Today’s notice: It’s not exactly the recess week House Democrats had planned. It’s exactly the recess week House Republicans dreamed of. Meanwhile: We never go on recess. Read on for reporting on abortion politics and deportations. Plus: Dems say friendship ended with Elon.
Dems Step on Themselves
It was basically impossible to find a full-throated endorsement of Senate Democrats’ vote in support of the House GOP spending bill, no matter where one looked. Outside of Washington, especially, party members were united in dismay. Setting aside for a few minutes the ongoing debate about what it means to be a Democrat nowadays, everyone was collectively pointing to the Senate — where 10 Democrats joined Republicans to overcome a filibuster on the spending bill — and saying, we can all agree it’s not that. (Only Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted for the final bill.)
“[Senate Minority Leader Chuck] Schumer has a hard job, there’s no doubt about it. But there’s this feeling that Washington keeps saying, ‘This isn’t the moment for this, this isn’t the moment for that,’” Fight Agency co-founder Rebecca Katz told NOTUS. “There’s a feeling outside of Washington of, ‘OK, when the f— is the moment?’”
The Democratic grassroots is certainly quite activated against the party establishment at the moment. Amanda Litman of Run for Something told NOTUS on Sunday that since Schumer announced he’d vote for cloture, her group has experienced a huge uptick in interest. “Friday was one of our biggest single days of candidate recruitment since Trump took office,” Litman said. Those higher numbers continued through the weekend. Litman said it shows that anger runs deep: “That some Democrats in the Senate failed to meet the moment is going to lead to broad change across the party at every level.”
Schumer leaned in, telling The New York Times over the weekend he knew the internal politics were going to be rough. “For me, the shutdown of the government would just be devastating and far worse than the Republican CR,” he said.
If that argument has legs, this particular round of Democratic friendly fire will be over soon. If not, Democrats might be living in this moment for a long while. As NOTUS reports, this recess week could be particularly poorly timed for moving on.
Democrats have planned a series of in-person town halls in red districts as a way to heckle House Republican members who have stepped back from meeting their constituents face-to-face. But now those events will be held with the Senate vote for the House spending bill as a backdrop. Rep. Ro Khanna, who is set to host several of these town halls, told NOTUS that “the bulk of the anger is still going to be directed at [Elon] Musk, [JD] Vance and [Donald] Trump.”
We’ll see!
—Evan McMorris-Santoro | Read the blowback story. | Read the recess story.
Meanwhile, Some Long-Awaited GOP Gloating
The past week was a big one for the party unity Speaker Mike Johnson has been trying to establish since he was put in charge of House Republicans, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman reports.
“For once, it’s nice to see Democrats be the ones clawing each others’ eyes out while Republicans cheer from the sidelines,” a House GOP leadership aide told Reese. “Maybe we should do this more often.”
The House GOP “felt like they were on the front foot for the first time in months.” Reese writes.
Front Page
- The CR Would Give Pete Hegseth ‘Blanket Authority’ Over Defense Spending: The spending bill includes a carveout for Defense Secretary Hegseth to control the start and stop of contracts and programs for the next six months.
- Trump Listed Out His Political Enemies for the Justice Department: The president made a rare trip to the Department of Justice, in which he criticized his past political enemies, including law enforcement at the agency.
Where the Trump Administration Is Taking Its Time
The move-fast-and-break-things Trump administration is — so far — moving slowly on abortion pills, NOTUS’ Oriana González and Jose Pagliery report. In several legal cases that Trump’s DOJ inherited from the Biden administration regarding mifepristone access, the administration is effectively keeping things just as they are for the time being, and asking judges for time “to familiarize itself with the issues” before deciding how it tackles the cases.
One federal judge in Virginia is forcing the issue, however, saying the administration has had more than enough time. That means this week we may get a look at how the administration plans to navigate abortion pill access.
…and Where It’s Plowing Right Ahead (Court Orders Be Damned)
On Saturday, President Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1789 to facilitate the deportation of more than 200 alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang to El Salvador, but was immediately ordered by a federal judge to stop the deportations and turn around the planes carrying the alleged members. Trump didn’t.
“Oopsie… Too late,” President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador wrote on X of the judge’s order. White House communications director Steven Cheung shared the post, accompanied by a GIF of Denzel Washington’s character from “Training Day.”
The administration, which is not denying it ignored the judge’s order, is already assailing critics of its actions. Sen. Chris Murphy decried the invocation of the act as “another unconstitutional power grab.” Trump official Alex Pfeiffer, in turn, labeled Murphy “(D-Tren de Aragua).”
Don’t expect this fight to be over anytime soon: “This is headed to the Supreme Court. And we’re going to win,” one White House official told Axios.
—Mark Alfred
Trading in the Tesla
Even after spending over a quarter-billion dollars to reelect Donald Trump, Elon Musk remained on OK terms with some Democrats well into late 2024. In a November interview with NOTUS, astronaut-turned-Sen. Mark Kelly praised Musk’s work at SpaceX. Days later, Musk was praising Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna as “a sensible moderate” — just one of their many friendly interactions online. Those relationships are now in tatters as Dems rail against Musk’s efforts to gut the federal government and he in turn ridicules them online.
Khanna told NOTUS last week that the pair haven’t spoken since “he insulted me on Twitter.” Kelly, who Musk assailed recently as a “traitor” for visiting and supporting Ukraine, marked their separation on Friday by ditching his Tesla for a Chevy Tahoe.
“Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an asshole,” Kelly said in a video posted to the Musk-owned X.
—Mark Alfred
Week Ahead
- President Trump is expected to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin about a temporary ceasefire, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN.
- The United Kingdom, France and dozens of other countries allied with Ukraine will meet in London to discuss post-war protections should Ukraine reach a peace deal.
- Vice President Vance is slated to headline the American Dynamism summit, delivering an address on AI.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- Does John Thune Have a Red Line When It Comes to Trump? by Michael Kruse for Politico
- After JD Vance is booed, Kennedy Center head urges ‘diversity and inclusion’ by Kelsey Ables, Michael Andor Brodeur and Travis M. Andrews for The Washington Post
- Rep. Nancy Mace sued for libel and defamation after making public accusations of abuse by Caitlin Byrd for The Post and Courier
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