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In today's issue:

▪ A 'moving and powerful' speech

▪ Trump set to address the UN

▪ White House stands by Homan

▪ Voters to fill vacant House seat in Arizona

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When she took the stage to deliver her husband's eulogy, Erika Kirk followed multiple Cabinet members, top White House officials, key MAGA media personalities and the vice president.

Still in the throes of grief, wiping tears and speaking in a soft voice, Kirk told the world she forgave her husband's accused killer, citing Jesus’s words as he was being crucified.

“On the cross, our savior said, ‘Father, forgive them. For they not know what they do.’ That man. That young man. I forgive him,” she said, as tears rolled down her face.

The moment rippled through the NFL stadium of tens of thousands of mourners gathered for Charlie Kirk's memorial and among the millions more tuning in on live streams and TV.

Erika Kirk burst onto the national scene in the worst of circumstances — her husband's assassination — but friends who eulogized him Sunday acknowledged the influence she is likely to have for years to come as she takes the reins of her husband's political organization and seeks to advance his legacy.

Turning Point USA’s board unanimously elected Erika Kirk as the group’s new CEO and board chair last week, putting her in charge of a massive organization concentrated on spreading conservatism to younger voters. It was a move the board said Charlie Kirk wanted in the event of his death.

“She gave an incredibly moving and powerful speech, one that will stay in the minds of Turning Point-interested and Turning Point-curious Americans,” one Republican consultant told The Hill.

Erika Kirk pledged Sunday to make Turning Point even bigger than it already was, saying everything her husband built will be made “ten times greater” through efforts to carry on his memory.

The outpouring of support and encouragement from Republicans up to and including President Trump, who embraced Kirk on stage Sunday, suggest she is likely to find success in her mission.

Trump has credited Turning Point with helping shore up his support among young voters across the country for his win in the 2024 election, and the group is widely expected to play a role boosting Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterms.

And the Kirk family's particularly close ties to Vice President Vance, the most likely heir apparent to Trump after his second term, all but ensure Erika Kirk will continue to play a key role in the conservative movement and GOP politics for years to come.

The Wall Street Journal reported some progressives are already concerned Erika Kirk could further expand Turning Point’s reach to young women and that the left isn't "ready."

The GOP consultant said they expect an “outpouring” of emotional and financial support in the 2026 midterms but the long-term impact will be the main question, while acknowledging a “symbiotic relationship” between Turning Point and Vance.

Despite Charlie Kirk’s supporters rallying around Erika, she now faces a significant challenge in heading a national organization that Charlie co-created more than a decade ago while also raising two young children.

“Erika, we love you, we support you, and we will always be here for you,” Sergio Gor, a top Trump aide overseeing personnel who was tapped for an ambassadorship, said during his speech at the memorial.

▪ Washington Examiner: Erika Kirk turns grief into mobilization for young conservative women.

▪ Newsweek: “Turning Point USA sees huge donations, chapters spread after Kirk killing.”

Smart Take with Blake Burman

Trump is in New York City today at the United Nations, his first time at the U.N. in his second term. Foreign affairs will likely dominate the day, but back in D.C. the president will soon have another issue before him: a potential government shutdown.

Th president is expected to meet later this week with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). This meeting will be a first as well in the second term, which shows the potential gridlock at the moment.

In Trump’s first term, there were several notable on-camera spectacles in the Oval Office between Trump and Democratic leaders. We don’t yet know how the Thursday meeting will shape up, but it very well could set the tone for other major bipartisan meetings as this second administration unfolds.

Burman hosts "The Hill" weeknights, 6p/5c on NewsNation.

3 Things to Know Today

1. Trump signed an executive order Monday declaring the antifa movement a domestic terrorist organization. Critics have expressed concern the president could use this and other actions to crack down on left-leaning groups.

2. The Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its 90-year-old precedent allowing Congress to provide certain federal agencies with a degree of independence from the White House, a test of Trump's expansive assertion of executive power.

3. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has signed a bill restricting residents to use the bathroom aligned with their gender assigned at birth in certain public spaces, including........

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