President Trump renews his push to eliminate mail-in voting by executive order ahead of the 2026 midterms. The U.S. Navy deploys three destroyers off the coast of Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s escalating war on drug cartels. The White House touts a string of recent victories, including progress on a Ukraine peace deal, a sharp drop in D.C. crime, and a record-high stock market.

It’s Wednesday, August 20, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.

Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:

If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:

Trump Vows to End ‘Corrupt’ Mail-In Voting

Topline: President Trump announced on Monday that he is renewing his push to eliminate mail-in voting nationwide by executive order ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, calling the practice a “fraud.”

“We’re going to stop mail-in ballots because it’s corrupt,” Trump said Monday, arguing that it is the “only way” Democrats can win elections. The president is also taking aim at electronic voting machines, which he called “seriously controversial,” in favor of watermarked paper ballots. The expected executive order is likely to face immediate legal challenges, as states constitutionally control election administration.

Democrats have vowed to fight the move. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) said any measure making it harder to vote would be “dead on arrival in the Senate.” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold called Trump a “weak president grasping at straws,” and claimed that mail ballots do not help one party over another. However, data from the 2024 election shows that Democrats were significantly more likely than Republicans to vote by mail, with an 18-point split between the two parties.

U.S. Deploys Warships to Confront Venezuelan Cartel

Topline: The U.S. Navy has deployed three guided-missile destroyers to international waters off the coast of Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s escalating military confrontation with Latin American drug cartels.

The deployment includes three Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, 4,000 sailors and Marines, P-8 spy planes, and at least one attack submarine. The move is a direct challenge to Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, whom the U.S. has indicted and designated as the head of a “narco terror cartel.” Maduro responded by threatening to deploy 4.5 million of his own militiamen.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Trump “is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.” The U.S. currently has a $50 million bounty on Maduro.

The military action has a historical precedent. In 1989, former President George H.W. Bush sent 20,000 troops into Panama to arrest dictator Manuel Noriega on drug trafficking charges. That invasion was justified by a legal memo asserting the president’s authority to arrest fugitives in other countries.

White House Touts Wins on Peace, Crime, and Economy

Topline: The Trump administration is touting a series of major victories on foreign and domestic policy, including significant progress toward a peace deal in Ukraine, a dramatic drop in D.C. crime, and a record-high stock market.

Following his summit with Vladimir Putin, President Trump is pushing for a trilateral meeting with the Russian leader and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to finalize a peace deal immediately. European leaders, who had previously been critical of Trump, are now expressing optimism about his approach after he secured a major concession from Putin on a U.S.-backed security guarantee for Ukraine.

At home, the federal takeover of the D.C. police is yielding dramatic results. The D.C. Police Union reports that in the last seven days, carjackings are down 83%, robberies are down 46%, and violent crime is down 22%. Attorney General Pam Bondi says nearly 500 arrests have been made since the crackdown began.

The economic news is also positive. The DOW Jones Industrial Average touched an all-time high on Tuesday, defying predictions of a bear market. A new poll of economists shows that a majority now expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September, a move Trump has long advocated for that would likely boost the housing market.

The latest fundraising campaign for California Governor Gavin Newsom has an interesting target audience: everywhere in the country other than California, fueling speculation that the attention-seeking governor is building support for a 2028 presidential run.

Newsom, who has done his best to thrust himself into the national conversation in recent weeks, is running a series of internet fundraising campaigns this month in support of a proposition to further gerrymander California. The move comes in direct response to the Republican effort to redistrict in Texas, with Newsom positioning himself as the man standing in opposition to President Donald Trump and national Republicans.

“We’re not gonna watch Donald Trump rig the next election, we’re not just gonna sit back and watch what’s happening in Texas and not respond to it,” Newsom says in one ad. “It’s time to fight fire with fire. We’re going to the ballot. We’re going to redistrict here in the state of California but we’re going to need your help.”

According to Google’s ad transparency center, Newsom’s team is targeting a series of the ads only at people outside of California, potentially allowing Newsom to build a national donor list and grow his profile across the country.

Screenshot of Google ad transparency center

The ad ran in two different forms: one targeting California and another targeting the rest of the country. Another ad, which was also specifically targeted at people outside Newsom’s state, claimed that Newsom’s effort sought to address “an emergency for our democracy.”

The ads are an early indicator that Newsom is attempting to build a national donor list and garner wider name recognition ahead of the 2028 presidential election, in which he is widely speculated to be a leading Democratic candidate. Newsom’s has spent the last couple of weeks posting obsessively on social media in opposition to Trump, attempting to emulate the Republican president’s manner of writing.

Hannah Milgrom, the spokeswoman for the legislative effort, denied that the ad campaign indicates that Newsom is attempting to build a national donor list ahead of a potential presidential run.

“Total BS,” Milgrom said. “Americans rightfully oppose Trump’s attempt to rig the 2026 midterm elections and steal five house seats before a single person has voted,” she added. “That’s why tens of thousands of small dollar donors across the country are giving $5 and $10 dollars to the our [sic] campaign through these ads.”

It is, however, exactly that fact that fuels the speculation about his intentions with the redistricting ads. These small donors will make up the base of a potential 2028 presidential run, where he will have to build support across the country to emerge from a primary. His potential primary opponents, such as Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, have already amassed the massive lists essential to win a national campaign.

And it isn’t just the new ads that indicate the Democrat governor could be prepping for a presidential run. Newsom has also delivered speeches in South Carolina, a state that holds particular strategic importance in the Democratic primary process.

Newsom is currently the leading Democratic candidate on the betting website Polymarket, which gives him a 24% chance of becoming the Democratic nominee. Newsom ranks ahead of ahead of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Recent polling shows that Newsom is the second-most popular Democrat candidate behind former Vice President and failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris, but still ahead of Ocasio-Cortez and Buttigieg.