WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

Donald Trump declares victory on the economy, frames the Democratic Party as extreme, and offers praise for JD Vance and Marco Rubio, in one of the longest State of the Union speeches in recent times. But what's the agenda that Republicans can carry into the midterms? Plus, Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivers a Democratic response that starts with affordability, yet her party’s nominees in November might be moving further left.

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American officials say they believe China held a nuclear test in 2020, and President Trump reserves the right to do the same, as the New Start arms-control treaty with Russia hits its expiration date this month. Plus, the Food and Drug Administration summarily rejects a flu vaccine from Moderna, before changing course.

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Now that the Supreme Court has struck down Donald Trump's "emergency" tariffs, will the government refund the billions of dollars it unlawfully collected? And as Trump turns to other tariff authorities, how much will he be limited by the guardrails written into those laws? The Cato Institute’s trade expert Scott Lincicome discusses.

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The Justices strike down the President's "emergency" tariffs, ruling that a law called IEEPA doesn't give him limitless power to tax imports on a whim. But will Trump try to reimpose his tariff policy using other laws, or is the GOP quietly breathing a sigh of relief, as the 2026 midterms near amid mixed economic signals?

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To raise taxes on the rich, New York's Mayor wants help from Albany and Gov. Kathy Hochul. And if they refuse? Mamdani now says he'll jack up property taxes by nearly 10%. But isn't overspending the problem? Plus, the Congressional Budget Office offers an estimate for federal deficits over the next decade: $24 trillion.
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