WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Trump's 'Sovereign Wealth Fund' / DOGE Goes to Court Feb 07, 2025

Donald Trump orders the Treasury to draw up a plan for a sovereign wealth fund, which would let the government make investments, including in private companies. What could go wrong? Plus, the White House and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency effort are being sued over federal buyouts, USAID, access to payment systems, and a firing at the NLRB.

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Donald Trump’s Surprise Plan for the Gaza Strip Feb 06, 2025

Donald Trump makes an offer for the United States to “own” the Gaza Strip and rebuild it, while Palestinians would relocate to countries like Egypt and Jordan. Is he sending a message to Hamas, or is this another element of Donald Trump’s unusual approach to foreign policy?

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Elon Musk Is on a Mission to End USAID Feb 05, 2025

The U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds everything from polio eradication in Indonesia to DEI projects in Serbia, has closed its headquarters and told its staff they're going on administrative leave. Is this an America First end to foreign aid, or merely a restructuring, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggests? And can President Trump do this without Congress?

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Daniel Henninger on Journalism and the End of ‘Wonder Land’ Feb 04, 2025

Paul Gigot sits down with the Wall Street Journal Opinion’s Daniel Henninger, who recently published his final ‘Wonder Land’ column. The two discuss how covering news and culture has changed over time, the polarizing nature of today’s media from all political sides, and what Henninger hoped readers would draw from his weekly column.

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All Things with Kim Strassel: Donald Trump Floods the Presidential Zone Feb 04, 2025

Donald Trump is issuing executive actions at the speed of light, targeting the border, government bureaucracy, tariffs and the economy. How does it all shake out? Former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney draws on his own time in the Trump White House to analyze the big orders--their purpose, impact and legality. What's Trump up to with tariffs on Mexico and Canada? Is it really possible to reform the civil service? How and where will DOGE hit a wall? Plus, insights on the Impoundment Control Act fight to come.

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Donald Trump Makes a Tariff Deal With Mexico and Canada Feb 03, 2025

After Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada, the three countries negotiated a last-minute 30-day pause. Who blinked on the tariff showdown, and what comes next?

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Tulsi Gabbard's Testimony on Snowden and Surveillance Jan 31, 2025

President Trump's pick for director of national intelligence faces skepticism from both sides at her Senate confirmation hearing. Is her nomination in jeopardy, after she refuses to call Edward Snowden a traitor and then deflects a question on reforming Section 702 surveillance? Plus, FBI Director designate Kash Patel splits with Trump on commutations for violent Jan. 6 rioters.

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Did RFK Jr. Make His Case for HHS Secretary? Jan 30, 2025

During his confirmation hearings for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was questioned about his controversial views on vaccines and abortion, while seeming not to know much about Medicare and Medicaid. Did he win over skeptics? Plus, what does the Trump Administration's funding freeze rollout and rollback tell us about the new White House?

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The White House Backtracks on Freezing Federal Grants Jan 29, 2025

The Trump administration tells government agencies to pause federal grants, loans, and assistance programs so that they can be reviewed, but three days later the White House rescinds that order, after an uproar in Washington and a temporary stay issued by a judge. Did President Trump overstep his authority, as Democrats claim, or was this more a matter of fumbled execution?

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Trump's Tariff Threat on Colombia / The CIA’s Covid Assessment Jan 28, 2025

Donald Trump promises to impose tariffs and more on Colombia, causing President Gustavo Petro to back down after he had refused two U.S. military planes with deported migrants. Is this a sign of how Trump plans to use U.S. economic pressure elsewhere? Plus, the CIA says it now believes, though with low confidence, that a lab leak was the most likely origin for the Covid-19 virus.

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All Things with Kim Strassel: Taking On DEI Jan 28, 2025

Donald Trump is knocking down the federal government's diversity, equity and inclusion structure, but how to tackle its wider presence in America? On this episode of All Things, Supreme Court expert and Manhattan Institute senior fellow Ilya Shapiro recounts his own battle with the DEI mob during his time at Georgetown Law School, and explains his particular worry that DEI in legal education is warping the future "gatekeepers" of our institutions. He discusses DEI's problematic ideology, and explains how a teeming bureaucracy of "non teaching" administrators, as well as "spineless" university deans and presidents, embolden a culture of activism on campus. How are Trump's actions turning the tide, and what more can donors, judges, companies and Americans do to turn the tide?

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Pete Hegseth Squeezes Through the Senate. Is RFK Jr. Next? Jan 27, 2025

Vice President JD Vance casts a tie-breaking vote to confirm Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, meaning Americans now must hope that he's up to the job. Plus, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. prepares to face the Senate to be President Trump's health secretary, as Republicans ponder his many controversies, including casting doubt on measles and polio vaccines, as well as his ties to trial lawyers.

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Donald Trump Ends DEI and Revokes Pompeo's Security Jan 24, 2025

Promising a renewed focus on merit and hard work, the president signs an executive order to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in the federal government, while the business world is moving in the same direction. Plus, Trump revokes security protection for three former aides targeted by Iran, and a judge halts the president’s attempt to end birthright citizenship.

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Donald Trump’s Immigration Action: Border Troops and a Sanctuary City Crackdown? Jan 23, 2025

To make good on his pledge to secure the border, Donald Trump promises to send troops to the southern border, unleash ICE agents into cities to find criminal illegal migrants, and punish sanctuary cities. Plus, Trump launches the “$TRUMP” cryptocurrency right before taking office, potentially making him billions of dollars in the process, but leading to questions about how he is profiting off the Presidency.

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Donald Trump's Executive Order to End Birthright Citizenship Jan 22, 2025

He says his administration won't issue documents to babies whose parents were present in the U.S. illegally, or legally on temporary visas. But 22 states sue, arguing this flies in the face of the 14th Amendment and long-standing Supreme Court precedent. Plus, 12 Democrats vote yes, as the Senate passes the Laken Riley Act to mandate detention of migrants arrested for certain crimes.

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All Things With Kim Strassel: Looking for Bipartisanship in Trump's "Golden Age" Jan 21, 2025

Donald Trump began his second term with a flurry of executive orders and bold plans for his House and Senate majorities. Where does that leave Democrats and how can they work with Republicans to get things done? On this episode of All Things, Problem Solvers Caucus Vice Chair Josh Gottheimer (D., N.J.) voices his "surprise" at Donald Trump’s executive orders on Jan. 6th and immigration, explains why he was handing out “SALT shakers” at the inauguration, and lays out the bipartisan possibilities and pitfalls of this next Congress.

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Donald Trump’s Day One: Executive Orders and Jan. 6 Pardons Jan 21, 2025

As one of his first acts after being sworn into a second term, Trump grants unconditional pardons to nearly all of the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters, including those who brutally assaulted police. He also signs executive orders on federal efficiency, energy, and foreign policy, while ordering the Justice Department to hold off on enforcing the law that says TikTok must cut ties with China or be banned.

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Donald Trump Promises a ‘Golden Age’ in His Inaugural Address Jan 20, 2025

The 47th President declares that “America’s decline is over,” and announces his executive order to declare a national emergency on the southern border. Will the second Trump administration get off to a faster start after learning from the mistakes of the first term? Plus, Joe Biden uses his final hours in office to issue pre-emptive pardons to his family and political allies.

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TikTok Loses at the Supreme Court, but Will Trump Enforce a Ban? Jan 17, 2025

The Justices uphold a law saying that TikTok must be divested from Chinese ownership by Jan. 19 or else it will be booted from U.S. app stores. Yet the social-media app's future remains unclear. With only days to go until the Jan. 20 inauguration, the Biden Administration says it will not enforce the ban, and Donald Trump has said he wants to cut a deal to save TikTok.

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Who Won the Hamas-Gaza Cease-Fire Deal, and Biden Says Farewell Jan 16, 2025

A cease-fire deal in Gaza is delayed after Israeli President Benjamin Netanyehu said Hamas reneged on part of the agreement. What will it take for the deal to get done and what effect did Donald Trump have on it? Plus, Joe Biden delivers his farewell address from the Oval Office with a bitter tone and warnings about an "oligarchy taking shape in America” and the “tech industrial complex.”

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