Thursday, May 15, 2025
⏰ Tick Tock
89 days to Utah's 2025 municipal primary elections (8/12/2025)
173 days until Election Day (11/4/2025)
537 days until the 2026 midterm elections (11/3/2026)
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Utah Headlines
Rep. Blake Moore fights for Trump's tax cuts, then fights to stay awake in marathon hearing. [Utah Political Watch]
Are delegates in touch with Utah voters? Survey reveals where they "align and diverge." [Utah News Dispatch]
This weekend's Utah GOP convention faces a big question: Who decides which Republicans go on the ballot? [Salt Lake Tribune]
Utah Democrats hope for revival as Gov. JB Pritzker scheduled to speak at convention. [Deseret News]
Could a public lands deal amount to a water grab for Utah? [Las Vegas Review-Journal]
Sen. Mike Lee wants to define obscenity to enable prosecutors to go after distribution. [Salt Lake Tribune]
Utah streamlines ICE prisoner release process for those in U.S. illegally, no change in deportation process. [KSL]
Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs will finish term while working for Trump administration. [KUTV]
Tax bill proposal terminating clean energy credits may increase Utahns' energy costs. [Utah News Dispatch]
Why Utah Olympic officials nearly doubled their donations requests for 2034 Winter Games. [Salt Lake Tribune]
Mormon crickets take over Holden and Fillmore area. [KSL]
National/International
Several provisions in the GOP tax bill, like no taxes on tips or overtime, will kick in immediately but expire in 2029. Other drastic spending cuts to pay for the tax bill won't go into effect until after the 2026 midterms or the 2028 presidential election. [Politico]
President Donald Trump says the U.S. is getting close to securing a nuclear deal with Iran. [Reuters]
- A top Iranian official says the country is ready to agree to never make nuclear weapons and get rid of stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. [NBC News]
The military parade scheduled for President Trump's birthday could cost between $25 million and $45 million. [Reuters]
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is working on a plan to significantly downsize the National Security Council and drastically change how it operates. [NBC News]
A federal court ruled individuals cannot bring lawsuits challenging allegedly discriminatory election policies under the Voting Rights Act. The decision means only the Justice Department is responsible for enforcing the VRA. [CNN]
Attorneys who represent clients who cannot afford legal representation in federal cases won't get paid for more than two months because of budget shortfalls. [Washington Post]
The Department of Homeland Security plans to shift $50 million from the Coast Guard budget to purchase a new Gulfstream V jet, which would be primarily used by Secretary Kristi Noem. [Washington Post]
President Trump trying to clear the Republican field so Rep. Elise Stefanik can run for governor in New York. [Axios]
Briefly...
Texas Democrats want to ban Ted Cruz from attending college playoff games because he's "a well-known curse." [Axios]
The Trump administration canceled several grants to study misinformation and other harmful content online. [New York Times]
Flock, an automatic license plate reader company, is quietly building a people lookup tool. [404 Media]
Topps released a card dedicated to Pope Leo XIV, and it's already the best-selling non-sports trading card ever issued by the company. [The Gamer]
