'Get used to it': Economist says Republicans have 'bombed' the economy for years

Trump pushing Republican senator to straight rebellion

Despite his claim that he does not care about the midterms, President Donald Trump has been focused on securing GOP majority control of both chambers of Congress in November.His revenge campaign nearly over, Trump has managed to use the primaries to unseat House and Senate Republicans he deemed disloyal — largely despite their voting records. His plan to gain seats in the House appears likely to be successful, picking up roughly ten seats through his redistricting scheme.“But primaries are not general elections, and winning in November is what really counts,” writes Keith Naughton at The Hill. “Trump could be setting himself up for trouble, and it could well come from a senator not even on the ballot.” There could be trouble ahead for Senate Republicans who currently hold a 53-47 majority. The majority of “at-risk” seats belong to Republicans, several of which Democrats are poised to flip, including North Carolina and Maine.That leaves Ohio, Texas, and Michigan, which are toss-ups, according to RealClearPolitics.It’s Texas where “Trump may have just won the battle but lost the war,” explains Naughton. Many believe Trump’s 11th-hour decision to endorse MAGA Attorney General Ken Paxton over conservative Senator John Cornyn may have been a shot in the foot.Democratic State Rep. James Talarico reported he took in more than $3 million in the first 24 hours after Paxton won the GOP primary runoff this week.Naughton examines other races as well, but concludes there is one GOP senator who could upend the president’s plans.U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) could decide to become an independent but vote with the Democrats — flipping control of the Senate to the Democrats.Naughton says he thinks Murkowski leaving the GOP and conferencing with the Democrats is a “pretty strong bet.”“Murkowski has already mused making a switch,” he writes. “Although she tried to dress up remaining a Republican in terms of public policy, the likely reality is that it makes no sense to move from the majority party to the minority — what is the profit in that? Turning the minority party into the majority party, however — that could be very profitable for Murkowski, and for Alaska in general.”In 2022, Trump endorsed a Murkowski challenger, but she kept her seat. And in 2010, she was forced to run a write-in campaign, and still kept her seat.“For Murkowski,” Naughton notes, “who voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges and has little loyalty to the Republican Party, switching gets easier as her longtime colleagues leave the Senate chamber — some due to Trump’s machinations.”

Sicko arrested for allegedly threatening to kill Erika Kirk at a Turning Point USA event: ‘Know exactly where to bomb’

Jacob Wenske, 26, allegedly made a series of violent comments against the 37-year-old widow on a public Facebook post. 

Vile: Texas Man Threatens to Bomb Erika Kirk and TPUSA, Now He's Facing a Felony

WATCH: Police absent from Delaney Hall chaos as agitators block ICE vehicles and agents use pepper spray

Tensions escalated outside Newark's Delaney Hall immigrant detention center as protesters took over traffic control and ICE agents used pepper spray.

'Imaginative' plan to kill Trump's slush fund gets applause

Few events in President Donald Trump’s second term have prompted as much outrage as the announcement that the DOJ will create a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund to compensate those “harmed” by the Biden administration, which has been broadly denounced as a “slush fund” for convicted J6 criminals. There has been bipartisan discussion of how to block the fund, and now famed Esquire political commentator Charles P. Pierce is applauding one “imaginative” idea. Earlier this week, New York Democratic state assemblymember and House candidate Alex Bores unveiled legislation that would level a 100 percent tax against payouts from the fund. Then on Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom gave even greater visibility to the idea, telling reporters, “Anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100 percent of those proceeds.” Other congressional Democrats have gotten behind similar efforts.“I love this,” said Pierce. “This is the kind of imaginative grassroots pushback the national Democratic party needs. The more that this incredibly corrupt bargain is subjected to public scorn and ridicule, the better.”While the concept may have a hard time catching on among Republicans who are famously antagonistic toward enacting new taxes, conservative lawmakers have been so angered by the fund that they may be willing to take dramatic steps to oppose it. Even congressional Republicans who are usually hesitant to break with the president have blasted the move, with former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declaring, “So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong — take your pick.” The tax idea hasn’t been the only effort to stymie the fund. Shortly after it was announced, the Bipartisan Transparency for American Taxpayers Act was introduced by Representatives Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), which declared simply that “no federal funds may be used for the payment of any claim submitted to the Anti-Weaponization Fund, established by the Department of Justice on May 18, 2026.” If enacted, it would essentially kill the fund. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-CA) introduced the No Taxpayer-Funded Settlement Slush Funds Act, which would similarly deny federal cash to the fund.Interestingly enough, in February, a slate of Republican lawmakers began pushing the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2026, which has so far failed to gain traction. If enacted, it would prohibit government officials from entering into settlement agreements that divert funds to third-party organizations, with the intention of preventing the Executive Branch from circumventing Congress and steering settlement money to its preferred recipients — an exact description of the circumstances surrounding the J6 slush fund.

James Talarico's Fake Olive Branch to Republicans

The Democratic candidate dresses up a negative, partisan appeal as genuine moderation.

Capitol Hill Staff Won’t Rule Out Year-End Bipartisan Tax Deal

Capitol Hill tax staff haven’t ruled out an end-of-year bipartisan tax package to adjust retirement fixes and international tax issues that have gone unaddressed—even as Republican lawmakers race against the clock to pass a “skinny” reconciliation package.

Newsom says California will impose 100 percent tax on ‘anti-weaponization fund’ recipients

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Wednesday said he will impose a 100 percent tax on state residents who receive money from the Trump administration’s new $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund meant to compensate those who feel they were wrongfully prosecuted by the government. “One thing that I think we’re going to try to do ……