Today’s notice: The narrative on prices is set. Putting the AI in America.gov. The Democrats who might lead the House. What we learned in the primaries. And: The FEC will not be up and running before November.
THE LATEST
No more pretending that prices aren’t going to be higher in November. When the Fed raised interest rates yesterday, the central bank both followed the desires of many economic experts and cut off any chance a politician can reasonably promise lower costs are coming to American household budgets anytime soon.
That promise was being made by the president until very recently. The summer was full of rhetoric from Donald Trump about gas prices falling imminently upon a final deal being signed with Iran, for example. That deal never came. The Middle East now has a full-blown oil distribution crisis worse than before, and gas prices are only going one way: up.
Trending
So: The president’s party failed to beat the clock on this. Do you think there’s enough time for Republicans to do something about high prices between now and the midterms? The Washington Sun’s Jasmine Wright asked a prominent GOP strategist actively working to elect Republicans. “Fuck no,” was the reply.
What comes next? In the House, a blame game. The Sun’s Manuela Silva asked a bunch of House Republicans on their way out of town until November how they planned to explain the state of prices to voters. “Look, we’ve passed a lot of legislation that can address those concerns as it relates to prices and things like that,” Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia told her. “They’re sitting in the Senate.” Manuela heard that line several times.
“If the Senate works together and moves some of these important pieces of legislation, I will bring the House back on 48-hour notice,” Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters. Translation: This is not my problem.
For his part, Trump is sticking to his old standbys. “The Democrats gave us the dark age of America and we turned it into the golden age,” he said at a North Carolina campaign rally last night. He predicted the Iran war would end soon. “Just you watch,” he added. “Trump was right about everything.”
Everything I’m doing is going great continues to be the economic message from the president. “The only problem is interest rates are artificially high,” he told the crowd.
More: House Passes Russia Sanctions Bill After Fight Over Trump’s Tariff Powers • McConnell Does Just Enough to Advance Farm Bill • Troops Must Prepare to Fight Around the Moon, Top Military Adviser Says • Lawmakers Consider Barring Press From House Speaker’s Lobby
Open tabs:
- Trump’s arch will harm historic sites but must proceed, federal officials say (WaPo)
- OpenAI Discloses Six New Incidents of ‘Concerning’ A.I. Behavior (NYT)
- A new crop of Democratic early-state kingmakers rises for 2028 (Semafor)
- New Dan Osborn recording features blunt comments about some Nebraska Trump supporters (Omaha World-Herald)
FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
Scoop: What if AI did your passport renewal? Or your tax returns? That’s what Trump officials are planning for with the new AI-powered “America.gov” that would serve as a clearinghouse for government services, The Sun’s Natalie Alms, Jeff Stein and Jasmine Wright report. Involved in the project are former DOGE officials like Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia and the infamous Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, sources tell The Sun.
The features under discussion for the website include providing free tax-filing services for simple returns through the AI-driven portal, which would be an about-face for a White House that canceled the Biden-era program Direct File. Officials told The Sun they hope the project can be rolled out before the midterms to give Republicans a message about government efficiency. But in this AI-skeptical political climate, a rocky rollout could be risky.
FROM A POTENTIAL FUTURE
Meet the new boss(es), maybe. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar could soon be destined for higher profiles and new job titles. The Sun’s Kadia Goba examines what makes this Democratic leadership team different from the last one that led the party’s House majority. While Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer were famously competitive, the three leaders atop the caucus now operate as a unit. The question: Will that unanimity hold on a bigger stage, with a potentially more divided caucus?
FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL
What did we learn from a tumultuous primary season? The Sun’s Paul Kane reports on research showing that 88% of the entire 435 member House has already been chosen this year, either because incumbents ran in safe seats with uncontested primaries or because the primaries themselves were the only really competitive thing to happen in highly partisan seats. Even as gerrymandering gains popularity again, plenty of advocates say that if political leaders were really interested in regaining public trust in the system, they’d increase competition, not eliminate it.
PODCAST
From your favorite podcast app: On today’s Washington Sun Cast, reporters Oriana González, Reese Gorman and Jeff Stein talk about all the doomer AI warnings and what, if anything, Congress will do about them. “I truly do not see anything getting done, definitely not before the election and likely nothing through this Congress,” Reese said of legislators.
NEW ON THE WASHINGTON SUN
F-E-See ya! The Senate has basically run out of time to approve Trump’s nominees to the open slots on the Federal Election Commission before the midterms. The Sun’s Taylor Giorno reports on how the return of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) was supposed to help move things along, but so far there have been no committee hearings on the nominees, much less a full Senate vote.
Since May 2025, the FEC has been without the required quorum of commissioners to take any meaningful action. Barring something truly surprising happening, that won’t change before Election Day.
More: Judge Warns Blanche of Possible Contempt Charges Over Epstein Files • Harris Will Campaign With El-Sayed in Michigan • Judge Scolds ICE Over Investigation of a New York Man’s Critical Email • Park Service Quietly Awards Contracts for Trump’s East Potomac Golf Course Takeover Plans
NOT US
- The World Economy Is Becoming Wary of the U.S., by Alan Rappeport for The New York Times
- GOP candidates are largely ignoring Trump’s midterm advice, by Clara Ence Morse, Gregory S. Schneider and Theodoric Meyer for The Washington Post
- Trump escalates war on federal data, by Mike Zapler for Axios
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Andrew Burton.
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