Punchbowl News: “The turnover rocking the Senate will trigger a wave of change atop major committees next year, which means new policy priorities and oversight angles coming in 2027.”
“The sheer scale of the change is striking: almost a dozen Republicans or Democrats in top committee roles are retiring, lost their reelection bids or are moving into new posts. That number is likely to go even higher following Election Day.”
“Fuel price increases in the first six months of the Iran conflict are costing U.S. drivers far more than the same stretch after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up costs,” Axios reports.
“Trump administration officials have emphasized — correctly — that gasoline hit an all-time high under Biden of over $5 per gallon, well above May’s $4.56 high during the Iran war.”
“But the price elevation since attacks on Iran began Feb. 28 has been more persistent.”
“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took a snarky swipe Monday at Canada’s military preparedness after the trade war between the two neighbors deepened in recent days,” the New York Post reports.
Said Bessent: “What are they going to do — take their two submarines from the Edmonton Mall and sic them on us?”
“President Trump warned Monday that communities that don’t embrace data centers will ‘end up being backwards and poor,’ putting himself at odds with most Americans who say they don’t want the facilities that power AI to be built near them,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Trump: “The only reason that communities throughout the USA should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor. If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.”
President Trump “knocked U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper, who has overseen the case over the Kennedy Center and the president’s attempts to refurbish and rename the living memorial, as ‘highly conflicted,'” NewsNation reports.
New York Magazine: “Over the weekend, Google announced that it would comply with Donald Trump’s executive order directing the official renaming of Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America,’ at least for those using Google Maps in the United States.”
“Apple hasn’t yet followed suit on its mapping software, but President Trump is apparently taking time out of his busy schedule of posting AI attacks on Iran to bully the world’s most valuable company into doing so.”
“Fox News host Trey Gowdy asked him a question and President Donald Trump answered… and answered… and answered,” Mediaite reports.
“He gave an uninterrupted 7 minute and 55 second answer which also weaved in one of his favorite moves: bashing ex-president Joe Biden.”
“The U.S. Treasury Department denied credentials to journalists from The New York Times, Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal for this week’s Group of 20 finance meeting in North Carolina,” The Wrap reports.
“Republican campaign groups – supported by the Trump administration – asked the Supreme Court on Monday to let them purchase television advertising at discounted rates, handing the nation’s highest court another emergency appeal that could influence the outcome of this year’s midterm elections,” CNN reports.
“The quick-turn appeal follows a series of high-profile decisions from the 6-3 conservative court that have largely benefited Republicans. A separate case dealing with President Donald Trump’s controversial executive order on mail ballots is also expected to rocket back to the justices in the coming days.”
“Kalshi said on Monday that it would ban former Republican Rep. George Santos from using its platform for life after a federal regulator alleged that the ex-congressman made more than $17,000 by placing bets on his attendance at President Trump’s State of the Union address,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In addition to the ban, Kalshi said its compliance department had imposed a penalty of $71,356, according to a filing on its website. It marks the first time the company has issued a lifetime ban.”
“Donald Trump has vowed more attacks on Iran after the warring countries exchanged fire for the first time in more than a month, sending oil prices up 3 percent,” the Financial Times reports.
“The U.S. president issued a warning on Monday hours after Tehran fired missiles at American assets in Jordan in response to an attack by the U.S. on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz, ending a month of relative calm in the war.”
Said Trump: “There will be a response to Iran’s retaliatory attack. We’re going to hit them hard.”
NBC News: “For more than a decade, one of Trump’s greatest strengths has been the devotion of his base — voters who were reluctant to criticize him and quick to defend him in public settings. Many of them have lost or strained friendships with their vehement support and insistence that he is virtually infallible.”
“But in late-August conversations with Trump voters across eight of the nation’s most competitive congressional districts, running along Interstate 80 from central New Jersey to Omaha, Nebraska, there was a new willingness among Trump voters to voice their critiques on issues including inflation, the war with Iran and the White House ballroom construction.”
The Atlantic: “In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, along the equator, scientists have drawn a box. It’s a big box, two-thirds the size of China, yet hardly anyone lives inside it. This rectangular swath of open ocean is monitored by satellites and a network of moored buoys that measure minute changes in the temperature of the water, with an eye toward anomalies.”
“Every few years or so, driven by changing winds and currents, the water temperature in this part of the ocean starts to rise; even a half degree Celsius above normal over months warrants a designation that an El Niño phase has begun. That’s enough warming to unleash floods and fires, drought and famine, around the world. The box is called Niño 3.4. Right now, it’s hot in the box.”
Quinta Jurecic: “The conservative legal movement doesn’t consider the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to be the final word on the Fourteenth Amendment. And it already has a playbook for overturning it.”
“The House is scheduled to return Monday from a five-week summer recess with a top priority of avoiding a government shutdown before the midterm elections,” NBC News reports.
“The House will only be in session for four days this week and will return again on Sept. 14, after Labor Day, when the Senate will also come back from its lengthy break. From there, the House has just three weeks left in session before Election Day on Nov. 3.”
“Democrats are seen as the overwhelming favorite to win back the House in just over two months. They aren’t looking to leave anything to chance,” Bloomberg reports.
“At least a couple dozen House Democrats are defending purplish districts this fall, and even more blue candidates are vying to flip Republican-held seats.”
“Democratic groups’ ad spending is ramping up in districts everywhere from Florida to Arizona to Washington state, with messages laser-focused on the cost of living — particularly healthcare.”
Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) is using AI-generated videos of his challenger, Rebecca Cooke (D), including fake video of her ordering “peasants” to support her candidacy, Wisconsin Public Radio reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
