memeorandum: Sen. Ron Johnson says there's enough opposition in the Senate to hold up Trump's ‘big, beautiful’ bill (Megan Lebowitz/NBC News)

3:50 PM 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

Discussion: Rolling Stone

Ruth Marcus / New Yorker:
J. D. Vance Warns Courts to Get in Line

Discussion: Law & Crime, Raw Story and Daily Kos

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

Discussion: Lincoln Square Media and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:

Top Republicans threaten to block Trump's spending bill if national debt is not reduced — Prominent senators warn Trump to ‘get serious’ about addressing budget deficit or they will block ‘beautiful bill’ — Donald Trump has been warned by fiscal hawks within his own party in the US Senate that he must …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and Bangor Daily News

Megan Lebowitz / NBC News:

Sen. Ron Johnson says there's enough opposition in the Senate to hold up Trump's ‘big, beautiful’ bill — A group of GOP senators has voiced criticism of the domestic package as Republicans aim to deliver it to Trump by July 4. — WASHINGTON — As the Senate prepares to consider …

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, CNBC, Axios, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, New York Post and Raw Story

Dan Balz / Washington Post:
The ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is a big risk for House Republicans. Many of them hope otherwise.

Discussion: Daily Mail, NewsMax.com and Bloomberg

Savannah Kuchar / USA Today:
GOP senator hits Trump tax bill, says there are ‘enough’ Republican votes to ‘stop the process’

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, Fox News, CNBC and The Hill

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: Mediaite, The Guardian and No More Mister Nice Blog

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 …

Discussion: The Independent

Clyde McGrady / New York Times:

5 Years After George Floyd's Murder, the Backlash Takes Hold — The Black Lives Matter movement, kicked into high gear after Mr. Floyd's murder on May 25, 2020, has given way to the politics of “white grievance” championed by President Trump. — NEWS ANALYSIS

Discussion: The Guardian, Mother Jones, Crooks and Liars, Bloomberg, New York Daily News, Reuters and The Hill

Wilfred Reilly / spiked:
How George Floyd dragged America to the right

Discussion: HotAir, USA Today, Politico, Fast Company, The Post Millennial, RedState, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, The Federalist, New York Times, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail and CBS News

Kate Shaw / New York Times:

Why Is This Supreme Court Handing Trump More and More Power? — Since taking his second oath of office, President Trump has been on a firing spree. In violation of numerous laws or longstanding presidential practice (or both), he has ordered the removal of many high-level officials …

Discussion: Raw Story

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: Townhall and Althouse

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

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

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: The Economist, New York Times, The Guardian, Politico, The Daily Caller, USA Today, Bloomberg and The Defense Post

Travel And Tour World:

Europe Freezes US Travel as Lufthansa, British , Air France, KLM and More Slash Routes to Major Cities Including New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago to Tap Soaring Demand Across Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Caribbean — European airlines are freezing their transatlantic growth and pulling …

US Department of Justice:

United States Citizen Arrested for Attempted Firebombing of U.S. Embassy Branch Office in Tel Aviv, Israel — For Immediate Release — Office of Public Affairs — Earlier today, Joseph Neumayer, a dual U.S. and German citizen was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport …

Discussion: Axios, The Hill, CBS News, Townhall, New York Daily News and The Post Millennial

Associated Press:

Scientists have lost their jobs or grants in US cuts. Foreign universities want to hire them — As the Trump administration cut billions of dollars in federal funding to scientific research, thousands of scientists in the U.S. lost their jobs or grants — and governments and universities around the world spotted an opportunity.

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

USA Today:

Trump says he wants ‘names and countries’ of all international students at Harvard — Donald Trump said he wants the “names and countries” of every international student enrolled at Harvard University, another step in the president's crackdown on the Ivy League school.

Discussion: NorthJersey.com, The Independent, New York Times, Fortune, Newsbusters, Los Angeles Times, Hong Kong Free Press HKFP and Townhall

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” …

New York Times:

Trump Allies Look to Benefit From Pro Bono Promises by Elite Law Firms — Veterans, in particular, are seeking free legal work from firms that cut deals with the White House like Skadden, Kirkland & Ellis and Paul Weiss. — President Trump has tossed around many ideas about how elite law firms …

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.