Top Items:

How Do You Like the Trade War Now? — Trump is furious that Canada won't take his tariffs lying down. — President Trump wanted a trade war with the world, and Americans are getting it, good and hard. Stock prices continued to decline on Tuesday amid the latest Canada-U.S. tariff tit-for-tat.
Discussion:
The City, Cafe Hayek and Daily Kos
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EU retaliates against Trump's trade moves and hits beef, whiskey, motorcycles with targeted tariffs — The European Union on Wednesday announced retaliatory trade action with new duties on U.S. industrial and farm products, responding within hours to the Trump administration's increase …

Live Updates: Europe Retaliates After Trump's Metals Tariffs Take Effect — President Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports. The European Commission said it would launch countermeasures against “unjustified” tariffs. — Here are the latest developments.
Discussion:
European Commission, Politico, Melanie Phillips, Fortune, CBS News, The Guardian, Associated Press, CNBC, The Kyiv Independent and USA Today

Trump's Economic Messaging Is Spooking Some of His Own Advisers
Discussion:
Washington Post, New Republic and The Hill
Ellen Francis / Washington Post:
European Union retaliates against Trump's tariffs as trade war escalates
European Union retaliates against Trump's tariffs as trade war escalates
Discussion:
New York Times
Michael Luciano / Mediaite:
Hannity Edits Trump Spokesperson's Response To Omit Stunningly Erroneous Claims, Insists She Dominated Reporter
Hannity Edits Trump Spokesperson's Response To Omit Stunningly Erroneous Claims, Insists She Dominated Reporter
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, HuffPost, The Wrap, The Independent, New Republic, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, Deadline, Grabien and Bloomberg
Politico:
Trump allies are blaming Lutnick for Trump's tariff turmoil
Trump allies are blaming Lutnick for Trump's tariff turmoil
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NBC News, New York Post, Raw Story, E&E News and Townhall
CBS News:
Lutnick says Trump's policies are “worth it” even if they lead to recession
Lutnick says Trump's policies are “worth it” even if they lead to recession
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, The Independent and Metro.co.uk
Elisabeth Buchwald / CNN:
Trump imposes sweeping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the US
Trump imposes sweeping 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imported into the US
Discussion:
Business Insider, CBS News, Scripps News, Forbes, Bloomberg, FOX 10 Phoenix, Associated Press, New York Times, Fox Business, Kyodo News+, One America News Network, The Hill, Reuters, Deadline, Washington Examiner, The National Pulse, PBS NewsHour, NPR, NewsNation, The Independent, New York Post, UPI and CNBC
Wall Street Journal:
EU Hits Back as U.S. Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Take Effect
EU Hits Back as U.S. Steel and Aluminum Tariffs Take Effect
Discussion:
Associated Press, Bloomberg, European Commission, The Atlantic, USA Today, Reuters, Breitbart, New York Times, Deseret News, Raw Story, UPI and Semafor
William Vaillancourt / The Daily Beast:
CNBC Reporter Shreds Trump's ‘Insane’ Tariff Moves
CNBC Reporter Shreds Trump's ‘Insane’ Tariff Moves
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars, Mediaite, CBS News, Voice of America and Grabien

Senator Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Democrat, Won't Run Again in 2026 — Ms. Shaheen's retirement will set off a high-stakes fight for an open seat in a state where she has been a leading political figure for decades. — Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire will not run for re-election in 2026 …
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Republicans Quietly Move to Relinquish Power to Undo Trump's Tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China — House G.O.P. leaders tucked the provision into a procedural measure needed to pass a government spending bill. — House Republican leaders on Tuesday quietly moved to shield their members …

Senate Democrats appear ready to back down in government shutdown fight — Senate Democrats say the six-month government funding resolution that passed the House Tuesday is a “horrible” bill, but there's growing sentiment within the Senate Democratic conference that it would be too risky …
Discussion:
Associated Press, IJR, Politico, HuffPost, Fox News, Voice of America, CBS News, Washington Post and The Guardian

Democrats divided on whether to shut down government or vote with GOP
Discussion:
American Prospect, Punchbowl News, Townhall, Reuters, Blaze Media, The Hill, NPR, The Daily Signal, GovExec.com, New Jersey Globe, Scripps News, Ace of Spades HQ, Deadline, Raw Story, Daily Caller News Foundation, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller and New York Times
Washington Post:
Senate shutdown showdown
Senate shutdown showdown
Discussion:
The Hill, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Wire
Jude Joffe-Block / NPR:
A Republican-backed bill would upend voter registration. Here are 8 things to know
A Republican-backed bill would upend voter registration. Here are 8 things to know
Discussion:
The 19th

Why I Left the Washington Post — Owner Jeff Bezos wants to transform the Opinions section of the paper, where I worked for forty years. After the publisher killed my column disagreeing with that move—it appears here in full—I decided to quit. — I walked into the Washington Post building …
Discussion:
The Independent and Associated Press, more at Mediagazer »

Trump and Musk are building a new spoils system — A basic democratic norm is that laws are implemented as they are written. Another norm is that the implementation of the law be even-handed, applied equally to all groups. The idea that some groups would become less eligible for public support …
Discussion:
Washington Post and Politico

RFK Jr.: It Would Be Better if ‘Everybody Got Measles’ — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to suggest getting measles is the best defense against the disease, as a Texas outbreak spreads across the U.S. More than 220 people in the state have been diagnosed …
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, The Hill, eutoday.net, Bloomberg, New Republic and Daily Kos
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Texas measles outbreak grows, while New York and California report new cases
Discussion:
CNN, Health Department, Ars Technica, ABC News, UPI, Associated Press, Forbes and Fox News
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
Our Brave President Goes to War with [Checks Notes] Ontario
Our Brave President Goes to War with [Checks Notes] Ontario
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, Axios and The Daily Wire

Trump official tasked with defending DOGE cuts posted fashion influencer videos from her office — As the Office of Personnel Management oversaw the layoffs of thousands of federal workers and pressed others to justify their positions, the agency's chief spokesperson repeatedly used her office …
Discussion:
New York Times and Raw Story

New CNN poll: Americans are negative on Trump's handling of economy — Americans are not impressed with President Donald Trump's stewardship of the economy, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, putting him underwater on the nation's top issue even as he sees ratings among the best …
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, masslive.com, Raw Story and Emerson Polling
Eli Hager / ProPublica:
“The President Wanted It and I Did It”: Recording Reveals Head of Social Security's Thoughts on DOGE and Trump — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Since the arrival of a team …
Discussion:
The Independent and Bloomberg
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Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
Trump, Musk fuel fears of Social Security cuts with ‘fraud’ talk
Trump, Musk fuel fears of Social Security cuts with ‘fraud’ talk
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Washington Post, American Greatness, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Coeur d'Alene Press, Deseret News, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Townhall, Washington Times, Democrats, Forbes, Fox Business, The Post Millennial, CNN, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Associated Press

Education Department Fires 1,300 Workers, Gutting Its Staff — The layoffs mean that the department will now have a work force of about half the size it did when President Trump took office. — The Education Department announced on Tuesday that it was firing more than 1,300 workers …
Discussion:
Reason, masslive.com, Joanne Jacobs, Fox News, Forbes, Business Insider, Associated Press, USA Today, Townhall, HotAir and PBS NewsHour
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Education Department cuts half its staff as Trump vows to wind the agency down
Discussion:
Inside Higher Ed, Business Insider, ABC News, NBC News, CNN, CBS News, Roll Call, Associated Press, NPR, Reuters, The Guardian, Chicago Sun Times, Raw Story, Daily Caller News Foundation, Breitbart, New York Post, HuffPost, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Scripps News, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Wire
U.S. Department of Education:
U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force
U.S. Department of Education Initiates Reduction in Force
Discussion:
HotAir, Christian Science Monitor, GovExec.com, Washington Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NPR, Fox News, The Federalist, RedState, The Guardian, Deseret News, Chalkbeat, Democrats, UPI, Washington Times, CBS News, Axios, Politico, The Gateway Pundit, Federal News Network, Semafor and The Autistic Self …
Matthew Boaz / Default:
How to Lose a Green Card — Green card holders like Columbia University's Mahmoud Khalil are entitled to due process before having their permanent residency taken away. — @mboaz.bsky.social — Meet The Authors … At 11:30 a.m. this morning, Judge Jesse Furman of the U.S. District …
Discussion:
The Federalist, @amuse and NPR
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Hearing for Columbia Student Mahmoud Khalil to Address Basic Constitutional Questions
Discussion:
The Hill, The Contrarian, Executive Functions, USA Today, Fox News, New Republic, New York Daily News, NewsNation, Axios, Israpundit, Jill Filipovic, Jewish Insider, The Forward, The Guardian and FIRE
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
The Mahmoud Khalil arrest is also what cronyism looks like
The Mahmoud Khalil arrest is also what cronyism looks like
Discussion:
You Might Notice a Trend, The Wrap, New Republic, The City and Raw Story

Trump, Perkins Coie and John Adams — The President breaks a bedrock legal principle by targeting the law firm for representing clients he doesn't like. — Tap For Sound — As he campaigned for a second term, Donald Trump often said his retribution against opponents would be “success.”
Discussion:
Reuters, Techdirt, Raw Story and Above the Law
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Alexander Mallin / ABC News:
Perkins Coie files suit to block Trump executive order aimed at punishing firm
Perkins Coie files suit to block Trump executive order aimed at punishing firm
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Times, NPR, Raw Story, Above the Law and The Hill

Rahm Emanuel Is Gearing Up to Run for President — The former Chicago mayor is already on the hustings, finding new ways to attack Trumpism from the center. — Rahm Wants to Run. — Yes, that Rahm. And, yes, for that office — the presidency. — “I've only been back two months …
Discussion:
The National Pulse

A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Lose — Especially when you're running a country — A note to subscribers: I've taken my weekend primer on Social Security out from behind the paywall, partly in response to popular demand but also because it's relevant to today's post. — This will, I hope, be a fairly short post.

Johns Hopkins Plans Staff Layoffs After $800 Million Grant Cuts — Local and international health research efforts are already winding down as the university braces for even more potential cuts — The Trump administration has terminated $800 million in grants to Johns Hopkins University …

‘I feel utter anger’: From Canada to Europe, a movement to boycott US goods is spreading — Tesla sales are falling and apps and online groups are springing up to help consumers choose non-US items — The renowned German classical violinist Christian Tetzlaff was blunt in explaining …

Turns out DOGE can't beat FOIA by shouting NOT AN AGENCY — 🚘 💨 🛣️ With corporate outlets obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important right now than ever. Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.
Discussion:
GovExec.com, The Intercept, The Verge, E&E News, USA Today, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, RTÉ, New Republic and The Hill

E.P.A. Plans to Close All Environmental Justice Offices — An internal memo directs the closure of offices designed to ease the heavy pollution faced by poor and minority communities. — The Trump administration intends to eliminate Environmental Protection Agency offices responsible …
Discussion:
Scripps News and Breitbart

DOGE Privacy Act Requests — U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin is encouraging all U.S. citizens to join him this week in filing formal demands for access to their personal data obtained by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and Elon Musk. — The U.S. District Court for the District …

Introducing: The Musk Watch DOGE Tracker — New tool reveals Musk has overstated verified DOGE savings by at least 92% — Elon Musk claims that the U.S. DOGE Service (DOGE) — a small group of Musk associates embedded in virtually every department of the federal government — have already saved taxpayers over $100 billion.
Discussion:
Fox Business

Is Trump Throwing It Away? — His tariff circus undermines U.S. standing just when it would be most useful. — Tap For Sound — The U.S. might have put itself in a better position in this week's Ukraine negotiations. It might have taken advantage of Vladimir Putin's early confusion …
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, Vox and Washington Examiner