Today’s notice: It’s pronounced nu-cu-lar. Senators making plans. Trump posting through it.
Letting Them Cook
Speaker Mike Johnson has been warning the Senate against making major changes to the reconciliation bill, telling CNN on Sunday that it’s “best not to meddle with it too much.” But Senate Republicans have their own plans, and those plans definitely do not include caring what the House has to say.
Sen. Ted Cruz said he expects “considerable changes in the Senate” to the bill. Sen. Thom Tillis called it “a good start,” but “we have work to do.”
Senate Republican leader John Thune can only lose up to three Republican votes on reconciliation, so he’s giving his caucus room to write a bill they can get behind. Current conservative bill skeptics (read: they want to see a lot more spending cuts) include Sens. Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee and Rick Scott — enough “no” votes to keep it from passing. And many others, like Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have expressed their own reservations about cutting too much. (Sound familiar?)
Whether that’s something that can pass the House is a problem for later, but expect major changes to the reconciliation bill in the coming weeks, per NOTUS’ Ursula Perano and Em Luetkemeyer. Think sledgehammer not scalpel.
Donald Trump will be involved — Sen. Tommy Tuberville said everyone should “expect calls” this week from the president, even if his arm-twisting doesn’t go as far as it did in the House. For now, though, it seems, Trump is going to let the greatest deliberative body deliberate.
“I want the Senate and the senators to make the changes they want, and we’ll go back to the House and we’ll see if we can get them,” Trump told reporters this weekend. “In some cases, those changes are maybe something I’d agree with. … Some will be minor and some will be fairly significant.”
Read about the coming Senate sledgehammer.
You Can’t Handle the Truth Social, Memorial Day Edition
Trump had a busy Memorial Day weekend.
He hosted a crypto dinner for investors in $TRUMP. He reorganized and shrank the National Security Council. He significantly altered his planned tariffs for the EU. He advised West Point graduates to avoid “a lot of trophy wives, it doesn’t work.” He golfed.
He also posted a lot on Truth Social. Here’s a sampling:
Friday: “I have long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhone’s that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else. If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25% must be paid by Apple to the U.S. Thank your for your attention to this matter!”
Sunday, part 2: “I’ve always had a very good relationship with Vladimir Putin of Russia, but something has happened to him. He has gone absolutely CRAZY! He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I’m not just talking about soldiers.”
Monday: “HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL, INCLUDING THE SCUM THAT SPENT THE LAST FOUR YEARS TRYING TO DESTROY OUR COUNTRY THROUGH WARPED RADICAL LEFT MINDS.” [It goes on like this.]
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- How Trump saved his big bill by killing a Venezuela oil deal, by Marc Caputo for Axios
- Six Months Later, Democrats Are Still Searching for the Path Forward, by Shane Goldmacher for The New York Times
- In an uneasy climate, diverse pride groups converge on DC with differing interests but common goals, by Gary Fields, Christine Fernando and Mike Pesoli for AP
- The Not-So-Secret Society Whose Members Run State, by Nahal Toosi for Politico
Injunction Junction
Rare bipartisan agreement alert! Senators in both parties think it’s time for the Supreme Court to give some clarity on whether lower courts can block policies nationwide.
“If the Supreme Court won’t clarify it … then Congress ought to,” Republican Sen. Josh Hawley told NOTUS’ Oriana González. “We ought to make clear that district courts cannot bind parties who are not in front of them. And that’s true for whoever appoints them, Democrat or Republican.”
“I think there needs to be some clarity,” Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, the Judiciary Committee’s ranking member, echoed to Oriana. That is “a question that was debated within the court quite extensively.”
Going Nuclear
President Trump issued a flurry of executive orders on Friday designed to make building nuclear power plants faster and easier and making some dramatic changes to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Those orders could boost and speed up things for nuclear production, NOTUS’ Anna Kramer reports. But the industry also wants to see the soon-to-be overhauled NRC stay a “trusted player.”
Get the details of Trump’s orders and the current industry vibe.
What’s Next for the Public Religious Charter School Fight
The Supreme Court deadlocked last week over the case of an Oklahoma-funded religious charter school, effectively handing opponents of taxpayer funding for the school a win.
But the school’s boosters don’t think the fight is over. It’s a “nondecision,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said on social media. He and others say all they need to do is find a case Justice Amy Coney Barrett doesn’t feel the need to recuse herself from.
More on the fallout from the ruling from Em Leutkemeyer.
Front Page
- Democrats Hope Calling Out Republicans on the National Debt Can Stop the Reconciliation Bill: Get ready to hear a lot from Democrats about the national debt.
- Republicans Passed Their Reconciliation Bill ‘in the Dead of Night.’ Can Democrats Make It an Issue? Democrats hope their attacks on the reconciliation bill process are potent.
- Trump Backtracks on Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel Merger, Announcing ‘Partnership’: The “partnership” follows an expensive lobbying campaign by both companies.
- FEMA Cuts Raise Questions and Concerns About the Trump Administration’s Storm Readiness: Democrats are demanding answers on DHS’s plans for hurricane season, as Republicans ask for expedited FEMA funds for tornado recovery.
Week Ahead
- It’s recess, and there are town halls scheduled all over. Most are hosted by Democrats, but at least two Republicans – Reps. Mike Bost and Mike Flood – are holding in-person meetings this week.
- The House Homeland Security Committee will hold a hearing on cybersecurity in Silicon Valley Wednesday.
Have a Tip? Email Us.
Reach us at tips@notus.org. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our newsletter at newsletters@notus.org.
Thank you for reading! If you like this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe (it’s free!).