The Full Belmonte, 7/13/2025
Trump threatens 30 percent tariffs on the EU, Mexico
“President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened 30 percent tariffs on two major U.S. trading partners — the European Union and Mexico.
In letters posted to Truth Social, the president said each country would face the new tariffs starting Aug. 1, though he left the door open to further talks to bring down that rate, as he did in missives to other foreign leaders this week. The new levies represent a 10 percentage point increase for the European Union from the “Liberation Day” tariff rates Trump announced in April, and a 5 percentage point boost from the 25 percent rate Mexico was slapped with in March related to the fentanyl crisis.
Together, the two trading partners account for about one-third U.S. imports. The United States imported $605 billion worth of goods last year from the 27 nations of the EU, whose major members include France, Germany, Spain and Italy. It imported $505 billion from Mexico, a member of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that Trump negotiated during his first term to replace the 1990s-era North American Free Trade Agreement.
The U.S. trade deficit with the EU was the second highest of any trading partner in 2024, coming below China, while the deficit with Mexico was the third highest.”
Read the latest at POLITICO
DOJ purge
Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before a Senate panel on June 25. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
“Attorney General Pam Bondi has fired more than 20 Justice Department employees who worked on cases involving the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and Donald Trump's handling of classified documents, sources tell Axios' Mark Caputo.
Why it matters: The firings are part of a massive purge aimed at clearing DOJ of attorneys and support staff who took part in Special Counsel Jack Smith's prosecution of Trump for Jan. 6 and possessing classified documents unlawfully.
The new dismissals bring the total Smith-related firings to about 35.
About 15 more could face termination.
Zoom in: Reuters reported last night that nine staffers had been let go, but Axios sources said the number was 20 and as many as 37 people could ultimately be let go from offices in Washington, Virginia, Florida and other parts of the country.
The 20 ousted Friday included lawyers, support staff and U.S. marshals, one Justice official said.
The staffers were identified in an internal investigation by Bondi's "Weaponization Working Group," which she established shortly after taking office as part of an effort to purge entrenched political enemies of Trump.
The intrigue: Bondi initially planned for the firings to take place earlier this week.
But they were delayed as the Trump administration dealt with the internal fallout from its announcement that Jeffrey Epstein didn't have a celebrity "client list," and that his death in his New York City prison cell in 2019 was a suicide, not murder.
Inside the room: Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche was also instrumental in initially pumping the brakes on the terminations, sources said, because he wanted to be certain the department was only letting go of staffers who weren't in line with the Trump administration.” [Axios]
Bongino: "She goes or I go"
‘It's me or her. ... She goes or I go.’
FBI deputy director Dan Bongino has made that provocative internal declaration about Attorney General Pam Bondi over the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, Axios' Marc Caputo reports.
Whether Bongino ultimately quits is anyone's guess.
Why it matters: An administration statement this week that contradicts conspiracy theories about Epstein infuriated many MAGA influencers, who say there's more to be known about the financier and sex trafficker's death.
The imbroglio is Trump's biggest split with vocal members of his base since he took office. The fallout from the handling of the Epstein conclusions, reported first by Axios, has produced one of this term's nastiest ruptures among top Trump officials.
Behind the scenes: The controversy has pitted Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel against Bondi — who, as head of the Justice Department, is technically their boss.
Caputo scooped yesterday that Bondi and Bongino clashed during a White House meeting on Wednesday, in Patel's presence. Bongino left angry, a source told us.
With some in the administration speculating Bongino will quit, there's concern that he'd restart the lucrative, popular podcast that made him famous before he joined the administration (7 million followers on X) — and that he'd start firebombing Bondi via Rumble, a popular MAGA platform.
‘Dan isn't some no-name,’ a person familiar with Bongino's thinking told us. ‘He has a brand and a following. If Bondi thought she could just squash him, she's got the wrong guy.’
What we're hearing: Bongino hasn't decided whether to go, and might well stay. A source told us Patel spent yesterday morning trying to talk Bongino down and make peace. But Bondi is dug in.
‘He yelled at the wrong woman,’ an administration source told us. ‘If Bongino wants to make Trump choose, it's not a choice at all for her … It's the most important position in the cabinet for him, given his history with AG. He trusts her. He loves her.’
The situation might be so toxic that only Trump can order the feud to be quashed — internal peacemaking for a president preoccupied with ending the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Between the lines: The online right —the MAGA base and its influencers — is far more pro-Bongino than pro-Bondi.
Charlie Kirk, a powerful MAGA podcaster, asked onstage yesterday at his Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Tampa: ‘Who would you guys prefer, Bongino or Bondi?’ The crowd roared back: ‘Bongino!’
Kirk said: ‘It's 7,000 to zero.’
Megyn Kelly, onstage with Kirk, told him: ‘They want Dan. ... Dan understands MAGA. ... And now it's a time for choosing.’” [Axios]
1 big thing: Paranoid security state
Photo illustration: Maura Losch/Axios. Photos via Getty Images
“America's top national security agencies have been using polygraph tests, seeking employees' communications and threatening criminal investigations, all in the name of ferreting out leakers or ensuring loyalty, Axios' Dave Lawler writes.
Why it matters: The recent headlines expose the deep mistrust between top national security officials and their own staffs — starting at the top, with a commander-in-chief who considers himself a victim of "Deep State" abuses.
The FBI has subjected senior agents to lie-detector tests to find the sources for fairly innocuous news stories, and even to ask whether agents have ever disparaged Director Kash Patel, the N.Y. Times' Adam Goldman reports.
A March memo from Joe Kasper, then chief of staff to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, stated that polygraphs would be used as part of a leak hunt. That probe devolved into a power struggle that saw Kasper himself ousted.
Agencies all across the federal government have used the devices, which aren't considered highly reliable, for even fairly minor leaks, Reuters reports. In one case, FEMA staffers who attended a March meeting involving Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were subjected to polygraph tests after some contents of the meeting became public.
The Department of Homeland Security said in March that it's using lie detector tests to try to find tip-offs ahead of ICE raids.
A new unit under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is seeking email and chat records from employees across America's spy agencies, the WashPost reports.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Axios: ‘[We certainly do not trust leakers who provide sensitive information to the media, or who commit felonies by leaking top secret intelligence.’” [Axios]
Trump wins big on "shadow docket"
Data: Professor Steve Vladeck's newsletter, One First. Chart: Sara Wise/Axios
“The Supreme Court has handed President Trump a slew of major victories through an abbreviated process that doesn't require full-fledged briefings and arguments — and will likely continue to do so, Axios court watcher Sam Baker reports.
The court's "emergency docket" (a.k.a. the shadow docket) has been the focus of its activity in Trump's second term, allowing him to proceed with plans to fire government workers, proceed with mass deportations and ban transgender people from serving in the military.
The court's actions on those issues are all temporary. But even temporary orders are a significant win for Trump, allowing him to implement some of the most controversial parts of his agenda.
How it works: The emergency docket is designed for questions that need a faster answer than the court's typical proceedings provide. It's often used, for example, by inmates requesting a stay of execution (which the justices almost always deny).
A growing number of political issues are also finding their way onto the emergency docket. Some critics argue that the court is using the process to decide bigger questions than that process was designed to resolve.
Where it stands: Lower courts have handed down scores of orders that temporarily block Trump from implementing parts of his agenda. That type of order gets appealed through the emergency docket — and the justices have overruled lower courts on several hot-button issues:
Just last week, the court allowed Trump to proceed with plans for mass firings across the federal government.
It allowed the administration to deport a group of undocumented immigrants to South Sudan, a war-torn country to which the migrants had no connection.
The Supreme Court overruled lower-court orders that limited DOGE's access to Social Security records and made some of its work subject to the Freedom of Information Act.
It also allowed the Pentagon to prohibit trans people from serving in the military.” [Axios]
Summer firing wave
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
“It's shaping up to be a summer of firings for tens of thousands of federal workers, now that the Supreme Court cleared the way for agencies to conduct layoffs, Axios' Emily Peck reports.
Why it matters: The Trump administration says this is just a step toward better government efficiency. But opponents of the White House's chainsaw approach say the federal government's capabilities will be forever damaged by these cuts.
Catch-up quick: Thousands of workers across 19 agencies, who received notice that they were being fired back in the spring, have been out on paid leave pending the results of the court challenge to their dismissals.
The Supreme Court lifted a stay on their firings this week. Now these workers are just waiting for the axe to fall — again.
The State Department got moving on reductions in force on Friday, only days after the Supreme Court ruling.
A cable from Secretary of State Marco Rubio went out across the agency Friday announcing a reorganization that could lead to 3,000 departures.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly says: "Bloated operations often result in duplicative or even contradictory foreign policy. By reorganizing the Department of State, Secretary Rubio is ensuring that all actions align with the America First agenda that people voted for."
7.
SNAP cuts spook food banks
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The "big, beautiful" megabill slashes federal food assistance — and hunger relief groups say the consequences could be devastating, Axios' Avery Lotz reports.
With millions of food-insecure Americans projected to lose benefits, frontline organizations are bracing for a surge they say they simply can't absorb.
Feeding America estimates that provisions affecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) could eliminate the equivalent of some 6 to 9 billion meals annually.
Feeding America's network would have to "more than double" the amount of food distributed to fill the hole, Vince Hall, chief government relations officer, tells Axios.
The organization is trying to prepare for the surge by reaching out to donors, community leaders, farmers and lawmakers.
TECH
Tech billionaire Marc Andreesen says colleges will ‘pay the price’ for DEI, according to private group chat with Trump officials
“Andreessen co-founded one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firms, Andreessen Horowitz, which embraced Donald Trump’s candidacy last year. While Elon Musk was the most visible tech mogul in Trump’s orbit until he split with the president, Andreessen has quietly helped shape the administration’s hiring and policy decisions.”
Read more at Washington Post
THE WEEK IN CULTURE
Film and TV
David Corenswet plays Superman. Warner Bros.
“The new Superman movie is out and, as ever, Clark Kent’s journalism ethics are murky. (Our critic liked the film.)
Like the lead of Lena Dunham’s new show “Too Much,” these Americans moved to Britain with visions of Jane Austen. The reality was less dreamy.
Our reviewer found “Too Much” to be surprisingly mild — not as “thorough or tricky” as “Girls,” the show that turned Dunham into a star.
“Sex and the City” is having a resurgence and there’s a secret ingredient: contempt for its characters.
An English-language version of the Chinese animated movie “Ne Zha 2,” which is the highest-grossing animated feature of all time, will be released in the U.S. next month.
Music
On her fourth album, “Virgin,” Lorde ponders the value of fame — again. This week’s “Popcast” explores how the album figures into the Lorde lore. Listen here.
This week’s Amplifier newsletter looks back on Janet Jackson’s most sensual songs. Have a listen.
More Culture
Daniel Terna for The New York Times
See inside Library180, a nirvana of old magazines in Manhattan’s financial district.
The designer Glenn Martens’s first show for Maison Margiela was “an exhilarating, multidimensional, occasionally misguided explosion of ideas,” Vanessa Friedman writes.
Valery Gergiev, the Russian maestro shunned in the West for his support of Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, is set to appear at a festival in Italy this month.” [New York Times]
SPORTS
Iga Świątek dominates Wimbledon final against American Amanda Anisimova
“The more experienced Świątek did not lose a single game en route to a straight sets victory over a rattled Anisimova, who struggled in her first grand slam final.
Świątek is the first Polish Wimbledon singles champion — men’s or women’s — in the Open Era. It’s also the first time in that era that a women’s player has won the title without giving up a game.
Świątek had struggled on grass courts throughout her career before breezing through this year’s draw en route to her dominant performance on Centre Court. Anisimova reached the match by shocking world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in a semifinal thriller.”
Read more at CNN