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7:10 AM ET, August 20, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Phelim Kine / Politico:
Trump's snub of South Korea sends region scrambling  —  The Trump administration's snub of South Korea has America's allies in Asia rethinking how much they can depend on the U.S. for defense — and looking to each other to reduce their reliance on Washington.
RELATED:
Jesse Johnson / The Japan Times:
North Korea fires off barrage of missiles hours after Trump says he plans to meet Kim  —  Pyongyang fired off a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, Seoul said, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.
New York Times:
Trump's Order to Cut Military Exercises With South Korea Carries Risks, Experts Say
Discussion: CNBC, Bloomberg and Politico
MS NOW:
Trump aide Natalie Harp worked at the White House without security clearance for a year  —  The close aide to the president, known to filter much of the information reaching the commander-in-chief, ultimately relented in recent months after pressure from White House staff.
Kimberly Leonard / Politico:
Florida Dems scramble to regroup after Nixon upset  —  MIAMI — Progressive Angie Nixon's stunning upset in Florida's Senate race has many Democrats in the state spiraling.  —  The Jacksonville lawmaker's primary victory on Tuesday night over retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman jolted a state few thought would hold any surprises.
RELATED:
Karen Tumulty / Washington Post:
Democrats are moving past the resistance.  They want a new kind of fighter.  —  Prominent Democrats from President Donald Trump's first-term battles are losing in primaries, a signal their party wants something else as it looks to 2028.  —  Summary  —  For more than a decade …
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America's Borrowing Binge Continues  —  President Trump's promises to restore fiscal order and reduce the amount of America's debt burden have been hampered by spending on the Iran war, tax cuts and tariff refunds.  —  America's gross national debt topped $40 trillion …
RELATED:
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
'It's Bonkers': Jennifer Hegseth's Hands-On Role in Her Husband's Pentagon  —  After an 18-year career at Fox News, she is now her husband's most influential adviser and de facto producer, shaping the job like no Pentagon spouse has before.  —  There has never been a Pentagon spouse quite like Jennifer Hegseth.
Discussion: The Independent
Politico:
Trump's pick to lead the FDA faces uphill Senate battle  —  Heidi Overton's years of loyalty to Donald Trump helped her become his pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, one of the government's most powerful regulatory agencies.  But that devotion could ruin her chances at Senate confirmation.
RELATED:
Torrie Herrington / NOTUS:
Trump Nominates Aide Heidi Overton for FDA Commissioner
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Michael Cohen won't say if he'll use his Trump interview to seek a pardon  —  Michael Cohen and President Donald Trump have apparently patched up their differences in private.  Now, they can do it in public.  —  The president is scheduled to do a phone interview Thursday with Cohen …
RELATED:
Graham Kates / CBS News:
Michael Cohen, Trump's fixer-turned-nemesis, says he'll interview former boss
Discussion: Newsweek and NewsMax.com
Axios:
Data center uproar scrambles the midterm election  —  A new populist fever is coursing through the midterms, forcing campaigns to retreat and recalibrate as they confront a groundswell of hostility toward AI data centers. … Candidates in both parties are now racing to distance themselves …
RELATED:
Theodoric Meyer / Washington Post:
Ties to data centers could cost Ohio Sen. Jon Husted his seat, memo warns
Discussion: ABC News, The Hill, Truthout and NewsMax.com
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Trump's Human Printer Is Cray-Cray  —  It would be much better if they *were* sleeping together.  —  1,147 … Join  —  1. Nataly.  Natali.  Nathalie.  —  We have to talk about the Trump-Natalie Harp thing.  I'm sorry.  I had a big piece about economics teed up for today.
The Hill:
Trump announces ‘most crushing economic operation ever’ against Iran  —  President Trump announced Wednesday evening the “MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER” against Iran amid negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil trading waterway that has been effectively closed since early March.
RELATED:
NBC News:
Mike Lindell says he'll pay for recount after double-digit loss in Minnesota governor primary  —  The MyPillow founder said he's prepared to pay nearly $1 million to cover the costs associated with a hand recount after he lost to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth.
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
New Drone Unit to Be Phased Out as Hegseth's Army Pick Makes His Mark  —  Gen. Christopher LaNeve takes aim at a cutting-edge drone unit, one of several moves he has made since taking over the Army  —  WASHINGTON—The Army took a major step to prepare for wars of the future in January …
NOTUS:
Trump Considers a Press Secretary Shakeup: Picking a Man  —  After four female press secretaries during his two terms, President Donald Trump has told close advisers he would prefer a man to fill Karoline Leavitt's position, NOTUS has learned.  —  The pick would be meant to stave off comparisons …
Discussion: Fox News and The Hill
NPR:
Experts raise alarms over Census Bureau report Trump is touting on noncitizen voting  —  A highly unusual Census Bureau report that President Trump is using to reup dubious claims of widespread illegal voting by non-U.S. citizens has ties to a Trump-aligned think tank, NPR has learned.
Andrew Howard / Politico:
The Freedom Caucus is having a brutal primary run  —  The hard-right Freedom Caucus is having a rough primary season.  —  Candidates with backing from the caucus and its allies flopped in primaries from Florida to Wyoming on Tuesday, adding to a string of recent losses for the group.
Wall Street Journal:
Build First, Ask Questions Later: Trump's Ballroom Puts Supreme Court in a Bind  —  The administration says it is too late to unwind the project, even though two courts ruled against it  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump's half-built White House ballroom is a 90,000-square-foot embodiment …
Discussion: Forbes
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Vance raises $5 million at big Hamptons event  —  Vice President Vance hosted a Wednesday evening fundraiser in Southampton, N.Y., for young Republican donors that raised more than $5 million, Axios has learned. … - Attendees included Donald Trump Jr., Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan and GRV Strategies founder Garrett Ventry.
NOTUS:
Trump's Allies Want to Know the Plan in Iran — If There Is One  —  President Donald Trump's shifting statements on Iran have made it difficult for even allies to know the real plan for the war — let alone defend it to the American people.  —  Two House members told NOTUS …
Mychael Schnell / MS NOW:
The Republican town hall is vanishing — and Democrats see an opening  —  Republicans say in-person town halls are outdated, unsafe and ineffective.  Democrats say that is precisely the point: Lawmakers should not be able to avoid angry constituents simply because the interactions might be uncomfortable.
Kevin Frey / MS NOW:
House Democrats add five more candidates to ‘Red to Blue’ list  —  The party's House campaign arm added five candidates — including three military veterans — to its top-recruit list Thursday.  —  As the Iran war grinds past the six-month mark, House Democrats are betting that candidates …
MS NOW:
The Navy's ships risk wearing out in the Iran war  —  Former Navy leaders are concerned the Iran war is wearing down the Navy's aircraft carriers — including the USS Abraham Lincoln — which is putting a strain on long-term war-fighting capabilities of the fleet.
Discussion: New York Post
Washington Post:
Three more Trump-endorsed candidates lose their primaries  —  10 candidates backed by the president have lost so far in 2026, nearly tying his worst year in 2022.  —  For nearly a decade, President Donald Trump has prided himself as a GOP kingmaker, bestowing his “Complete and Total Endorsement” …
 
 
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 More Items: 
Politico:
‘Woefully underprepared’: Graham critics seize on her foreign policy misstep
David McCabe / New York Times:
Voters Aren't Waiting for November to Try Ousting Officials Over Data Centers
Nick Timiraos / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Press Kevin Warsh to Disclose Calls With Trump
 Earlier Items: 
Chase Difeliciantonio / Politico:
Why Adam Schiff wants to tax AI companies
Dee-Ann Durbin / Associated Press:
FTC proposal would require retailers to be transparent about personalized pricing
NBC News:
Trump administration was warned about peeling Reflecting Pool nearly a month before it brought vandalism case
Matt Cohen / Democracy Docket:
California senators call for ‘maximum oversight’ over conspiracist Tina Peters' new election job
Discussion: Wired and Los Angeles Times