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11:45 AM ET, May 20, 2025

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 Top Items: 
The Hill:
Live updates: Trump tries to break GOP impasse on Medicaid, SALT in ‘big, beautiful bill’  —  House Republicans can't come to agreement on various elements of the reconciliation bill that would fund President Trump's domestic agenda, so the president himself went to the Capitol on Tuesday to speak with them personally.
RELATED:
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
'Don't f— around with Medicaid': Trump moves to steamroll megabill opposition
Discussion: NOTUS
Washington Post:
The fate of Trump's agenda rests with the House GOP's ‘five families’
Discussion: Punchbowl News
Politico:
No deal on key tax deduction after late-night talks
Discussion: NBC News and The Hill
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Johnson offers $40,000 SALT deduction cap with income limits
Discussion: Politico
Politico:
Feds charge New Jersey congressmember with assault  —  The charge against Rep. LaMonica McIver stems from a scuffle at a Newark migrant detention facility.  —  The Justice Department announced an assault charge Monday against Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat who was involved …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Democratic Rep. McIver charged with assault after skirmish at ICE center, New Jersey prosecutor says  —  Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault after a skirmish with federal officers outside an immigration detention center, said New Jersey's top federal prosecutor …
Luis Ferré-Sadurní / New York Times:
Rep. McIver Charged With Assault Over Clash Outside Newark ICE Center
CNN:
Sources contradict Trump narrative about Qatar offering plane as ‘gift’  —  The Trump administration first approached Qatar to inquire about acquiring a Boeing 747 that could be used as Air Force One by President Donald Trump, four sources familiar with the discussions told CNN.
RELATED:
New York Times:
The Inside Story of Trump's Search for a New Air Force One  —  Qatar had been trying to sell off a luxury jet for years, with no luck.  Then President Trump's team set its sights on it.  —  The Boeing 747-8 from Qatar at Palm Beach International Airport in Florida after President Trump took …
Paul Campos / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Very Confused Old Man Given Test Ride By Dealership, Thinks Car Is Actually A Gift
Discussion: Bloomberg
STAT:
STAT+: FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say  —  The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will limit access to Covid-19 vaccines going forward to people 65 years of age and older and others who are at high risk …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Trump officials set new requirements for COVID vaccines in healthy adults and children  —  Annual COVID-19 shots for healthy younger adults and children will no longer be routinely approved under a major new policy shift unveiled Tuesday by the Trump administration.
Axios:
Trump's deference to Putin stunned European leaders on call  —  Ukrainian President Zelensky and five other European leaders joined a conference call with President Trump immediately after his call with Vladimir Putin on Monday hoping to hear that Putin had agreed to a ceasefire …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Trump-Putin Call Yields No Breakthrough on Ukraine Cease-Fire
New York Times:
Trump Backs Off His Demand That Russia Declare a Cease-Fire in Ukraine
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
Donald Trump and the power of the big (fake) number  —  🔌 🤖 💭 With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever.  PN is possible thanks to paid subscribers.  If you aren't one already …
RELATED:
Will Saletan / The Bulwark:   The Gulf of Anti-America  —  ON FRIDAY, AS HE RETURNED to the United States from a four …
Washington Post:
White House officials wanted to put federal workers ‘in trauma.’ It's working.  —  Federal workers describe struggling with panic attacks, depression, suicidal thoughts.  “Why doesn't anyone care?”  —  For this story, Post reporters interviewed more than 30 current and former federal employees.
Discussion: Raw Story
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist  —  The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper's “Best of Summer” section published over the weekend contains a guide to summer reads that features real authors and fake books that they did not write was partially generated …
Alison Durkee / Forbes:
Supreme Court Won't Take Up Case Because Too Many Justices Recused Themselves  —  Topline  —  The Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a copyright dispute case because it lacked a quorum after five justices had to recuse themselves, a move that was cheered by ethics watchdogs as the high court …
Discussion: Washington Post
James Kirchick / Politico:
All the President's Enablers  —  Three books on Joe Biden's presidency jointly paint a devasting portrait of an ailing, geriatric leader surrounded by mendacious aides and grasping family members.  —  The first time I realized that Joe Biden might not be playing with a full deck was in 2014 when he addressed an LGBTQ+ rights group.
Discussion: CNN, CBS News and Wall Street Journal
RELATED:
Politico:
Virginia Republicans worry about their gubernatorial candidate who invoked slavery when criticizing DEI  —  Winsome Earle-Sears has had a sluggish start to her campaign.  Republicans are urging her to turn it around — or face a bloodbath this fall.  —  Virginia Republicans are bracing for November with a growing sense of doom.
Discussion: Raw Story and The Downballot
Andrew Duehren / New York Times:
Trump's Pick to Lead I.R.S. Promoted a Nonexistent Tax Credit  —  Billy Long's effort to promote the credit, along with his pushing of a fraud-ridden pandemic-era tax break, will be under close scrutiny during his Senate confirmation hearing.  —  Billy Long, a former Republican congressman …
Discussion: Rolling Stone
Eliot Brown / Wall Street Journal:
Elon Musk to Cut Back Political Spending  —  After making huge bets on the 2024 election, the world's richest person and Trump booster said he would spend less.  He promised to stay on as Tesla CEO.  —  Elon Musk says he plans to cut back on political spending, after making huge donations …
New York Times:
Trump's Gulf Trip Also Brought Benefits to Elon Musk  —  The world's richest man inked new deals as he tagged along on President Trump's tour of the Gulf.  —  President Trump's recent trip to the Persian Gulf was notable for the ways that American foreign policy overlapped with his family's business interests.
Thomas Graham / The Guardian:
Lawyer for Venezuelans deported to El Salvador prison arrested  —  Ruth López held without access to lawyers at secret location accused of ‘embezzlement’ a decade ago  —  Thomas Graham and agencies in San Salvador  —  The head lawyer of a human rights group representing the families …
New York Times:
Justice Dept. to Use False Claims Act to Pursue Institutions Over Diversity Efforts  —  The department's use of the law is all but certain to be met with legal challenges.  —  The Trump administration plans to leverage a law intended to punish corrupt recipients of federal funding …
CNN:
KFile: Too toxic for Trump's first term, some officials are back in the fold  —  At least four people from Donald Trump's first term who were deemed too extreme or politically toxic to win Senate confirmation - or even keep their jobs - are now back in the fold and in some cases with more power than before.
Vivian Ho / Washington Post:
Trump administration pulls $60M in Harvard grants in third round of cuts  —  The cut to Harvard's federal funding was again linked to alleged failures to tackle antisemitism, and brings the total losses in recent weeks to over $2.7 billion.  —  The Department of Health and Human Services …
Ynetnews:
Qatar lobby reaches deep into US conservative media, documents show  —  Newly revealed DOJ documents show Doha's increasing efforts in right-wing outlets, including Fox News, to promote favorable narratives; critics warn of growing Qatari influence, after Trump's public praise for the emirate
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Words & Phrases We Can Do Without  —  Donald Trump has demanded a “big, beautiful” bill to slash taxes for the wealthiest Americans and dismantle government, At various times he has disclaimed efforts to cut Medicaid and Social Security (as congressional allies pursue the former …
John Drake / Forbes:
Trump's NIH And NSF Cuts Estimated To Cost The U.S. Economy $10 Billion Annually  —  John Drake is a professor at the University of Georgia.  —  SaveComment  —  America's long-term growth is at stake.  Congress is weighing sweeping FY2026 cuts to fundamental science …
Discussion: The Nation and Axios
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Senate will vote on nixing California clean-air waivers, Thune says  —  Senate Republicans will move this week to nix California's vehicle emission waivers, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, setting up a high-stakes fight over the chamber's rules.  Thune said in a Tuesday floor speech …
Discussion: NOTUS, IJR, Washington Examiner and E&E News
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Judge strikes down DOGE takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace  —  A federal judge ruled that the actions of “illegitimately-installed leaders” — including the purported transfer of the institute's building — were “null and void.”  —  WASHINGTON — A federal district judge on Monday tossed …
Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Donald Trump Drops Crude Line At Kennedy Center Dinner In Bizarre Rant About 2020 Election  —  The pro-MAGA audience lapped up the president's remark.  —  President Donald Trump on Monday dropped a vulgar turn of phrase as he talked about how he'd vowed to avenge his defeat in the 2020 election …
Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Golden running for reelection in Maine, forgoing statewide bid  —  Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) announced on Tuesday he is running for reelection in Maine's 2nd Congressional District, opting out of a statewide campaign.  —  “While I have considered many options for how best to continue serving …
Curtis Morrison / The Hill:
Don't make immigrants pay just to enter a visa lottery  —  The House Judiciary Committee unveiled a budget bill last month containing a provision designed, much like poll taxes, to undermine access to the Diversity Visa Program and disproportionately impact immigrants of color.
Bloomberg:
South Africa to Offer Musk Starlink Deal Before Trump Meet  —  South Africa's government plans to offer Elon Musk a workaround of local Black-ownership laws for his Starlink internet service to operate in the country, aiming to ease tensions with both the billionaire and US President Donald Trump.
Sophie Bates / Associated Press:
While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance  —  More than two months after a tornado destroyed his home, Brian Lowery still looks through the rubble, hoping to find a tie clip his mother gave him, made from the center stone of her wedding band.  “I still have hope,” Lowery said.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Wall Street Journal:
Joe Biden Had Unrivaled Medical Care. How Did His Cancer Go Undetected?
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
What It's Like to Interview for a Job at DOGE
New York Times:
F.B.I. Closes Unit That Policed Compliance With Surveillance Rules
Discussion: The Guardian
Paul Krugman:
How Trump Will Make the Tariff Shock Worse
Matt Towery / InsiderAdvantage:
InsiderAdvantage National Survey: Trump Approval Surges to Fifty-five Percent, Following Middle East Trip
Richard Luscombe / The Guardian:
Ron DeSantis's fall from grace: 'He's completely crashed to the ground'
 Earlier Items: 
Sidney Blumenthal / The Guardian:
Trump can complain all he wants - but he can't stop his own economic mess
Washington Examiner:
‘Dilbert’ creator announces he was diagnosed with same kind of prostate cancer as Biden
New York Times:
Republican Tax Plan Could Hurt at Least 58 Colleges
Megan Lebowitz / NBC News:
RFK Jr. to testify before Congress again after last week's contentious hearings
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
Joe Biden Has Nothing to Do With the 2028 Election
Discussion: National Review, HuffPost and Mediaite
Emily Feng / NPR:
Trump has imposed a lot of tariffs. But here's why collecting them can be hard
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Fight or Don't Fight and Take the Consequences … It's become almost commonplace in recent years …