Today’s notice: The trouble in MAGA world that could change everything. The two Trump nominees the GOP really grilled, and one it really didn’t. But first: A remarkable approach to national tragedy.
The Endless Blame Game and Its Risks
Donald Trump has thoroughly trashed federal workers since taking office — firing some, begging others to quit and turning the lives of most of them upside down with executive actions. Folks are on edge even in the parts of government Trump does not attack. NOTUS’ John T. Seward spoke to career Pentagon officials who said the workforce is “uneasy” after Pete Hegseth’s opening days.
The political risks that go with attacks on the federal workforce were made obvious Thursday in the aftermath of the plane crash. After the DEI condemnations of air traffic control, a reporter asked simply, “Should people be hesitant to fly?” The president set about trying to assure Americans that it was safe — but not without blaming Barack Obama, Joe Biden and every diverse federal worker.
Ironically, Republicans used to love mocking the Obama administration for blaming its predecessor for everything that went wrong. “Someone told me that they understood that the president wanted to have the San Andreas Fault renamed for President George W. Bush,” former Rep. Louie Gohmert cracked in 2015. “So it would be known as ‘Bush’s Fault.’”
NOTUS was unable to reach Gohmert. But we did reach Matt Lehrich, a former Obama White House aide who said he remembers the “Bush’s Fault” trope well.
“Can you imagine if this happened days after President Obama appointed a pair of MSNBC hosts to lead the Department of Defense and the Department of Transportation?” he said. “If this had happened and we sent Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes into the briefing room to talk about it, we would have been skewered.”
Bureaucracy frustrations are common to any White House, Lehrich added, but he questioned Trump’s approach.
“If he cared about figuring out what happened here and solving it, then certainly attacking the air traffic controllers without any evidence is probably not the best way to accomplish that,” he said.
On the Hill, Republicans have generally been happy to go along with Trump’s blame game, even as some asked questions about what actually happened.
“We need to get to the bottom of what happened,” Sen. Josh Hawley said. “And we need a thorough report. But one question I have is, why are we doing military training exercises right next to one of the busiest airports in America?”
—Evan McMorris-Santoro
Trouble in Trumpworld
As Elon Musk cozies up to Trump, a former member of the president’s inner circle is none too thrilled.
Steve Bannon told NOTUS’ Haley Byrd Wilt and Jasmine Wright that Musk is an “an agent of influence for the Chinese Communist Party.” It’s the tiff to keep an eye on as Musk’s powerful allies and the conservatives who owe their stardom to Bannon start picking sides.
“From Russ Vought and Scott Bessent to Kash Patel and Stephen Miller, their MAGA credentials were burnished by the ‘War Room,’” one Republican operative told NOTUS. “Elon is erratic. Susie Wiles does not do erratic. Not for long.”
Meanwhile, Trump ally Sen. Markwayne Mullin seemed to think Musk is perfectly well positioned with Trump. “Everybody’s got opinions,” he said. “But Elon is loved by the president.”
Front Page
- Digital Currency Firms Gave Millions to Trump’s Inauguration: Major corporations like Chevron, Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs also gave huge sums, new filings reveal.
- ‘It Takes Time’: Republicans Find Patience Around the Need to Lower Inflation: Democrats have pointed to Trump’s insistence that he’d swiftly bring down prices. Republicans say it’s much more complicated.
- Former Rubio Staffer Criticizes State Department’s Foreign Aid Freeze: The secretary of state is facing concerns from one of his own close allies.
- RFK Jr. Says Gender-Affirming Care Is ‘Catastrophic’ for Trans Children: President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing HHS to “take all appropriate actions to end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.”
- Virginia Lawmakers Have Been Warning About DCA Traffic for Years: Virginia lawmakers have a long track record of raising concerns about the airspace.
What We NOTUSed: Republicans Getting Real
The president’s cabinet nominees have mostly faced an enthusiastic reaction from Republican senators and a smooth path toward confirmation. But things were a little different on Thursday, when two of Trump’s most quixotic picks sat for hearings. Former Democrats Tulsi Gabbard and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. represent the MAGA movement’s loyalty-to-Trump-above-all ethos, but also have positions that make some conservatives uncomfortable.
Edward Snowden: Multiple senators set a hearing trap for Gabbard, NOTUS’ Shifra Dayak reports, pressing the DNI nominee again and again over her consistent support for Snowden. “This is a big deal to everybody here because it’s a big deal to everybody that you’ll oversee,” Sen. James Lankford said from the dais. Gabbard awkwardly ducked Lankford and Sen. Todd Young as they tried to pin her down on direct questions about whether Snowden is a traitor. (“Edward Snowden broke the law,” she said repeatedly.)
Vaccines: There was more feisty GOP senator hearing action during Kennedy’s second day of testimony, NOTUS’ Margaret Manto reports. Sen. Bill Cassidy fired off an “it’s a yes or no question” interruption while Kennedy gave a long answer after the senator asked him to state “unequivocally” that popular vaccines do not cause autism. (Kennedy eventually said he would, if the evidence shows it. Which it does.)
Normalizing Kash Patel
The GOP-in-opposition story was not a part of the other Senate hearing for a MAGA loyalist with outsider views, NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery reports. Rather than pressuring Kash Patel over past positions that, to say the least, clash with an institutionalist’s expectations for an FBI director, Republicans instead teased Democrats for asking those kinds of questions. Sen. Thom Tillis even posted a bingo game mocking Democrats for asking about Patel’s past.
“Enemies list” was not on Tillis’ bingo card. But Jose writes that Democrats asked about it, and Patel’s answers suggested using the FBI to punish government officials who investigated Trump in the first term.
NOTUS Exclusive: Democrats Dig Into HUD
Top Democrats on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee aren’t letting the Trump administration’s federal aid freeze slide without some answers. NOTUS’ Amelia Benavides-Colón got a first look at a letter Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith sent to Trump and the acting HUD secretary, Matthew Ammon, on Thursday.
“Congress and the public need answers on how your Administration’s reckless actions have and will affect Americans that rely on HUD programs, grants, and loans to buy or rent a home,” the senators wrote.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- Sam Bankman-Fried’s Parents Explore Seeking Trump Pardon for Son by Ava Benny-Morrison for Bloomberg
- FCC Chair Orders Investigation Into NPR and PBS Sponsorships by Benjamin Mullin and David McCabe for The New York Times
- Criminal records of Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump include rape, domestic violence by Tom Dreisbach for NPR
Be Social
Speedy Tina!
https://x.com/sentinasmith/status/1885059692629467483?s=46
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