Top Items:
David Nir / The Downballot:
Iowa Democrats win massive upset to break GOP supermajority — Iowa Democrat Catelin Drey won a major upset on Tuesday night, flipping a deep-red seat in the state Senate and breaking the GOP's supermajority in the chamber. — Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch by a wide 55-45 margin …
Discussion:
The Hill, MeidasTouch News and Democrats
RELATED:
Stephen Gruber-Miller / Des Moines Register:
Democrat Catelin Drey wins Iowa Senate special election, breaking Republican supermajority — Democrat Catelin Drey has pulled off a victory in a special election for the Iowa Senate, flipping a Republican-held seat and breaking the GOP's supermajority in the chamber for the first time in three years.
Politico:
Playbook: Democrats' common denominator — With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco — Good Wednesday morning. This is Jack Blanchard. Get in touch. — ON THE PRESIDENT'S MIND LAST NIGHT: A contract extension for NBC's Seth Meyers (1:56 a.m.) ... Banning mail-in voting …
Zoë Richards / NBC News:
Democrats break GOP supermajority in Iowa Senate by flipping Republican seat in special election
Andrew Jeong / Washington Post:
Democrat wins Iowa Senate race, upending Republican supermajority
Democrat wins Iowa Senate race, upending Republican supermajority
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News, The Hill, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Democrats, Newsweek and The Downballot
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Furious Trump's Firing of Fed's Lisa Cook May Be About to Backfire — To execute his authoritarian takeover, President Donald Trump requires the devoted service of willing accomplices. He needs loyalists in strategic positions who will bend or break the law to carry out his designs …
RELATED:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Trump Again Escalates Power Grabs in Bid to Fire Fed Member — President Trump claimed he has cause to remove a member of the independent board who has not obeyed his demands to vote for lower interest rates. — President Trump's bid to fire a member of the Federal Reserve board …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, CNN, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Vox, CBS News, Forbes, RedState, Fortune, NOTUS, Townhall, WTOP News, Salon, HotAir and NewsNation
John Cassidy / New Yorker:
The Enormous Stakes of Trump's Effort to Fire the Fed Governor Lisa Cook — The President's authoritarian power grabs are undermining the institutional foundations of the American economy. — That deafening silence on Tuesday was Republicans and business leaders reacting …
Discussion:
The Hill, naked capitalism, Mock Paper Scissors and Washington Post
Michael R. Strain / National Review:
The Senate Must Preserve Fed Independence
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, The Economist, Bloomberg, New York Sun, The Guardian, PolitiFact, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Washington Post, The Contrarian, Associated Press, Axios, Grabien, Fortune and LAist
Stephanie Ramirez / WTTG-TV:
National Guard members activated for DC federal takeover seen picking-up trash — National Guard members were seen picking up trash near the White House Tuesday morning. — Officials say it's part of a broader beautification mission tied to the federal “D.C. Takeover.”
Discussion:
The Independent and Fox News
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Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Deploy National Guard to Chicago? Trump Says He Has ‘The Right to Do Anything I Want to Do.’ — President Trump, who has sent the military into Los Angeles and Washington, has targeted states and cities governed by Democrats. — President Trump declared on Tuesday that he had unlimited power …
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, CNN, ABC7, Axios, Salon, NewsNation, Mediaite, NewsMax.com, Capitol News Illinois, HuffPost, ABC News and New York Post
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump boasts that Democrats are headed into ‘a trap’ on crime
Discussion:
Fox News, Grabien, Fox Business and twitchy.com
Washington Post:
Trump wants expanded death penalty, longer control over police in D.C.
Trump wants expanded death penalty, longer control over police in D.C.
Discussion:
NBC News, USA Today, WTOP News, Newsweek, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Raw Story, WUSA, Breitbart, Daily Mail, Axios, Al Jazeera, American Greatness, The Independent, Washington Times, New York Sun, Blaze Media, Forbes, Fox News, NOTUS, The Hill, CBS News, The Post Millennial, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and NewsNation
Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Democrats prepare to set their 2028 presidential nominating calendar — Once again, it's not clear which state will vote first when the party chooses its next presidential candidate, after Joe Biden's party scrambled the traditional order in 2024. — MINNEAPOLIS — Democrats are already looking …
Discussion:
The Hill
RELATED:
John McCormick / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats' Deep Divide on Gaza, Israel Boils Over at Party Meeting
Discussion:
Politico, CNN, The Dispatch, RedState, The Washington Free Beacon, HuffPost, Commentary Magazine, NewsMax.com, Fox News, Jewish Insider, The Forward, New York Sun, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, The Times of Israel, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, New York Times, CBS News, NBC News, The Hill, The Nation, Salon, NOTUS, Grabien, Informed Comment and National Politics
Alex Thompson / Axios:
Scoop: Democrats weigh mini-convention before 2026 midterms
Doug Bock Clark / ProPublica:
She Pushed to Overturn Trump's Loss in the 2020 Election. Now She'll Help Oversee U.S. Election Security. — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Heather Honey, a high-profile denier …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Votebeat, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Gateway Pundit, The Federalist, Election Law Blog, WITF and Democracy Docket
RELATED:
Ali Swenson / Associated Press:
Researcher who has distorted voter data appointed to Homeland Security election integrity role
Discussion:
NOTUS and Al Jazeera
Brianna Sacks / Washington Post:
FEMA employees put on leave after criticizing Trump administration in open letter — About 180 current and former FEMA staffers sent a letter on Monday to members of Congress and other officials protesting the agency's leadership and direction. — The Trump administration placed …
Discussion:
CNN, Associated Press, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Axios, Forbes, The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, The Independent, CBS News and HuffPost
Steve Helling / Daily Mail:
Vanity Fair staff erupt in fury over proposed Melania Trump cover with foul-mouthed meltdown — Raging Vanity Fair employees have vowed to quit their jobs and work at a supermarket if First Lady Melania Trump is granted a spot on its cover. — 'I will walk out the motherf***ing door …
RELATED:
Geoff Brumfiel / NPR:
Whistleblower says Trump officials copied millions of Social Security numbers — A whistleblower says that a former senior DOGE official now at the Social Security Administration copied the Social Security numbers, names and birthdays of over 300 million Americans to a private section of the agency's cloud.
Discussion:
Government Accountability …, NOTUS, The Hill, The Guardian and Forbes, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Jon Brodkin / Ars Technica:
DOGE accused of copying entire Social Security database to insecure cloud system
DOGE accused of copying entire Social Security database to insecure cloud system
Discussion:
Washington Post, TechCrunch, NBC News, Associated Press, Government Accountability …, Newsweek, UPI, HuffPost, The Independent, Raw Story, Federal News Network, The Register, NewsNation, Washington Examiner, The Hill, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal, New Republic, Mediaite, Axios and NewsMax.com
Louis Casiano / Fox News:
Trump signs proclamation commemorating Abbey Gate attack anniversary with Gold Star families — Trump was surrounded by Gold Star families during the White House ceremony honoring 13 fallen service members — President Donald Trump on Monday signed a proclamation commemorating the anniversary …
Richard Connor / Associated Press:
Denmark summons US envoy over Greenland reports — Denmark has summoned the US head of mission in Copenhagen over alleged covert US influence efforts in Greenland. The move comes after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the island — and even hinted at using force.
Discussion:
Politico, CBS News, Reuters, NewsNation, Bloomberg, New York Times, Al Jazeera, The Independent, The European Conservative and WTOP News
Maxine Joselow / New York Times:
FEMA Suspends Staff Who Signed a Letter Criticizing Trump — Justice Dept. Broadens Inquiry Into Key Players in Russia Investigation — Deploy Troops to Chicago? Trump Says He Can ‘Do Anything I Want to Do.’ — 2 MIN READ — A Teen Was Suicidal. ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In.
Politico:
Trump privately presses top Indiana Republicans to redistrict during White House meeting … “It feels like the tide is starting to turn as Indiana Republican legislators are starting to understand they can deliver a huge win that Trump and his team will not forget,” said one Hoosier Republican who was in the lager meeting.
Discussion:
Indiana Public Media, The Indianapolis Star, CNN, Semafor, The Hill, ABC7, Chicago Sun Times, NewsMax.com, Daily Kos, Grabien, Raw Story and Washington Examiner
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Trump Has Forced Out Nearly 10% Of The Federal Workforce — “We're seeing the arson of our government,” warned Max Stier of Partnership for Public Service, which has been tracking people's lost jobs since January. — WASHINGTON - More than 199,000 federal workers have left their jobs …
Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Trump Plays Reality Television Host at Cabinet Meeting That Lasts Hours — As hours ticked by, President Trump played reality television host — “This has never been done before!” — as his cabinet members offered praise. It was a glimpse of how he runs his presidency.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Rolling Stone
Colin Demarest / Axios:
The growing list of military ousters under Trump 2.0 — Decades of experience have been wiped from the highest levels of the U.S. military, the result of retirements and removals in the first year of the second Trump administration. … - The DIU did not respond to a request for comment.
Wall Street Journal:
Exxon Held Secret Talks With Rosneft About Going Back to Russia — Resuming business in Russia would mark a dramatic rapprochement after Exxon's messy breakup with Moscow when Putin attacked Ukraine in 2022 — After huddling with President Trump in Alaska, President Vladimir Putin told reporters Russia …
Discussion:
The European Conservative, The Daily Caller, Reuters and The Japan Times
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
All the Things Trump Thinks He Owns — The White House does not belong to Donald Trump. It is the property of the United States — of the American people. The president is a temporary resident whose claim on the building lasts only as long as his time in office, which is set by the Constitution.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
Associated Press:
Israeli military says strikes on Gaza hospital targeted a Hamas camera, without providing evidence — The Israeli military said Tuesday that its double strike on a Gaza hospital that killed 20 people targeted what it believed was a Hamas surveillance camera.
Discussion:
Middle East Monitor, PBS NewsHour, Washington Examiner, Reuters, New York Times, New York Post, NewsMax.com, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times and WTOP News
NBC News:
Hard-right Freedom Caucus could be gutted as key members run for new jobs in 2026 — Some House Republicans say they won't miss leaders of the group that has spent a decade in Washington bucking party leadership and even the GOP president. — WASHINGTON — The House Freedom Caucus faces …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and The Daily Signal
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
Gates Foundation Quietly Cuts Ties With Firm Linked to Democrats — Officials made no mention of politics in cutting ties with a network of nonprofit funds, but Bill Gates has made other moves to insulate the charity from political pressures. — America's largest charitable foundation …
Associated Press:
Trump's law enforcement surge is alienating DC residents, senior officers say — A pair of senior Washington, D.C., police commanders acknowledged Tuesday that the ongoing federal law enforcement surge in the nation's capital is alienating the population and damaging community relationships that will have to be mended in the future.
Discussion:
WUSA
Isaac Chotiner / New Yorker:
How Former Biden Officials Defend Their Gaza Policy — The former President's support for Israel abetted a humanitarian catastrophe. But Jacob Lew, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the country, still thinks that the Trump White House could learn from its predecessor.
Discussion:
Israpundit, RNS and Responsible Statecraft
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Thinking Outside the Box; Getting Creative — Two ideas I heard from TPM Readers today: — The first is from TPM Reader BT, who recommends that big cities hold military occupation referendums. Needless to say these would not constrain President Trump. But they would make clear what the population of the city wants.

