Today’s notice: Donald Trump, president/press secretary? Pentagon squares off with the press. Anti-fraud efforts may impede Californians’ health care. And: Election officials are concerned about the USPS rule.
THE LATEST
A secretary of state who is also national security adviser and, for a time, the acting archivist of the United States and the acting administrator of USAID. A transportation secretary who doubled as NASA administrator. The head of the Office of Management and Budget who serves as senior adviser at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A vice president/RNC finance chairman in one. And a treasury secretary who ran the IRS too for a while.
But no press secretary.
Trending
Karoline Leavitt has departed her White House role but Donald Trump has yet to name her successor, and it’s not clear whom he favors. In the interim, the president may tap a rotating cast of Cabinet officials to take turns sparring with the press. (Meme-making Marco Rubio, for one, delighted in his time at the lectern.)
It’s been a theme in Trump 2.0 for his top officials to take on multiple roles, a move that has some worrying they may be over-tasked.
“Relying regularly on senior officials to serve in two, three and sometimes even four important roles simultaneously is yet another example of this administration embracing poor management,” Max Stier, the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, told us.
“It’s common sense that fielding a full team rather than requiring players to try to juggle multiple roles leads to better results,” Stier added. “But the stakes are much higher when we are talking about leading our government, and Americans will suffer further because of this governance malpractice.”
Trump also prefers to speak for himself, repeatedly making some of his administration’s biggest announcements on his personal Truth Social account. And it looks like he could be even more accessible in the run-up to the midterms. Fox News’ Peter Doocy reports that Trump may hold daily rallies in October, which would probably make news more often than a White House press briefing anyway.
Open tabs: Inside Trump’s Plan to Give the Pentagon a Stake in Venezuela’s Oil Riches (WSJ); USDA cyclospora research projects shelved amid funding cuts and relocations (Politico); Google Maps Changes Lake Ontario to Lake America (NYT)
From the Pentagon
Pete Derangement Syndrome: “It’s TDS and PDS — they hate President Trump and Secretary Hegseth more than they love America,” Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell posted on X yesterday, apparently referencing Trump Derangement Syndrome and what we assume is Pete Derangement Syndrome after his boss, Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth’s only job, he said Friday, is to Make the Department of War Great Again, and not run for president, as NBC had reported earlier that day he was considering, sparking Hegseth’s fury and a weekend of battling the press. Parnell took on The Washington Post yesterday for reporting that Pentagon brass warned that a sustained, large-scale military operation against Iran is unsustainable and risks America’s ability to confront threats across the globe and at home. As NOTUS’ Joe Gould writes, Parnell said the media “hate President Trump and Secretary Hegseth more than they love America.”
Seeking to combat that, Hegseth has installed his own influencer army with large online followings in government roles, the Post also reported yesterday, a team paid by taxpayers to amplify and defend Hegseth and Trump.
Friday also marked six months of America’s war against Iran, one that has had its starts and stops, its very own Versailles peace agreement, a closed-but-open Strait of Hormuz and, so far, 18 U.S. service member deaths and more than 750 injuries. After more than a week without fighting, the U.S. struck Iranian rocket launchers near the strait yesterday. Iran retaliated with its own strikes.
THE BIG ONE
Health care in limbo: Thousands of Californians unable to feed, bathe and dress themselves have struggled for years to find caregivers, leading the state to grow its in-home care program. But as the Trump administration ramps up its anti-fraud crusade, it’s targeting the program’s fast growth as evidence of fraud, NOTUS’ Paige Winfield Cunningham and Natalie Alms report. The feds have paused over $2 billion in Medicaid funds, leaving the future of a key program in the balance.
California officials told Paige and Natalie that the administration has been unable to point the state toward evidence of fraud in the program, and that they’re working to provide CMS the information it has requested. The funding pause is political, the California officials say, making an issue out of a program that has traditionally been prioritized by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“If CMS is able to point out strong or major fraud concerns, we’d be happy to know about it,” California Medicaid Director Tyler Sadwith told our team. “Unfortunately, they haven’t done that.”
NOTUS METRO
Sign up for our local newsletter, written by Martin Austermuhle and Zara Norman.
Local news: At East Potomac Park, Trees Are Falling and Tensions Are Rising, by Shamira Muhammad
Sports desk: Six Takeaways From the Commanders’ Roster Cuts, by Martenzie Johnson
After a Much-Needed Win, the Spirit Hopes to Regain Momentum, by Alex Schiffer
NEW ON NOTUS
Problems predicted: Election officials in nearly half of the states say in declarations in federal court that implementing the U.S. Postal Service’s new mail ballot rule would cause significant turmoil in their plans for the midterm elections, with plenty of signs that voters would lose their chance to vote. NOTUS’ Adora Brown sorted through the warnings as election officials ready ballots for the midterms.
“Given the very short time available and the untested technology that the Rule relies on, I have profound concerns that the Rule will prevent eligible voters from voting, including in the November 2026 general election,” North Carolina Assistant Deputy Attorney General Marc Brunton said in the court filings.
North Carolina, by the way, is slated to start mailing out ballots this Friday.
More: DHS Deports Far-Right Provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, by Marissa Martinez
Mike Lindell Vows to Appeal Minnesota Loss to the U.S. Supreme Court, by Manuela Silva
Yosemite Is Facing More Development. It’s Already Overtaxed. By Anna Kramer
NOT US
- Lawmakers added $1 to Texans’ car insurance policies. That money paid for thousands of Flock cameras. By Ayden Runnels for The Texas Tribune
- How Trump’s Policy Agenda Runs Through One Federal Court, in Texas, by Zach Montague and Mattathias Schwartz for The New York Times
- Avoiding the family drama: How Josh Kushner built a $16-billion legacy and became the newest owner of the Lakers, by Laurence Darmiento for The Los Angeles Times
WEEK AHEAD
Today
The House returns from recess.
Vice President JD Vance speaks at a MAGA Inc. event in Michigan.
Former President Barack Obama speaks at a National Democratic Redistricting Committee fundraiser in Martha’s Vineyard.
The House Intelligence Committee meets at the Flight 93 memorial in Pennsylvania.
Tuesday
Nebraska Senate debate between Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts and independent Dan Osborn.
Primary elections in Massachusetts.
Wednesday
California Gov. Gavin Newsom visits Alabama as part of his “Take It Back” tour.
Thursday
Hearing in federal court in Massachusetts on the new challenge to the USPS rule on mail-in ballots.
Newsom visits South Carolina.
Friday
Bureau of Labor Statistics releases monthly employment data.
Newsom visits North Carolina.
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Ken Cedeno/Sipa/AP.
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