How Trump was talked into — and out of — a run for speaker  —  A behind-the-scenes campaign coaxed the former president out of a quixotic campaign.  —  Just hours after Kevin McCarthy was deposed as House speaker, the “draft Trump” movement began.  —  “I called him and I said, 'Sir …

Kevin McCarthy considers resigning from the House before the end of his term  —  The deposed former speaker has made clear he plans to stay at least through the speakership election before ending his House career, two people familiar with the matter tell POLITICO.

Trump trial Day 5 highlights: Ex-Trump executive says Allen Weisselberg asked for help in committing tax fraud  —  Trump's New York civil fraud trial wraps up its first week … 25m ago / 9:41 PM UTC  —  Appeals court stays cancellation of Trump biz certificates  —  By Dareh Gregorian, Adam Reiss and Lisa Rubin

“Tip of the iceberg”: Experts sound the alarm after Trump blabbed nuclear secrets at Mar-a-Lago  —  Trump allegedly told an Australian billionaire potentially sensitive info — which he then shared with 45 others  —  Former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information …

A bipartisan coalition is the way forward for the House  —  Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) is the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives.  —  In recent days, Democrats have tried to show our colleagues in the Republican majority a way out of the dysfunction and rancor they have allowed to engulf the House.

The final 11 seconds of a fatal Tesla Autopilot crash  —  A reconstruction of the wreck shows how human error and emerging technology can collide with deadly results  —  The sun had yet to rise in Delray Beach, Fla., when Jeremy Banner flicked on Autopilot.

Michael Benz, a rising voice for conservative criticism of online censorship, appears to have a secret history as an alt-right persona  —  Frame Game, the pseudonym of an alt-right internet personality, hid his face while pushing racist conspiracy theories.  Inadvertent slips revealed details about his identity.

Former Soldier Indicted for Attempting to Pass National Defense Information to People's Republic of China  —  For Immediate Release  —  Defendant Arrested Upon Arrival in San Francisco on Flight from Hong Kong  —  A former U.S. Army Sergeant whose last duty post was Joint Base Lewis-McChord …

Is the speaker pro tempore acting up?  —  Presented by With assists from POLITICO's Congress team  —  PARSING PATRICK'S POWERS  —  The word “unprecedented” often gets bandied about in politics for things that are actually just uncommon.  What's happening now in the House, however, is truly unprecedented.

America needs to talk about the right's ‘Red Caesar’ plan for U.S. dictatorship  —  The incredible scenes this week on Capitol Hill — leaving the U.S. House without a speaker and promising an autumn of sheer chaos in Congress — marked a rapid escalation of the downward spiral of American democracy.

New York v. Trump on Day Five: Company Exec Testifies About Mar-a-Lago and Eric Trump's Golf Club Directive to ‘Leave Value as Is’  —  The former controller of the Trump Organization revealed over-valuations of key real estate properties including the so-called ‘winter White House’

Iowa police dispute Ramaswamy campaign's claim that protesters rammed their car  —  “Our investigation has revealed no evidence to substantiate” the claim that protesters hit Ramaswamy's car on purpose and fled, police said.  —  Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign claimed Thursday …

Biden's two-headed policy nightmare  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With help from producer Ben Johansen  —  If we could pinpoint two major sources of anxiety in the West Wing this week, they'd probably rank like this:

Massive Changes Could Be Coming From the Vatican.  Conservative US Catholics Are Mad as Hell.  —  This week, hundreds of delegates from around the world began a monthlong meeting as part of Pope Francis' “Synod on Synodality”—a gathering to discuss the future of the Catholic Church.

Moms for Liberty Is Taking Over Banned Books Week  —  It's the American Library Association's annual Banned Books Week, a tradition that started in 1982.  This year, the theme is “Let Freedom Read!” in honor of record-breaking efforts to censor books now sweeping the nation's libraries and schools.

We've Finally Solved The Mystery Of George Santos' Mysterious Fortune  —  The world knows a lot about Rep. George Santos (R-NY).  His backstory is full of lies and his campaign finance reports were studded with extraordinary irregularities.  However, amid a cascade of revelations …

‘Jan. 6 choir’ member sentenced to 7 years in Capitol attack  —  A man who joined a nightly performance of the national anthem inside the D.C. jail that has been promoted by former president Donald Trump and his allies was sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting police and obstructing Congress on Jan. 6.

Pharmacies begin dispensing abortion pills  —  A handful of pharmacies are offering the pills 10 months after the Biden administration allowed them to do so.  —  A handful of independent pharmacies across the country have quietly begun dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone under …

Republicans aim to change internal Speaker nomination rules to avoid floor fight  —  House Republicans are eyeing changing internal party rules to temporarily raise the threshold needed to nominate a Speaker, with the intention of avoiding the sort of days-long, multi-ballot election that took place on the House floor in January.