President Donald Trump has 38 months left in office and — as his occasional pining about an unconstitutional third term attests — is loath to be a lame duck anytime soon. But the quacking from others has begun. w/ @allansmith.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

NEW: Affordability + infighting mark the early race to succeed Trump & define the right “I think urgency in the WH is just starting to set in,” Steve Bannon told me of the challenges facing the GOP. “Less so sure it’s fully set in” w/ @henryjgomez.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

Some, uh, buzz in #MISen: www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

Why Ro Khanna is leading with Epstein. www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

Clinton emails, Russiagate: Amid Epstein fallout, the Trump administration turns to MAGA's other greatest hits www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru... by @ryanjreilly.com @henryjgomez.bsky.social

It’s not just Gov. Gretchen Whitmer generating 2028 buzz in Michigan. My report from Lansing, where last week Sen. Elissa Slotkin pushed her “alternative vision” for a party struggling with its identity. www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

Ro Khanna, asked if Kamala Harris should run again in 2028: “I think there’s a fair amount of support in California to be governor, and I’d be surprised if she didn't clear the Democratic field if she ran for governor.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Rep. Ro Khanna compares Vance to Stalin as he stakes out space in Democrats' 2028 field. www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-...

Gretchen Whitmer became governor after promising to “fix the damn roads” in Michigan. Whether she goes any further depends on how well she can navigate some of the early bumps surfacing as she positions herself for a possible White House bid. www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...

Lots of Dem frustration over Whitmer's appearance with Trump. “Just a f---ing disaster,” said a Dem operative. “It feels like it removes some of the momentum she had as a politically savvy swing-state Dem.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele... by @allansmith.bsky.social @henryjgomez.bsky.social

Tariffs throw a wrench in Trump’s TikTok plan: www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

"I have no problem with him being active on social media and engaging in conversation with critics," Rep. Ro Khanna said of VP JD Vance. "I’m not hoping here for Lincoln-Douglas. I wish he were using it to have an actual substantive exchange ..." www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-...

NEW: I talked with Vice President JD Vance about his active and aggressive social media presence — and how he wrestles with how much time he spends online. www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-...

NEW: In an interview on Air Force Two, Vance discussed Musk's "mistakes" while acknowledging "good people" working in federal government. He also talked about his economic outlook, his role on foreign policy, the Kennedy Center boos and 2028 (kind of). www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-...

Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett voted to overturn abortion rights, end affirmative action, expand gun rights and dismantle the administrative state. That's not enough for MAGA world. My story on the aggressive backlash against one of Trump's own appointees: www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...

Democrats' silent protests of Trump speech overshadowed by one outburst - via @frankthorp.bsky.social and Scott Wong: www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Slotkin, in her Democratic response to Trump, says Ronald Reagan is "rolling in his grave": www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

BREAKING: Andrew Cuomo announces his run for New York City mayor, jumping back into politics just four years after he resigned from his role as New York governor following multiple allegations of sexual assault. nbcnews.to/3QDRSF8

"The point of this wasn’t efficiency. The point of this was to be cruel." We talked to federal workers about the toll being fired has taken on their lives www.nbcnews.com/specials/fed... w/ @rebeccashabad.bsky.social @allansmith.bsky.social @garretthaake.bsky.social @newsjul.bsky.social

What a win by the Cavs.

Vance didn't go into Friday's meeting w/Zelenskyy looking for a fight, those familiar say. But he felt compelled to interject because he believed Zelenskyy was acting disrespectful. It's the latest example of his foreign policy tag team w/Trump. www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

RFKJr/measles outbreak. What could go wrong? ‘Politically perilous’ for Trump www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

NEW: Vivek Ramaswamy, who will formally launch his campaign for Ohio governor Monday, outlines his agenda, including spending cuts, deregulation and a push for merit-based pay for teachers. www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...

One of those things I’d love to do but to be clear will never actually do. clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/a...

Elon Musk's worldview eight years ago — discussed in a little-remembered NGA talk — looked very different compared his worldview today, by @henryjgomez.bsky.social www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog... via @nbcnews.com

A look back at a largely forgotten Elon Musk visit with a bipartisan group of governors in 2017, when Musk raised alarm about AI and sounded little like a man who eight years later would wield huge power over federal government. www.nbcnews.com/politics/dog...

Gov. Tressel? www.nbcnews.com/politics/ele...

"These are not little things that JD is being entrusted with." On Vance's VP portfolio: www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-...

It probably says something (not good!) about where my head is that at first sleepy glance this morning I thought this was Sherrod Brown talking to Mike DeWine.

“Expectations are sometimes set as best as can be expected, and sometimes they change quickly.” On Trump's swift, sweeping and surprising Jan. 6 pardons. www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

NEW: I spoke with Jon Husted this afternoon. He spoke with Trump this morning, says it was a good call: "I told him that he could count on me to be an ally. He is going to, I think, probably say something more about this next week." www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Elon Musk to speak at Trump's Sunday rally, @allansmith.bsky.social and Jon Allen report. www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

yikes www.nbcnews.com/news/world/p...

BREAKING: Rudy Giuliani reaches a settlement agreement with the former Georgia election workers he owed almost $150 million to, according to a court filing.

David Lynch and Bob Uecker on the same day is just a huge loss for weirdness and humor, two things I love.

Something kind of wild about the recent #OHSen landscape: Ohio's two most recently elected senators, VP-elect JD Vance and Bernie Moreno, served on Lt. Gov. Jon Husted's InnovateOhio board. So did Vivek Ramaswamy, who could be Ohio's next senator. Or it could be Husted himself.

Bob Uecker, beloved baseball announcer and 'Major League' actor, dies at 90 Bob Uecker, beloved baseball announcer and 'Major League' actor, dies at 90 www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Vivek Ramaswamy — who removed himself from consideration for the Vance Senate seat after Trump's DOGE appointment — is now in discussions about filling the vacancy. He met w/DeWine last weekend, per source familiar. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

In the midst of the L.A. wildfires, one administration post Trump hasn't addressed: FEMA administrator. But there's a frontrunner: Florida's Kevin Guthrie. www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

Senate confirmation hearings for Trump's nominees are about to begin. There are so many jammed into this week that one GOP senator likens it to "a train wreck." Some face a smooth path, like Rubio for SecState. Others face serious hurdles, like Hegseth for DOD. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Much more on leaders reconciling with the new “normal” W: @henryjgomez.bsky.social, Matt Dixon, @aterkel.bsky.social and Olympia Sonnier www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

“We should treat him like a normal president,” a senior aide to a Democratic senator said. “Because this is what normal presidents look like in America now.” w/ @allansmith.bsky.social and Matt Dixon on Trump 2: www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

JD Vance is resigning from the Senate tonight. That puts Mike DeWine (and Jon Husted) on the clock in Ohio. www.nbcnews.com/politics/jd-...

NEW -- Incoming Trump administration considering conducting a high-profile raid targeting undocumented immigrants in its initial days. Could target a workplace in the DC region. www.nbcnews.com/investigatio... @nbcnews.com

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: nbcnews.to/40pzJAP • Palisades Fire (Pacific Palisades): 2,921 acres • Eaton Fire (Pasadena area): 2,277 acres • Hurst Fire (San Fernando Valley): 500 acres • Woodley Fire (Sepulveda Basin): 75 acres • Tyler Fire (Coachella): 15 acres All are 0% contained, per Cal Fire.

Dr. Amy Acton, DeWine's health director in the early days of Covid, announces her run for Ohio governor as a Democrat: "... I refuse to look away from Ohioans who are struggling while self-serving politicians and special interests take our state in the wrong direction."

Meta is ending its fact-checking program in favor of a 'community notes' system similar to X www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-...

Hearing Mike Roberts break down what was wrong with the city's politics and the city's journalism — as he pounded the table, and maybe a beverage or two, at the Little Bar — was always a true delight. One of the Cleveland greats. clevelandmagazine.com/in-the-cle/t...

Per a spox for JD Vance, the VP-elect and Ohio senator today “is having long-planned, minor sinus surgery and will be back to work tomorrow.”

NEW: Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted emerges as late favorite for Vance's Senate seat. The feeling among GOP insiders is the appointment is Husted's if he wants it. And for the moment, that's a not-insignificant if. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...