1. WHCD SHOOTING FALLOUT: Suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Allen is due in federal court for his arraignment today, as American politics was broadly rattled “in the aftermath of a barely averted tragedy,” POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney writes. As he went to Washington, Allen told people in his life that he was heading out of town for a meeting or due to a personal emergency, NYT’s Amy Qin and colleagues report. The real purpose of his trip, as alleged by federal authorities, shocked those who knew him. For the Trump administration, yet another close call with an apparent would-be Trump assassin may force a rethink of security practices, in an era of heightened political violence. “The security posture” for future events, “I imagine, is going to be completely different,” FBI Director Kash Patel said today on “Fox & Friends.” The Secret Service is already taking a second look at how it will handle Trump’s upcoming public events, AP’s Will Weissert reports. GOP anger: Though both parties this weekend condemned political violence and called for unity, Republicans also quickly switched to blaming Democrats for intense rhetoric against Trump, POLITICO’s Lisa Kashinsky reports. At the podium today, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt condemned anti-Trump commentary from elected officials and the media. It’s all been reminiscent of the Republican reaction to Trump’s 2024 assassination attempts and the killing of Charlie Kirk. So was first lady Melania Trump’s call this morning, echoed by the president, for ABC to yank Jimmy Kimmel off the air because he joked last week (before the dinner) that she had the glow of an “expectant widow.” On the Hill: GOP senators announced they’ll introduce legislation to fund the White House ballroom construction, a new cause celebre on the right after the WHCD incident. 2. DEMOCRACY WATCH: “How Trump is moving to control U.S. elections, one state at a time,” by Reuters’ Ned Parker and Peter Eisler: “Reuters uncovered a broader‑than‑previously known Trump administration effort to gain federal control over elections … In Ohio, federal investigators have collected voter records in at least six counties … In Nevada, the FBI sought voter information from the secretary of state’s office … In Colorado, a senior Trump administration cybersecurity official approached a county clerk to seek access to voting machines … Rather than seek a sweeping federal takeover of elections, the administration appears to be testing constitutional limits one state and one county at a time.” What the RNC is up to: “Confusion Is Next: A National Election Law Fight Looms Over the Midterms,” by Newsweek’s Alex Rouhandeh 3. SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court today is hearing a landmark case in which Bayer is seeking to block a myriad of lawsuits over its Roundup pesticide. If the justices side with the company, tens of thousands of suits could be tossed; the Trump administration has sided with Bayer. But the case also poses a challenge for “MAHA moms” who oppose the weedkiller and have been frustrated by the administration’s approach; they protested outside the court today, CNN’s Sarah Owermohle reports. Earlier this morning, the court took up a dispute over how expansively law enforcement can seek cellphone location data. “Based on the two-hour oral argument, it appeared the justices would conclude, at a minimum, that a search took place, meaning that a warrant was required,” NBC’s Lawrence Hurley reports. Next up: The justices will hear arguments Wednesday in a major case over Trump’s efforts to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians — with other immigrant groups, including Salvadorans, watching closely, AP’s Gisela Salomon previews. New on the docket: The court announced it will take up a case “to decide whether the US Department of Labor is empowered to enforce working conditions for foreign farm laborers,” CNN’s John Fritze writes. 4. WAR REPORT: Pakistani mediators are still working to try to bring the U.S. and Iran together amid competing proposals, Reuters’ Steve Holland and colleagues report, as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travels to Russia today to meet with President Vladimir Putin. With the Strait of Hormuz still blockaded, oil prices continue to rise. Hezbollah also said today it will not “relinquish its weapons or its defenses,” a day after one of the deadliest attacks by Israel since the ceasefire was declared, NYT’s Aaron Boxerman reports. Global fallout: While the U.S. has remained relatively unharmed economically, “the fallout from two months of war in Iran is shuttering textile mills in India and Bangladesh, grounding airplanes in Ireland, Poland and Germany, and prompting energy rationing in Vietnam, South Korea and Thailand, NYT’s Patricia Cohen and Ben Casselman report. With friends like these: Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said the U.S. has offered little support through its economic struggles — so the country is now looking to China and Russia, per WaPo’s Rebecca Tan. And German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the Trump administration is getting “humiliated” by Tehran and doesn’t have an exit strategy, per POLITICO’s Milena Wälde. 5. TRAIL MIX: The NRCC announced its “MAGA Majority” program today, adding eight new seats in the Midwest and West to its target campaign, the NY Post’s Ryan King scooped. On the list: Jim Desmond in California, Aaron Flint in Montana, Brinker Harder in Nebraska, Greg Cunningham in New Mexico, Carrie Buck and Marty O’Donnell in Nevada, Eric Conroy in Ohio and John Braun in Washington. Pressure campaign: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is urging Democrats in Congress to make candidates reject using super PACs in the primaries or otherwise face losing access to party resources, NYT’s Reid Epstein reports. California dreamin’: As Xavier Becerra surges in California’s governor’s race following Eric Swalwell’s exit, he’s receiving pushback from progressives who “view Becerra as a middle-of-the-road Democrat aligned with entrenched interests,” POLITICO’s Dustin Gardiner reports. Now “they’re rushing to blunt his momentum.” 6. KNOWING EMIL MICHAEL: “The man turning the Pentagon into a venture capital firm,” by WaPo’s Elizabeth Dwoskin and Ian Duncan: “Michael, the Defense Department’s undersecretary of research and engineering, and [a] cohort of private-sector leaders have pushed the Pentagon to turbocharge the commercial defense tech market. Some programs speed up projects that began under the Biden administration, while others bolster the private sector much further.”
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