Aftermath of a Doodle

President Donald Trump speaks during a dinner in the State Dining Room of the White House
Alex Brandon/AP

Today’s notice: Deny, deny, deny. The latest on a short-term spending bill. The raise Congress wants but won’t give itself. The courts make big moves. And: How House Democrats built a new legal fighting machine.

THE LATEST

Doodle what? Doodle who? “I’ve got to activate my Wall Street Journal subscription, I guess,” Rep. Tom Barrett told NOTUS’ Hill team after Donald Trump’s alleged birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein was revealed by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.

This was the common reaction among Republicans: “I haven’t seen that,” John Thune said.

The White House saw it, and denied it was real. “DEFAMATION!” a White House official posted on X, arguing that the signature shown does not match the one on documents Trump has signed recently.