Mark Sanford (R) “is stepping away from politics for good, suspending his 2026 congressional bid after just 30 days,” the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
“Instead, he’ll launch a nonprofit focused on the nation’s growing debt and deficit.”
Tucker Carlson Tells Trump: ‘You Have Failed’
Tucker Carlson unloaded on President Trump and his administration, stating he has abandoned everyday Americans and even has contempt for them.
Said Carlson: “You have not done a good job running this country. You don’t even care to try. You’d rather run the world or the empire. You don’t want to improve Baltimore. You don’t care about Gary, Indiana. Rural America makes you sick… Normal leaders would ask themselves, ‘Why are people mad? What are they dissatisfied with? How can I help them? They’re clearly in pain.’”
He concluded: “You have failed.”
Amazon Discusses ‘Apprentice’ Reboot
“First it bought the Melania documentary. Now Amazon is discussing a potential reboot of The Apprentice, the reality TV show that once starred Donald Trump and propelled him to national fame,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“People familiar with the matter said that executives at Amazon internally have discussed casting someone very close to President Trump as the host if they were to move ahead with filming new episodes: his oldest son Donald Trump Jr.”
Congressional Republicans Struggle to Do the Basics
New York Times: “With midterm elections approaching and control of the two chambers at real risk, Republicans are struggling to pass essential legislation, let alone the political messaging bills typical of the months running up to Election Day.”
“The House floor was frozen on Tuesday and ground to a standstill for several hours on Wednesday as Republican leaders pleaded for votes and cut side deals. Two of those hours were spent laboring to win a preliminary vote to begin debate on a series of bills — what used to be considered a routine step until the current Republican majority assumed power and rank-and-file lawmakers, noting their party’s vanishingly slim margin of control, latched on to such moments as leverage.”
Trump Threatens to Pull Troops From Germany
President Trump declared on Wednesday evening that he is “studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany,” in what appears to be retaliation for comments by Germany’s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, that Iran has “humiliated” the United States, the New York Times reports.
Mallory McMorrow Deleted Controversial Tweets
“As Democrats brace for a bruising primary in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, Mallory McMorrow, one of the party’s top contenders, has quietly deleted thousands of old tweets — including posts in which she took jabs at the rural Midwest, lamented ever leaving California, and said she continued to vote there after she said she’d moved permanently to Michigan,” CNN reports.
Trump Moves to Sharply Curtail Gun Regulations
“The Trump administration on Wednesday announced a sweeping rollback of gun regulations, prompting criticism from gun control advocates who called the moves misguided and dangerous,” the New York Times reports.
Senate Plans to Jam House on FISA Extension
Punchbowl News: “The House finally passed a FISA extension.”
“And moments later, the Senate made it official that they’ll completely ignore it.”
“A bill to extend FISA Section 702 for three years passed the House 235-191. Twenty-two Republicans voted no and 42 Democrats voted yes.”
“But Senate Majority Leader John Thune said late Wednesday that the Senate will likely consider a 45-day extension of FISA. It would give congressional leaders through June 12 to come up with a longer-term plan.”
The Emergence of the High-IQ Political Attacker
Wall Street Journal: “An Ivy League grad. An aspiring engineer who scored 1530 out of 1600 on his SAT. A 4.0 high-school student with a prestigious college scholarship. And now, a Caltech grad.”
“America’s growing rogue’s gallery of high-profile alleged violent attackers is notable for a glaring reason: In a shift from recent decades, they are young men who have excelled in academics, at times at the highest levels.”
Nancy Mace Goes Nuclear on Cory Mills
“Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) went off on fellow Republican lawmaker Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) on Wednesday amid claims he wildly misrepresented his service in the U.S. Army, with Mace entering several documents into the record that she said reinforced claims of stolen valor — and some other documents that just made him look bad,” Mediaite reports.
“Other documents she entered included a copy of his marriage certificate with a ‘9/11 imam’ and a picture of Mills with ‘a purported Russian hooker in Afghanistan, which he, of course, denies.'”
Bessent Says Powell Staying Is ‘Violation’ of Fed Norms
Bloomberg: “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent criticized Jerome Powell for his decision to stay on the Federal Reserve Board after he steps down as the US central bank’s chair, saying it amounts to a break with Fed tradition.”
Said Bessent: “It’s highly unusual for someone who says he’s an institutionalist and cares about norms at the Fed. This is a violation of all Federal Reserve norms.”
Exchange of the Day
Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) questioned Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth if they agreed with the quote: “The military won’t follow unlawful orders.”
CAIN: Yes.
HEGSETH: I do, but understand what you’re insinuating as a partisan point.
GOODLANDER: I’m not. I’m actually quoting you directly, Mr. Hegseth, from April 12, 2016; and I appreciate that, on the record, you’ve clarified this important principle of American law.
A Redistricting Check-In
Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball: “As we await the Callais fallout, we already have seen a huge amount of mid-decade redistricting this cycle. These states with redrawn maps account for nearly 40% of all of the nation’s House seats.”
“Amazingly, though, the median House seat by 2024 presidential margin is actually the same as it was before any states redrew.”
“However, it wouldn’t be accurate to say that nothing has changed. The number of truly competitive seats as well as the number of truly uncompetitive seats have both declined.”
Oil Prices Jump Even Higher
“Oil prices jumped more than 6% on Wednesday, after President Donald Trump said he will maintain the U.S. naval blockade against Iran until they agreed to a nuclear deal,” CNBC reports.
“International benchmark Brent crude futures rose about 6% to close at $118.03 per barrel.”
Game of Telephone
Politico: “That so many reporters can simply call the president — and especially to have him answer — is unprecedented, another aspect of a second term defined by the president’s prerogative to do the job however he wants.”
“And paradoxically, the remarkable level of access for journalists isn’t always that informative for the public — nor does it appear to be an especially effective communications strategy for the White House.”
Sergey Brin-Backed Measures Have the Signatures
Wall Street Journal: “Two California ballot initiatives funded in part by Google co-founder Sergey Brin are on track to qualify for the November ballot, setting up a possible clash with a proposed billionaire wealth tax…”
“The battling ballot initiatives represent a fight between some of California’s wealthiest residents who oppose the first-of-its-kind tax proposal and leaders of a powerful healthcare union seeking more tax income to offset looming cuts to Medicaid.”
The Worst Ruling in a Century
Rick Hasen: “Wednesday’s 6-3 party line decision in Louisiana v. Callais will go down in history as one of the most pernicious and damaging Supreme Court decisions of the last century.”
“All six Republican-appointed justices on the court signed onto Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion gutting what remained of the Voting Rights Act protections for minority voters, while pretending they were merely making technical tweaks to the Act.”
“This decision will bleach the halls of Congress, state legislatures, and local bodies like city councils, by ending the protections of Section 2 of the Act, which had provided a pathway to assure that voters of color would have some rudimentary fair representation. It’s the culmination of the life’s work of Chief Justice John Roberts and Samuel Alito, who have shown persistent resistance to the idea of the United States as a multiracial democracy, and a brazen willingness to reject Congress’s judgment that fair representation for minority voters sometimes requires race-conscious legislation.”
“It gives the green light to further partisan gerrymandering. It protects Alito’s core constituency: aggrieved white Republican voters. It’s a disaster for American democracy.”
What the Supreme Court Decision Means for the Midterms
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