“The political case for impeaching Trump is shakier. Regardless of the results in November, Democrats are unlikely to get enough votes in the Senate to convict and remove him, meaning that a third impeachment would hit the same dead end as the first two. An impeachment can still be effective as a way of damaging a president, but Trump is already deeply unpopular and will never face voters again, so the upside is limited, and an impeachment might give him a way to rally his remaining base around him—which would only strengthen his power and resolve.”

“But what if House Democrats impeached Trump’s Cabinet members instead?”

“Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday the department was investing in ‘the health of its warfighters’ through ‘proactively identifying and treating suboptimal hormone levels.'”

“Instead, the German chancellor watched this month as the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany trounced his conservative Christian Democrats in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt…”

“The fallout has shaken Germany’s political establishment and stoked calls within the party to push Merz out after only 16 months in office. With polls showing his personal popularity at a record low for any post-World War II chancellor, the crisis is set intensify on Sunday, when two more states head to the polls.”

“GOP senators’ attempt to fast-track a measure aimed at curtailing high energy bills associated with data centers, which overwhelmingly passed in the House Wednesday, was blocked Thursday.”

“The bill’s failure — at least for now — joins several last-ditch attempts by lawmakers to tackle affordability concerns this week. And with senators now openly speculating if they’ll cut their work session short before the midterms, and House lawmakers’ early dismissal, some Republicans are showing nerves about the rising cost of living heading into Election Day.”

“That fear stretches to officials in the Kremlin and army recruitment centers, who’ve been looking to open foreign bank accounts and move assets abroad while encouraging friends and relatives to leave Russia in recent months.”

“While Putin denies he has any such plans, a European security official says Russia’s preparing to draft an additional 300,000 men into the army by the end of the year.”

— Rep. Robert Gacia (D-CA), ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, quoted by the Financial Times.

“Iran claimed to have struck a ship attempting an ‘illegal crossing’ of the strait.”

“But now, from the South, a young senator has emerged, with a deep voice promising change and a speaking cadence not unlike Barack Obama’s. His dark hair sits just so; his skin is perfectly even—is that makeup he’s wearing? Never mind. We’re looking at his sleeves now, which are carefully rolled up and emphasize biceps that are, well, quite noticeably larger than they were when Georgia voters sent him to Congress in 2021.”

“More important, this senator sounds different from other Democrats. Ossoff is doing something on the campaign trail that basically no one else in his party seems able to pull off: elegantly and comprehensively skewering the Trump administration, while earning some Republican support.”

— A report from JP Morgan, quoted by Axios.

“While the reason for the postponement is unclear, Trump has repeatedly used tariff warnings to press trading partners for concessions. The administration had intended to release a trade report on alleged excess capacity before the meeting that would recommend a 7.5% tariff on Chinese goods.”

“One thing that could change the dynamic is a torrent of ad spending that President Trump-aligned groups are planning to help GOP candidates in the next 6½ weeks.”

— President Trump, speaking at the White House.

“The grassroots totals surpassed what the DNC hit in those two months in 2018, the midterm cycle during President Donald Trump’s first term, according to data the committee shared first with The Washington Sun. The committee also hit 1 million unique individual donors for the cycle this summer, a traditionally sleepy time for fundraising.”

“The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing data center-related proposals covering at least 17,600 acres of public land across six states — Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming, according to public records of right-of-way proposals reviewed by The Washington Sun.”

”The party has seen strong post-Labor Day polls in key battlegrounds — and even in traditionally red areas. Recent escalations in the war in Iran, including an attack on a major pipeline in Saudi Arabia, mean the rising gas prices bedeviling Republicans will not be going down anytime soon. Republicans have not been able to bring prices under control more generally. And President Donald Trump’s unpopularity is at near-record levels.”

”Considering all this, Democrats now think conditions are right for the party to retake control of the House and possibly the Senate later this year.”

“The potential meeting showcases the close relations between the nations under Trump. But it’s also fraught with political risks that extend from Miami to Caracas.”