Top Items:
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Republicans are sweating about the White House ballroom project … But it is in doubt. … - GOP senators were unmoved by a line-item lobbying effort from Secret Service director Sean Curran in a closed-door lunch on Tuesday, first reported by Axios. — “One of the biggest concerns …
Discussion:
Politico, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, The Hill and New Republic
RELATED:
Politico:
Why Republicans can't get traction on affordability legislation
Discussion:
The Hill, Punchbowl News, Axios, Military.com, Bloomberg, New York Times, NewsMax.com and NOTUS
Politico:
Capitol agenda: House eyes summer for another party-line bill
Capitol agenda: House eyes summer for another party-line bill
Discussion:
E&E News and Florida Politics
Punchbowl News:
5/13/26☀️ AM: … On issue after issue, both in Washington and in state capitals around …
5/13/26☀️ AM: … On issue after issue, both in Washington and in state capitals around …
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House Budget chair wants more information about ballroom funding
House Budget chair wants more information about ballroom funding
Discussion:
The Hill, Newsweek, The Daily Signal, KEYT-TV and Raw Story
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
10,000 rulings: The courts' overwhelming rebuke of Trump's ICE policies … Trump's unprecedented detention policy, which is almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court, infuriated lower courts in ways no other modern issue has. It ruptured the relationship between the Justice Department and the judiciary …
Discussion:
Slate
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Aaron Pellish / Politico:
Trump administration elevates former private prison company exec to lead ICE … It is the first significant appointment by DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who took the role following the removal of Kristi Noem in a shakeup of Trump's immigration policy team.
Discussion:
New York Times, NewsMax.com, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Raw Story, CBS News, Fox News, KEYT-TV, The Hill, Washington Examiner and twitchy.com
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Officials Consider Settling Trump Suit Against I.R.S. — One of the settlement terms under review is for the I.R.S. to drop any audits of the president, his family members and businesses. — The Justice Department is holding internal discussions about settling President Trump's lawsuit …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, The Independent, Lawyers, Guns & Money and E&E News
Aaron Pellish / Politico:
GOP scores another gerrymandering victory with Missouri Supreme Court win … It's the latest in a series of redistricting victories won by Republicans through the courts. The Supreme Court ruled last month to weaken the Voting Rights Act, clearing the way for several Republican-controlled states …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, Compact, NOTUS, RedState and Democracy Docket
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Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
Louisiana GOP lawmakers advance map eliminating one Democratic House district
Discussion:
New York Times, WVUE-TV, IJR, This Week in Statehouse Action, WWL-TV, Democracy Docket, Fox News, CBS News and Washington Examiner
Politico:
South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now
South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now
Discussion:
Greenville News, The Hill, New York Times, NBC News, Washington Post, The Fucking News, Democracy Docket, Newsweek, UPI, Associated Press, Roll Call, The Independent, New York Post, The Guardian, Townhall, Raw Story, The Daily Signal, Bloomberg, KEYT-TV, Daily Caller News Foundation, Mediaite, NPR, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Blaze Media, Ace of Spades HQ and The Moderate Voice
Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Trump's Shrinking Ambitions on China — The president came into office planning harsher trade moves on China than on the rest of the world. Here's why he's had to scale them back. — When President Trump campaigned in 2024, he promised a trade agenda that would hit China harder …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, Asia Times, Al Jazeera, Semafor, Washington Examiner and NPR
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NBC News:
Trade, Taiwan and Iran cast shadows on Trump's China summit with Xi
Discussion:
USA Today, New York Post, New York Sun, The Guardian, El País, Al Jazeera, Deseret News, Washington Times, ABC News, WTTG-TV, CBS News and The Independent
Colin Demarest / Axios:
Drills, deals and doubts in the Pacific as Trump visits China
New York Times:
U.S. Intelligence Shows Iran Retains Substantial Missile Capabilities — Secret new assessments say Iran has operational access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that its military remains far stronger than President Trump has asserted.
Discussion:
Phillips's Newsletter, Mediaite, Real Patriotism …, Jewish Insider, Wonkette, The Times of Israel, Fox News, U.S. Home and Semafor
Bridget Bowman / NBC News:
Democrats pick Nebraska Senate nominee who could drop out and back independent Dan Osborn — Democrat Cindy Burbank won Tuesday's primary, NBC News projects, and she previously said she would consider leaving the race if she did not have a path to victory. — Cindy Burbank won …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Times, CNN, The Downballot, Newsweek, NewsMax.com, New York Post, Fox News, The Hill, Deseret News, Political Wire, Blaze Media, Bloomberg, The Guardian and GV Wire
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Andrew Howard / Politico:
Nebraska Dem who will drop out and support Dan Osborn wins Senate primary
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill and The Downballot
Wall Street Journal:
Watchdog Probes Kristi Noem's Warehouse Purchases for ICE Detention Centers — The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general is investigating a $38 billion program championed by Noem — WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has launched a probe …
Politico:
Michigan Senate hopeful El-Sayed calls himself a ‘physician’ but has little history treating patients … But according to a review of Michigan and New York state medical records, he's never been granted a medical license in those states. El-Sayed's hands-on experience treating patients appears …
Discussion:
Detroit Free Press, Mondoweiss, American Prospect, Townhall, Washington Examiner, Breitbart and Raw Story
Emily Hallas / Washington Examiner:
Concerns about sexual violence in Israel-Gaza conflict renewed amid NYT controversy — Accusations that Israel has fomented a culture of sexual violence against Palestinians triggered intense controversy this week, deepening the divide between the Jewish nation and its critics.
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Brian Kemp signs law making many metro Atlanta races nonpartisan — The law applies to most local government races in Democratic-dominated areas. A court challenge is expected.
Politico:
House Oversight Dems hear from Epstein victims in Palm Beach meeting — WEST PALM BEACH, Florida — House Oversight Democrats heard Tuesday from victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in Palm Beach County, where many of the crimes took place. The so-called shadow hearing …
RELATED:
Richard Luscombe / The Guardian:
Epstein survivors give tearful testimony in House field hearing in Palm Beach
Epstein survivors give tearful testimony in House field hearing in Palm Beach
Discussion:
The Epstein Files and New Republic
Wall Street Journal:
Inside Marty Makary's Downfall at the FDA — Senior administration officials concluded the commissioner was out of step with President Trump's priorities — In the end, Dr. Marty Makary had just about run out of allies. — The chorus calling for the Food and Drug Administration commissioner …
Jose Pagliery / NOTUS:
FBI Created ‘Payback Squad’ to Handle Political Cases, Sources Say — Investigators are eyeing cases similar to the recent criminal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, one current government official told NOTUS. — Copy — The FBI now has a team of special agents that's …
NBC News:
Police received threat against Georgia candidate for governor ahead of bomb scare at campaign event — Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's secretary of state, has faced threats after publicly disputing President Donald Trump's false claims that he won Georgia in the 2020 general election.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Ramona Shelburne / ESPN:
Jason Collins, 1st openly gay NBA player, dies of brain cancer at 47 — Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player who has served as a global ambassador for the sport for the past decade, has died of brain cancer, his family said Tuesday. He was 47.
Discussion:
New York Times, CBS News, Originally Reported …, UPI, Al Jazeera, Washington Blade, Breitbart, Gay City News, TMZ.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Advocate, PinkNews, Fox News and U.S. Home
Jesse Bedayn / Associated Press:
Obama meets with Talarico, aiming to boost Democrat's bid for US Senate in Texas — Former President Barack Obama met with U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico Tuesday in Texas, putting his support behind a campaign that Democrats see as a shot, if a long one, for the party to win statewide in the reliably conservative state.
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News, The Texas Tribune, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, The Hill, Townhall, GV Wire and USA Today
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Döpfner's MAGA Dance — The Axel Springer chief has been quietly pursuing closer ties to Donald Trump through a series of off-the-record efforts, including a planned Washington dinner and a trek to the Middle East, Status has learned. — Earlier this year, Axel Springer quietly reached …
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
May 12, 2026 — The biggest story in the country, today and always, is that the president of the United States is mentally unwell. — Over the course of three hours last night, he posted on social media fifty-five times. Those posts accused a number of those Trump considers his personal enemies …
Washington Post:
White House to host 9-hour prayer festival focused on Christian roots of U.S. — Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and Mike Johnson will speak at the event, which centers on the idea that the founders wanted the U.S. to be explicitly Christian. — Summary — The Trump administration is hosting …
Discussion:
RNS
Riley Rogerson / Politico:
Top House Democrats slam Jen Kiggans over radio host's ‘vile and racist language’ — Democrats are hammering Rep. Jen Kiggans after the vulnerable Virginia Republican concurred with a Richmond radio host saying Hakeem Jeffries should get his “cotton-picking hands” off Virginia politics.
Discussion:
New York Times, U.S. Home, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, KEYT-TV, HuffPost, Newsweek, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Washington Times and Mediaite
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump's five-alarm economy — President Trump flew to Beijing on Tuesday under some of the darkest economic clouds of his political career, leaving behind a country reeling from the cost of everyday life. … The inflation crisis that doomed his predecessor suggests he may not recover.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, CBS News, New Republic, Democrats, Bloomberg, The Independent, Daily Kos, PoliticusUSA, Mercury News, DCCC and CNN
