Trump Softens Tone on Inflation After Pledging to Lower Prices  —  President Trump pledged to lower costs on “Day 1” as a candidate.  His administration now acknowledges it will take more time.  —  President Trump promised voters that, if elected, he would enact policies that would bring prices down on “Day 1” in office.

Senate votes to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as top U.S. intelligence official  —  Gabbard overcame initial skepticism from some Republican senators about her nomination, underscoring Trump's grip on the party.  —  WASHINGTON — The GOP-controlled Senate early Wednesday morning voted …

Trump Humiliated in the ‘Most Powerless Image Ever’ of a U.S. President: O'Donnell  —  Trump has always craved is the attention of the “truly rich,” and how he finally has it, MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell said.

Not Hyperbole Anymore: Musk Is In Charge of the US Government  —  These are wild times at TPM because they're wild times in the American government.  It's hard to keep up with everything happening from one moment to the next.  I had not had a chance to look at the new DOGE executive order President signed …

Hegseth Says Return to Ukraine's Pre-2014 Borders Is ‘Unrealistic’  —  In his first trip abroad, the new U.S. defense secretary told Ukrainian and NATO officials that a durable peace could only come ‘with a realistic assessment of the battlefield.’  —  A return to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is …

Elon Musk's DOGE takes aim at agency that had plans of regulating X  —  Elon Musk made a big leap late last month toward his long-shot goal of turning X into an “everything app,” a service that could encompass a broad range of services, including the ability to transfer money, similar to Venmo or PayPal.

Family of Venezuelan Migrant Sent to Guantánamo: ‘My Brother Is Not a Criminal.’ … Luis Alberto Castillo, a father of one from Venezuela, entered the United States on Jan. 19, one day before Donald Trump became president for a second term — swept into office on a promise to treat undocumented migrants with a heavy hand.

Her parents were injured in a Tesla crash.  She ended up having to pay Tesla damages  —  Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father's panicked voice: The brakes don't work!  Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars …

House budget draft unveiled ahead of Thursday markup  —  The House Budget Committee unveiled a fiscal blueprint for Republicans' sweeping domestic policy legislation Wednesday that would allow for at least $4.5 trillion in tax cuts while slashing spending by at least $1.5 trillion over the coming decade.

Government watchdogs fired by Trump sue to get their jobs back  —  Eight inspectors general whom Donald Trump fired from their federal agency watchdog posts are suing for their jobs back, adding to the legal scrutiny over Trump's first weeks of decisions in the White House and raising questions about his political intentions.

US to release Russian Alexander Vinnik as part of exchange that freed Fogel - New York Times  —  The United States will release Russian Alexander Vinnik, a suspected cybercrime kingpin, as part of an exchange with Russia that freed Marc Fogel, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

This obscure law is one reason Trump's agenda keeps losing in court  —  Lawsuits challenging Trump policies raise big constitutional questions, but they also rely on a law that requires the government to follow the correct procedures when changing course.  —  WASHINGTON — Lawyers challenging …

Top Dem on DOGE subcommittee calls on Elon Musk to testify … - “While we're sitting here, Donald Trump and Elon Musk are recklessly and illegally dismantling the federal government,” Stansbury said.  — She went on to accuse Republicans of shielding Musk and Trump as they break the law …

Treasury officials: Musk ally ‘mistakenly’ had power to alter payments system  —  The incident prompted an internal forensic investigation that remains ongoing.  —  Treasury Department officials said Tuesday that the agency last week “mistakenly” and “briefly” gave a member of Elon Musk's team …

Scoop: Dems “pissed” at liberal groups MoveOn, Indivisible … - “People are pissed,” a senior House Democrat who was at the meeting said of lawmakers' reaction to the calls.  — The Democrat said Jeffries himself is “very frustrated” at the groups, who are trying to stir up a more confrontational opposition to Trump.

Dozens of CFPB Workers Fired in After-Hours Blitz  —  Some affected employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were notified with an email that addressed them as [EmployeeFirstName][EmployeeLastName], [Job Title], [Division].  —  Dozens of Consumer Finance Protection Bureau employees …

Pope Francis's Stunning Rebuke of JD Vance Exposes MAGA's Dark Soul  —  The other day, JD Vance sought to reconcile President Donald Trump's “America First” vision with the tenets of Christianity.  Vance argued for a “Christian concept” that orders our ethical obligations in a series of concentric circles …

New Hampshire High School Trans Athletes Take Their Fight to Trump  —  A lawsuit appears to be the first challenge to the constitutionality of an executive order barring trans athletes from girls' and women's sports teams.  —  Two transgender public high school students in New Hampshire …

Soy Right ascendant  —  Greetings from Read Max HQ!  Today's newsletter is an attempt to define and analyze the dominant strain of online activity for second-term Trumpists: The Soy Right.  —  A reminder, as always, that every Read Max newsletter is the fruit of a full-time job's worth of hours reading …