Top Items:
New York Times:
Hegseth to Campaign for a Republican House Candidate — What We're Covering Today — Justice Department: The Justice Department said that it had created a $1.8 billion fund to compensate supporters of President Trump who felt they had been mistreated by Democratic administrations.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and New Republic
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Trump moves to dismiss $10B suit over leak of tax returns after reports of a resolution — President Donald Trump on Monday moved to withdraw his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns after reports that a resolution of the case was close at hand.
New York Times:
Trump Withdraws His $10 Billion Suit Against the I.R.S. — The dismissal appears to be part of the Trump administration's effort to effectively settle the case, which stemmed from the leak of his tax returns in 2019. — President Trump withdrew his lawsuit demanding at least $10 billion …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Independent and Election Law Blog
New York Times:
Trump's Approval Sinks Amid Unpopular War, Darkening G.O.P. Prospects — With the midterms nearing, President Trump's approval rating has hit a second-term low as voters question his handling of the economy, according to the latest New York Times/Siena poll.
Discussion:
The Hill, New Republic, Washington Examiner, GZERO, The Guardian, The Times of Israel, Staff Stories, MS NOW and Political Wire
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Nate Cohn / New York Times:
A Crack in the Polling Floor Puts Trump in New Territory — A 37 percent approval rating in a new Times/Siena poll suggests the G.O.P. is facing a big midterm problem despite recent redistricting gains. — Over the last decade, it's often been said that President Trump's support has a low ceiling but a high floor.
Discussion:
twitchy.com and The Hill
Josephine Walker / Axios:
Trump's economic polling is in freefall
Discussion:
Newsweek, New Republic, The Message Box and Washington Examiner
US Department of Justice:
Justice Department Announces Anti-Weaponization Fund — For Immediate Release — Part of settlement agreement in President Donald J. Trump v. Internal Revenue Service — The U.S. Department of Justice today announced that as a part of the settlement agreement in President Donald J …
Discussion:
NOTUS, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, WTTG-TV, emptywheel, UPI, Mother Jones and The Hill
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Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department Creates Unusual $1.8 Billion ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ — WASHINGTON—The Trump administration created an unusual settlement fund valued at nearly $1.8 billion to compensate people who claim the federal government weaponized the legal system against them …
Discussion:
New York Post, Associated Press and New York Sun
Politico:
DOJ rolls out nearly $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization fund’ as part of Trump's IRS settlement … “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department's intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said in a statement.
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, CNBC, The Parnas Perspective, The Independent, Los Angeles Times, MS NOW, Law and Chaos, DCReport.org and CNN
Washington Post:
Trump's deal to drop suit against IRS creates $1.8B ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’
Discussion:
The Hill, CNN, Sean Hannity and Bloomberg
Kevin Frey / MS NOW:
House Democrats accuse Trump of ‘corruption unparalleled’ over IRS settlement talks
Andrew Pantazi / Axios:
Trump drops $10 billion lawsuit against IRS
Trump drops $10 billion lawsuit against IRS
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Townhall, Roll Call, JURISTnews, Associated Press and Mediaite
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
A Different Kind of Fading President — When Donald Trump took the oath of office last January, he was the oldest president to begin a term, clocking in at 78 years and 220 days. He replaced the man who formerly held that title, Joe Biden, who had dropped out of the race after it became quite obvious …
Discussion:
The Dean's Report, No More Mister Nice Blog, Raw Story and Mediaite
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
The smoking guns in Trump's new financial disclosure — Trump publicly praised companies the same day he bought their stock. — On March 11, President Trump took a tour of a manufacturing facility in Reading, Ohio, owned by Thermo Fisher Scientific, a medical supply company.
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Bulwark
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Darius Tahir / KFF Health News:
Trump Bought Stock in Drugmaker as His Government Boosted Its Obesity Drugs
Trump Bought Stock in Drugmaker as His Government Boosted Its Obesity Drugs
Discussion:
STAT
Ari Berman / Mother Jones:
Alito Said Racism Was Over. Southern States Are Now Rushing to Revive Jim Crow. — Republicans are set to dismantle at least five majority-Black districts in the South. — Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) is the first Black member of Congress elected from South Carolina since Reconstruction …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Can We Still Govern?, The Guardian and The Hill
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Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Supreme Court sends closely watched Native American voting rights decision back to lower court
Hansi Lo Wang / NPR:
Why the Supreme Court's voting rights ruling could play a big role at the local level
Why the Supreme Court's voting rights ruling could play a big role at the local level
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CBS News, Newsweek, RealClearPolitics and Election Law Blog
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Scoop: Tillis pops up against GOP's new reconciliation bill — Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) has told his colleagues in unequivocal terms that he will not vote for the budget reconciliation bill if the Senate considers it this week, according to two people familiar.
Discussion:
Semafor, NewsMax.com, Mother Jones, The Independent and NBC News
Washington Post:
Trump plans to build helipad at White House — The longtime helicopter owner is addressing a persistent problem: The new Marine One helicopters have a history of burning grass. — Summary — For decades, U.S. presidents have stood, waved and boarded Marine One — the call sign …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, Staff Stories, Metro.co.uk, The Independent and The Hill
RELATED:
New York Times:
Cross-Tabs: May 2026 Times/Siena National Poll of Registered Voters — Results of a nationwide New York Times/Siena poll of 1,507 registered voters conducted from May 11 to 15, 2026. — ‹ › — Do you think the United States is on the right track, or is it headed in the wrong direction?
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, The Independent, Blue Virginia and Political Wire, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Maria Cancian / Brookings:
The administration has detained 400,000 immigrants: What do we know about their children? … Though it is mostly adults who are detained and deported, many children are impacted by separation from their parents. However, there are no reliable data on how many detainees or deportees …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, Straight Arrow, The Guardian and New Republic
New York Times:
In Closed-Door Talks, U.S. Demands a Major Role in Greenland — Greenlandic officials worry about the direction of the negotiations aimed at defusing President Trump's threats to seize their island. But they have little leverage. — With the conflict in Iran still smoldering …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Human Events, Associated Press, The Independent, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg and Reuters
Lydia Polgreen / New York Times:
Trump Has Done More Than Misjudge Iran — In January, Stephen Miller gave a blustery and revealing interview to the CNN journalist Jake Tapper. Flush with the triumph of the military raid to abduct Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, Miller was taking a victory lap.
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Thousands of people gathered today on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to engage in an eight-hour taxpayer-funded evangelical worship event to “rededicate” the nation to Christianity. — The “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving” event is part …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, New Republic, Washingtonian, Al Jazeera, Talking Points Memo, CNN and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Dad Books Are a Dying Breed — Sales have been sliding for nonfiction titles about politics, biographies and other books often aimed at men
Amanda Marcotte / Salon:
The real reason RFK Jr. is coming for your antidepressants — The HHS Secretary's attacks on psychiatric medication follow a pattern of putting politics over public health — The siren call was apparently irresistible. “Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants,” …
Discussion:
New Republic
Jeet Heer / The Nation:
Trump Gloats About “Making a Fortune” While Americans Suffer — As his war in Iran wreaks havoc, Trump is fixated on personal glory and enrichment. — Pocket — Donald Trump is annoyed that he can't celebrate the massive profits oil companies are making due to the war he launched in the Middle East.
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Iran's new offer is insufficient, risks war resumption: Senior U.S. official — Iran has given an updated proposal for a deal to end the war, but the White House believes it is not a meaningful improvement and is insufficient for a deal, a senior U.S. official and a source briefed on the issue told Axios.
Discussion:
HotAir, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and IJR
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump Rages Wildly at Journo—and Exposes Big Iran Blunder — The following is a lightly edited transcript of the May 18 episode of the Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here. — Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
Discussion:
New York Times and Robert Reich
ProPublica:
Oily Sludge Is Flooding Their Dream Home. Oklahoma Regulators Say They Can't Help. — It was their dream home, a newly built, 2,500-square-foot modern farmhouse with a playroom that Mitch and Kara Meredith had saved for 12 years to buy for their growing family.
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Jewish lawmakers face an explosion of antisemitism — Antisemitism is so resurgent in U.S. politics that some of the worst hate speech you've ever heard has become a part of day-to-day life for Jewish politicians. … The hate is direct, explicit and shockingly casual, two dozen members of Congress and candidates told Axios.
Discussion:
Florida Politics and Townhall
Bloomberg:
US to Issue New Russia Oil Waiver as Iran War Hits Supplies — US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said his department is issuing a “temporary 30-day general license” allowing the sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that are already loaded on tankers.
Discussion:
Associated Press
Colin Meyn / The Hill:
Pentagon pauses Canada joint military board, pointing to Carney remarks — The Pentagon's policy chief announced Monday that the United States will suspend its involvement in a joint body that coordinates military consultation with Canada, pointing to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's address …
