Top Items:
Politico:
Bipartisan House effort aims to kill ‘anti-weaponization’ fund — A bipartisan House effort is afoot to kill the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund created by the Justice Department that could pay allies of President Donald Trump, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the effort ahead of a formal announcement.
Discussion:
The Hill, NewsMax.com, The Daily Caller, Forbes and CBS News
RELATED:
NBC News:NEW!
Republicans cancel votes amid fight over Trump's ‘anti-weaponization’ fund — The Senate had planned to vote on a bill to fund ICE and border patrol through the end of Trump's term but scuttled it after the president sought to add $1.8 billion for the DOJ fund.
Discussion:
The Independent, NewsMax.com, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and Forbes
Justin Green / Axios:NEW!
Trump's “anti-weaponization fund” torpedoes ICE funding deal — $72 billion in funding for ICE and Border Patrol is now in limbo after GOP senators revolted against President Trump's $1.776B “anti-weaponization fund” on Thursday. … - The package for ICE and Border Patrol funding was on track to pass by the weekend.
Discussion:
Fox News, NBC News, National Politics and The Hill
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House could leave town, blowing Trump's deadline for immigration funding billNEW!
House could leave town, blowing Trump's deadline for immigration funding billNEW!
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Michael Gold / New York Times:
Republicans Balk at Trump Fund, Weighing Ways to Limit It
Republicans Balk at Trump Fund, Weighing Ways to Limit It
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CBS News, KTVZ-TV, Raw Story, Associated Press and MS NOW
The Hill:
Republicans punt on reconciliation amid furious disagreement over ‘anti-weaponization’ fundNEW!
Republicans punt on reconciliation amid furious disagreement over ‘anti-weaponization’ fundNEW!
Discussion:
New York Times
Kaia Hubbard / CBS News:
Senate GOP delays vote on reconciliation bill amid opposition to DOJ fund, White House ballroom10 minutes ago
Senate GOP delays vote on reconciliation bill amid opposition to DOJ fund, White House ballroom10 minutes ago
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, NOTUS, New York Sun, Washington Times, Fox News, Politico and Washington Examiner
Punchbowl News:
5/21/26☀️ AM: … Senate Republicans are preparing to buck President Donald Trump …
5/21/26☀️ AM: … Senate Republicans are preparing to buck President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Politico, CNBC, ABC News, Los Angeles Times, Axios, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, The Independent, Talking Points Memo and New York Sun
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
GOP Rep. won't rule out tapping into DOJ fundNEW!
GOP Rep. won't rule out tapping into DOJ fundNEW!
Discussion:
PBS NewsHour, Reuters and Bloomberg
CNN:
Read the DNC's 2024 autopsy obtained by CNN — Democratic Natl Committee Democratic Natl Convention US elections — CNN is publishing a copy of a report into why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election conducted at the request of Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin.
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Democratic National Committee:
A Message from DNC Chair Ken Martin on the DNC's 2024 After Action Report — I was elected Chair of the Democratic National Committee three months after one of the most painful and consequential election losses for Democrats in modern history. It was a punch to the gut, and people were pissed off.
Discussion:
CNN, NPR, The Hill, NOTUS, HotAir, CNBC, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, twitchy.com, MS NOW, Newsweek and Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
DNC releases 2024 autopsy, with chair apologizing for ‘creating an even bigger distraction’ — DNC chair Ken Martin had been pummeled in public for months after he promised to release the report and then reversed course in December. — Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin …
Discussion:
CNN, New York Post, Townhall, The Guardian, RedState, Mother Jones, Staff Stories and Washington Examiner
Noah Shachtman / New York Times:
Trump Just Took Us Somewhere the Country Has Never Been Before — Donald Trump has been thinking a lot about his place in history. That's one of the reasons, according to recent reporting by The Atlantic and The Times, why he's paying so little attention to his plummeting popularity …
Discussion:
The Hill, Raw Story, HuffPost, Los Angeles Times and MS NOW
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Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Trump's Fund Shows Blanche Choosing Loyalty Over Pushing Back — Once seen by some as the most conventional of President Trump's political appointees, Todd Blanche has taken off the gloves in his new role as acting attorney general. — Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general …
Meryl Kornfield / Washington Post:
Trump's allies are already lining up to apply to his $1.8 billion fund
Discussion:
Wonkette, MS NOW, Newsweek, Reuters, The Independent, New Republic, Straight Arrow, NBC News, The Hill, CNN, Axios, NewsMax.com, Mercury News, Above the Law, Wall Street Journal, News Talk 105.9 and New York Times
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Trump's $1.8 Billion Fund in the Cross Hairs
Trump's $1.8 Billion Fund in the Cross Hairs
Discussion:
Mediaite, New York Post, MS NOW, U.S. Home and Virginia Lawyers Weekly
Jeffrey Toobin / New York Times:
Trump Just Pardoned Himself and His Family Forever
Trump Just Pardoned Himself and His Family Forever
Discussion:
Forbes, PBS NewsHour, Election Law Blog and emptywheel
Collin Binkley / Associated Press:
Trump says he's postponing signing an executive order on AI out of concern it would hurt AI industry — President Donald Trump called off a Thursday signing ceremony for a new order on artificial intelligence because he worried it could dull America's edge on AI technology.
Discussion:
Governor of California, New York Post, CBS News, The Hill, Bloomberg, Financial Times and Mediaite
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trump Plans to Sign Executive Order Granting Oversight of A.I. Models
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Information, RealClearPolitics, KTVZ-TV, NewsMax.com and Insurance Journal
Ashley Gold / Axios:
Scoop: White House postpones AI EO signing ceremony
Scoop: White House postpones AI EO signing ceremony
Discussion:
New York Post, CBS News, CNBC, Politico, The Information, Breitbart, TechCrunch, Raw Story and E&E News, more at Techmeme »
Melody Schreiber / The Guardian:
US is ‘simply choosing not to stop’ Ebola outbreak after massive public health cuts, experts say — Hundreds of cases reported in the DRC after USAID has been dismantled and key scientific research canceled — A previously undetected outbreak of Ebola is coursing through parts of central Africa …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, Politico, The Parnas Perspective, Straight Arrow, New York Times and Salon
RELATED:
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Former CDC director on Ebola outbreak: ‘I suspect this is gonna become a very significant pandemic’
Discussion:
UPI, KTVZ-TV, WUSA, Block Club Chicago and Focus Taiwan
Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Detroit-bound flight diverted over Ebola-linked restrictions
Detroit-bound flight diverted over Ebola-linked restrictions
Discussion:
New York Times, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, NewsMax.com, New York Post, KVUE-TV, CBS News, Forbes, Fox News, IJR, UPI and WTTG-TV
Nick Miroff / The Atlantic:20 minutes ago
Homeland Security's Plan to Squeeze International Flights — In early April, shortly after Markwayne Mullin took over the Department of Homeland Security, he floated an idea on Fox News that wasn't taken seriously; it sounded, in fact, like a proposal from someone very new on the job …
Discussion:
WTTG-TV
New York Times:
Democrats' Midterm Strength Masks Fierce Divides and Frustration, Poll Shows — Democratic voters are in a combative, anti-establishment mood, unhappy with their party and disagreeing about its best path forward, a New York Times/Siena poll found. — The Democratic Party is entering …
Discussion:
The Hill and The Daily Caller
Steve Vladeck / One First:
Bonus 228: The $1.776B Political Question — President Trump's $1.776B “Anti-Weaponization” slush fund is just the latest (and gravest) move that underscores the limits of judicial remedies, and the need to reinvigorate political ones. — ∙ Paid — Every so often a story comes along …
Discussion:
PBS NewsHour
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
New York City 2026 Congressional Polling: NY-07, NY-10, NY-12 — Home Polls New York City 2026 Congressional Polling: NY-07, NY-10, NY-12 — New Emerson College Polling/PIX 11 surveys measure key New York City Democratic congressional primaries in New York's 7th, 10th, and 12th districts.
Discussion:
The Hill, Jewish Insider, New York Magazine and Gothamist
New Republic:
Donald Trump Is Finally Cracking Up for Real — Angelo Carusone and Aaron Rupar share a distinction that we imagine many Americans would happily cede to them: They have likely watched more Donald Trump rallies, speeches, and press briefings than any other living Americans.
Steven Lee Myers / New York Times:
Bluesky Says Kremlin Is Hacking Its Platform to Spread Propaganda — The company said it was fighting Russian efforts to hijack real users' accounts to post fake content, an apparently novel tactic. — Ben Gilbert describes himself on Bluesky, the social media app, as an “economist …
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Colorado Democratic Party censures Jared Polis over Tina Peters clemency … Peters allowed a man affiliated with Mike Lindell, a conspiracy theorist aligned with President Donald Trump, to access Mesa County election systems. — The state was forced to spend nearly one million dollars to replace it all …
RELATED:
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Trump approval among Republicans at new low in Fox News poll — A new Fox News poll shows President Trump's approval rating has reached an all-time low with Republicans as the issues of affordability, job growth and the economy remain top of mind for voters across the country.
New York Times:
A $5 Million Donation From Big Tobacco Preceded F.D.A. Vape Decision — Reynolds American's contribution to MAGA Inc. came about one week before the Trump administration announced a new policy on e-cigarettes the company had sought. — The tobacco company Reynolds American donated $5 million …
Discussion:
MS NOW, Raw Story and New Republic
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
A Truly Mind-Blowing Theory About Tom Massie's Sex Secrets Exposé — BEFORE HIS DOUBLE-DIGIT PRIMARY DEFEAT on Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) spent the final days of his campaign dogged by an ex-girlfriend's revelations about their sex life. — In an appearance …
Discussion:
Rumble
Alex Shultz / New York Magazine:
The Man Who Explains Israel to John Fetterman … Over the last three years, Democratic Party support for Israel has undergone a dramatic reversal. In 2024, 18 Democratic senators backed a measure to block arms sales to the country. In April of this year, it was 40.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
The Intercept:
ICE Recruitment Tweets Are So Racist That Cops Feared They Could Incite Neo-Nazi Violence — Colorado law enforcement officials warned their counterparts across the country that social media posts by the Department of Homeland Security recruiting for ICE contained so many white supremacist themes …
Joey Garrison / USA Today:
Trump to roll back Biden-era refrigerant rules in push to lower grocery costs — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is set to announce the overhaul of two Biden-era Environmental Protection Agency rules for refrigerants in a push to lower grocery costs for consumers, according to an administration official.
Financial Times:
US to invest $2bn in nine quantum computing companies — Beneficiaries include start-up backed by firm with links to the Trump family — The US government will take equity stakes worth a total of $2bn in a slew of quantum computing companies, including a start-up backed by a firm with links …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, KTVZ-TV, NewsMax.com and Forbes, more at Techmeme »
Holly Otterbein / Axios:
Scoop: Fetterman's chief of staff resigns — Sen. John Fetterman's chief of staff resigned Wednesday, a source familiar with the move told Axios. … She became his chief of staff in 2025. — Her official last day will be in the coming weeks. — Fetterman, who was once a darling …
Jon Seidel / Chicago Sun Times:
‘Broadview Six’ trial called off for now, following closed-door hearing about grand jury transcripts — The case is one of the most highly publicized prosecutions to result from last fall's Operation Midway Blitz deportation campaign. That's because it began as a conspiracy case …

