Who Said That
Virginia’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, declaring victory on one of his administration’s signature promises: cutting state regulatory requirements by 25 percent, six months ahead of schedule. State officials said the effort culminated in the streamlining or repeal of nearly 89,000 regulatory requirements and the elimination of 11.5 million words from official documents. The state’s Office of Regulatory Management pegged cost savings for Virginians at $1.2 billion annually. (Virginia Mercury)
Navajo Nation Police Sgt. Wallace Billy, at a town hall meeting on the reservation in Arizona as the Oak Ridge Fire, which had burned more than 11,000 acres, was 87 percent contained. Officials said most families in the evacuation zones could unpack their emergency bags and those who were evacuated could return home after being displaced for nearly two weeks. (Arizona Mirror)
A staffer at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – the target of especially steep cuts by the Trump administration – after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the president to resume firing federal workers. The court lifted a lower-court order that had blocked the administration from laying off thousands of workers because it hadn’t first consulted with Congress. The staffer said she started looking for new jobs months ago, but all her potential opportunities would mean taking a pay cut. (Washington Post)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, tweeting his disapproval of a vote by Miami commissioners to postpone this November's election until 2026 to move the city's odd-year elections to match up with federal and state contests held in even-numbered years. The commissioners’ action could set up a potential legal battle with the state as DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier argue that such a move requires voter approval. (Washington Post)
Los Angeles City Councilmember Traci Park, on commercial tour operators that have been conducting “disaster tours” of Pacific Palisades neighborhoods devastated in a January firestorm. The council unanimously approved Park’s measure restricting the tour buses from the Palisades and other disaster zones. (Los Angeles Times)
“Collaboration isn’t just a nice to have, it is a must have for these challenges that we’re facing.”
Andre Dickens, who is the first Atlanta mayor to serve as chair of the Atlanta Regional Commission. Speaking with other local elected officials, he implored them to work together on issues such as traffic, housing and homelessness. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
James Surowiecki, a financial author and columnist. On social media, Surowiecki pointed to a list of state names for Medicaid programs — almost none of which are branded as Medicaid. Instead, state programs are known by names such as Apple Health, Denali Care, Hoosier Healthwise and TennCare. (X)
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. The governor was about to sign a pair of bills that would shield a variety of building projects from the California Environmental Quality Act, a landmark 1970 act that has contributed to the state’s reputation for making building difficult. Newsom and other supporters hope the new laws will encourage construction. (Mercury News)
JD Mangat, the mayor of Lafayette, Colo. In addition to serving as mayor, he works as a middle school teacher, but his salary is not high enough to afford prices in the Denver-area city. Nevertheless, he opposes new housing laws just taking effect in Colorado meant to promote construction and bring down prices, saying they take away too much local control. (Denver Post)
Tracy Post, chair of the Yarmouth, Mass., Select Board. She was referring to state Rep. Chris Flanagan, who has kept his seat but not appeared in public since being indicted on federal fraud charges in April. Flanagan’s criminal complaint requires him to be employed or actively looking but Yarmouth is now the third and final town in his state House district that has voted to call on him to resign for non-performance of duty. (Boston Herald)
Maggie Chen, who has struggled to find work since graduating a year ago from the University of California, Davis, with a computer science degree. Recent college grads are facing a worse job market than they have for some years. The unemployment rate for college graduates aged 22 to 27 reached 5.3 percent in May, up from 4.4 percent a year earlier. Their employment advantage over non-college peers has reached its lowest point in at least 30 years. (Washington Post)
Lauren Boitel, executive director of ImpactNV, a sustainability group founded by the state of Nevada and former casino executives. Conservation has emerged as a key concern in the largely desert state. In addition to strict water controls, Nevada now generates a third of its energy from solar panels, the most per capita in the country. (The New York Times)
Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois. A quartet of Democratic state attorneys general spoke at a hearing organized by Democratic members of the House and Senate Judiciary committees, discussing their numerous efforts to block Trump administration policies in court. (States Newsroom)
Michigan state Rep. Thomas Kunse, a Republican. In response to a question about additional disclosures on a personal finance disclosure form, Kunse wrote, “I removed the tag off my mattress.” Despite that flippant entry, Kunse offered more detail on his disclosure form than many of his colleagues, naming lobbying groups from which he’d accepted food and drink. "Everything should be disclosed," Kunse said. "There should be no secrets.” (Detroit News)
Jensen Huang, the CEO of AI chip designer Nvidia. Tech companies in particular are warning workers that disruptions are coming due to AI, signaling to stockholders that they’re willing to embrace coming changes to employment needs. (Washington Post)
Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been leading in polls in New York’s Democratic mayoral primary all year. He maintains a solid lead, with Marist’s latest poll showing him with support from 38 percent of voters, compared with state Rep. Zohran Mamdani at 27 percent. While Cuomo’s numbers are holding steady, Mamdani is gaining strength among previously undecided voters. (New York Daily News)
Arthur Caplan, founding head of the division of medical ethics at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. He was referring to new rules from the Department of Veterans Affairs that would allow medical staff to decline to treat patients based on their personal characteristics, such as being Democrats or unmarried. Federally protected classes such as race and religion remain sacrosanct but other groups are not, with explicit redaction of protection based on politics or marital status. (The Guardian)
State Public Defender André de Gruy. Mississippi lawmakers have approved nearly $700,000 for a pilot program to address a shortage of public defenders serving low-income defendants in rural areas. The money will help pay for more attorneys, which should help offer defense to indigent clients beginning the day they are charged, an area where Mississippi does not meet national standards. (Marshall Project)
Brevard County, Fla., Sheriff Wayne Ivey. At a news conference last week, he said that peaceful protests are part of American democracy but warned that anyone who was violent or interfered with law enforcement would be met with force. Ivey shared a podium with Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, the officials standing behind a sign that read, “Florida: The anti-riot state.” (Orlando Sentinel)
Missouri GOP state Sen. Kurtis Gregory. He’s sponsoring a bill to fund stadiums in Kansas City in a bid to keep the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs and MLB’s Kansas City Royals from moving several miles away into neighboring Kansas. (Stateline)
Mike DuHaime, a Republican political strategist. Despite New Jersey’s long record as a Democratic stronghold, coming out of Tuesday’s primaries Republicans believe they have a real shot at winning the governor’s race this year behind GOP nominee Jack Ciattarelli, who will face Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill. Republicans nearly upset Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago and President Donald Trump substantially improved his margin in the state last year. (New York Times)
Jen Miller, executive director of Ohio’s League of Women Voters. She objects to proposed legislation that will make it more difficult to organize ballot initiatives through additional hurdles such as paperwork requirements and mandating that signature gatherers wear badges identifying themselves as paid. Aside from changes to the initiative process, the bill would block ballot drop boxes and require voters to show proof of citizenship. (Ohio Capital Journal)
Jon Fleischman, former executive director of the California Republican Party. A group called Our Republican Legacy is seeking to recruit GOP candidates to run in next year’s midterms who will present an alternative to Trump-style populism. Its supporters include some prominent former Republican officeholders and party figures, such as former Vice President Mike Pence, but because some of them have worked in Democratic administrations, officials such as Fleischman question whether the GOP primary electorate will buy what they’re selling. (Orange County Register)
Tony Chicotel, a senior staff attorney with the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. He was questioning a provision in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget that would block a law passed last year requiring nursing homes to have capacity to supply 96 hours of power using their own generators or other sources. The current standard is six hours. Nursing homes say they need more time to prepare for a $1 billion capital investment to meet such rules. (KFF Health News)
Homer Pompa, a landowner in the newly created city of Starbase, Texas, which is the home of the launch site for Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket company. Pompa recently received a letter from the city informing him that he is at risk of losing the “right to continue using your property for its current use” as the city reviews its zoning. The disabled Vietnam War veteran's property falls within a proposed mixed-use district, which according to the city's letter “allows for a blend of residential, office, retail and small-scale service uses.” (Washington Post)
Congressman Mike Bost, an Illinois Republican. On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear his case challenging the state law that allows mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted up to 14 days later. Sixteen states and the District of Columbia allow mail ballots to arrive after Election Day, but Bost argues that violates the legal meaning of the term “Election Day.” (Capitol News Illinois)
Cory Simon, a Florida state senator who represents the Tallahassee area. A proposed state budget would lift salaries for state employees by 2 percent as well as additional support for their health insurance plans. Simon noted that Florida has among the lowest per capita numbers of state workers and it’s important to invest in retaining top talent. (Florida Phoenix)
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He noted that New York state spends about $235 billion a year while the larger state of Florida spends about $125 billion. He also pointed out that Florida doesn't have an income tax. “And I can tell you, having lived in both," Bessent added, "it’s better not to have an income tax, and Florida gives better services." (Florida Voice)
The winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, 13-year-old Faizan Zaki of Texas, describing to a reporter how he may decide to enter the math olympiad, too. (Washington Post)
Short for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” a tongue-in-cheek term coined by the Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong to describe the pattern of markets rebounding when the president relents on harsh tariff policies. “I chicken out? I never heard that,” the president said to a reporter who asked him about the term on Thursday. “Don’t ever say what you said … That’s a nasty question,” he told the reporter. (NYT)
