Wait. What? A *$1 Billion* Ballroom?
Plus: A one-page TACO?
I try to keep up. I really do. Operation Freedom launched and cancelled within a day; Trump’s revenge campaign comes for the Indiana GOP; a rat-virus cruise and….
“Wait,” I thought: “This cannot possibly be true.”
Republicans propose $1 billion in taxpayer dollars to secure Trump ballroom.
This would be the very same ballroom that Trump told us overandoverandover would be paid for by his friends and cronies. The Trump vanity project that would cost taxpayers nothing. The no-little-people-welcome dance palace that has become the symbol of Marie Antoinette-meets-Nicolae Ceaușescu lavishly gilded grift.
When he rolled out the idea last October, Trump said that the ballroom would cost around $200 million, a price tag that has risen ever since. But Trump has repeatedly insisted that it would be privately funded.
“And by the way, no government funds,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office last November. “These are all private individuals that put up a lot of money to build the ballroom,” he added. “Not one penny is being used from the federal government.” Indeed, Trump was a one-man montage of denial on the subject, insisting on social media that there would be “zero cost to the American taxpayer”.
And the oligarchs, capitalists, assorted hangers-on, and suck-ups seemed eager to pay their tributes.1
Even after the Trump PR pivot that sought to exploit the latest assassination attempt as a pretext for the ballroom, the politics remained toxic: Americans opposed the project by a 2-to-1 margin, with strong opposition (47%) outweighing strong support (16%) by 3-to-1.
So, when I saw the first report of the $1 billion ballroom bill (on Substack Notes), my first thought was: No. This can’t be real.
Surely, this must be a spoof or a parody, because who in their right mind would suggest (1) that taxpayers should now be stuck with the bill, (2) that GOP members of Congress should be forced to vote for the monstrosity in an election year2, and (3) a billion fuqqing dollars — AYFKM?
But there it was Tuesday. The Senate legislation — part of a Republican-only “reconciliation” bill the party plans to pass this year — says that the money is earmarked “for the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernization Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features.”
So much for the “people’s house.”
Roll your eyes if you must, but don’t expect Republicans to reject this bit of political insanity, especially after what happened last night.
Happy Wednesday.
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Trump gets his scalps (and a smaller party)
It’s still Trump’s party, and the message from Indiana was clear: Defy the president’s demands and face political oblivion. So, more principled Republicans join Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, Mike Pence, Adam Kinzinger et al in political exile. Via NOTUS: “Trump Gets His Revenge in Indiana: Seven Indiana Republicans who voted down a new congressional map faced Trump-backed primary challengers. Almost all of them lost.”
The results in Indiana are ominous for other Republicans incumbents Trump is trying to take down this year. In Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, the president endorsed Ed Gallrein against Rep. Thomas Massie, who has frequently bucked the president on a number of issues, including the Iran war, the Epstein files and tariffs. In Louisiana, he is backing Rep. Julia Letlow in the Senate race against Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who has pushed back against the “Make America Health Again” movement.
The biggest takeaway from the night in Indiana: Pre-midterm Southern state redraws became a whole lot more likely. After a Supreme Court ruling last week gutting the Voting Rights Act, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee are all looking at their own potential new maps.
A one-page surrender?
This is another story that feels like a parody: Trump marked yet another TACO Tuesday by cancelling his Operation Freedom moments after Sec of State Marco Rubio announced that the war was over — “Epic Fury” was terminated — and the sole focus of the United States was now on the operation to open the strait. Trump promptly threw him under the bus.
This morning, we get (1) This blockbuster report from the Wapo: “Iran hit more U.S. military targets than has been reported, satellite imagery shows”, and (2) Reports that Trump thinks he’s close to a “one-page” deal with Iran that would give him the off-ramp he so devoutly and desperately wants.
According to Axios, The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) “would declare an end to the war in the region and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a detailed agreement to open the strait, limit Iran’s nuclear program and lift U.S. sanctions.”
If this is true, it amounts to a staggering strategic defeat for the US. Trump will claim victory (because he always does), but the “deal” means (1) No regime change, (2) No full denuclearization, (3) A huge economic windfall for Iran, and (4) A gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which was already open before Trump attacked Iran.
Is it real? At this point, who knows. But the events of the last 24 hours fit the same erratic pattern we’ve seen since Trump began his war of whim. Here’s Phillips O’Brien’s savvy take:
Once again, Trump acted tough but when faced with resistance, he blinked.
It was typical of the general rule of thumb for US policy over the last 5 weeks. Though there are lots of proclamations, market swings, intense proclamations, even actions—in the end nothing ever changes. People are getting hoodwinked time and time again into thinking we are about to see something important happen. The reality is that Trump remains as stuck as he was at the beginning of April. He wants out, does not want to escalate, but cannot yet declare victory and leave.
It’s like an orange version of Groundhog Day.
BONUS: Don’t miss Adam Kinzinger’s essay on America’s lost credibility: “Dead Words, Dead Credibility: How Trump Is Dismantling America's Reputation in Real Time.”
“Pope Leo XIV Rebukes Donald Trump’s Lies”
Via Christopher Hale’s invaluable newsletter:
On Monday night, Donald Trump went on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show and renewed his assault on Pope Leo XIV, telling the host that the first American pope is “endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people” because, in Trump’s telling, Leo “thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
It was a fresh lie stacked on a familiar one. Pope Leo has never said any such thing — about Iran or anyone else — and the Holy See has rejected nuclear weapons in every nation’s hands for more than half a century….
Standing outside his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, days before the first anniversary of his election, Pope Leo XIV addressed reporters in Italian:
“I have already spoken from the first moment of being elected. I said: ‘Peace be with you.’ The mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If anyone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so. With truth — the Church has spoken against all nuclear weapons for years. There is no doubt about it. I simply hope to be listened to for the values of the Word of God.”
Leo never named Trump, but he came as close as a pope ever does to calling a sitting American president a liar. The phrase “with truth” was the hinge. Trump had accused him of welcoming a nuclear-armed Iran.
Leo answered by reminding the world — softly, deliberately — that the Catholic Church has condemned all nuclear weapons for decades, and that there is “no doubt about it.”
Yes, Epstein will be an issue in the midterms
If you had any doubt about that, check out the new add from Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown in one of the year’s pivotal senate races:
“Of all 535 members of Congress, who’s taken the most money from associates of Jeffrey Epstein?” the narrator asks in Mr. Brown’s first TV ad, which began airing on Friday. “Jon Husted, that’s who.”
BONUS: “Lutnick faces Hill’s Epstein gauntlet”
House Oversight lawmakers today will interview the Commerce chief about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The closed-door Capitol Hill testimony comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was scrutinized for her handling of the Epstein investigation. Both Bondi and former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem lost Congressional GOP support before their departures, and Lutnick’s political career could hinge on whether Oversight Republicans are satisfied with his answers on what he knew about Epstein and when
A warning for the Dems
The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich thinks “Democrats Could Use a Cold Shower Before the Midterms.” [GIFT LINK]
Democrats are too busy being giddy with anticipation for the midterms.
Democrats picking up 49 House seats—as they did in 1974—would be exceedingly unlikely in this or any modern cycle. The country is too solidly 50–50, and the congressional maps have been redrawn over the years in a way that will ensure a high degree of stasis. After Democrats won a net total of 41 seats in 2018—their biggest gain since 1974—they significantly exhausted their body of “winnable” seats and thus the potential for future pickups. Only three Republicans carried districts won by Kamala Harris in 2024.
“The pool of possible defections for either party in a bad year is a very small number,” Charlie Cook, a veteran political analyst and the founder of the Cook Political Report, told me….
As for the Senate, Democrats face an extremely high degree of difficulty. Cook pointed out that they would not only have to take at least some states that Trump won three times (North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, Texas). They would also have to hold Democratic seats in places that Trump won in 2024 (Georgia, Michigan) and would likely have to defeat the Republican Susan Collins in Maine, who has proved over three decades to be a unicorn of electoral resilience. Her likely opponent, the Bernie Sanders–backed oyster farmer Graham Platner, has generally been polling ahead of her. But he is a political novice who is packing heavy baggage, which pro-Collins committees will undoubtedly unpack for maximum effect.
Cook believes that Republicans are still more likely to hold the Senate, in spite of the optimistic Democratic projections. “For a lot of these folks, they’re going with the vibe and not looking at the arithmetic,” he said.
Finally: Don’t try to sanewash this
This morning, with children carefully placed as props by his side, the President of the United States sat in his high-backed leather chair inside the Oval Office while cameras recorded every word that was said. Behind him stood professional athletes, cabinet members, and administration officials, all packed tightly together as a show of support for the return of the Presidential Fitness Award. This carefully staged event was supposed to be all about bringing the program back, but Trump quickly took the moment in a completely different direction.
He told one little girl she shouldn’t play volleyball because of her size.
He asked another child if they thought they could fight him, then began telling the room about Iranian protesters being shot “right between the eyes” before drifting into more bizarre commentary and awkward jokes. All while children were made to stand right beside him, smiling for the cameras.
Wednesday dogs
Update on the Ridglan Farms beagles
The Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) announced that they will be receiving up to 150 beagles from Ridglan Farms as part of a national effort to rescue and re-home 1,500 dogs. Dane County Humane Society is coordinating the placement of 500 beagles.
Some of the 1,500 beagles released from Ridglan Farms, a Wisconsin facility that breeds dogs for animal testing, will soon arrive at Minnesota rescues as they get a second chance at life….
Meanwhile, the Animal Humane Society (AHS) says it is teaming up with Ruff Start Rescue and the Tri-County Humane Society to take in 50 of the beagles leaving the large-scale breeding facility.
The release follows a deal between Ridglan Farms and two nonprofits, the Center for a Humane Economy and Big Dog Ranch Rescue, which purchased 1,500 of the approximately 2,000 dogs for an undisclosed price, FOX6 Milwaukee reported. It’s unclear what will happen with the remaining animals.
FOX6 reported vans carrying the first group of beagles left the facility Friday, kicking off a multi-day effort to relocate the dogs to rescues and shelters across the country.
Beagles saved from Ridglan Farms in Wisconsin sent to Florida
Hundreds of beagles rescued from a Wisconsin research lab arrived at Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee Groves in Florida on Saturday night and will soon be available for adoption, the rescue posted on Facebook on Sunday.
The dogs had been housed at Ridglan Farms, which breeds beagles for biomedical research. Last year, a judge found probable cause that animal cruelty violations had occurred at the Blue Mounds, Wis., facility.
“See the donor list for Trump ballroom as White House’s East Wing is destroyed”:
Altria Group
Amazon
Apple
Booz Allen Hamilton
Caterpillar
Coinbase
Comcast
Hard Rock International
Google
HP
Lockheed Martin
Meta
Micron Technology
Microsoft
NextEra Energy
Palantir Technologies
Ripple
Reynolds American
T-Mobile
Tether
Union Pacific Railroad
J. Pepe and Emilia Fanjul
Adelson Family Foundation
Stefan E. Brodie
Betty Wold Johnson Foundation
Charles and Marissa Cascarilla
Edward and Shari Glazer
Harold Hamm
Benjamin Leon Jr.
The Lutnick Family
The Laura & Isaac Perlmutter Foundation
Stephen A. Schwarzman
Konstantin Sokolov
Kelly Loeffler and Jeff Sprecher
Paolo Tiramani
Cameron Winklevoss
Tyler Winklevoss
And, yes, there will be an up or down vote on this giveaway:
Democrats quickly seized on the Secret Service provision and hinted they will force a vote on the Senate floor later this month when Republicans try to pass the overall spending package. The party has criticized Trump for focusing on ballroom construction while Americans grapple with a high cost of living.
“Just flagging that now everyone gets an up or down vote on the ballroom!” Sen. Brian Schatz wrote on X.
It'd be nice if these "donors" for the ballroom were as willing to pay taxes and give to charities that actually help people in need as they are to give a bribe to trump.
Charlie Sykes standing up for democracy, thanks