Bernie Sanders stands by Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, saying he will "certainly not" be reconsidering his endorsement, reports said.
Former first lady Jill Biden defended her husband, former President Joe Biden, as a presidential candidate on Tuesday, saying she believes he would have defeated President Donald Trump if he were the final nominee in 2024. “I believe he would have beat Donald Trump in that election,” Jill Biden said in a Tuesday morning interview […]
Norman Eisen, the former White House ethics czar who has become one of the most aggressive legal thorns in Donald Trump's side, filed a new lawsuit Monday on behalf of former January 6 prosecutors, refusing to accept media reports suggesting the administration's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund has been quietly shelved."We are NOT accepting media reports as proof that the $1.8B slush fund and 'settlements' associated with it are dead," Eisen wrote on X, announcing the filing. "That's why we have just filed a new lawsuit to make sure this ENDS."The complaint for injunctive and declaratory relief was filed in federal court Monday, Case 1:26-cv-01907, on behalf of two former prosecutors who handled January 6 cases. It names Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bisignano as defendants, along with the Justice Department and the Treasury Department.According to language visible in the filing, the lawsuit argues that the fund's creation, along with its assertion that January 6 prosecutors acted for improper political reasons, has harmed the plaintiffs. The complaint notes that January 6 insurrectionists have already been "hailing the creation of the Fund," underscoring why the legal fight cannot be considered over based on press reports alone.The filing was made in partnership with Platkin LLP, Washington Litigation Group, and Heaphy Smith.The post was quickly reposted by Barbara Comstock, the former Republican congresswoman from Virginia who has become a vocal Trump critic.BREAKING: we are NOT accepting media reports as proof that the $1.8B slush fund & "settlements" associated with it are deadThat's why we @DDFund_ have just filed a new lawsuit to make sure this ENDS --on behalf of former J6 prosecutors with Platkin LLP, WLG & Heaphy Smith pic.twitter.com/lT49UzKs3H— Norm Eisen (@NormEisen) June 1, 2026
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is “practically begging” the White House to abandon President Donald Trump’s “fixation on personal projects,” with one in particular “growing more toxic” and potentially jeopardizing a key priority for Republicans as the midterm elections draw near, Punchbowl News reported Tuesday.Republican lawmakers are hoping to pass a reconciliation bill this week to fully fund federal immigration enforcement agencies, but Trump’s continued support for his $1.7 billion taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization fund” – established to award payouts to his supporters who claim to have been unfairly targeted by the Biden administration’s Justice Department, including violent Jan. 6 Capitol rioters – risks sinking the legislation entirely.“Trump and Hill Republicans are trapped in a dangerous paradox,” Punchbowl News’ report reads. “Trump’s political endorsement is worth more than ever in GOP primaries, yet his legislative agenda and fixation on personal projects are growing more toxic heading into the fall campaign season. As more Republicans move past their primaries, they’re suddenly finding it advantageous to oppose him.”Thune "acknowledged” that Republicans in the Senate “weren’t satisfied” with the White House’s continued support of the anti-weaponization fund – which a federal judge has temporarily halted from awarding payouts – and on Monday, urged the administration to issue “more public assurances,” Punchbowl News reported.“The South Dakota Republican is practically begging the administration to act on its own to shut down the fund entirely and make clear it won’t be resurrected,” the outlet’s report reads. “Thune believes this remains the best way to un-stick the reconciliation bill and prevent a handful of GOP senators from voting for Democratic amendments during an upcoming vote-a-rama. But the White House seems unwilling to make this easy for Republicans.”
President Donald Trump has increasingly faced pushback from his “own friends and allies” in recent weeks leading to a series of “losses,” Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday, a dynamic that the outlet attributed to the president’s most powerful point of leverage crumbling in real time.“President Donald Trump is suddenly taking losses from his own friends and allies, especially on Capitol Hill,” Punchbowl News’ report reads.For instance, Trump’s White House ballroom project is in “serious jeopardy” as GOP senators sour at the $1 billion ask for ballroom security. Trump’s proposal for the creation of a new battleship fleet named after himself also hit a speedbump as Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee expressed a “wave of skepticism,” Punchbowl News reported on Monday.Trump’s $1.7 billion “anti-weaponization” fund has also sparked fierce pushback from GOP lawmakers, and this week, House Republicans may end up supporting a bill to provide $600 million in aid to Ukraine, a bill that Punchbowl News reported “Trump is certain to oppose.”The cause for the recent uptick in GOP defiance, Punchbowl News argued, was the primary election season wrapping up around the nation. Trump’s endorsements – “worth more than ever in GOP primaries,” Punchbowl News’ report reads – are no longer a threat for lawmakers who’ve made it past their primaries unscathed. As such, GOP lawmakers are “suddenly finding it advantageous to oppose” the president.Punchbowl News flagged the wave of GOP opposition to Trump’s $1.7 billion fund – established to award payouts to his supporters who claim to have been unfairly targeted by the Biden administration’s Justice Department – as a key example of Trump’s leverage on his own party having waned. “At least a dozen GOP senators said Monday that the White House’s attempt to quell the uproar over Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund wasn’t enough to win their support for advancing the immigration-centric package – something that should unify them,” Punchbowl News’ report reads.
People may debate whether Graham Platner or Ken Paxton is more unfit to serve in the United States Senate. But the answers will mostly depend on one’s partisan preferences. For a few folks, their own particular detestation of certain vices might be material. You may think that Paxton is worse because many of the allegations…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly curtailed journalists’ access in the Pentagon.
Republican House Rep. Tom Kean of New Jersey thanked President Donald Trump on Monday for his endorsement ahead of the GOP primary election on Tuesday, but critics – including his Democratic opponent – were quick to remind the lawmaker that he’s not been seen on the House floor for nearly 90 days.“Kean hasn’t voted in the House or appeared in public in months, yet he’s being endorsed for re-election by Trump,” wrote John Bresnahan, co-founder of Punchbowl News, in a social media post on X Monday night.Kean’s most recent appearance on the House floor was on March 5, and in the months since, his extended absence has become a growing “concern” for GOP leaders given the competitiveness of the district he represents. Kean has said his absence was due to a “personal medical issue” without providing further detail, with Time labeling Kean as a “ghost” in its report last week.Trump’s endorsement of Kean was issued on Monday via a statement on social media, in which the president claimed Kean was “working tirelessly” to support his agenda. Rebecca Bennett, Kean’s Democratic opponent in the race, flagged Trump’s endorsement of a lawmaker who’s been absent for nearly three months in her pitch to voters ahead of Tuesday's primary election.“Here’s the difference between us: I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Kean swore an oath of loyalty to Trump and his MAGA allies in DC,” Bennett wrote in a social media post on X. “This November, we’ll send him packing and start holding the Trump Administration accountable.”Paul Kane, a longtime Capitol Hill reporter, said he’d “never seen anything like this,” particularly given Kean’s district being among the most competitive districts this election cycle.“Kean was last seen March 5. Today was the 88th [day] since his disappearance,” Kane wrote in a social media post on X. “He’s in a critical swing seat that [Republicans] desperately need to hold. Never seen anything like this.”So @KeanForCongress was last seen March 5. Today was the 88th since day his disappearance. He’s in a critical swing seat that Rs desperately need to hold. Never seen anything like this. https://t.co/RPVxP1DcTT— Paul Kane (@pkcapitol) June 2, 2026
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) has been mystifying Capitol Hill for months with his protracted absence due to an unspecified medical issue. Now he's introducing legislation — even though he hasn't actually returned to work yet.According to NOTUS, Kean "became the lead sponsor of H.R.9061" on Friday — a bill that would require clear guidance from the federal government to states on whether to cover early screenings for preeclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy complication, in Medicaid and CHIP.This comes even though he is still out of work and nobody knows where he is.Republican lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned, as his absence has now extended past 75 days, and his office has not given any clarification on what his medical condition is or when he will be able to return to work. His aides are simply assuring the public that he will be back to work "soon."Filing legislation is not the only standard congressional activity Kean is carrying on with, despite not actually showing up to the Capitol. His office is also sending out his newsletter, with no indication that anything is amiss.Kean represents a New Jersey House district that will likely see a competitive race in November, where Democrats are strategizing how to capitalize on a wave of public anger at President Donald Trump and reclaim the House majority after having lost it in 2022.