memeorandum: The Last Full Measure, Quietly Remembered (Mark Hertling/The Bulwark)

10:20 AM ET, May 21, 2026

Top Items:

Glenn Thrush / New York Times:

Trump's Fund Shows Blanche Choosing Loyalty Over Pushing Back — Once seen by some as the most conventional of President Trump's political appointees, Todd Blanche has taken off the gloves in his new role as acting attorney general. — Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general …

Discussion: CNN and Raw Story

Noah Shachtman / New York Times:

Trump Just Took Us Somewhere the Country Has Never Been Before — Donald Trump has been thinking a lot about his place in history. That's one of the reasons, according to recent reporting by The Atlantic and The Times, why he's paying so little attention to his plummeting popularity …

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, MS NOW, Mediaite and New York Magazine

Jeffrey Toobin / New York Times:

Trump Just Pardoned Himself and His Family Forever — For decades there have been disagreements among constitutional scholars about whether a president can pardon himself. But Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, just gave President Trump something even better: pre-emptive exoneration …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, emptywheel, RedState, Financial Times, Al Jazeera and USA Today

New York Times:

Trump's $1.8 Billion Slush Fund Will Benefit Criminals and the President Himself — Has there ever been an episode of presidential corruption so blatant and threatening to constitutional order? Certainly not in modern times. President Trump's Justice Department is using taxpayer money to create a $1.8 billion political slush fund.

Discussion: Lawfare, The Independent, Althouse, New York Post, Raw Story, MS NOW, The Hill, The Dean's Report, CNBC, NBC News, Politico and Mediaite

Meryl Kornfield / Washington Post:
Trump's allies are already lining up to apply to his $1.8 billion fund

Discussion: Axios, NewsMax.com, Above the Law, News Talk 105.9, Hawaii Tribune-Herald, Raw Story and Mediaite

Peter Baker / New York Times: Trump's Government Moves to Spare an Unhappy Taxpayer Named Trump

CNN:
‘This is long overdue’: Jan. 6 rioters and election deniers celebrate Trump's $1.8 billion compensation fund

Discussion: New York Times, Raw Story, Associated Press, Mediaite, The Hill, CBS News, Talking Points Memo and Democracy Docket

Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff / Reuters:
'I'm not greedy': January 6 rioters and Trump allies eye $1.8 billion ‘weaponization’ fund

Jordain Carney / Politico:

Ballroom won't be funded after Senate GOP drops $1 billion Trump security request … And several GOP senators aired public concerns about including any ballroom funding in a bill otherwise dedicated to immigration enforcement. A larger swath of Republicans were privately opposed …

Discussion: NBC News, New York Times, Associated Press, U.S. Home, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Forbes, New York Sun, New Republic, Semafor, Mediaite, HuffPost and Washington Post

Punchbowl News:

5/21/26☀️ AM: … Senate Republicans are preparing to buck President Donald Trump on two of his long-running obsessions: the White House ballroom project and the “weaponization” of federal agencies against his allies. … But Republican leaders are making clear they'd rather risk …

Discussion: The Independent, New York Sun and Politico

Axios:
Trump bleeds votes in Congress to keep Iran war going

Discussion: Bloomberg, New York Sun, Truthout, RedState, UPI, New York Times, The Independent and Stars & Stripes

Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Trump eyes more GOP targets for revenge in 2028

Discussion: New Republic, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, The Independent, The Hill, Newsweek, MS NOW, HuffPost and Politico

Politico: Dems' midterm attack plan

Axios:
Trump's priorities are in deep trouble after his revenge tour

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Politico, Townhall, Robert Reich, Roll Call, Reuters, Raw Story, The Hill and Newsweek

Yair Rosenberg / The Atlantic:
The Real Reason Thomas Massie Lost

Discussion: The Hill, NOTUS, New York Times, NewsMax.com, The Independent, People For, The Daily Wire, MS NOW, Mediaite and Wall Street Journal

New York Times:

Democrats' Midterm Strength Masks Fierce Divides and Frustration, Poll Shows — Democratic voters are in a combative, anti-establishment mood, unhappy with their party and disagreeing about its best path forward, a New York Times/Siena poll found. — The Democratic Party is entering …

Quinnipiac University Poll:
Trump's Handling Of Economy Hits All-Time Low, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Prefer Dems To Win Control Of House But Give Them Poor Marks For Current Job

Discussion: New Republic, The Hill, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, AP-NORC, Bloomberg and Eschaton

Melody Schreiber / The Guardian:

US is ‘simply choosing not to stop’ Ebola outbreak after massive public health cuts, experts say — Hundreds of cases reported in the DRC after USAID has been dismantled and key scientific research canceled — A previously undetected outbreak of Ebola is coursing through parts of central Africa …

Discussion: New York Times, Salon and The Bulwark

Adriel Bettelheim / Axios:
Ebola outbreak raises alarms about Trump's global health moves

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, Breitbart, STAT, The Hill, NewsMax.com, Straight Arrow, KTVZ-TV, WWL-TV, Semafor and U.S. Embassy & Consulates …

Politico:
What Ebola and hantavirus are revealing about America's public health system

Discussion: NPR and Gothamist

Jack Healy / New York Times:

Colorado Governor Censured for Commuting Sentence of Election Denier — The Colorado State Democratic Party, reflecting the anger of rank-and-file Democratic voters, rebuked Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday over his decision to release Tina Peters from prison.

Discussion: Denver Post, Slate, Colorado Politics, Los Angeles Times and Wonkette

Casey Wooten / NBC News:
Colorado Democrats censure Gov. Jared Polis for commuting election denier's sentence

Discussion: The Hill, Fox News, CBS News, KTVZ-TV, The Colorado Sun, KUSA-TV and Mediaite

New York Times:

A $5 Million Donation From Big Tobacco Preceded F.D.A. Vape Decision — Reynolds American's contribution to MAGA Inc. came about one week before the Trump administration announced a new policy on e-cigarettes the company had sought. — The tobacco company Reynolds American donated $5 million …

Discussion: MS NOW and Raw Story

Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:

Bluesky Says Kremlin Is Hacking Its Platform to Spread Propaganda — The company said it was fighting Russian efforts to hijack real users' accounts to post fake content, an apparently novel tactic. — Ben Gilbert describes himself on Bluesky, the social media app, as an “economist …

more at Techmeme »

BBC:

Empty rooms and Fifa cancellations - US hotels fear World Cup washout — The World Cup was supposed to provide a tourism boom for the US, but now the fear is it may never materialise. — A report — produced by the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) has found that bookings …

Discussion: WHYY, SFist and Raw Story

Holly Otterbein / Axios:

Scoop: Fetterman's chief of staff resigns — Sen. John Fetterman's chief of staff resigned Wednesday, a source familiar with the move told Axios. … She became his chief of staff in 2025. — Her official last day will be in the coming weeks. — Fetterman, who was once a darling …

Discussion: IJR and Mediaite

Steve Vladeck / One First:

Bonus 228: The $1.776B Political Question — President Trump's $1.776B “Anti-Weaponization” slush fund is just the latest (and gravest) move that underscores the limits of judicial remedies, and the need to reinvigorate political ones. — ∙ Paid — Every so often a story comes along …

Discussion: PBS NewsHour

CNN:

Iran rebuilding military industrial base faster than expected, already producing drones, according to US intel — Iran has already restarted some of its drone production during the six-week ceasefire that began in early April, one sign it is rapidly rebuilding certain military capabilities degraded …

Discussion: Raw Story, The Times of Israel and News Talk 105.9

Dan Diamond / Washington Post:

Trump officials say they can build 250-foot arch without Congress's okay — To build a triumphal arch near Arlington Cemetery, the administration hopes to rely on a 100-year-old authorization for a different project in the area. — Summary — The Trump administration does not plan …

Discussion: Associated Press, WUSA and Raw Story

Alex Shultz / New York Magazine:

The Man Who Explains Israel to John Fetterman … Over the last three years, Democratic Party support for Israel has undergone a dramatic reversal. In 2024, 18 Democratic senators backed a measure to block arms sales to the country. In April of this year, it was 40.

Mark Hertling / The Bulwark:

The Last Full Measure, Quietly Remembered — FOR ME, MEMORIAL DAY ALWAYS BRINGS with it a deep contradiction. — I watch as most of America marks the weekend as the unofficial beginning of summer: cookouts and baseball games, long weekends, beaches, family gatherings, flags fluttering from porches …

Lisa Needham / Public Notice:

How Hennepin County unwound an ICE agent's web of lies — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠 — During the Trump administration's siege of Minnesota, federal agents behaved with the sort of impunity that comes …

Discussion: BLCK Press and Chicago Sun Times

Ebony Davis / MS NOW:

Judge orders White House staff to comply with Presidential Records Act after DOJ calls it ‘unconstitutional’ — President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are among several White House officials excluded from the ruling. — A federal judge on Wednesday ordered White House personnel …

Discussion: Politico, Reason, Law and Chaos, Washington Post, Roll Call and New Republic

Grace Vance / KCRG-TV:

Iowa lawmakers move to mandate students take Center for Intellectual Freedom classes amid low enrollment — It comes after a report found the center must require courses to boost student participation — IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) - University of Iowa students could soon be required to take classes …

ProPublica:

This Sheriff's Office Says Racial Profiling Reforms Are Too Costly. Auditors Found It Misused $163 Million. — Since 2013, Maricopa County officials have approved $226 million in sheriff's office spending related to a settlement aimed at rooting out racial profiling.

Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:

New York City 2026 Congressional Polling: NY-07, NY-10, NY-12 — Home Polls New York City 2026 Congressional Polling: NY-07, NY-10, NY-12 — New Emerson College Polling/PIX 11 surveys measure key New York City Democratic congressional primaries in New York's 7th, 10th, and 12th districts.