A political analyst heard alarm bells on Wednesday after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was defeated by a Trump-endorsed candidate during his primary election.

Massie lost the election to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who took home more than 57,000 votes, or 55% of the total. While some analysts have described Gallrein's victory as a show of President Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party, Jonathan V. Last at The Bulwark argued during a new episode of the "Bulwark Takes" podcast that the election results are full of bad news for Trump.

Last pointed to two factors that he said should concern the Trump camp. First, Massie did well among voters under 40 at a time when the president is trying to win back the young male demographic he courted during his 2024 campaign.

"Problem is, there aren't that many voters under 40, which is why Massie lost by 10," Last quipped.

Second, Massie's supporters seemed aligned with some of the largest MAGA-world media figures, such as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. Those two figures have sharply criticized Trump's war in Iran and the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

"Yikes!" Last said. "Trump's populist instincts here just seem to be wrong. I can't understand why he's lagging this."

Massie is the latest Republican that Trump has helped defeat. The president also endorsed a candidate running against Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who previously voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment in 2021.

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) has hit on a new way to generate clout for her run for governor: introduce a bill prohibiting naturalized citizens from holding elected office — but she may have forgotten one important detail.

"If you were not born in America, you should not hold power in our government. End of story," Mace posted to X on Wednesday, clarifying her legislation.

Naturalized citizens are ineligible for the presidency, but can run for any office below that provided they have held citizenship for a minimum amount of time; for example, anyone who has been a citizen for over nine years is eligible to run for U.S. Senate.

However, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) had a simple reminder for Mace when asked about the legislation: it's not just Democrats who elect naturalized citizens to office.

"What do you make of this bill from Nancy Mace — this xenophobic 'born in the USA' bill?" asked Meidas Touch's Pablo Manriquez.

"Nancy Mace is a racist, unstable individual who should not be taken seriously," Ramirez replied. "I find it fascinating that she is coming after members on the Democratic side, and I think she forgot that she has a number of Republicans who were also not born here. I would be interested to know what Carlos Giménez and others think about it" — referring to a Florida GOP lawmaker who was born in Cuba.

Mace is running in a crowded primary for governor of South Carolina — to the chagrin of some of President Donald Trump's loyalists, who have found her to be an unreliable loose cannon on some issues.

Trump taunted a Fox News reporter and her fiancé, a Republican congressman, by suggesting he could oust him through elections.

"Her husband votes against me all the time," Trump said about Jacqui Heinrich and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) while speaking to a press gaggle on Wednesday. "Can you imagine? I don't know what's with him. You better ask him what's with him. He likes voting against Trump. You know what happens with that? It doesn't work out well."

Trump was likely referring to his role as kingmaker. The Republican candidates that Trump has endorsed have gone on to win recent primary elections, and he usually backs the opponents of GOP lawmakers who refuse to do his bidding.

The reaction on X took issue with Trump's remarks, though. The X account for The Intellectualist, a Substack account, called it "morally repulsive."

Jonathan Tamari, a senior Washington correspondent for Bloomberg, pointed out that "the PA primary was last night. Fitzpatrick is in the clear for a challenge from the right," but "being attacked by Trump for not being totally loyal is actually a very good message for him in the general election."

Jake Sherman, the founder of Punchbowl News, noted that "Fitzpatrick represents a district that voted for Kamala Harris and broadly supports Democrats in nearly every election. Yet Fitzpatrick keeps winning."

Trump has gone after Heinrich before, and others online noted his history with Fitzpatrick.

"Trump attacked Brian Fitzpatrick's beloved late brother last year, attacked his wife several times, and is now attacking him," freelance political reporter Nick Field recalled. "Not a lot of gratitude for Fitzpatrick supporting him through the January 6th aftermath and voting against his impeachment."

President Donald Trump appears to be relying on a strategy that is producing "diminishing returns" in the Iran war, according to a new editorial.

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board argued on Wednesday that Trump's continued threats are not being taken seriously by the Iranian regime. They cited his threat to resume a bombing campaign in the country this week if Iran didn't come back to the negotiating table with a serious proposal to end the conflict.

"Such threats have been repeated so often that they now face diminishing returns," the editorial reads in part. "Iran doesn’t seem to believe them, and in any case, the regime seems prepared to ride out further conflict and fight back by targeting the Gulf allies and commercial shipping."

The war in Iran has gone on for nearly three months and has been a disaster for the global economy. Iran wrested control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global waterway that accounts for 20% of global energy trade, in retaliation for the war. That move has sent global energy prices skyrocketing, with the average price of gasoline in the U.S. reaching its highest point in more than four years.

That leaves Trump with few options, and none of them are good, according to the WSJ editors. For instance, they said Trump could resume military strikes, even though the end goal is yet to be defined. Trump could also continue the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and put together a military escort for ships leaving the waterway. The editors also suggested Trump could destroy Iran's energy infrastructure.

"All of this carries risks, both military and economic," they wrote. "But by now the President has no options that don’t include risks."

They warned that the longer the war goes on, the greater the political risk it poses for Trump and the GOP heading into the midterms.

"As Mr. Trump famously said in criticizing his predecessors, the U.S. shouldn’t start a war if it isn’t prepared to do what it takes to win," the WSJ editors wrote.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stunned political analysts and observers on Wednesday with one of his answers during a CNN interview.

CNN's Paula Reid asked Blanche in an interview whether people who were convicted of hurting police during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection would be eligible for a payout from the newly created $1.776 fund the Department of Justice created as part of a settlement with President Donald Trump. The fund is meant to compensate people who claim they were wrongly prosecuted under former President Joe Biden's administration. It has also raised concerns that the money could be funneled to Trump's allies.

"Just to be clear, people who hurt police get money all the time," Blanche said during the interview. "There is a process, where if you believe your rights were violated, you can apply for funds, you can file a claim, you can sue, you can go to court."

Blanche's comments come at a time when the Trump administration is facing significant criticism for appearing to flout federal conflict-of-interest laws. The settlement struck between the Trump DOJ and the IRS, both of which are executive agencies that Trump oversees, also included a stipulation that prevents the IRS from auditing Trump, his family members, and entities tied to the Trumps.

Political analysts and observers reacted to Blanche's interview on social media.

"Wow," Jim Stewartson, a writer and political commentator, posted on X. "We should find all these cop killers who are getting paid for it and do something about it. That seems something like an Attorney General would do, as opposed to seeking out cop killers to pay because they wore a red hat when they did it."

"This is the most pro-crime administration in a generation. Not turning a blind eye to crime, but embracing it, defending it, and rewarding it," journalist Pedro L. Gonzalez posted on X.

"Republicans got FURIOUS when they (falsely) claimed Democrats wanted to 'defund the police,'" Hemant Mehta, a former "Jeopardy!" champion, posted on X. "They won’t say a word about Trump’s personal lawyer endorsing a bounty for physically beating cops."

Jan. 6 rioters, Proud Boys leaders, and Trump allies are racing to stake their claims to President Donald Trump's $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, and some are already calculating exactly how much they believe they're owed.

Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy for his role in planning the Capitol attack, told Reuters he plans to apply, estimating he deserves between $2 and $5 million.

"I'm not greedy," Tarrio said. "But my life was all [expletive] up because of this."

Peter Ticktin, an attorney representing more than 400 Jan. 6 defendants, warned the fund may not stretch far enough.

"People lost multi-million dollar businesses while they were locked up," he said. "I don’t think the DOJ is ready for us ⁠yet."

Trump seemed to agree.

"You're talking about peanuts," he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews. "It destroyed the lives of many, many people."

Even some who attacked police officers expect a cut. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to rule out payouts to rioters who assaulted officers, and Tarrio endorsed that position.

"The Justice Department over-prosecuted for political gain," he said. "So everyone deserves to get money."

The fund has drawn a lawsuit from two Capitol Police officers who called it "the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century." Democrats and some Republicans have questioned its legality, while critics noted the settlement also permanently bars the IRS from auditing Trump, his family, and his businesses.

Perhaps most remarkably, former FBI Director James Comey — twice indicted by Trump's DOJ — said he's considering applying too.

"It's to compensate people who've been targeted by the Justice Department for, they say, ⁠personal, political or ideological reasons," Comey told CNN. "So I'm guessing I'll be in line."

President Donald Trump got another round of bad news on Wednesday, as a poll commissioned by Fox News — which uses a respected nonpartisan surveying firm despite its notorious rightward reporting slant — revealed new approval lows for the president and many of his policies.

It's the latest in a string of polls agreeing Trump is at or near a low point with voters, with even a significant fraction of Republicans turning on him in recent surveys.

The latest Fox-sponsored numbers drew a swift reaction from political observers on social media, who agreed it spelled potential disaster for Republicans in this fall's midterms without swift improvement.

"Devastating numbers for Trump, as the latest Fox News poll shows Americans prefer Sleepy Joe's economy," said politics writer Nick Field.

"Wow. Whopping new poll from Fox News has a inflation at a 76% disapproval level and the overall economy at 71%!" wrote Chamber of Progress director of economic analysis Tahra Hoops. "No matter which poll you look at, the numbers are consistent. Americans do not like this economy or these high prices."

"Trump is 52 points underwater on inflation, which just happens to be the most important issue in the election by far," wrote author and Pod Save America co-host Dan Pfeiffer. "But hey, at least Trump unseated a GOPer in a district he won by 30 points."

"The inflation number. Holy [expletive]," wrote analyst Chris Cillizza.

"I've been cautious but the preponderance of higher quality pollsters is hard to ignore: he's the most unpopular he's ever been," wrote political newsletter writer Steve Morris.

Trump gave a bizarre but familiar speech for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy commencement ceremony, according to reporting by the New York Times.

"I hate good-looking men," Trump said as a cadet greeted him on stage, the Times reported. "I like to see what these guys are like!"

Speaking for nearly an hour, Trump boasted that he also delivered the prestigious military academy's commencement speech in 2017, according to the report.

"I'm thrilled to become the first president to ever give a second keynote address to this storied institution," Trump said, even though Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all have the same distinction," the Times noted. Still, Trump said, "I'm very proud of that honor."

Trump appeared to repeat a line from the last time he gave the commencement speech, the report pointed out.

On Wednesday, he told cadets, "Whatever danger comes our way, you will fight, fight, fight," which was similar to his 2017 line, "You have to put your head down and fight, fight, fight," the Times reported.

As cadets came up to shake his hand on stage, Trump couldn't help but comment on how they looked.

"Look at the muscles on this guy," he said, according to the report. When he saw a female cadet, Trump remarked, "If I didn't invite her up, they'd accuse me of discrimination."

The report noted that on Trump's first day back in office, his administration fired U.S. Coast Guard Adm. Linda L. Fagan, the first female officer to lead a U.S. military branch.

Trump veered into talking about the war in Iran and touted the destruction there.

"Everything's gone. Their navy's gone. Their air force is gone, just about everything," Trump said. "The only question is, do we go and finish it up, or are they going to be signing a document? Let's see what happens."

The president then said he would like to return and deliver the commencement speech again.

"We're going to have to try it maybe a third time, too, to keep that record intact," he said, according to the report.

CNN anchor Erin Burnett's jaw nearly hit the floor on Wednesday as she reported on a startling admission a Trump voter made during a recent interview.

NPR spoke to a Trump voter on Tuesday who claimed that he and his partner had started fasting in order to save money on groceries. The comments came at a time when the Trump administration's economic figures showed a sharp rise in inflation due to the war in Iran. Grocery prices were up nearly 3% while prices for food outside of the home increased by 3.6%, according to the data.

Burnett reacted to the Trump voter's admission on her show, "OutFront."

"It's stunning," she said about the voter's fasting comments. "I can't stop thinking about it, that fasting is the solution."

Trump administration officials have been roundly criticized for offering some outlandish ways for Americans to save money on food costs. For instance, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins told Americans that it only costs about $3 to eat "a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, a corn tortilla, and one other thing," The New Republic reported in January.

The Trump administration has also proposed allowing slaughterhouses to kill animals faster in order to lower costs, USA Today reported.

Senate Republicans are debating restrictions on how President Donald Trump could use his $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" as part of their reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement, Punchbowl News reported on Wednesday evening.

This comes after widespread outrage about the fund, which was created as a so-called "settlement" after Trump dropped his $10 billion suit against his own IRS for failing to secure his tax information.

The money is meant to be paid out to pro-Trump individuals who supposedly were victims of "lawfare" investigations, potentially even including Jan. 6 rioters.

"The potential guardrails — which could come in multiple different forms — would place conditions on who’s eligible for a payout from the nearly $1.776 billion fund," said the report. "Senate Republicans could include language on this issue as part of the base text of the still-unreleased bill. They could also introduce an amendment for the vote-a-rama in an effort to counteract an all-but-certain Democratic push to put Republicans on the spot over the issue."

"Democrats especially want to prevent payouts for rioters who assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol," noted the report. "Senate Majority Leader John Thune said earlier this week that he’s 'not a big fan' of the fund, adding that he doesn’t see a purpose for it."

Many of the broad strokes of how the fund would be set up and administered have not been revealed by the Justice Department, to the extent that even Republican lawmakers are demanding more details.

Vanessa Trump, the president's former daughter-in-law, revealed in a social media post that she was diagnosed with breast cancer, according to reports.

"I've recently been diagnosed with breast cancer," she wrote in an Instagram post. "While this isn't news anyone expects, I'm working closely with my medical team on a treatment plan."

Vanessa, 48, is the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr. The two divorced in 2018 after 12 years of marriage and five children together. She is now dating Tiger Woods.

The Daily Beast noted that Ivanka Trump commented on her post, "Praying for your continued strength and a swift recovery. Love you mama."

President Donald Trump's recent prayer rally on the National Mall laid bare the religious right's own Epstein files, and may have jeopardized one of his allies in Congress, according to one political analyst.

Trump held an event called "Rededicate 250" at the National Mall on Sunday, which was billed as a celebration of the impact Jesus Christ has had on the U.S. The event was attended by MAGA fans and Trump administration officials like Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). It was sharply criticized by some political analysts for representing a blending of church and state.

Sidney Blumenthal, who co-hosts "The Court of History" podcast on the Legal AF Network, said during a new episode on Wednesday that the prayer rally also put some of Trump's allies in danger by bringing to light a scandalous case that the Trump Department of Justice killed last year.

In November, the Trump DOJ closed its investigation of Paul Pressler, a disgraced minister from Texas who had been accused of pedophilia. Pressler was key in aligning the religious right behind traditional Republicans, beginning with former President George W. Bush, Blumenthal noted. Pressler also helped build Johnson's career and had considered him to be the founding dean of a law school bearing Pressler's name before the minister died in 2024, Blumenthal added.

Blumenthal suggested that Trump's rally exposed the ties between members of the religious right and Pressler, which could come back to bite him as the midterms approach.

"This is the religious right's Epstein files in the Pressler case," Blumenthal said. "And many of those people who were covering it up were present at this rally on the mall."

Blumenthal's comments come at a time when the Trump administration is facing renewed scrutiny for its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

On Tuesday, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the Republicans who pushed the Trump administration to release the files, lost his primary election. Trump endorsed Massie's challenger, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, which some analysts said was likely due to Massie's support for the Epstein transparency bill.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) asked his campaign donors this month to chip in for gas money.

In a fundraising email titled "Alaska needs you!!" obtained by Raw Story, Sullivan told donors, "To continue ushering in America's Golden Age and delivering results for Alaska, I'm personally reaching out to you to ask for a grassroots donation of $3, $5, or $10."

The email continued: "Your donation will instantly go to the funds to: Recruit volunteers; Run digital ads; Invest in integral mailpieces to keep Alaska voters up to date; Pay for gas as we visit isolated rural areas of Alaska."

This comes just months after Sullivan proclaimed he was "steadfast" in his support for President Donald Trump's war with Iran, which has resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, massive disruption in global energy markets, and a massive surge in gas prices across the United States.

As of press time, the average gas price in Alaska is over $5 a gallon, considerably above the national average, and other fuels are even more expensive, with some outlying rural communities in the state paying over $10 a gallon for heating fuel.

Sullivan is facing a serious challenge from former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola in this year's Senate election.

Dan Sullivan's fundraising email.

President Donald Trump's "awkward fail" during his speech at the Congressional picnic on Tuesday night caught the eye of one political analyst.

Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, spoke at the event, held on the South Lawn of the White House, and intended for Congressional lawmakers and their families to spend time with the president in a relaxed setting. Melania Trump thanked the House for passing the Fostering the Future Act, a bill she championed that makes several changes to foster care policies, before Trump spoke.

It was the moment after Melania introduced Trump that surprised David Pakman, a liberal political analyst and host of "The David Pakman Show."

Trump appeared to try to kiss Melania on the lips in front of the cameras, and instead landed a peck on her cheek. Pakman also noted in a new reaction video that the awkward embrace, in which the Trumps touched cheeks, seemed to indicate that Melania was avoiding Trump's lips.

"Whoa!" Pakman exclaims over a clip of the kiss.

He said she appeared stunned by her husband's "incoherence."

"She doesn't like him," Pakman said. "This is maybe the fakest first family relationship we've seen in a long time."

Speculation about the Trumps' marriage has swirled since Melania's impromptu press conference about her relationship with disgraced financier and convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein.

Melania has also been seen swatting away Trump's hand during public appearances.

A former top GOP strategist says that he can barely recognize a senator, who is one of his former clients, after Trump surprisingly endorsed his opponent right before a primary.

"John Cornyn is just such a sad case," Stuart Stevens said on the latest episode of Harry Litman's podcast. "I now look at him, and I don't recognize him."

Cornyn (R-TX) is fighting for his political life after Trump endorsed his primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

"He looks just so defeated," Stevens said about Cornyn. "Had he fought Trump, would he have won? Probably not. But would he feel a lot better about himself the day after he loses? I would certainly think so."

Stevens speculated that Trump saw polling numbers that said Paxton was ahead and didn't "want to be seen as a loser" by endorsing Cornyn.

"He's not going to endorse the guy who loses," Stevens reiterated. "If you're like a really good football team, and you trade for Tom Brady, you're probably not going to do worse."

Stevens brought up Cornyn while talking about another one of his former clients, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).

"I'll say this about Massie versus John Cornyn, my former client, who basically lost a day before, probably when Trump endorsed Paxton," Stevens said. "At least Massie went down fighting, and I'd a lot rather be him today than John Cornyn the day after the Texas primary when he loses."

Cornyn thought that "he could feed the alligator, and the alligator would eat him last," referring to Trump and Cornyn's efforts to appease him.

"It just never works that way," he explained. "It is so sad."

GOP senators are surprised by Trump endorsing Paxton, Stevens added, but his thought is, "What did you think you signed up for?"

The Trump administration has no plans to seek congressional approval for President Donald Trump's proposed 250-foot arch near the Lincoln Memorial and is instead relying on a 100-year-old authorization for a completely different project that was never built, according to a report.

Administration officials argue that Congress effectively pre-approved the arch when lawmakers ratified a 1925 report by the Arlington Memorial Bridge Commission, which called for two 166-foot columns on Columbia Island, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. Those columns were never constructed. Trump's arch would use the same 166-foot base but add another 84 feet of pedestal and statuary to reach 250 feet total.

Legal experts expressed skepticism.

"The notion Congress a century ago authorized construction of this 250-foot arch in Memorial Circle is absurd," said Wendy Liu, a lawyer at Public Citizen Litigation Group, which is representing military veterans and an architectural historian suing to halt the project. The 1925 authorization was "for a now-defunct commission to design and construct Arlington Memorial Bridge, which was completed a century ago, pursuant to a 10-year construction and funding schedule," Liu added. "It did not authorize this arch."

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, called the legal argument "tortured" and "laughable," comparing it to the administration's pattern of bypassing Congress on the White House ballroom and the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation.

A fine arts commission stacked with Trump allies is scheduled to review a revised arch proposal on Thursday. The administration has removed four golden lions from the original design, but the arch remains 250 feet tall, taller than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

CNN legal analyst Elie Honig was stunned by the Trump administration's decision to create a $1.8 billion fund that could be used to compensate right-wing rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, and what that could mean for two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol that day and have now filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration.

The former federal prosecutor told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Wednesday the lawsuit filed by Officer Harry Dunn of the U.S. Capitol Police and Officer Daniel Hodges of Washington’s Metropolitan Police was aiming to halt the Trump administration from creating a $1.8 billion slush fund, and whether their case will have legal standing.

"On the one hand, every word that the officers write in this complaint is true," Honig said. "They start off by saying, this is one of the most egregious acts of corruption in presidential history. I think the big legal obstacle, though, is going to be what we call standing, meaning the plaintiff in this case, the officers have to show that they will suffer some concrete injury and that that injury will be caused by the defendant's actions here. The establishment of the funds."

Hodges had just spoken with Tapper, describing why he wanted to file the lawsuit — and the death threats he had received in the wake of the complaint.

"And the theory here is that they will continue to receive them even more," Honig said. "I'm not sure that's going to pass muster for standing, as it's been technically interpreted in the courts, but the immutable truth remains. These officers are heroes. The people who attack them are villains. And Officer Hodges is right when he just said, Congress can stop this if there's political will."

Honig emphasized that the officers were making a big move by filing the suit.

"It would surely be standing to sue the person who injured them. That is unquestionable. But what they're doing here is sort of a legal bank shot," Honig added. "They're saying, OK, it's not about the physical injuries imposed by these people, and it doesn't matter if this is just a corrupt, disgusting scheme. That's true. But for standing, what they're saying is, well, we've been threatened. There's a concern we'll be threatened more. And the reason we'll be threatened more is because of this fund. Now, it's not entirely clear that threats on their own are enough for standing. And it's not clear that that's a direct enough causal relation, I think. And I think if you read the filing, it's clear the lawyers anticipate that standing is going to be a tough issue for them."

President Donald Trump has been on a tear knocking out lawmakers in primaries for perceived disloyalty, most recently taking down Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). But that is not necessarily going to serve his party well, MS NOW's Nicolle Wallace argued on Wednesday.

In fact, she said, it may only be causing his party to circle the drain faster in the midterms.

To explain, she quoted a recent observation from political strategist Dan Pfeiffer: "Yes, the incumbent president can influence primaries inside his own party. And yes, Trump is getting rid of people he believes wronged him. But spending nearly $20 million to defeat a Republican in a district Donald Trump won by 35 points, is not the flex people think it is. At best, this is a Pyrrhic victory, and Trump's revenge tour is a big problem for the GOP moving forward. Trump is a massive drag on his party, and to win, many Republicans will need to show some independence from the deeply unpopular president."

Indeed, the quote continued, "The smarter, savvier, less megalomaniacal leader would give his party the room to do what they need to do to win. Trump is incapable of doing so, and the GOP will pay a price for it."

The other problem, Wallace noted, is that Trump is now creating a contingent of lame-duck Republicans with nothing left to lose in opposing him — and they are now doing just that, with Cassidy leading the way. He "joined Democrats to become the 50th yes vote on a war powers resolution, opposed Trump's ballroom funding and reconciliation, and called Texas AG Ken Paxton, Trump's freshly-endorsed challenger for John Cornyn's Senate seat, a, quote, 'felon.'"

This defiance, she continued, is "likely just the beginning" because it's not just Cassidy and Massie opposing Trump now — lawmakers rejected Trump's order to include a harsh voter suppression bill into bipartisan housing reform legislation, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) flatly refused Trump's demand to fire the Senate parliamentarian for ruling his ballroom funding out of order.

"Even administration ally Senator John Kennedy, expressed doubt about DOJ's $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund," Wallace added. "Now Cornyn could join their ranks."

- YouTube www.youtube.com

A MAGA influencer lashed out at pop culture podcast host Alex Cooper on Wednesday during her podcast over Cooper's recent pregnancy announcement.

Allie Beth Stuckey, host of the "Relatable" podcast on BlazeTV, said during a new episode that Cooper's pregnancy announcement showed how the podcast host had "abandoned her old way of life that she is still promoting to so many women" by settling down and getting married. She described Cooper's popular podcast, "Call Her Daddy," as a "sex gossip" show even though Cooper regularly discusses other topics like relationships and female empowerment.

Stuckey also described Cooper, whose podcast Spotify ranked as the most-listened to by women, as a "podcast prostitute" who sought to convince women that living a liberal, promiscuous lifestyle is better than a traditional gender role.

"I think it's crazy how mainstream Alex Cooper is, and that she is not considered by the mainstream world to be scandalous at all," Stuckey said.

Cooper and her husband, Matt Kaplan, announced the pregnancy two days ago. Their marriage has been a topic of debate in the pop culture world after reports alleged that Kaplan had been verbally abusive to some of Cooper's employees.

Stuckey's comments came at a time when MAGA figures like Elon Musk and other influencers have complained about declining birth rates in the U.S.

"If you are not part of the liberal side of things, then you are considered just too radical and too extreme," Stuckey added. "But no matter how far-left you are when it comes to the left side of things, you are considered mainstream. Not just people like Alex Cooper, who is basically a podcast prostitute, but also people like, uh, Hasan Piker, who talks about the need to spill blood and to kill the people in charge of our health care system, and justifies this kind of murderous violence in the name of socialism and communism."

"That can be platformed by the New York Times, that can be softened, that can be accepted as mainstream, but if you're a little too Christian or you take the Bible seriously, or if you're conservative and you just don't go along with the mainstream narrative about things like COVID-19, then you're marginalized," she continued.

A former Republican political operative ripped the new level of corruption that Trump has reached with a "MAGA Congress" backing him all the way.

"There are no examples of corruption that are even in the same galaxy as this," Steve Schmidt said in an episode of his podcast. "It is truly, truly incredible, mind-boggling, and yet it rolls on, and it will continue to do so until there's a Democratic Congress that makes it stop."

Schmidt spoke about how Trump created a $1.8 billion "slush fund" with a lawsuit settlement against the IRS, noting that Trump's former personal attorney, Todd Blanche, signed the agreement creating the fund and saying it will "reward" Jan. 6 rioters.

"Donald Trump didn't invent corruption, but he has perfected it," Schmidt said. "He has created a vicious cult of personality."

He even called Blanche "the most corrupt" lawyer in "the history of the country, bar none," and Trump the "Jim Jones" of MAGA, referring to the Kool-Aid-dispensing cult leader.

He pointed out how Trump "will tolerate no deviants," adding, "just ask Thomas Massie," who just lost his congressional seat to a Trump-backed candidate.

He also talked about how the GOP has seemingly turned a blind eye to Trump's past criminal convictions and his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

"The rape of children, no problem. Not for MAGA. They don't care that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files thousands and thousands and thousands of times. They don't care about the birthday card he wrote Jeffrey Epstein," Schmidt said.

He argued this "MAGA Congress" doesn't care about a "lost war in Iran" or "$7 gas" under Trump.

"The corruption must be dealt with, and it will never be dealt with by the MAGA Congress," Schmidt said. "Donald Trump's corruption has become an open fire hydrant."

A high-ranking Democratic leader delivered a scathing response to two of President Donald Trump's federal judicial nominees during a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told judicial nominees Matthew A. Schwartz, a third Trump personal attorney who the president has nominated to a circuit court seat, and former Solicitor General of Ohio Benjamin Flowers that he was disappointed in them when they did not clearly respond to his questions about the Capitol attacks on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Was the Capitol attacked on January 6?" Blumenthal asked.

"Senator, there was definitely trespass and violence at the Capitol on January 6, and obviously violence against law enforcement or against political actors is unacceptable," Schwartz said.

"So the Capitol was attacked violently on January 6, correct?" Blumenthal asked again.

"So again, senator, you're asking me to weigh in on sort of public characterizations, what I will say is that there was trespass and there was violence at the Capitol on January 6," Schwartz said.

Blumenthal was infuriated by Schwartz's response.

"You know what makes me angry? Is not just the insult to the role of this committee, but to our intelligence," Blumenthal said.

"Do you really expect us to accept these canned, rehearsed, practiced answers, repeated again and again and again by judicial nominees who have an obligation to be truthful? And most important, you have an obligation to be independent," Blumenthal added. "You both know better. You both have records of litigating. And you both would expect more of nominees in your position because — above all — a federal judge must be independent without fear or favor, and your fear, apparently of Donald Trump, so much so that you practiced with the White House before you came here and rehearsed this answer and are repeating by rote, what you've been told to say, in my view is disqualifying. And I'm really disappointed in both of you because I would have expected better."

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) became the first Republican member of Congress to formally demand information from the Justice Department about President Donald Trump's $1.776 billion "anti-Weaponization" fund, which he created as a settlement with his own administration after dropping a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for failing to secure his tax information.

The fund, which was not authorized by Congress and not approved by the court overseeing his lawsuit, purports to be able to pay out money to any Trump ally who was a victim of "lawfare." Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has refused to rule out payouts to perpetrators of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"I am writing to you to express my urgent concern surrounding the announcement of a newly formed 'Anti-Weaponization Fund,' a plan to set up nearly $1.8 billion in funds to compensate victims of alleged lawfare," wrote Fitzpatrick to Blanche, in a letter obtained by Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman. "A massive discretionary fund, with no oversight or approval from Congress, represents a dangerous backsliding in the transparency of our institutions and our commitment to the American taxpayer."

"The announcement from the Department of Justice on May 18, 2026, stated that the U.S. Department of Treasury will direct a payment of $1,776,000,000 to an account for the sole use by the Anti- Weaponization Fund,'" said Fitzpatrick. "I am requesting more information on where these funds are being diverted from and how they will be used by this Designated Account."

Among the questions Fitzpatrick is demanding answers for are: where the funds are being diverted from, whether "individuals convicted of federal crimes or associated with acts of violence" are eligible, and whether there are "examples of previous administrations establishing discretionary compensation programs that are not authorized by Congress and do not have court approval or judicial oversight."

Fitzpatrick, though a loyal Republican for years, sits in a battleground House district and has been one of Trump's greatest critics from the GOP side. He has admitted he might leave the GOP and become an independent if Pennsylvania primary law weren't so rigid.

YouTube journalist Coffeezilla says a data vulnerability on TrumpMobile.com exposed customer information and indicated that the company's reported sales figures are likely fiction.

In a video posted Tuesday, Coffeezilla, whose real name is Stephen Findeisen, said he was among the customers whose personal data was exposed by the security flaw, including his mailing address and email. The vulnerability, he said, was flagged to the Trump Mobile team multiple times before he went public.

"We have received no response from the official team," he said.

Trump Mobile had been widely reported to have collected roughly 590,000 pre-orders for its T1 phone, amounting to approximately $59 million in deposits. Coffeezilla said the actual data told a very different story — closer to 10,000 unique customers and roughly 30,000 total orders, or about 5% of the figures circulating in media coverage.

An Associated Press spokesperson confirmed the wire service's original stories never contained such a number, yet the claim spread widely across outlets and was even picked up by AI chatbots as fact.

The T1 phone itself has been repeatedly delayed since its announced August 2025 launch, with the release date pushed back through November, December, and into 2026 before being dropped from the website altogether. Trump Mobile announced earlier this month that shipping had finally begun.

Adding to the chaos, the phone is believed to be manufactured by Chinese company Wingtech despite Trump Mobile's early "Made in the USA" claims, which were quietly scrubbed from the site and replaced with the phrase "designed with American values."

Shortly after Coffeezilla published his video, he posted on X that the security vulnerability had been patched, thanking fellow YouTuber MoistCr1TiKaL for helping escalate the issue.

President Donald Trump hinted on Wednesday that a Republican lawmaker who crossed him and sided with the president's foe Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) could be next on his revenge list.

Trump revived his threats against Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), "an 'America First' firebrand who broke with the president by pushing to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and campaigning with Massie last weekend," according to a report from Politico's Playbook.

The president told reporters that he would consider a challenger to Boebert's primary election on June 30, despite the fact that "it’s a little late in the race," and that he would "give a look if somebody raises their hand to run against her," Politico reported.

After Massie's defeat on Tuesday night in the most expensive House primary in history, Boebert wrote "Trump is my President!" in a post on X.

Massie had claimed earlier this month that Trump had retaliated against Boebert after she didn't follow his demands to remove her name from the discharge petition to release government documents connected to Epstein, taking her to the Situation Room to give her the ultimatum, which she ultimately defied.

A federal judge quoted author George Orwell in a recent ruling against the Trump administration that orders White House staff to preserve records.

U.S. District Judge John Bates granted a preliminary injunction on Wednesday that requires most White House employees to preserve presidential and vice presidential records. The 54-page decision opened with a line from Orwell's dystopian novel 1984.

"Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past," Bates opened. "Perhaps with that lesson in mind, Congress enacted laws to ensure that government records are created, preserved, and made available to the public."

The Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel challenged requirements set by the Presidential Records Act last month by issuing a memorandum opinion stating the 1978 law, created in the wake of the Watergate scandal, unconstitutionally exceeds congressional power and violates the separation of powers.

The American Historical Association, American Oversight, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation sued to invalidate the DOJ opinion, according to reporting by CBS News.

The ruling by Bates orders the White House to comply with the Presidential Records Act. It applies to the White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff and homeland security advisor Stephen Miller, and the executive office of the president, but not to Trump or Vice President JD Vance, according to CBS News.

"While the presidency is a singularly important institution, that gravity does not free it from modest constraint," Bates wrote. "Quite the opposite."

According to Bates, "for nearly fifty years, every president — including President Trump in his first term — has complied with the Records Act," and "none has challenged its facial constitutionality as too burdensome."

The judge then brought up a famous Shakespeare quote that can be found in Washington D.C., writing that "to adopt the government's position that the Act is unconstitutional would disable Congress and future presidents from reflecting on experience, in defiance of the very words engraved on the National Archives Building in Washington: 'What is past is prologue.'"

Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-KY) primary loss on Tuesday was another example of President Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party, according to some political experts. But a new analysis suggests that Massie may get the last laugh against Trump before all is said and done.

Ben Jacobs, a political reporter for Slate, wrote in a new column that Massie appears to be growing a new "loud minority" coalition to fight against Trump. Jacobs attended Massie's watch party on Tuesday, where he noticed a peculiar energy in the air around a man who had just lost his race to the Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.

"It may have represented the end of Massie’s stint in Congress, but it may too represent the coalescing of a new faction in Republican politics," Jacobs wrote. "Along with the usual assortment of local Kentucky supporters, the crowd at Massie’s event included an eclectic mix. There were a score of influencers who had come from across the country to support his campaign, there were libertarians stopping in Kentucky on their way to their party’s national convention in Michigan, and there were also figures like former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes floating around."

Massie became a thorn in Trump's side during the second administration because Massie pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Massie coordinated efforts with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the Department of Justice to release all of the files by the end of 2025. He also publicly supported survivors of Epstein's crimes in their push for transparency.

Jacobs noted that the crowd who attended Massie's concession speech chanted “America First, America First!” and “No War, No War!” The chants reminded him of the Tea Party coalition that formed in opposition to the traditional Republican Party in 2010 and catapulted people like Sen. Ron Paul (R-KY) into office. That coalition could also send Massie back to Congress, where he could continue to lean on the Trump administration.

"Like the Ron Paul coalition it resembles (and shares a lot of crossover with), it may not be more than a loud minority within the GOP, bigger on podcasts than in legislatures," Jacobs wrote. "But it does symbolize the potential nucleus of a new point of resistance to the Trumpist establishment in the GOP, one that not so much harks back to a Reagan-esque past as looks to a future where voters can drink raw milk while being transported in their self-driving Teslas."

"At a moment when Trump has seemingly quashed all dissent within the party, successfully ousting both Massie and Cassidy in less than a week, it signifies a potential new fissure opening within the GOP," Jacobs continued. "And for those at Massie’s election night, that seemed as much worth celebrating as anything."

MAGA-aligned former sheriff and Arizona Congressional candidate Mark Lamb faces allegations he sent women nude pictures and inappropriate text messages — then attempted to use the law enforcement powers of his office to keep it all under wraps from the public.

"Dozens of exchanges, explicit chats and sexual images ... appeared to come from Lamb's personal cell phone number and social media accounts to several women before and after he took over as Pinal County's top law enforcement officer in 2017, records and interviews show," said a new report from The Arizona Republic.

According to the report, he sent women multiple pictures of male genitalia, as well as "a photo of an unidentified couple having intercourse with a text telling the recipient to 'think about that being you,' punctuated with a devil emoji."

When he feared one woman would post what he had sent her to social media, he warned her she could be arrested for doing so.

"Lamb ... appeared to suggest he could control the Arizona Department of Public Safety and stop any investigation if the woman agreed to stop posting on social media, messages and interviews show," said the report. "One Facebook message included a link to the state's revenge-porn statute and said violations are a 'Class 4 felony,' screenshots show. 'Please just no more posting,' read the back-to-back messages, accompanied by Lamb's profile picture. 'I will call DPS.'"

Lamb, a former failed Senate candidate who has ties to the QAnon movement, has previously criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement for "irritatingly high" standards of care for migrant detainees.

He is running for the southwest Phoenix-area congressional district currently held by far-right Rep. Andy Biggs, who is now running for governor of Arizona.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and his agency are touting a major federal law enforcement presence at this summer's FIFA World Cup — even as new data suggests the tournament may be headed for an economic disappointment.

ICE and Homeland Security Investigations will work alongside Customs and Border Protection to combat human trafficking, drug smuggling, and counterfeit tickets and merchandise during the tournament, according to an official ICE post on X.

"When you have crowds this big, criminal activities follow," Mullin said in a video accompanying the post. "ICE and HSI are going to be out there every day fighting against the counterfeit tickets, human trafficking, drug smuggling, counterfeit products."

But the crowds Mullin is expecting may be smaller than anticipated.

A new report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) found that bookings are well below expectations in nearly every World Cup host city, warning that "the anticipated economic lift may fall short." The AHLA represents more than 32,000 properties and over 80% of all franchised hotels in the US.

The association blamed FIFA for block-booking massive numbers of rooms — manufacturing artificial demand — only to cancel up to 70% of those reservations in cities including Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Seattle. FIFA rejected the accusations, saying all room releases were conducted in line with contractual agreements.

High ticket prices, transportation costs, and the broader political climate have also kept international fans away, according to hotels. A study commissioned by FIFA had projected the tournament would generate $17.2 billion in U.S. GDP and create 185,000 jobs.

The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19. The AHLA said it expects bookings to strengthen in the coming weeks, but acknowledged the window is closing fast.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised eyebrows this week on his government podcast, "The Secretary Kennedy Podcast," when he veered into an unsolicited observation about the mental health of teenage girls — and how often he's apparently around them.

"I'm around a lot of young girls all the time, and they all seem, like, really crazy at that part of their lives," Kennedy said during an episode titled "The Truth About Psychiatric Drugs." "Most of them just get through it and figure it out. But if you put them on a regimen of psychiatric drugs at that age, they may not be able to go through the things that they need to go through."

Kennedy made the remarks in conversation with Laura Delano, author of the memoir Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance and founder of the Inner Compass Initiative, a nonprofit that helps patients navigate leaving the mental health system. Delano spent over a decade cycling through 19 psychiatric medications before concluding the treatment itself was harming her.

Delano validated Kennedy's comments.

"It's such a true observation," she said, arguing that the mental health industry has filled a void left by a generation of young women hungry for meaning — and that psychiatric diagnoses have become a kind of identity, even a "badge of honor."

Kennedy launched the podcast in April, billing it as "a new era of radical transparency in government." But critics have warned that the show — produced out of an HHS-branded studio — risks using the imprimatur of the nation's top health official to further erode federal health agencies' long-held reputation as a "safe harbor for information," as Georgetown public health law expert Lawrence Gostin put it.

Kennedy oversees agencies including the FDA and NIH, which regulate the psychiatric drugs he cast doubt on during the episode.

The Department of Justice charged one of its former prosecutors after she allegedly tried to steal a sealed report about an investigation into President Donald Trump by disguising it as a cake recipe.

According to reporting by Politico, the DOJ is accusing Carmen Lineberger, 62, of trying to send herself copies of an unreleased volume of special counsel Jack Smith's report on his investigation into Trump.

Smith's report examines the investigation of classified documents that were present at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.

"The indictment returned Tuesday says Lineberger sought to cover her tracks by using the file names 'Chocolate_Cake_Recipe.pdf' and 'Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf,'" Politico reported.

According to the indictment, Lineberger received copies of the Jack Smith report in January 2025. At the time, she was the managing assistant U.S. attorney of the Fort Pierce branch of the Southern District of Florida.

She allegedly downloaded the report to her computer account and months later emailed it to her personal email accounts, per the indictment.

The report disguised as a chocolate cake recipe was sent to her personal Hotmail account in September. She then sent the report to her Gmail account in December, this time calling it a bundt cake recipe.

In a federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida, Lineberger pleaded not guilty to charges related to stealing and concealing government records, including one felony count of obstruction of justice, and she was released on her own recognizance, according to court records.

"The maximum sentence if convicted on all charges is 25 years in prison," according to Politico. "Although federal defendants typically receive significantly shorter terms under federal sentencing guidelines."