Your essential guide to the shock and awe in national politics. Read in moderation.
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U.S. debt topped $40 trillion for the first time; Trump threatened Iran with “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” and warned of “TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences” for any country providing “any type of lifeline to Iran”; the FBI raided former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s Washington home; the Census Bureau published an unsigned analysis claiming that 24,000 noncitizens…
Trump paused his 50% tariffs on about $20 billion of Canadian goods for three days; in Florida, democratic socialist state Rep. Angie Nixon upset the far better-funded Alex Vindman for the Democratic Senate nomination and will face Republican Sen. Ashley Moody; in Alaska, former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola and Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan advanced to November’s Senate election; Georgia Sen....
Trump posted a map of the Strait of Hormuz that was labeled as “new U.S. territory”; U.S. Customs and Border Protection paused all border security construction in Big Bend National Park; ABC and Disney sued the FCC to block its early review of eight ABC broadcast licenses; the White House attacked CNN correspondent Kristen Holmes and her children after asking...
Trump threatened to “bomb the shit out of” Oman if it “gets in the way” of U.S. efforts in the Strait of Hormuz; Iran rejected Trump’s threat to declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory; U.S. Central Command chief acknowledged mental health challenges aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln; Trump ordered the Pentagon to substantially reduce joint military exercises with South...
Trump signed an executive order to scale back the federal childhood vaccine schedule; Trump signed executive orders to narrow birthright citizenship and end “birth tourism”; ICE plans to spend up to $20 million in a no-bid contract on thousands of electric shock gloves to use on people they’re trying to detain; Trump authorized U.S. companies to conduct government-directed cyberattacks against...
Trump denied that munitions shortages are threatening to limit his military options in Iran, but acknowledged that some weapons are in “tighter” supply; the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress after he invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 100 times and refused to answer questions about the origins of Covid-19; the Trump administration...
Progressive candidates won Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary and two closely watched House primaries, while establishment-backed Democrats won key races in Missouri and Virginia; the Senate confirmed Erica Schwartz as CDC director; the House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into allegations that Rep. Max Miller abused his ex-wife and toddler daughter, and used illegal drugs; Trump still…
The U.S. military has reportedly used “virtually all” of its surface-to-surface weapons during Trump’s five-month war with Iran; Trump didn’t fire U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after she brought a box of evidence to the White House showing that the Reflecting Pool’s damage was due to a “botched installation” and not vandalism; the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Todd Blanche’s nomination for...
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche formally rescinded the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund”; Capital One closed more than 300 bank accounts linked to Trump and his businesses in 2021 after “months of analysis and a careful review” by its anti-money laundering team; Trump accused ExxonMobil and Chevron of “making too much money” off the oil shortage caused by the...
July 27-31
Trump threatened to temporarily withdraw Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general rather than accept limits on an IRS settlement that protects Trump, his family, and their businesses from tax audits; Iran vowed to “punish the aggressor” after the U.S. launched a “heavy wave of strikes” against dozens of Iranian targets; ICE expanded immigration arrests at airports beyond travelers with…
