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.
Discussion:
Axios, ABC News, CNBC, New York Post, Fox News, CNN, The Independent, NOTUS, Associated Press and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Benjamin Guggenheim / Politico:
Trump appears to be losing patience with blue-state Republicans on SALT
Discussion:
New York Post, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Washington Times and Fox News
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
'Don't f— around with Medicaid': Trump moves to steamroll megabill opposition
'Don't f— around with Medicaid': Trump moves to steamroll megabill opposition
Discussion:
NOTUS
Politico:
What Trump will tell House Republicans
What Trump will tell House Republicans
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNBC, Townhall and USA Today
Washington Post:
The fate of Trump's agenda rests with the House GOP's ‘five families’
The fate of Trump's agenda rests with the House GOP's ‘five families’
Discussion:
Punchbowl News
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Johnson offers $40,000 SALT deduction cap with income limits
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 …
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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 …
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
May 19, 2025 — The House Rules Committee will take up the Republicans' omnibus bill this week.
Discussion:
JONATHAN TURLEY, Politico and The Hill
Luis Ferré-Sadurní / New York Times:
Rep. McIver Charged With Assault Over Clash Outside Newark ICE Center
Rep. McIver Charged With Assault Over Clash Outside Newark ICE Center
Discussion:
The Intercept, The Hill, NPR, RedState, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Good Politics/Bad Politics, Truthout, IJR, Washington Post, The Federalist, NBC News, Rolling Stone, Twitchy, Forbes, Newsweek, Fox News, Raw Story, ZeroHedge News, New Jersey Globe, The Daily Wire, Washington Examiner, Gothamist, abc7NY, MSNBC, USA Today and New York Daily News
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 …
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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:
CBS News and Wall Street Journal
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The Washington Free Beacon:
The Tapper Dossier: How the CNN ‘Journalist’ Covered (Up) the Biden Cover-Up—Before Writing a Best-Selling Book About It
Discussion:
USA Today, New York Post, IJR, Reuters, The Federalist, Fox News, Louder With Crowder and Semafor
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.
Discussion:
New Republic, Mediaite, The Independent, Daily Mail, Raw Story and Grabien
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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 …
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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
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
STAT:
FDA will limit Covid vaccines to people over 65 or at high risk of serious illness, leaders say — In shift away from universal access, new studies of Covid boosters will be required for people under 65 — The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will limit access …
Discussion:
Associated Press
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 …
Discussion:
Politico, MeidasTouch News, The Hill, Axios, Washington Post, NBC News, Washington Examiner, The Wrap, Associated Press, CBS News, Newsweek, Raw Story, Fortune, Fox Business and elhayat-life.com
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 …
Discussion:
CNN, NPR, Raw Story, Rolling Stone and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »
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.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »
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 …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, Reuters and KDFX-TV
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, masslive.com, Reuters, Al Jazeera and The Daily Caller
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 …
Discussion:
Popular Information and Wall Street Journal
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
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 …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, New Jersey Online, Raw Story and New Republic
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 …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Bangor Daily News and Roll Call
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.
Discussion:
Reuters, Breitbart, New Republic and New York Times
Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Liberal Wisconsin judge launches state Supreme Court bid — Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor announced on Tuesday that she's launching a campaign to challenge conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley on the state Supreme Court next year. — “Justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court must be fair, independent, and impartial.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and WisPolitics

