May 20, 2026

Some People Just Can't Stop Being Heroes. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: “Two police officers who defended the Capitol against a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021, sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to try to block the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund that they say will be used to reward the rioters and right-wing militia groups who tried to stop Congress from certifying the election results that day. The lawsuit, filed by former Officer Harry Dunn of the U.S. Capitol Police and Officer Daniel Hodges of Washington’s Metropolitan Police, alleges that the Trump administration has created a “slush fund to finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.” It names as defendants ... [Donald] Trump as well as acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The suit contends the administration has exceeded its statutory authority by creating the fund without the authorization of Congress.”

Thanks, Marco! What This Country Really Needs Is Another War. Ali Watkins of the New York Times: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered a rare direct appeal to the Cuban people in a video posted on Wednesday, the anniversary of their independence from Spain and U.S. military occupation, urging them to align with the Trump administration as it seeks to weaken the Cuban regime. 'President Trump is offering a new path between the U.S. and a new Cuba,' Mr. Rubio said in the brief video address, which was reported on Wednesday by Axios before it was posted. In the address, which was in Spanish with English subtitles and posted on the State Department’s YouTube channel Wednesday morning, Mr. Rubio mentions the former Cuban leader, Raúl Castro, around the one-minute mark. Mr. Castro, who also served as defense minister, is expected to be indicted by the Justice Department on Wednesday for having ordered the shooting down of two civilian planes in 1996.” ~~~

     ~~~ Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: “A federal grand jury in Miami has indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro in an attempt to hold him accountable for the 1996 killing of four people, three of them Americans. Top Justice Department announced the indictment Wednesday in Miami, the heart of the Cuban exile community. The extraordinary indictment, which was returned by a grand jury in April, comes as the Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure to try to force political turnover in communist Cuba, and it is the latest example of the administration using its Justice Department to sway foreign policy. Castro faces charges of murder, conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and destruction of aircraft, according to the court docket. Others also were charged, court records show.”

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: “The Trump administration has fired two leaders of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an influential panel of experts who determine what medical screenings and procedures insurance companies must cover for millions of Americans at no cost. The two leaders, Dr. John Wong and Dr. Esa Davis, received letters notifying them of their firings on May 11. The New York Times obtained copies of the letters. In the letters, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote that he had 'directed a review' of U.S.P.S.T.F. appointments 'to ensure clarity, continuity, and confidence in the Department’s exercise of its appointment and supervisory responsibilities, and to protect the integrity of the Task Force’s work.'... Last month, Mr. Kennedy said he planned to reform the panel, which he called 'lackadaisical and negligent.' Over the past year, Mr. Kennedy has undermined the task force’s work by indefinitely postponing its last three meetings and not replacing members whose terms were scheduled to end in December.”

Lena Sun & Lauren Weber of the Washington Post: “The White House resisted allowing an American doctor exposed to Ebola while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo to return to the United States..., delaying the evacuation and care of Peter Stafford, who was ultimately transported to Germany.... The resulting back-and-forth delayed Stafford’s evacuation and treatment because 'they would not allow him to be transported to the United States,' said one individual.... Infectious-disease physicians who have cared for Ebola patients say the mainstay of treatment is early recognition of infection coupled with effective isolation and advanced supportive care because an infection can progress within days to multi-organ failure.... The administration’s reluctance to bring an infected American back to U.S. soil marked a sharp contrast with the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, when the first two American patients were evacuated to Atlanta for treatment. Donald Trump harshly criticized the move at the time, and individuals familiar with the current response say the optics of bringing a possible Ebola patient into the country remain major concerns inside the White House.”  

Benjamin Mullin & Jessica Testa of the New York Times: “James Murdoch is acquiring roughly half of Vox Media, a dramatic expansion in American media for the younger son of the industry titan Rupert Murdoch. The deal includes Vox Media’s podcast network as well as New York magazine, a publication once owned by Mr. Murdoch’s father. Mr. Murdoch, 53, emphasized that he was not looking to acquire a 'daily news business' but rather wanted 'longer-form, thoughtful journalism that can really speak to the culture,' he told The New York Times in an interview on Tuesday.”

Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: “Barney Frank, the brassy, lightning-quick former Massachusetts representative who for decades was the most prominent gay politician in the country and who was an author of the most significant overhaul of the nation’s financial regulations since the Great Depression, died on Tuesday at his home in Ogunquit, Maine. He was 86.”  

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Marie: Yesterday, Trump scandal-filled day ended with yet another Trump scandal. Trump & Blanche expanded their criminal conspiracy to defraud the U.S. taxpayer by sneaking in most flagrantly criminal part of the deal, and of course after the scheduled Senate grilling of co-conspirator Todd. Never before have a president* & his No. 1 enabler more deserved stints in the moldiest, most rat-infested of Club Feds: (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ Alan Feuer & Andrew Duehren of the New York Times: “The Justice Department on Tuesday expanded the agreement it reached this week with ... [Donald] Trump to resolve his extraordinary lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service to include a provision that would bar the agency from pursuing tax claims against the president, his family or his businesses. In a one-page document signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and quietly posted on the department’s website, officials vowed not to pursue any matters, including those involving Mr. Trump’s tax returns, that are currently pending.... Protection from audit could be quite remunerative for Mr. Trump. In 2024, The Times reported that a loss in an I.R.S. audit could cost Mr. Trump more than $100 million. It is unclear if that examination has concluded or if Mr. Trump, his family members or affiliated entities are under other audits. I.R.S. procedures call for the mandatory audit of the president’s tax returns annually.... Federal law prohibits the president, vice president and other executive officers from instructing the I.R.S. to start or stop specific audits. But that broad prohibition does appear to include a carve out for the attorney general.” (Also linked yesterday.) Update: the link has been changed to one that appears to be a gift link. ~~~

~~~ This story has been updated to include Glenn Thrush in the byline. And there's this: “The provision invited immediate criticism as tax experts raised the possibility that it was illegal. That the addendum to the deal was posted, without fanfare, on the department’s website belied its bare-knuckled audacity. It revealed the determination of Mr. Trump and his appointees to ram through maximalist measures with minimum outside scrutiny at a moment when they still have uncontested control of government. The provision was the latest in a series of maneuvers this week that blurred the all-but-vanished boundary between official department business and the private interests of a president intent on using his power to extract financial gain from the federal government for himself and his allies.”

     ~~~ Marie: The link to the addendum which the the NYT provides doesn't work in Firefox -- but NBC News lays out what I wanted to know: ~~~

     ~~~ Ryan Reilly, et al., of NBC News: “In a sweeping one-page addendum to Monday’s settlement agreement establishing a nearly $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund, Blanche agreed that the U.S. is 'FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims' including 'monetary relief' that 'have been or could have been' asserted by the IRS against Trump, his family or his businesses.... The addendum ... blocks the U.S. from seeking damages that could have been asserted against the plaintiffs in the case — Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and their company — as well as 'related or affiliated individuals (including, without limitation, family or others filing jointly), and their companies' in 'any matters currently pending or that could be pending (including tax returns filed before the Effective Date) before Defendants or other agencies or departments.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That is, Trump, et al., don't have to pay any taxes for any year up to and including the 2025 tax year. I don't think that means just Dumb & Dumber. It would include, for instance, Jared and Ivanka, too. That means none of them has to pay any taxes for any tax year prior to this one, and there's nothing the IRS can do about it. ~~~

     ~~~ ⭐And Then. Marcy Wheeler writes that Blanche's little addendum absolves Trump, his family and his corporations of ALL the crimes they ALL have committed EVER. So it's not just about tax liabilities. "It is intended to be, I’m fairly sure, a pardon for all federal crimes Trump had committed before yesterday." MB: I reread the "addendum," and I think Wheeler is right. It's about Trump Family Criming, writ large. It's letting Tony Soprano and all his made men and all their front companies -- Bada Bing, Bada Boom -- go scot-free. This is a back-door blanket self-pardon, disguised as an afterthought to an agreement among Trump & his lawyers at DOJ. It took some thinking for Blanche, LLC, to come up with this. He definitely should go to jail for fraud. 

     ~~~ Russ Buettner of the New York Times: “A tax audit that ... [Donald] Trump has been fighting since his peak earning days as a television celebrity was most likely wiped away in this week’s settlement with the Justice and Treasury Departments. The agreement, part of a resolution to an unusual lawsuit that Mr. Trump and his sons filed against the Internal Revenue Service, frees the president from a potential adverse ruling that could have cost him more than $100 million, according to an analysis of his tax returns in 2020 by The New York Times. Two years ago, Mr. Trump’s middle son, Eric Trump, acknowledged to The Times that the audit remained active. During his father’s first term in office, the matter was put on hold, records obtained by The Times showed. It is unclear whether the matter was placed on hold again during the president’s current term or was resolved. If it was still pending until this week, the increased interest and penalties would have grown significantly....& The audit dated back to a $72.9 million tax refund that Mr. Trump claimed, and received, starting in about 2010. The total reflected all the federal income tax he had paid, plus interest, for 2005 through 2008, his greatest earning years as the star of ... 'The Apprentice.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's where Todd Blanche goes from "unprecedented" to ending even a pretense of "equal justice under the law." Michael Mechanic of Mother Jones cites former IRS chief John Koskinen: "As far as I can tell from my experience, the possible settlement of the President’s $10 billion suit against the IRS by having the IRS agree to no audits of the President, his family and their businesses is unheard of. I don’t recall the IRS ever promising a taxpayer that there would be no audits." If no other taxpayer in the history of the IRS has ever received such a concession, then the DOJ's gift to Trump is by definition "unequal justice."

Chris Geidner, the Law Dork, has published Trump's "settlement agreement" with the IRS. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Heather Cox Richardson, who is an historian, not an attorney, explains in some detail why the so-called "settlement agreement" is not a settlement agreement. Marie: Based partly on what I've heard lawyers say on the teevee and partly on published reports, I think Richardson gets it right. And her explanations of some of the aspects of the agreement -- or whatever you want to call it -- are useful, too.  

Let's Hear from Ed Martin. Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “Earlier this year, not long after Trump administration official Ed Martin was stripped of his role as head of the Justice Department’s 'weaponization' working group that targeted the president’s political foes..., Martin dined with Republican operative Norm Coleman.... According to two people with direct knowledge of their conversation, Martin ... predicted the Justice Department would dole out millions of dollars to those charged, and then later pardoned, in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.... Martin estimated it would be something like $40 million, the people said.The pot ended up much, much larger.” IOW, this conspiracy to create a slush fund has been ongoing for a long time.

Jonathan Chait of the Atlantic calls Trump's $1.776BB slush fund "worse than stealing," as it is part of his ongoing effort to "[recast] the January 6 insurrection as the work of heroic patriots.... To ensure that it will never be used for a deserving victim, the fund is scheduled for termination on December 15, 2028.” Thanks to akaWendy for this gift link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: “Opponents of a $1.776 billion taxpayer-backed ... fund projected a quotation from one of the Founding Fathers onto the Justice Department building in protest. 'A government of laws, not of men,' read the quotation from John Adams, the second president. The quotation was shown over one of the large banners of ... Donald Trump that were set up in February at the Justice Department headquarters, known as 'Main Justice.'”

JayDee: Alleged Medicaid Fraud = Bad. Admitted Trump Fraud = Good. Brendan Rascius & Ariana Baio of the Independent: “In continuing his anti-fraud crusade at a rally in Missouri, [Vice President J.D.] Vance condemned billions of dollars in alleged Medicaid fraud, claiming, 'When people steal billions of dollars from the Medicare program, that is theft from you, and it’s also theft from the people who use the Medicare program to pay their bills.' Last week, the White House announced that Vance’s task force had withheld $1.4 billion in federal funding after 'a sweeping crackdown on fraud operations in California, Minnesota, & other states.' However, the vice president’s remarks Monday came hours after the Justice Department announced it would commit $1.7 billion in taxpayer dollars ... to pay out allies of Trump who were investigated under Democratic administrations. Critics denounced the 'slush fund' as 'outright theft' from taxpayers.” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Devlin Barrett of the  New York Times: “Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, on Tuesday defended a new $1.8 billion program to pay people who claim mistreatment by the federal government, as he faced blowback to an initiative Democrats called a slush fund for allies of ... [Donald] Trump’s. Mr. Blanche’s comments came during a Senate appropriations hearing, where he promised transparency even as he declined to disclose whether the money would go to pro-Trump rioters convicted of assaulting police officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 'There’s no limitation on the claims,' he said, insisting that the fund would review claims from an array of people, not just Republicans, and not just over perceived instances of mistreatment by the Biden administration.” ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times liveblogged the Senate hearing, which provides more details. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Megan Mineiro: “Senator John Thune, the majority leader, was asked by reporters outside the Senate chamber about the president’s $1.8 billion fund for compensating people who claim they have been the victim of political prosecutions. He said he expects the fund will face opposition and will undergo a 'full vetting' by lawmakers during the appropriations process. 'My assumption is that, based on some of the blowback that’s come since this was announced, that there would be a significant amount of attention paid to it,' he said.”

Devlin Barrett: “At the end of the contentious exchange between Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, the senator compared Blanche to a mafia boss’s right hand man. 'This whole hearing is exposing something which is to me very frightening,' Reed said to Blanche. 'You’re a very gifted lawyer but from my perspective, you have very little faith to the Constitution and the people of America, and you’re the president’s consigliere.'”

Between the drone-proofing, the missile-proofing, we have ah, and the drone capacity upstairs, we can have all sorts of military — I hate to use the word snipers — but we have great sniper capacity. It’s built for our snipers, not enemy’s snipers, our snipers. And because of the height we get a very clear view of everything all over Washington. -- Donald Trump, to reporters, Tuesday (via Heather Cox Richardson, linked above) ~~~ 

~~~ What an Idiot! Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Tuesday offered journalists the closest look yet at construction of his planned White House ballroom, even as lawmakers raised new concerns about funding the controversial project. The ballroom construction site has been fenced off for months and unavailable to the public; government workers in nearby buildings have been instructed not to take pictures amid warnings that it would be a security risk. But the president brought selected media members inside the project’s perimeter Tuesday morning, spending 45 minutes gesturing toward partially finished structures, showing off renderings and making proclamations.... In his remarks, Trump appeared to divulge new details about the national security aspects of the project, including the depth of the military and security facility set to be under the White House’s new East Wing. 'This goes down six stories, because it’s already been built,' the president said, gesturing to the construction behind him.... Trump also spoke about other efforts to secure the facility, such as installing air-conditioning equipment within the building’s frame rather than placing it in the typical site on the roof.” 

“MS NOW’s Lawrence O’Donnell details how Donald Trump had enough time to brag about his ballroom and wanting to make the reflecting pool 'waterproof,' but not enough time to explain why he is waging his war in Iran as his Justice Department plans to give 'massive payoffs to the people who attacked the Capitol for Donald Trump.'” ~~~

Marie: You know, when you own a huge country, you don't have to pay taxes and you can give billions of dollars to your friends and you sure as hell can repaint a pool on your own nation's mall whatever color you want and give the job to whoever you want and let them charge however many millions they want. And you little people should STFU. ~~~

~~~ David Fahrenthold & Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “The general manager of ... [Donald] Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, N.J., has offered suggestions to guide the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and helped recruit one of the contractors for the job, according to federal documents and a government spokeswoman. The manager, David Schutzenhofer, who has run the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster since 2006, is a private citizen with no known training in engineering or architecture. An Interior Department spokeswoman said Mr. Schutzenhofer had advised the government on the repair project without becoming a temporary government employee. Had he become one, he would have been required to take ethics training and pledge to avoid conflicts of interest.” 

In case you thought there was some truth to Trump's claim that he started a war against Iran in order to free oppressed Iranians and bring Western-style democracy to the country, think again. ~~~  

~~~ Mark Mazzetti, et al., of the  New York Times: “Days after Israeli strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials in the opening salvos of the war..., [Donald] Trump mused publicly that it would be best if 'someone from within' Iran took over the country. It turns out that the United States and Israel went into the conflict with a particular and very surprising someone in mind: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president known for his hard-line, anti-Israel and anti-American views. But the audacious plan, developed by the Israelis and which Mr. Ahmadinejad had been consulted about, quickly went awry, according to the U.S. officials who were briefed on it. Mr. Ahmadinejad was injured on the war’s first day by an Israeli strike at his home in Tehran that had been designed to free him from house arrest, the American officials and an associate of Mr. Ahmadinejad said. He survived the strike, they said, but after the near miss he became disillusioned with the regime change plan. 

“He has not been seen publicly since then and his current whereabouts and condition are unknown.... While he had increasingly clashed with the regime’s leaders and had been placed under close watch by the Iranian authorities, he was known during his term as president, from 2005 to 2013, for his calls to “wipe Israel off the map.” He was a strong supporter of Iran’s nuclear program, a fierce critic of the United States and known for violently cracking down on internal dissent.”

Megan Mineiro of the New York Times: “The Senate on Tuesday agreed to take up a measure that would force ... [Donald] Trump to end the war in Iran or win authorization from Congress to continue it, after a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in pushing forward with a resolution the G.O.P. has managed to block for months. Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who lost his primary over the weekend after Mr. Trump targeted him for defeat, was the latest member of his party to switch his vote and side with Democrats in an effort to limit the president’s war powers. That, combined with the absences of several other Republicans, was enough to push the resolution forward. The vote was 50 to 47 to advance the resolution, allowing it to be debated and receive a vote in the coming weeks. It was the eighth attempt by Democrats and a single Republican to rein in Mr. Trump’s war powers since he began the military campaign, now in its third month, which a majority of Americans say he should never have launched. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was again the only Democrat to vote with Republicans to beat back the measure, while Mr. Cassidy was one of four Republicans who sided with Democrats to push it forward.” Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) 

This administration did nothing to justify this war to the Congress or the American people, and now they act offended when members of Congress ask the questions that Americans want answered most. If Admiral Cooper is unwilling to ask these questions himself, or is uncomfortable answering them, then he’s not doing his job. -- Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) ~~~ 

~~~ Dan Lamothe & Tara Copp of the Washington Post: “The senior U.S. military officer overseeing the war in Iran accused a House Democrat of impropriety on Tuesday after the lawmaker asserted that the United States was 'losing' the conflict and questioned 'how many more Americans we have to ask to die for this mistake.' Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, told Rep. Seth Moulton (Massachusetts) that he had made an 'entirely inappropriate statement' during a testy exchange in a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee. It occurred as Donald Trump contemplates ending the war’s weeks-long ceasefire and resuming military strikes on Iran.... The admiral dodged answering questions directly on several occasions, saying that the Defense Department’s civilian leaders make policy decisions whereas he presents them with military options.”

Karoun Demirjian & Chris Cameron of the New York Times: “Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy defended his reality television road trip project on Tuesday in a fiery Senate hearing, as Democratic senators called it an unethical and tone-deaf vacation that would be unaffordable to most Americans. In a series of heated exchanges, Mr. Duffy lambasted Democratic senators who suggested that transportation companies may expect special treatment from him for donating to the nonprofit that funded the project. The five-episode YouTube series features Mr. Duffy, an early reality TV star, his wife Rachel Campos-Duffy and their nine children driving through 10 states. The administration has said it is part of official commemorations of the 250th anniversary of the United States.... Mr. Duffy maintained [his] affable posture in his exchanges with panel Republicans, and Democrats whose questions steered clear of the road trip.... But with the Democrats who challenged his road trip, he transformed into the kind of defiant, MAGA television warrior that ... [Donald] Trump has valued in his subordinates.... Some of the key concerns Mr. Duffy’s critics have raised about his trip were left unanswered.”

They Don't Have to Do What No Stinkin' Judge Says. Or Something. Jonah Bromwich & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: “Federal agents on Tuesday detained a 21-year-old Honduran man at an immigration court in New York City, an action that his attorneys said defied a federal judge who barred such arrests a day earlier. The arrest was made on Tuesday morning at 26 Federal Plaza, one of three immigration courthouses in Manhattan that a judge, P. Kevin Castel, had ruled on Monday were off limits for arrests. Lawyers for the man, Vinely Alexander Castillo-Norales, said the arrest occurred despite an order that allowed the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to make courthouse arrests only in extremely limited circumstances, none of which appeared to apply on Tuesday. 'His arrest is in direct violation of an order in this court — issued just yesterday,' the man’s lawyers said in a petition filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. But on Tuesday evening, after repeated inquiries from The New York Times, the federal government took two seemingly contradictory actions: They released Mr. Castillo-Norales from custody while simultaneously claiming he was a dangerous criminal.”

“Out of Bounds”: An Excellent Idea. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: “The NAACP is calling on Black athletes and their supporters to boycott public universities in states that have moved to 'limit, weaken or erase Black voting representation' in the wake of the Supreme Court’s recent decision to dramatically limit the landmark Voting Rights Act. With what it has dubbed the “Out of Bounds” campaign, the civil rights group is asking Black athletes and recruits to withhold their commitments to schools in eight states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — where flagship universities generate millions of dollars in annual athletic revenue. The public pressure campaign also asks fans to stop purchasing tickets and merchandise from those athletic programs, and for current athletes to use their platforms to question school leaders about voting rights. Recruits and current athletes are being encouraged to strongly consider committing or transferring to historically Black colleges and universities.” Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The great majority of these kids are excellent athletes whom other schools would be more than happy to pick up for their own teams. It shouldn't be up to Black athletes to bear this burden alone; all student athletes in these Southern states should be telling recruiters, "Sorry, I'm not interested in playing for Racist U." (Also linked yesterday.) 

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Elections Results, etc. 

Alabama Gubernatorial Race. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: “Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, easily won his primary on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported, as he seeks to be the next governor of his state. His victory sets up a general election showdown with former Senator Doug Jones, the Democrat Mr. Tuberville beat in 2020 for his current Senate seat. Mr. Tuberville crushed Mr. Jones by 20 percentage points six years ago, and enters the general election campaign as the clear favorite to succeed Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican who could not run again because of term limits.”

Alabama Senate Race. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: “The Republican primary to replace Senator Tommy Tuberville, the G.O.P. former football coach who is leaving his Senate seat to run for governor of Alabama, is headed to a runoff, according to The Associated Press. Representative Barry Moore got enough votes to advance to the runoff. It was not yet clear who his opponent would be, as Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL, and Steve Marshall, the state attorney general, vied for second place. The June runoff will take place because no candidate received a majority of the vote.” 

Georgia Senate Race. Tim Balk & Sean Keenan of the New York Times: “Representative Mike Collins, an immigration hard-liner, and Derek Dooley, a former college football coach and political newcomer, advanced Tuesday to a runoff in the Republican Senate primary in Georgia, according to The Associated Press. The result moves the race to a June 16 showdown between two candidates with contrasting styles, backgrounds and pitches, if few clear policy differences. A third leading candidate, Representative Buddy Carter, a former pharmacy owner who brands himself as a 'MAGA warrior,' was eliminated Tuesday, finishing third.... The Republicans have battled for the chance to take on Senator Jon Ossoff, a first-term Democrat who is seen by his party as a rising star and by Republicans as a formidable adversary. Mr. Ossoff did not face a primary challenger on Tuesday.”

Georgia Gubernatorial Race. Richard Fausset & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: Brad “Raffensperger’s steadfastness in the face of Mr. Trump’s arm-twisting — including a now-infamous January 2021 phone call in which the president told Mr. Raffensperger to 'find' enough votes for him to win — transformed the mild-mannered politician into a darling of liberals and anti-Trump conservatives around the country. But Georgia’s Republican voters have for years considered Mr. Raffensperger a villain who enabled Mr. Trump’s 2020 loss. That, more than anything, explains why Mr. Raffensperger was soundly defeated on Tuesday in the Republican primary for Georgia governor. His third-place finish brings to a close, for now, a turbulent political career that saw prominent outsiders laud him as a 'profile in courage,' even as he infuriated Mr. Trump’s base, whose support he needed to stay in the political game.... Mr. Raffensperger finished behind two solidly pro-Trump candidates, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and Rick Jackson, a billionaire health care executive.” ~~~

     ~~~ Rick Rojas of the New York Times: “Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, secured the Democratic nomination for governor in Georgia on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. She easily outpaced a crowded field to secure more than 50 percent of the vote in the race to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican. Ms. Bottoms had some of the strongest name recognition in the race, and focused unrelentingly on attacking ... [Donald] Trump. She also managed to shake off doubts about her single-term performance as mayor during a remarkably tumultuous period for Atlanta. Her critics cast it as a vulnerability that would limit her success, while her supporters contended that such complaints were overblown and that voters had moved on, considering that she left office four years ago.”

Georgia Supreme Court Races. Rick Rojas of the New York Times: “Two Georgia Supreme Court justices fended off challenges on Tuesday from left-leaning opponents who had mounted well-financed campaigns that had the support of prominent Democrats and infused divisive political themes, like abortion rights, into what is typically a subdued election. Elections for the State Supreme Court are officially nonpartisan, yet the race has been a reflection of how the judiciary in Georgia — and across the country — has increasingly been drawn into the political fray. Sarah Hawkins Warren, an incumbent justice, withstood a challenge from Jen Jordan, a Democratic state senator who has described herself as a champion for reproductive freedom. Justice Warren had been appointed to the court by Gov. Nathan Deal, a Republican, in 2018 and was elected in 2020 to a six-year term. Charles J. Bethel, a justice who had also been appointed by Mr. Deal in 2018 and elected two years later, beat Miracle Rankin, a personal injury lawyer who had similarly signaled her support for abortion access.”

Michael Kruse of the New York Times: “In Kentucky, in Tuesday’s marquee House race, the big winner among Republicans was ... [Donald] Trump. In Pennsylvania, in a test of the strength of the Democrats’ far-left flank, the big winner was Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.... Here’s a closer look at what happened in the most notable contests:...”

Kentucky. “Republican primary voters in Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District voted decisively against Representative Thomas Massie, so starting next year, Ed Gallrein, his Trump-backed challenger, almost certainly will be their member of Congress instead....

“Zach Dembo, a former Navy J.A.G. officer, federal prosecutor and aide to Gov. Andy Beshear, bested former state representative Cherlynn Stevenson in the Democratic primary in Kentucky’s Sixth District — setting up a matchup in November with Ralph Alvarado, the Trump-backed Republican nominee aiming to succeed Andy Barr, the Trump-backed G.O.P. gubernatorial nominee....” 

Pennsylvania. “In Pennsylvania’s Seventh District, a consummate swing area in a consummate swing state, the winner of a hotly contested four-person Democratic primary was a working-class avatar with unusually broad party appeal. Bob Brooks, a retired firefighter, union leader and snowplow driver sporting endorsements from top Democrats ranging from Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, beat Lamont McClure, a former county executive; Carol Obando-Derstine, a former senior adviser to former Senator Bob Casey; and Ryan Crosswell, a Marine and former federal prosecutor. And it wasn’t close. Up next in November in a district Trump barely won: Representative Ryan Mackenzie, a first-term Republican incumbent, who also barely won. 

“In Pennsylvania’s Third District, one of the country’s bluest, the winner of an internecine brawl to succeed retiring Representative Dwight Evans was Chris Rabb, an anti-ICE, anti-establishment state representative and self-described “radical” democratic socialist endorsed by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez. Rabb, 56, beat Sharif Street, a state senator and a former chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, and Dr. Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon and the founder of Philadelphia’s Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium.”

Oregon Gubernatorial Race. Anna Griffin of the New York Times: “Christine Drazan won the Republican nomination for governor of Oregon on Tuesday, The Associated Press reported, setting up a rematch between two longtime legislators with a history of animosity and sharply differing views on just about every major policy decision facing the state’s next chief executive. Ms. Drazan, a Republican state senator, beat Chris Dudley, a former N.B.A. player and wealth manager, and Ed Diehl, a conservative state legislator. She will face Gov. Tina Kotek, who had minimal opposition and easily won the Democratic primary. Ms. Kotek enters the fall campaign with the advantage of being an incumbent in a state dominated by Democrats. A Republican hasn’t won statewide office here since 2002 and hasn’t been elected governor since 1982. Ms. Drazan, a social conservative, was her party’s nominee four years ago. She lost to Ms. Kotek by three percentage points, but that race included an independent third candidate who appealed to moderate Oregonians and received about 8 percent of the vote.”

The New York Times liveblogged Tuesday's elections results here. From the pinned item at 8:15 pm ET Tuesday: “Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of ... [Donald] Trump’s most outspoken Republican critics, lost his re-election bid to a Trump-backed primary challenger. It was a major victory for the president that underscored his enduring influence over Republican voters and his ability to enact retribution against party rivals. Mr. Trump and his allies were intent on ousting Mr. Massie, who has broken with Mr. Trump over the Iran war and the Epstein files. The president recruited Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, to run against him, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth campaigned for Mr. Gallrein in the closing days. The race ballooned into a $33 million affair that became the most expensive House primary in recent years.

“Other races playing out on Tuesday in Kentucky and five other states — Georgia, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Oregon — were testing the strength of Mr. Trump’s endorsement at a time when he faces plummeting approval ratings, high gas prices and an unpopular war in Iran. But he scored another early victory on Tuesday evening when another ally, Representative Andy Barr, easily won a primary for Senate in Kentucky to replace Senator Mitch McConnell, who is retiring.” (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Here is the AP's liveblog of results. (Also linked yesterday.) 

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: Donald “Trump’s approval rating is drooping. His party is poised to lose seats in the House and is worried about the Senate. And yet Republican primary voters remain so loyal that they have no tolerance for Trump dissenters. Republicans backed by the president won or were in first place in primaries on Tuesday in Georgia.... Hours earlier, the president’s endorsement of Ken Paxton in Texas was viewed as a hammer blow to Senator John Cornyn’s hopes of retaining his seat ahead of a runoff election next week. In all, it was the latest evidence that even though Mr. Trump is in his second term, is nearly 80 years old and has led his party into political danger ahead of the midterms, Republicans are still firmly in his thrall.”

South Carolina Redistricting. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: “The South Carolina House of Representatives passed a new congressional map early Wednesday morning aimed at eliminating the state’s only Democratic seat at the urging of ... [Donald] Trump. Among the proposed changes is a significant, Republican-leaning shift of the Sixth Congressional District, which is currently represented by James E. Clyburn, a powerful Black Democrat. The map now heads to the State Senate, where some conservative members have been more hesitant to jump into the nation’s redistricting battles. Republicans already hold six of the state’s seven congressional seats, and some lawmakers have expressed skepticism about possibly unseating Mr. Clyburn, a power broker who has funneled vast resources into South Carolina over the years.”

Texas. Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: Donald “Trump endorsed Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, for Senate on Tuesday, embracing a MAGA ally over Senator John Cornyn in the final days before their key primary race. Mr. Trump’s decision to oppose a respected veteran senator comes as he has sought to consolidate power over his party in primaries ahead of the fall midterm elections. But national Republican leaders have warned Mr. Trump — both in private and in public — that nominating the scandal-tarred Mr. Paxton could put the Texas Senate seat in play. Mr. Trump had initially considered backing Mr. Cornyn after the first primary vote in early March — a pro-Cornyn statement had even been drafted — but in the end, he went with Mr. Paxton, who has been an unswerving Trump loyalist. 'Ken Paxton has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next United States Senator from the Great State of Texas,' Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, specifically hailing his 'loyalty.'”

     ~~~ Liz Campton, et al., of Politico: “... Donald Trump’s last-minute endorsement of Ken Paxton in the Texas Senate primary set off panic among Republicans who worry that keeping the seat will now be a more expensive and potentially futile endeavor. By endorsing Paxton over Sen. John Cornyn, Trump rejected the pleas of GOP leaders in Congress who for months had pushed Trump to back a proven winner in the Lone Star State. Now with Trump in his corner, Paxton is well situated to win the primary runoff next week and face Democratic nominee James Talarico in the general election — a matchup Democrats have dreamed of for months.” (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here.