Gavin Newsom more than 20 years ago when he was the mayor of San Francisco has written a detailed account of the relationship, which Vanity Fair published on Tuesday,” the New York Times reports. “The first-person essay by the aide, Ruby Rippey, who was working as Mr. Newsom’s […]

“While a handful of congressional Democrats have come out for Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin to resign this week, most simply don’t want to broach the subject,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: The apathy points to minimal momentum in the party for Martin’s ouster despite bombshell stories revealing severe problems at the DNC ranging […]

“Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said in a recent interview that the U.S. was not founded on ‘one race or one religion,’ pushing back on arguments made by conservatives such as Vice President Vance,” The Hill reports. Said Gorsuch: “We were founded, a lot of our colonies, for our religious pluralism, right? And the opportunity […]

“President Trump publicly rebuked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday after The Post reported that the leader of the Jewish state is expected to present Trump with evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear technology at its subterranean Pickaxe Mountain site,” the New York Post reports. Said Trump: “Well, I don’t need Bibi to tell me […]

Paul Krugman: “Donald Trump’s Iran debacle is by no means the first war the United States has lost in modern times. In Vietnam and in Afghanistan, America was similarly defeated by enemies that were nominally less advanced yet implacable. The humiliating images of the last helicopter taking off from Saigon, and the chaos of the […]

“U.S.-backed political negotiations in Venezuela that ultimately aim to set a course for future elections will begin later this week but without the full backing of either the opposition or the ruling coalition,” Bloomberg reports. “The early lack of consensus underscores the steep challenges faced by the oil-rich South American nation that was recently hit […]