Clown Car, 2028 Edition

Today’s notice: 2028 is shaping up to top 2020’s Democratic free-for-all. RFK Jr.’s love for supplements goes up against MAHA. Colorado may not be high on incumbents. What’s next in the House is kinda anyone’s guess now, but members will still be home for the parades.

THE LATEST

No one is ready for what 2028 is actually going to be like, more than three dozen veterans of Democratic politics told NOTUS’ Alex Roarty, Elena Schneider and Jasmine.

Potential players sound like oracles of doom. “If we thought 2020 was a clusterfuck, this is going to put that to shame,” said Rebecca Pearcey, political director for the presidential campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). Our reporters found a lot of quotes like that.

Here’s a primer on why every Democrat you know will be developing a visible nervous tic right after the midterms end.

• Too many candidates. Obama campaign vet Jim Messina says he’s personally spoken with more than 20 Democrats considering a presidential run (he didn’t name names). “It is as wide open as anything I can remember,” he said. Generally, voters like large fields and political professionals really do not.
• The map is a mess. The DNC is still setting the early-state schedule, and Iowa Democrats are threatening to go rogue by holding their caucus early regardless of the committee’s decision, which could prompt 2028 candidates to also circumvent the DNC’s process. “If Iowa is driving attention, then yeah, we’ll go there,” an adviser to a potential 2028 candidate said.

• The DNC is also a mess, generally. “I don’t have faith that the leadership of the DNC will be able to execute a fair debate process that will allow every candidate to not only participate but be heard on the stage,” a top aide to a different potential candidate said.
  

Some other interesting scoopy stuff: Many top staffers are angling to work for Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) if he runs. And top party officials have been approaching multiple influencers about participating in a possible creator-led debate (sounds like a great opportunity for party folks to have another multi-week freakout about Hasan Piker).

Oh! One other thing: Kamala Harris. Another run by the former VP could change everything the moment it’s announced. Is that gonna happen? “Kamala and her allies have been looking at the press around 2028 and don’t believe anybody can clear the field,” a source familiar with Kamalaland said.

Open tabs: Supreme Court Clears the Way for Trump to Dismantle TPS (NOTUS); House Dem centrists plot Mamdani Caucus counterattack (Axios); Inside the C.D.C.’s Mad Scramble to Meet Kennedy’s Demands (NYT); DOJ Must Release More Epstein Files by July 2, Judge Rules (NOTUS)

From HHS

The supplement industry has a warning for MAHA: We’ve told you about how the processed food industry hates Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s moves against the “generally recognized as safe” ingredient rule, which MAHA says allows untested and unhealthy chemicals into the food supply. But NOTUS’ Paige Winfield Cunningham reports that an industry near and dear to RFK Jr. and his followers is also against sweeping changes to the rule.

“I think it’s quite possible [the administration] was not aware of how important GRAS is to dietary supplements,” Steve Mister, president of a trade association for the food industry and supplement manufacturers, said. Kennedy says he takes so many supplements, he can’t recall them all.

From the campaign trail

Colorado rocky for Bennet? State Attorney General Phil Weiser is threatening to upset Sen. Michael Bennet in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, NOTUS’ Elena Schneider reports, as incumbency at the federal level isn’t a selling point. “When you’re in Washington, you’re not getting things done, and you’re seen as complicit in some way. It is a tough brand,” Weiser said.

Bennet’s response: “I don’t think that I’ve been somebody who’s contributed to the stupidity of that place, or to the permanent games of shirts and skins, but I could see why somebody might, you know, wonder about that, or might ask questions about that.”

That insurgent streak is also bleeding into one of Colorado’s big U.S. House races, where Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette is facing one of the toughest primary challenges of her 30-year congressional career, Elena writes from Denver. She’s squaring up against democratic socialist Melat Kiros, who was born after DeGette took office. While DeGette has the money, Kiros might have the momentum. The Gen Z attorney told Elena that she’s seen an uptick in donations and volunteers since the DSA’s near sweep in New York.

“I think we’re going to see the same thing happening here in Denver on Tuesday because voters want to see elected leaders that are unbought and unafraid,” Kiros said.

From the Hill

What a week in Congress: President Donald Trump is now telling the House to get moving and stop the grandstanding after he himself threw both chambers into chaos when, in a fit over wanting to pass the SAVE America Act, he refused to sign a bipartisan housing bill meant to address voters’ affordability concerns. In support of Trump’s point, a group of conservatives vowed to shut down the House floor. But after a meeting yesterday with Speaker Mike Johnson, Trump changed his position, hoping to quell the mutiny, NOTUS’ Stephen Neukam and Reese Gorman report.

What comes next is anyone’s guess. Johnson says the housing bill is on its way to the White House now, though there’s no guidance on when Trump could or would sign it. (Since it’s been officially transmitted, and if the House returns in session next week as planned, the bill would become law after 10 days if Trump does nothing.) Ideally, House members could swing back through D.C. and still make it home for the Fourth of July parades.

Meanwhile, in the other chamber, two dozen Senate Democrats are asking for more details from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on an exclusive report from NOTUS that found the Pentagon is quietly delaying cleanup timelines for “forever chemical” containment sites at military posts around the country, NOTUS’ Joe Gould reports.

NOTUS METRO

Sign up for our new local newsletter. NOTUS has added some of the best reporters covering D.C.-area news, sports and culture. Sign up for all the latest!

Local news: D.C. Rental Hosts Are Cashing In on July Fourth, by Zara Norman

Sports desk: How a Rock-Bottom Moment Propelled the Mystics to New Heights, by Dave Sheinin

NOTUS PERSPECTIVES

“Choosin’ Texas” is one of the biggest country crossover hits ever — and a perfect song for our political moment because of its parallels to the high-stakes Senate race between James Talarico and Ken Paxton. Music critic Chris Richards explains.

NEW ON NOTUS

The Democratic Tea Party, or something like it, is on the verge of sweeping through Congress next year, and though its numbers are still relatively small, it’s a far-left version of the Freedom Caucus that could make governing inside the caucus difficult should Democrats take back the House, NOTUS’ Paul Kane writes.

“So, if you come here and try to be the [liberal] Freedom Caucus, that’s a problem,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-New York) told PK. The dueling perspective? Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) says it’s the responsibility of veteran lawmakers to help new members.

“It takes two to tango, right? I think these relationships and dynamics are not just determined by these new folks that are coming in, but they are also determined by how they are received,” she said.

More: Labor Union Reported Political Embezzlement Allegations to FBI, Local Police, by Taylor Giorno

A Judge Won’t Drop the Lawsuit Against Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund, by Derek Hawkins

NOT US

• The Dems already had AOC. Now they have DAC. By Jason Beeferman, Madison Fernandez and Chris Sommerfeldt for Politico
• Ben Shapiro Has No Regrets—Except Hiring Candace Owens, by Emily Tamkin for Vanity Fair
• Vanilla Ice Knows When America Was Great, by Spencer Kornhaber for The Atlantic
• How Bad an Idea Was Brexit? By Ishaan Tharoor for The New Yorker

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The newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe, Thomas Burr, Brett Bachman and Andrew Burton. Photo by Bill Clark/AP.