Margaret Chadbourn
@MLChadbourn
Journalist by trade. Lover of running in the a.m. & fueled by caffeine. Luckily married to @davecclarke.
Scoop: Here are the floor plans for the exclusive Executive Branch club Donald Trump Jr and allies are launching in Washington. They were filed with the DC Department of Building. Here’s a first look:

President Trump will visit the Federal Reserve tomorrow, according to his official schedule. The Fed's headquarters are currently under renovation, costing $2.5 billion. The ballooning project cost has prompted a new line of attack from Trump, adding to his anger over rates.
The Supreme Court has cleared the way for President Trump to revive his plan to dismantle the Education Department, including nearly 1,400 layoffs. apnews.com/live/donald-tr…
BREAKING: Trump threatens to punish Russia with tariffs if there's no deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days. apnews.com/live/donald-tr…
Crypto exchanges rushed to list Trump's coin - leaving many losers and some big winners reuters.com/sustainability…
A federal judge blocked the Trump team from enforcing a controversial executive order ending birthright citizenship. More from the Washington Post here: washingtonpost.com/immigration/20…
Texas inspectors approved Camp Mystic’s disaster plan 2 days before deadly flood, records show apnews.com/article/camp-m…
President Trump announced tariffs of 25% on goods from Japan and South Korea beginning on Aug. 1, as he moved to impose unilateral rates on countries that have not yet secured trade deals with his administration. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
The "catastrophic" flooding updates out of Texas: •Death toll now at least 78, according to officials •Trump has signed a disaster declaration for Kerr County •The Federal Emergency Management Agency is on the ground there, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Who wouldn't want to take a dip in the Seine?! apnews.com/article/paris-…
Elon Musk is starting his own political party in reaction to Congress passing Trump's major domestic policy bill. The tech billionaire posted the news on his platform X: "Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom." We'll see what this means in practice...
Golf game for POTUS is now over. Pres. Trump is heading back home to the White House, according to the pool of reporters traveling with him today for the 4th of July.

The first White House pool report for 7/4/25 is now up. Media covering President Trump today are currently gathering at 1600 Penn. Ave., with the pooler noting the weather forecast is basically a hot, but relatively cool day for a Washington summer. Have a happy 4th of July!

President Trump's marquee policy bill that sets his agenda in Washington now set to pass. Trump (clearly) still has an iron grip on the GOP.
We’ll find out today or tomorrow whether Pres. Trump still has an iron grip on House Republicans. In question - do enough House GOP members decide they dislike the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” more than they fear POTUS ? Or will they get in line again like they've done in the past?
President Trump heads to the Hawkeye State tomorrow for the first time since his return to the White House. As previously announced, he is kicking off the 'Celebration of America's 250th Anniversary' on his trip to Iowa.


Rep. NORMAN also tells me OMB Director VOUGHT & WH's BRAID & BLAIR have been talking w/ HFC to answer questions Norman says it's "looking very positive" that admin can give HFC enough assurances & info to get to yes -- just not tonight Two things Norman says helped so far: 1.…
NEWS: Rep. Ralph NORMAN tells me after HFC mtg breaks up that the caucus is communicating to House GOP leadership now that they WILL NOT vote for the rule on reconciliation bill tonight & are advising return IN THE MORNING “What we just decided in there - we’re advising not to…