House To End Page Program After Nearly 200 Years

Dan Pfeiffer: “In the first term, Trump had two types of staffers: incompetent, but loyal (think Seb Gorka) and mostly competent, but not particularly loyal (John Bolton). Most of the more skilled and experienced Republicans wanted nothing to do with Trump and worried that serving in his administration could be a career ender that came with high legal bills and a lifetime of infamy.” “This time around, more Republicans who pull the levers of power and execute on Trump’s wishes will go to work in the White House and across the federal government.

“President Vladimir Putin of Russia wrapped up a state visit to one ally, North Korea, and moved on to another, Vietnam, arriving early Thursday hoping to shore up crucial partnerships in the region as he wages a protracted war in Ukraine,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Putin’s war in Ukraine has left him isolated from the West, and his need for munitions to fight that war has pushed him closer to North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong-un.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign raised just $2.6 million in May, a paltry sum that speaks to how reliant his bid has become on his running mate, the wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan,” the New York Times reports. “The Kennedy campaign raised less in May than it had in any previous month in 2024, according to filings on Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.

“Democrats and Republicans are busting campaign spending records in state legislative races this year as they aim to shape policy debates far from Washington,” Politico reports. “All across the country, from Arizona to New Hampshire, the parties are spending tens of millions of dollars because of what state capitals have become: proving grounds for their agendas.”

“The Supreme Court is about to drop a string of blockbuster rulings, with abortion rights, gun rights and the Justice Department’s case against former President Trump all hanging in the balance,” Axios reports. “Two years after overturning Roe v. Wade — and with questions about some of the justices’ ethics and impartiality at a fever pitch — the court is squarely in the center of election-year politics.

“The political future of House Freedom Caucus Chair Bob Good is coming down to the final votes,” Politico reports. “After a bitter primary battle with rival John McGuire in south-central Virginia’s 5th Congressional District, the vote count showed an exceedingly tight result Tuesday night, far closer than many expected. With each update to the results, Good and McGuire traded leads that at times were as low as single digits.”