Today’s notice: DNC’s collateral. Russia sanctions split 2028 Democratic hopefuls. Both parties are hoping to land the Latino vote. Why you’re still being bombarded with pharmaceutical ads. And: The “army of one” staffing the pandemic preparedness office.
THE LATEST
Just 99 days before the midterms, the daggers are out for Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, whose organization has $16 million on hand but $18 million in debt.
The scrutiny increased after NOTUS’ Elena Schneider and Jasmine Wright reported the DNC put up its headquarters near the Capitol as collateral last year to obtain a $15 million line of credit.
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“After spending all of 2025 paying 2024’s bills, we are heading toward Election Day with a DNC now focused on how to pay off a mortgage on their headquarters instead of winning elections,” a DNC member told NOTUS. “Ken Martin is losing pace on a debt treadmill of his own creation. Sooner or later he’ll have to step off or be thrown off.”
The DNC has used its facility for collateral previously — including in 2019, 2018 and 2014, a DNC official said. But Democrats aren’t too pleased that their national party is in the red so close to the midterms, especially as the Republican National Committee holds $128 million in cash with no outstanding debts.
“Ken gaslighting us about the DNC’s finances and not being transparent about the financial situation makes us doubt if he can oversee the DNC during the most important primary of our lifetime,” said another DNC member.
If that weren’t enough, sources told NOTUS that Martin has grown “paranoid” and is exhibiting “spiraling behavior.” One incident in which sources said he threw a phone in the direction of an aide, first reported by The New York Times, isn’t helping.
Rep. Sam LicCardo (D-California) put it bluntly on X last night: “Ken Martin must resign. As Democrats, we have become too captured by failing strategies. We must fail forward, and pivot. The urgency of this moment will not reward — and our children will not forgive — torpidity.”
A DNC official pointed NOTUS to a recent Substack post in which Martin wrote that the committee has raised more money than the DNC ever has without a Democrat in the White House and said it “will be ready to win — everywhere, at every level.” Payments on the line of credit aren’t due until January.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said yesterday that he still has Martin’s back. “The chairman has my full support,” Jeffries told reporters, per NOTUS’ Kadia Goba. “We look forward to our continued partnership.”
Speaking of Jeffries, he campaigned yesterday for Democrat Bob Brooks in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, though voters there told Kadia they weren’t sure Washington’s help was welcome.
Open tabs: Republicans see ‘scary’ lack of enthusiasm among core voters ahead of midterms (WaPo); An Admiral’s Rise Reveals the Politics Driving Hegseth’s Pentagon (NYT); The shrinking world of former president Joe Biden (WaPo); Troy Jackson Will Officially Be Maine’s Democratic Senate Nominee (NOTUS)
From the campaign trail
Democratic 2028 contenders are split over the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s Russia sanctions bill, a bipartisan move to authorize tariffs of up to 100% on the top five foreign purchasers of Russian crude oil and natural gas. The legislation doesn’t specify which countries could end up slapped with tariffs, a sticking point for potential White House hopefuls who want to cut into Russia’s financial lifeline but fear it hands Donald Trump too much sweeping power.
“Trump has shown himself to abuse tariff authority in a really reckless way that’s causing harm to our economy,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) told NOTUS’ Igor Bobic.
But Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) said helping Ukraine win is paramount: “There’s been a bipartisan effort for almost a year and a half now to pass this bill, and I think that we should pass it and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
Latino voters in a handful of congressional districts could determine who wins the House majority, and both parties are fighting over this key voting bloc in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Republicans want to keep Latinos who backed Trump on their side, while Democrats are hoping some have soured on the president and will return to their column.
“We can’t be critical of people who voted for Trump,” Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat in a tough bid for reelection in Texas’ 34th Congressional District, told NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz.
Daniel Garza, president of the Libre Initiative, a conservative Latino advocacy group, said, “We’re hearing a lot that Democrats have failed to give Latino voters something to vote for, that they’re focused more on who to vote against, and that is not good enough.”
From the administration
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long promised to ban drug commercials. But action toward that goal is moving slowly, NOTUS’ Paige Winfield Cunningham reports. What’s more, drugmakers are dropping more cash on the ads than they did a year ago. The top spenders? Makers of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, and of drugs to treat psoriasis and Crohn’s disease.
From the states
Democrats call it honesty, while Republicans call it evidence. The 6,600 noncitizens registered to vote in New Jersey were an anomaly, and being forthright about “isolated problems” strengthens trust in the broader election system because it “demonstrates that safeguards are working,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Virginia) told NOTUS’ Angie Orellana Hernandez.
Republicans, though, said the incident is evidence of larger election-integrity issues.
“The fact that this happened — with or without software playing a role — can neither be ignored by Congress nor dismissed as a simple, garden-variety computer glitch,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted.
NOTUS METRO
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Local news: D.C.’s Disabled Residents Have Dismal Transit Options. Would Waymo Help? By Zara Norman
Sports desk: What the Nationals’ First Deadline Deal Really Means, by Jesse Dougherty
A Player-Led Labor Effort Could Be a Sign of College Football’s Future, by Jesse Dougherty
The LeBron James Sixers Really Could Win it All, by Martenzie Johnson
NEW ON NOTUS
Lettuce get ahead of it. Before the Trump administration dismantled it, the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response had 15 employees. Following a string of outbreaks — most recently the lettuce-dwelling parasite that continues to sicken people across the country — the White House has re-staffed the office, but with only one health official plus a biosecurity specialist from the National Security Council, NOTUS’ Margaret Manto reports.
“That is a start, but it is not nearly enough,” one former White House official familiar with the health security functions at the preparedness office told Margaret. “You can’t run an office of pandemic preparedness and response policy as an army of one.”
More: Trump Ramps Up Threats Against Iran Despite Pause in Strikes, by Jenna Monnin
A Heritage Employee Was Caught With Drugs Trying to Get Into the Senate, Police Say, by Daniella Diaz
Trump Is Veering Toward Abandoning International Law, by Akbar Shahid Ahmed
NOT US
- Can This Man Save Democrats? By Jonathan Martin for Politico
- Unreleased Documentary Footage Captures Graham’s Obsessive Push for Iran War, by Josh Dawsey for The Wall Street Journal
- Trump Seems Trapped by Iran War, Even as He Wields the World’s Biggest Hammer, by David E. Sanger for The New York Times
WEEK AHEAD
Today
Trump travels to Michigan to speak about the economy.
The National Conference of State Legislatures meets in Chicago, with opening remarks by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt.
Tuesday
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral at the National Cathedral, with Trump delivering remarks.
Trump hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.
Trump hosts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House.
Filing period closes for candidates running in the South Carolina special GOP Senate primary.
Special election for Georgia’s 13th Congressional District.
Wednesday
South Carolina memorial services for Graham.
The Fed announces its latest decision on interest rates.
Anthony Fauci appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Thursday
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the National Bar Association’s annual convention in Nashville.
Friday
Trump holds a Cabinet meeting at Camp David.
Harris and Pete Buttigieg speak at the National Urban League’s annual conference.
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call via AP.
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