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Today, President Trump is marking what he calls 'Liberation Day' - a signature moment in his trade war reboot. This afternoon, at 4PM after US markets close, he's expected to roll out a bold new set of reciprocal tariffs designed to punish America’s "unfair" trading partners.

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Details are fuzzy, but one headline is clear: a 25% tariff on auto imports kicks in immediately. Markets are bracing, economists are pacing, and trading partners are presumably digging out their retaliation playbooks.

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On the political front, yesterday’s elections delivered a few plot twists. In Wisconsin, Democrats celebrated as liberal Susan Crawford won a 10-year term on the state Supreme Court - maintaining its 4-3 liberal majority. The win came despite millions in support for her opponent from Trump super-fan Elon Musk, who may want a refund. In Florida, Republicans held two deeply red House seats, but with thinner-than-usual margins - enough to keep both parties awake at night, but not enough to set off panic.

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Read More: Liberal Judge Wins Supreme Court Race, Defeating Musk-Backed Challenger (Bloomberg)

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Tuesday's election results show that 2026 could be scary for MAGA without Trump on the ballot, according to Axios. The GOP's Florida special election candidates fell far short of Trump's performance in November. The margins of victory for were about half the margins for the previous GOP strongholds (districts vacated by now national security advisor Mike Waltz and former Congressman Matt Gaetz). 

US Debt Watch.

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Mike Bloomberg: America is Heading for a Grim Fiscal Reckoning (Bloomberg Opinion)

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"Amid all the blaring headlines coming out of Washington, here’s a piece of news that is getting far too little attention: The US is on course for fiscal breakdown. That’s the unambiguous message from the Congressional Budget Office’s newly updated long-term projections. Unless Congress changes course, there’ll be a reckoning, and it will be grim," Mike Bloomberg writes in a new oped in Bloomberg Opinion.

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"A responsible Congress would make deficit reduction its overriding priority. Instead, Republicans are discussing ways to borrow more — and not just a little more. New tax cuts are under consideration. And many want to extend provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which would otherwise expire at the end of this year."

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"Higher tariff revenues won’t come close to balancing the books. In fact, the impact on overall revenue is likely to be negative, because tariffs depress commercial activity and job creation."

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"Savings from slashing the federal payroll won’t have any appreciable effect, either. For all the media attention generated by cuts to personnel and programs — and some of them are warranted — they are having almost no impact on restraining the budget deficit."

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"In Washington, the biggest scandals are often hiding in plain sight. Unless Congress and the administration get serious about deficit reduction, Americans will soon see the costs pile up around them." Click here to read Mike's full piece, and click here to read it on the Bloomberg Terminal.

Focus on the Courts.

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GOP's Judicial Flip-Flop?

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Republicans once cheered district court judges when they halted Obama-era initiatives - from environmental protections to guidance on transgender rights. Senator Mitch McConnell praised court decisions blocking Obama’s climate policies as victories against executive overreach. Representative Paul Ryan celebrated court actions, calling Obama’s regulations "bad policy" and "unlawful." But fast forward to today: Republicans are suddenly having second thoughts.

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In a congressional hearing recently, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) labeled nationwide injunctions - those powerful judicial orders Republicans previously applauded - as a "major malfunction." He even introduced legislation aiming to limit judges’ authority to block policies nationwide.

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Why the sudden shift? Perhaps because district court judges are now challenging the policies of Republican administrations. The GOP’s recent call to curb judicial power looks less like principled governance and more like political convenience.

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Hypocrisy or pragmatism? You decide.

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Is James Boasberg the Most Important Judge in America Right Now? (New York Magazine)

Judge James Boasberg in Washington, DC in 2023. (Phot by Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post/Getty Images)

What I'm Reading.

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Check out the podcast: Click here to listen to the AI-generated audio companion to today's Daily Read newsletter. And 'Follow' the Sheekey Daily Read podcast on Spotify and  Apple Podcasts to listen and be notified when the latest are available.

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US Health Agencies Clobbered: Trump Begins Laying Off 10,000 Health Workers, Purging Leadership (Washington Post)

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Top officials at the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration were put on administrative leave as the Trump administration began a sweeping purge of the agencies that oversee government health programs.

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At the CDC, senior leaders who oversee global health, infectious diseases, chronic disease, HIV, sexually transmitted disease, tuberculosis, outbreak forecasting and information technology were among officials notified that they would be reassigned to the Indian Health Service.

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"CDC clobbered," one leader who was reassigned said. "The agency will not be able to function. Let’s be honest."

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Not Good News With Health Agencies Gutted: Texas Reaches 400 Measles Cases as US Outbreaks Reaches 5 States (Associated Press)

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Markets Brace: Wall Street Trading Desks Warn S&P 500 Selloff Will Get Worse (Bloomberg)

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It's Not Just a Joke: Here's How Trump Could Serve a Third Term (Bloomberg Opinion - Barbara McQuade)

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"Scholars have suggested that a president could serve more than one term because of the text of the 22nd Amendment, which provides that 'No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.' It does not say that a person may not 'serve' in the office more than twice," writes Barbara McQuade, professor at the University of Michigan Law school and former US attorney.

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"As political science professor Bruce G. Peabody and attorney Scott E. Gant have noted, nothing in this language bars a president from reassuming office by means other than election. As a result, Trump could return to the Oval Office in 2029 through the vice presidency. Imagine a scenario in which JD Vance were to run for president with Trump as his running mate. After being elected and sworn in, Vance could resign, allowing Trump to ascend to the presidency."

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Joining Forces: Canada's Carney and Mexico's Sheinbaum Plot to 'Safeguard North American Competitiveness' (Wall Street Journal)

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A phone call between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday morning marks an attempt by Carney to restore stronger, cooperative ties between the North American countries ahead of Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariff announcement. 

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Defense News: Getting to Know Trump's Choice for Joint Chiefs of Staff (New York Times)

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Lt. Gen. Dan Caine’s pocket-size copy of the Constitution is tattered and bound with green military tape. He carries it with him routinely, including slipping it in his flight suit when he flew fighter jets in the Air Force. And a Senate hearing yesterday was just his first exercise in needle-threading as he tries to maintain credibility with President Trump while staying true to military norms.

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His daily routine? Wake up to a 4:15AM alarm; spend 45 minutes over coffee in reflection and Bible study; work out for an hour; listen to a half-hour of Bloomberg News or a podcast over a protein shake; work for 11 to 12 hours; and then bed at 9PM: "67 degrees, dark room."

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French Politics Drama: Far Right to Keep Up Pressure as Marine Le Pen Gets Lifeline to Potentially Run in 2027 (Bloomberg)

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Latest in 35,000 Foot Cuisine: Shake Shack in First Class Is Latest Lure for Wealthier Fliers (Bloomberg)

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Staying Away? European Tourists Start Avoiding US as 'Unknown Territory' (Bloomberg)

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Transatlantic travel has long been a mainstay of airlines and tourism companies, counting as one of the most lucrative corridors in the world. Now there’s a growing number of companies cautioning that the link has come under strain, with US tourists tightening their belts in an uncertain economy and Europeans circumventing the US for political reasons.

Best of Late Night.

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On Trump's plans to announce more tariffs this afternoon in the White House Rose Garden on what he has dubbed 'Liberation Day':

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"Because when you elect a reality TV star, you get all your economic policy via rose ceremony."

-- Stephen Colbert

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"Trump is calling it 'Liberation Day,' while every stockbroker is calling it 'Inebriation Day.'"

-- Jimmy Fallon

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"Yes, Liberation Day. I’m reminded of the immortal words of Patrick Henry: 'Give me liberty or charge me an extra $10,000 for a Hyundai Elantra.'"

-- Stephen Colbert

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"'Liberation Day', the day we’ll all finally be liberated from our 401(k)s."

-- Seth Meyers

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"Trump just signed an executive order to stop price gouging on concert tickets. He said, 'Nobody pays higher prices on my watch... Unless it's for a car, TV, medicine, or eggs.'"

-- Jimmy Fallon