🏛️ Capitol Reset: Elon’s Big Opportunity
Also, mass State Department layoffs
Editorial Team
July 11, 2025
WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
🪓 Rubio’s State Department to axe nearly 2,000 staff. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s sweeping reorganization will soon fire around 1,800 employees — a “reduction in force” to hit civil and foreign service officers in more than 300 offices. The cuts, greenlit after the Supreme Court backed Trump’s mass federal layoffs, have rattled America’s diplomatic corps just as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East increasingly involve US diplomacy. This is a big win for the Trump administration, who prioritize draining the Deep State.
🚓 The FBI is reportedly using lie detector tests to determine loyalties. Senior employees told The New York Times that they had been asked “whether they have said anything negative” about FBI Director Kash Patel during lie detector tests. The FBI has also ousted agents and officials as the Trump administration moves to rein in lawfare and what President Trump calls the weaponization of the justice system. This crackdown has come amid a series of leaks out of the agency.
🔥 JD Vance slammed Zohran Mamdani in a fiery speech. Speaking at the conservative Claremont Institute, the vice president attacked the Democratic NYC mayoral nominee for refusing to seek integration as an immigrant, saying, “I think the people whose ancestors fought in the Civil War have a hell of a lot more claim over America than the people who say they don’t belong.” He further called for a new definition of “American citizenship for the 21st century,” adding, “You cannot swap 10 million people from anywhere else in the world and expect America to remain unchanged.”
🚨 Some GOP senators are warning about the America Party. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) — who won his last election by a single percentage point — said Elon Musk’s proposed party would “ensure never returning to a pre-pandemic level of spending, [and] never balancing our budget.” Third-party candidates likely cost Republicans a Senate seat in Wisconsin last year. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) said the party seems more like a “personal vendetta” directed by Musk against President Trump.
INSIDER RADAR
Sen. John Kennedy on passing DOGE cuts
Insiders behind the paywall: John Kennedy, Susie Wiles, Marco Rubio, Senate Republicans, Pete Hegseth, and Mike Johnson.
QUICK AND IMPORTANT
The FDA granted full approval for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for children aged six months to 11 years, though the CDC previously removed the shot from its immunization schedule.
President Trump announced a 50 percent tariff on all copper imports after receiving what he called a “robust security assessment.”
Texas AG and GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton’s wife filed for divorce.
The Democratic Socialists of America are seeking to primary House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), whom they deem insufficiently left-wing.
The most clicked link in our last newsletter was our deep dive: “What Can Zohran Mamdani Do to America?”
How Elon Musk could change the Constitution
WHAT’S HAPPENING
One of Elon Musk’s most dearly held political issues is cutting America’s growing debt. To that end, he’s preparing to create the “America Party,” which would focus on cutting spending and other key issues by acting as a spoiler to win key Senate and House seats.
Some conservatives, however, argue that the world’s richest man could use his money more effectively to achieve an even better result…
MEDIA BIAS SPOTTER
How left and right outlets frame the State Department layoffs
Mentioned behind the paywall: The Guardian, Washington Post, Just The News, and Washington Times.
THE DAILY DEBATE
📊 Do you support the FBI’s increased use of lie detector tests?Results will be in tomorrow's newsletter |
POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY
Do you think illegal migrants should be counted in the US census?
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👍 Yes (45)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👎 No (1,290)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (26)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Other (Comment) (25)
👍 Yes: “Sadly, illegal immigrants are here to stay. And, as long as states have lax laws about voter registration, these illegals will end up changing the voting patterns in those states.” — Jamie
👎 No: “They are not citizens. The Constitution and Bill of Rights are written for citizens.” — Gloria
💬 Other: “Quantifying illegals is important, but those statistics should not be used in the allocation of representatives.” — Rich
POP QUIZ
What big tariff did President Trump announce? |
Today’s newsletter was written by Brandon Goldman, Anthony Constantini, and Ariel David. We scoured 100s of sources to bring you stories and insights you won’t find in the mainstream media.
🔎 Tip line: See something the media won’t touch? Got a story from your campus, community, or company that needs exposure? Send tips, questions, or ideas to [email protected].
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