Good morning, everyone. We are back to work after a long night, and I am energized and ready to go.
At 11:30 AM EST, I will interview Vice President Kamala Harris for her first exclusive reaction to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Drop your questions below. I cannot ask them all, and I will prioritize questions from paid subscribers. The interview will be delivered to your inboxes shortly after it concludes.
There is a lot more news to cover this morning. During last night’s address, Democrats overperformed and won key special elections. At the same time, Mike Johnson is urgently warning his caucus that if they do not win in November, they risk bringing Trump’s presidency to an abrupt end.
Here’s the news:
- President Donald Trump delivered a record-long 108-minute State of the Union address that mixed partisan attacks, cultural grievances, and exaggerated economic claims with few new policy proposals, as polls show his approval at 36%, while Democrats continued winning special elections in Pennsylvania and Maine.Pennsylvania Democrats Ana Tiburcio and Jennifer Mazzocco won special elections in House Districts 22 and 42, maintaining a 102–98 majority after vacancies created by Josh Siegel’s election as Lehigh County executive and Dan Miller’s move to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, avoiding a potential 100–100 tie that could have complicated Gov. Josh Shapiro’s agenda.Scott Harriman, a Lewiston city councilor, defeated Janet Beaudoin 572 to 503 in a 19% turnout special election to fill a Maine House seat vacated by Kristen Cloutier, who left to work for Senate President Mattie Daughtry, restoring Democrats to a narrow 75 to 72 majority, and the Maine Democratic Party credited grassroots organizing and a visit from DNC Chair Ken Martin for the win.
- Pennsylvania Democrats Ana Tiburcio and Jennifer Mazzocco won special elections in House Districts 22 and 42, maintaining a 102–98 majority after vacancies created by Josh Siegel’s election as Lehigh County executive and Dan Miller’s move to the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, avoiding a potential 100–100 tie that could have complicated Gov. Josh Shapiro’s agenda.
- Scott Harriman, a Lewiston city councilor, defeated Janet Beaudoin 572 to 503 in a 19% turnout special election to fill a Maine House seat vacated by Kristen Cloutier, who left to work for Senate President Mattie Daughtry, restoring Democrats to a narrow 75 to 72 majority, and the Maine Democratic Party credited grassroots organizing and a visit from DNC Chair Ken Martin for the win.
- Following Trump’s address, Mike Johnson gave an urgent warning to Republicans: “If we lost the midterms -- heaven forbid, if we lost the majority in the House -- it would be the end of the Trump presidency in a real effect.”
- A fact check reported that President Trump falsely claimed during his State of the Union that the suspect in the fatal stabbing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte had entered through “open borders,” clarifying that the accused, 34-year-old DeCarlos Brown, was born in Charlotte, previously graduated from West Mecklenburg High School, was out on no-cash bail for a 911 misuse charge at the time of the August Lynx Blue Line attack, and has a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia.
- Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat, was escorted out of the House chamber minutes into President Trump’s State of the Union after holding a sign reading “Black people aren’t apes!” in protest of a racist video Trump had shared about the Obamas, defying party leaders’ calls to avoid disruptions during the speech.
- Senator Markwayne Mullin attempted to grab Rep. Al Green’s “Black People Aren’t Apes” protest sign referencing President Trump’s AI post about the Obamas.
- Iran condemned President Trump’s threats ahead of a third round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva, where U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are set to meet Iranian officials with Omani mediation, as parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned Tehran would retaliate against any military action and a foreign ministry spokesperson accused the administration of spreading “big lies” about Iran’s nuclear program.
- Abigail Spanberger, giving the official Democratic response to Trump’s speech, said President Trump’s “reckless” trade policies have cost American families more than $1,700 each in tariffs, arguing that despite the Supreme Court striking them down, the financial harm has already been done, and accusing Trump of planning new tariffs while congressional Republicans fail to use their constitutional authority to stop what she called another tax hike on families.
- Rep. Summer Lee, delivering the Working People’s State of the Union response, praised Mayor Mamdani’s victory over Andrew Cuomo as proof that clearly addressing people’s basic needs and showing up for voters can energize support and win elections.
- Pete Buttigieg said President Trump’s tariffs cost the average American household about $1,000 last year, arguing that while that amount may not matter to Trump and his wealthy allies who benefited from tax cuts, it is significant for most Americans and voters should not be misled about the impact.
- Senator Dick Durbin asked the Government Accountability Office and the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate FBI Director Kash Patel after a whistleblower alleged Patel’s taxpayer-funded travel on FBI aircraft caused pilot shortages that delayed the bureau’s shooting reconstruction team from responding to the September assassination of Charlie Kirk at the University of Utah and a December mass shooting at Brown University, accusations the FBI has denied.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei a Friday deadline to allow unrestricted military use of the company’s AI technology or risk losing a $200 million Pentagon contract and being designated a supply chain risk, as Anthropic resists lifting safeguards against fully autonomous weapons and domestic surveillance despite broader Defense Department efforts to integrate AI tools like ChatGPT and Grok into military networks.
- Anthropic has replaced its binding Responsible Scaling Policy with a more flexible, nonbinding “Frontier Safety Roadmap,” removing its prior commitment to pause development of powerful AI models if safety controls lagged, as the company faces intense competitive pressure and a Pentagon ultimatum threatening a $200 million contract and possible blacklisting if it does not roll back certain AI safeguards.
- According to Axios, Elon Musk’s xAI has signed a deal with the Pentagon to allow its AI model Grok to be used in classified military systems under an “all lawful purposes” standard, positioning it as a potential replacement for Anthropic’s Claude as the Defense Department threatens to sever ties with Anthropic over its refusal to permit uses such as mass domestic surveillance and fully autonomous weapons development.
- Residents in Escondido, California, and other communities nationwide are protesting longstanding contracts allowing ICE to use local facilities such as police gun ranges and parking lots, arguing the agreements undermine public trust and public safety amid backlash over fatal shootings by federal agents, as Democrats withhold DHS funding and local officials debate whether to end the deals.
- Dr. Casey Means, a wellness influencer and close ally of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is set to face Senate confirmation questions over her nomination for surgeon general, drawing scrutiny because she lacks an active medical license, did not complete her residency, has expressed skepticism of mainstream medicine and vaccines, and previously promoted wellness products that raised conflict-of-interest concerns.
- A Committee to Protect Journalists report found a record 129 journalists and media workers were killed in 2025, including 47 targeted killings and at least 104 deaths in conflict zones, with two-thirds attributed to Israel and a sharp rise driven by what the group calls a growing culture of impunity for attacks on the press.
- Canada’s first-ever defense-industrial strategy signals a shift away from reliance on the U.S., with Prime Minister Mark Carney pledging to double defense spending by decade’s end, steer 70% of defense contracts to Canadian firms, boost exports and jobs, and strengthen Arctic security, reflecting growing Canadian skepticism of the U.S. as a dependable security partner while still remaining tied to NATO and NORAD.
See you soon.
— Aaron
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