Good morning. Today is March 5th and here is your morning rundown. I recorded the rundown shortly before the major news of the day, which is the Supreme Court ruling against the Trump Administration, so I am providing a longer text update below. In any event, thank you to all those who have supported my work. If you want to support my work and receive access to our next paid-subscriber only Q&A, which will be this Sunday, March 9th, click the button below:
This morning, the United States Supreme Court handed down yet another loss for the Trump Administration, siding against the Administration in an emergency appeal focused on nearly $2 billion worth of outstanding USAID contract payments that the State Department had been dragging its feet on.
Previously, a district court judge ordered the Trump Administration to immediately pay the outstanding funds for the services already performed by USAID contractors around the world. The Trump Administration appealed to the D.C. Circuit, which rejected its appeal, and later to the Supreme Court, which previously gave the Administration a temporary reprieve via an administrative stay.
Today, however, the Court, in a 5-4 decision, lifts the administrative stay, rules against the Trump Administration, and sends the case back to the district court judge to decide the parameters for payment now that the prior deadline has passed. The four Justices who dissented are Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh.
Here is all the remaining news you missed overnight:
According to the Financial Times, the U.S. has halted intelligence-sharing with Kyiv, a decision that officials say could significantly weaken Ukraine’s ability to strike Russian forces.
In a recent interview, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick criticized current economic data as "Biden data," asserting that President Trump inherited a "lousy economy he's trying to fix."
China plans to increase its defense budget by 7.2% in 2025, bringing total military spending to approximately 1.78 trillion yuan (about $398 billion).
According to FiveThirtyEight, President Trump's disapproval rating has surpassed his approval rating.
According to POLITICO, Pete Buttigieg, originally from Indiana, met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to discuss a possible Senate run in Michigan.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino accused U.S. President Donald Trump of lying about the United States "reclaiming" the Panama Canal, following a deal led by BlackRock to acquire major port assets near the canal.
Greenland's Prime Minister, Múte Bourup Egede, has firmly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that the United States will acquire Greenland "one way or the other." Egede emphasized that "Greenland is ours," underscoring the island's autonomy and the right of its people to determine their own future. He stated that Greenlanders do not wish to be Americans or Danes, highlighting their desire for self-determination.
CNN polling following Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress had about 69% of viewers approve of the speech with 31% of viewers disapproving.
CBS polling following the address had about 75% of viewers approving the speech, while only 25% disapproved. One caveat that the media won’t tell you is that in 2021, following President Biden’s first address to a joint session, 85% of viewers approved of his speech and only 15% disapproved in this same poll. In addition, these polls provide approval ratings from those who watched the speech. Many Americans did not.
See you this evening.
— Aaron
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