Today’s notice: Trump faces backlash over deployment comments. The Body Guy Caucus. Lawmakers vs. “The Donroe Doctrine.” James Talarico’s overmaxed donors. The NIH’s grant holdup. And: A far-right party on the rise in Germany.
THE LATEST
It’s day 269 of the USS Abraham Lincoln’s record-breaking deployment that has service members’ families worried about their well-being. President Donald Trump responded to a question about that concern by saying the deployment hasn’t gone on “nearly long enough.”
Trump ordered the U.S. joint military exercises with South Korea — which start today — to be substantially reduced, not only because they are costly but also because they “send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile” to North Korea and, as the president put it, “somewhat unrelated (?)” because South Korea didn’t lend a hand with Iran.
Trending
Trump’s support among military ranks has been strong since his first election, according to polling earlier this year, but his moves are fresh fodder for those who say he’s dismissive of Americans serving in uniform.
“For a guy who called those who put their lives on the line ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’ these latest comments are consistent,” retired Army Gen. Paul Eaton, a senior adviser to the progressive group VoteVets, told us. “It just keeps sending the message that he doesn’t respect or even grasp all our troops and military families have given and continue to give. How much it hurts recruiting and retention, I can’t say. I can say it doesn’t help.”
“The response of the president of the United States pisses me off. And it should piss all of us off,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat and a U.S. Army veteran, told CNN yesterday. “We are continuing to fight this foreign forever war for a commander-in-chief who seems to have not one modicum of concern for the people who are out there fighting it.”
Relief appears to be on the way for the USS Abraham Lincoln and its 5,000 sailors and Marines, with the USS George Washington en route to replace it.
Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, visited the Lincoln over the weekend and described his time aboard the aircraft carrier as “awe-inspiring,” adding that the ship reports the “lowest number of cases related to mental health” of the Navy’s 11 active aircraft carriers.
“To all our Sailors and Marines aboard the ship,” the admiral said, “keep up the great work and fair winds and following seas on the journey home.”
Open tabs: AIPAC Targets Progressive Democrat in Race to Replace Swalwell (NYT); Hamas leaders tell Kushner they will demilitarize Gaza, sources say (Axios); Crowley leads Tiffany by four points in new head-to-head poll of likely voters (WPR); Trump turns to containing the fallout from setbacks in Iran (LAT)
From the Hill
It’s called the “Body Guy Caucus,” though some are women. NOTUS’ Hill team goes inside the strange and often silly world of the most secretive aides in the Senate: the people who follow senators around, and maybe know their ATM PINs. All are required to wear many hats, including valet, scheduler, traffic cop and sometimes even emotional support animal. One describes having to carry around a false tooth that had fallen out of their boss’ mouth. “It is literally Gary from ‘Veep,’” one former body person said. “It is the most accurate description of the job that we do.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says his body guy, Lee Dudley, is essential. But other senators pointedly do not have one. “I’d rather be alone, not have a tagalong. I’m also one of those people who has personal space, and I know that I need more personal space than a lot of Easterners do,” said Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming).
Regional leftists vs. “The Donroe Doctrine:” Rep. Pramila Jayapal and 10 other like-minded U.S. lawmakers blasted Trump’s foreign policy interventions in the Western Hemisphere ahead of the Panamerican Congress, a gathering of progressive legislators from across the two continents, NOTUS’ Akbar Shahid Ahmed tells us. The American lawmakers urged “respect for sovereignty” in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
From the campaign trail
Following the money: James Talarico’s megadonors. Scores of donors for the Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas are exceeding federal donation limits, with regulators at the FEC recently identifying 143 such donors who gave more than the maximum allowed, NOTUS’ Torrie Herrington and Mark Alfred report. Every quarter since the campaign’s inception, the FEC has flagged this problem — and the campaign has responded with a reported 534 refunds totaling more than $840,000. Another quarter-million dollars or so worth of refunds or reattributions are expected.
Many of the donors who exceeded the FEC limit on contributions didn’t make a single large contribution. Rather, their small-dollar donations added up to more than the $3,500 cap. “I got a check for the $1,000 refunded with a suggestion to sign it over to, I think it was the national Democratic Party,” one donor, a retired woman from San Antonio, told NOTUS. She’s had 20 of her donations to Talarico flagged as exceeding the legal limits.
From HHS
NIH’s “graveyard for grants:” Doling out federal grant money is a key responsibility of the National Institutes of Health. And, as you may imagine, there is a dizzying amount of red tape required: editing and review steps, peer review and a second look by an advisory council — often due to federal statute. But in Trump 2.0, a new hurdle has emerged, NOTUS’ Paige Winfield Cunningham reports.
Status 19 — an administrative code describing awards with senior leadership sign-off — is being used as the holding cell for grants as they undergo extra political review. Internal grant review documents that Paige obtained show officials flagged words including “diverse,” “equity,” “structural” and “underrepresented,” and asked for more clarification in projects that focused on health disparities or racial groups.
The reviews are holding many grants — and grant renewals — in political limbo. NIH disputes that. A spokesperson said grants can remain in Status 19 for five to 10 days while they are given final review by the Office of Extramural Research. “There is no political appointee review stage in the NIH grant review process,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
NOTUS METRO
Sign up for our local newsletter, written by Martin Austermuhle and Zara Norman.
Local news: After a Summer of Uncertainty and Panic, a Howard Freshman Moves In, by Shamira Muhammad
Sports desk: Five Takeaways From the Commanders’ Preseason Win Over the Dolphins, by Martenzie Johnson
NEW ON NOTUS
A far-right party is on the rise in Germany, and it could have lasting global effects. Ulrich Siegmund, a candidate for Alternative for Germany (known as AfD), is currently leading in polls to become the head of government in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz reports from Berlin. An AfD win in one state “signals to other elections that are coming up that it’s possible for them to win,” according to Lukas Stöetzer, a political science professor at the University of Witten/Herdecke.
Germany’s modern political system was designed to prevent far-right rule — with the country’s mainstream parties generally disavowing coalition building with the AfD. The country has the European Union’s largest economy and is a strategic pillar of NATO, but the AfD could dial back Germany’s support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
More: Ken Martin Is Open to Change at the DNC, by Alex Roarty and Elena Schneider
Data Centers Are Defining the Wisconsin Governor’s Race, by Marissa Martinez
Trump Administration Greenlights World Liberty Financial Bank Charter, Jade Lozada
Blanche Says DOJ Could Take Voter Roll Fight to the Supreme Court, by Jenna Monnin
NOT US
- Democrats Face a Potential Tea Party Moment, by Lisa Lerer and Katie Glueck for The New York Times
- Republicans are attacking Democrats as vegans on the campaign trail, by Samuel Benson for Politico
- How Trump Left America Vulnerable to Cyberattacks, by Nick Miroff and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez for The Atlantic
WEEK AHEAD
Tuesday
Primary day in Alaska, Florida and Wyoming.
Special election in California’s 14th Congressional District to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell.
Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman debate ahead of the Aug. 25 Republican Senate runoff in South Carolina.
Thursday
Democratic Senate primary debate in Massachusetts.
Hearing in the case of Cole Allen, the suspect in the shooting at the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Jose Luis Magana/AP.
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