memeorandum: Trump Gives Commencement Address at West Point, Stressing a New Era (Erica L. Green/New York Times)

11:15 AM ET, May 25, 2025

Top Items:

Judges Weigh Taking Control of Their Own Security Amid Threats — U.S. marshals, sworn to protect federal judges, ultimately answer to President Trump, who has ramped up criticism of the judiciary

Zac Anderson / USA Today:
How Trump's clash with the courts is brewing into an ‘all-out war’

Discussion: CNN and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Mattathias Schwartz / New York Times:
Judge Orders Trump Officials to Seek Return of Guatemalan Man to U.S.

Discussion: Axios, Mother Jones, JURISTnews, The Guardian, Associated Press, The Post Millennial, The Independent, The Hill, Law & Crime, Washington Times, NewsMax.com, Politico and Advocate

Peter Baker / New York Times:

Trump Profits Like No Other President, as Outrage Is Muted … President Trump at a business round-table meeting in Abu Dhabi this month.Doug Mills/The New York Times — When Hillary Clinton was first lady, a furor erupted over reports that she had once made $100,000 from a $1,000 investment in cattle futures.

Discussion: The Guardian and No More Mister Nice Blog

Nicholas Kristof / New York Times: Trump Is Immensely Vulnerable

Erica L. Green / New York Times:

Trump Gives Commencement Address at West Point, Stressing a New Era — The president said the graduating cadets would enter a service no longer subject to “absurd ideological experiments” or “nation-building crusades.” — President Trump told cadets in a commencement address …

Discussion: The Guardian, CNBC, NewsMax.com and The Atlantic

Erica L. Green / New York Times:
Trump Administration Highlights: President Stresses New Era in Speech to West Point Graduates

Ed White / The Detroit News:

U.S. Justice Department pardon lawyer pledges ‘hard look’ at plot to kidnap Michigan governor … “On the pardon front, we can't leave these guys behind,” Ed Martin Jr. said this week on “The Breanna Morello Show.” — “In my opinion these are victims just like January 6,” Martin said …

New York Times:

Why Vietnam Ignored Its Own Laws to Fast-Track a Trump Family Golf Complex — As President Trump blurs the lines between politics and business — and threatens steep tariffs on trade partners — governments feel compelled to favor Trump-related projects. — As President Trump blurs …

Jessica Priest / The Texas Tribune:

Political appointees would have more control over Texas universities' courses and hiring under bill OK'd by House — Senate Bill 37 would give more power to university regents, who are appointed by the governor, to vet and veto new curricula and administrators.

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

Six Months Later, Democrats Are Still Searching for the Path Forward — The party's standing is startlingly low after a defeat that felt like a cultural rejection. What comes next? — OUT OF POWER — The party's standing is startlingly low after a defeat that felt like a cultural rejection.

Discussion: NewsMax.com

James Waterhouse / BBC:

Russia launches largest drone attack yet on Ukraine — Russia has intensified strikes on Ukraine, with the highest number of drones and missiles launched in a single night yet. — At least 12 people, including three children, were killed and dozens injured, Ukrainian officials said.

Discussion: New York Times, USA Today, Politico and Bloomberg

Washington Post:
Russian attack in Ukraine kills 12 as Zelensky condemns ‘silence of America’

Discussion: The Guardian, Al Jazeera and The Hill

Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:

How Donald Trump Has Remade America's Political Landscape — Donald J. Trump's victory in 2024 was not an outlier. — It was the culmination of continuous gains by Republicans in much of the country each time he has run for president, a sea of red that amounts to a flashing warning sign …

Discussion: Althouse

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is a big risk for House Republicans. Many of them hope otherwise. — As the 2026 midterms loom, voters are restless and eager to penalize those in power. Every election starting with 2006, with the exception of 2012, has been a change election.

Discussion: Bloomberg and NewsMax.com

Alastair Marsh / Bloomberg:

US Risks Losing ‘Reliable Investment’ Status, Allianz GI Manager Says — Inside one of Europe's biggest asset managers, there's growing concern that Republican efforts to gut legislation supporting key industries such as clean energy may result in the US losing its status as a destination for investor capital.

Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy / USA Today:

With $37 million and a jet, Trump's presidential library takes off, Eric Trump as pilot — A new nonprofit, Donald J. Trump Presidential Library Foundation, Inc., has been established to raise funds for a future presidential library for Donald Trump. — The foundation …

Discussion: New York Times and The Post Millennial

Financial Times:

Austrian chancellor says EU asylum rules are no longer fit for purpose — Christian Stocker adopts hardline policy in bid to bring ‘contentment’ to Austrian voters riled up by far right — Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Discussion: Politico

The Times:

JD Vance's Irish ancestry claim hits a genealogical dead end — DUP-commissioned report fails to find a link between Donald Trump's vice-president — a self-declared Scots-Irish — and Ireland — JD Vance takes pride in declaring himself to be a “Scots-Irish hillbilly at heart” …

Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press:

The US military spent $6 billion in the past 3 years to recruit and retain troops — The U.S. military spent more than $6 billion over the past three years to recruit and retain service members, in what has been a growing campaign to counter enlistment shortfalls.

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Fox News

Wall Street Journal:

The Week That Derailed Joe Biden's Post-Presidency — A fight against cancer and a struggle to amass an inheritance for his family are setting up a somber final chapter — When Joe Biden left office in January, he sought to follow the template set by his predecessors for a post-presidency …

Discussion: Rolling Stone