Today’s notice: Democrats are swinging for the fences in swing states. Republicans on Capitol Hill swing at each other over reconciliation. And senators say Signal isn’t just for chatting about bombing Yemen.
A New Hope (for Democrats)
As Democrats suffer blow after blow to their brand and political prospects, they’re looking for hope in the very states that cost them the 2024 election — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic state Senate candidate James Malone won over Republican Josh Parsons on Tuesday by less than a single percentage point in Lancaster County, a largely GOP-held agricultural region west of Philadelphia. Donald Trump carried the district by 15 points not even five months ago. (Democrats also won a Pennsylvania House seat in Allegheny County that handed them a one-vote majority in the statehouse.)
In Wisconsin, the race between the liberal Judge Susan Crawford and the conservative Brad Schimel, the state’s former attorney general, will determine the ideological majority of the state’s supreme court. But as NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno and Nuha Dolby report, Democrats also view it as a test of Elon Musk’s political power. Musk has dumped millions behind Schimel in an attempt to cultivate a reputation as a kingmaker.
In Florida, Democrats are eyeing two long-shot special House races to show they’re at least chipping away at GOP strongholds. Democratic candidates Gay Valimont and Joshua Weil have massively outraised their Republican opponents, boasting a combined $16 million ahead of Tuesday’s races, NOTUS’ Katherine Swartz reports. And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is setting expectations high. He told reporters this week that the Democrats were “almost guaranteed” to significantly overperform.
“Chickens are starting to come home to roost,” Jeffries said. Although winning is likely out of the cards, even NRCC Chair Richard Hudson bemoaned his candidates’ lax campaign strategy.
Between Pennsylvania and the April 1 races, angsty Democrats and antsy Republicans will undoubtedly be watching for clues that their party is charting a solid course to 2026.
Oh, and if you’re already hearing 2028 buzz, you’re not alone. House Democrats are aware of the chatter around Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (some House progressives are encouraging a presidential run). She told NOTUS’ Tinashe Chingarande on Tuesday she’s focused on building energy for “right now.”
—Riley Rogerson
Who Are You to Judge Me?
As the legality of Trump’s deportation flights is deliberated in a federal appeals court, Republicans are engaging in their own deliberations — about how to respond to whatever is decided.
The Trump administration is preparing for any outcome, NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright, Daniella Diaz and Jose Pagliery report. And Trump and his allies are prepared to mount a full-scale campaign to limit judicial authority, if it comes to that.
Some options under consideration? Congress could take the lead. Sources say Republican leaders in both chambers aren’t rushing to impeach Judge James Boasberg. But Trump’s criticism of lower court judges is being acknowledged through legislation — like Rep. Darrell Issa’s bill to “limit judicial overreach” — and congressional hearings on judicial power.
Alternatively, the White House could be eager to move first, as the executive branch is stacked with Trump allies and acolytes.
“What you’re seeing is a very concerted plan unfold,” a strategist close to the White House said.
Front Page
- Religious Freedom Advocates Are at Odds With the White House: There’s a major divide between advocates and the Trump administration.
- Democrats Say They’re Furious Over FTC Firings — But Maybe Not Furious Enough to Block Trump’s Nominee: Democrats said they were “looking at all our options,” as outside groups push them to commit to blocking confirmations.
- Tulsi Gabbard and John Ratcliffe Skirt Democrats’ Questions on the Signal Group Chat: Senate Democrats called the chat dangerous.
- House Democrats Are Calling for Hegseth to Be Fired — Or Resign: “There’s no chance in hell that this was not classified information,” Rep. Eugene Vindman said.
Internecine Warfare Isn’t Just for Democrats
House Republicans are accusing their Senate counterparts of slow-walking their so-called “one big, beautiful bill,” NOTUS’ Ursula Perano, Daniella Diaz and Reese Gorman report.
“What are they waiting on? That’s what we’re asking,” Rep. Ralph Norman told NOTUS. “They got to move on it. They got to do something. And that’s why leadership, they were talking about it, putting the pressure on them.”
But even after Speaker Mike Johnson displayed some consensus-building chops by shepherding a budget resolution through the House last month, he faced his own internal uprising Tuesday. Reese, Daniella and NOTUS’ Oriana González report that a majority of Freedom Caucus members withheld their support on a procedural vote in protest of a discharge petition to allow new parents to use proxy voting.
In a testy stand-off with Majority Whip Tom Emmer, the caucus demanded leadership block the petition. Of course, that’s procedurally easier said than done.
Making matters messier, one of the sponsors, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, is also a Freedom Caucus member. And though Johnson has said he’s opposed to proxy voting on constitutional grounds, it looks like he has a good old-fashioned procedural fight on his hands.
Read the reconciliation story. | Read the discharge petition story.
Number You Should Know
46
The path for Democrats to win the House lies among 46 Republicans, according to an Emily’s List roster of vulnerable flip targets released today. Among the names are many you would expect, like the three Republicans (Reps. Don Bacon, Mike Lawler and Brian Fitzpatrick) who represent districts won by Kamala Harris in 2024.
But the pro-choice PAC is also putting some unexpected names “on notice,” like South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson and Ohio Rep. Max Miller, both of whom represent districts that have voted reliably Republican for decades.
—Violet Jira
Quotable: The Senate Is on Signal
What happened to The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg is pretty uncommon. But Signal usage among elected officials? Not so much.
NOTUS’ John T. Seward reports that senators and their staff are all over the encrypted messaging app — using it for private talks, just not for discussing classified information, they say.
- “We’ve actually encouraged folks, because of Salt Typhoon, to get off more of the traditional wireless networks and get onto more encrypted,” Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told NOTUS, citing the cyber espionage believed to be operated by China.
- “You can imagine foreign or domestic actors compromising our systems, getting access to privileged communications, and I wouldn’t want to release, for example, constituent information that was of a sensitive nature,” Sen. Todd Young said of using Signal.
Don’t try Sen. Rick Scott on the channel, though. “It’s a waste to use it for me because I don’t check it,” Scott told John.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- ‘It’s so unbelievable’: Cyber world stunned over war planners using Signal by Maggie Miller and Dana Nickel at Politico
- Trump Family Venture Plunges Deeper Into Crypto With New ‘Stablecoin’ by Vicky Ge Huang at The Wall Street Journal
- Trump Administration Plans to Freeze Family-Planning Grants by Laura Kusisto and Liz Essley Whyte at The Wall Street Journal
Be Social
The fallout continues.
Oh my God pic.twitter.com/BjoPKa2U93
— Olivia Julianna 🇺🇸🦅🗳️ (@0liviajulianna) March 25, 2025
Correction: Due to an error in a previous report, the March 25 edition of the newsletter included a misattributed quote. The quote was said by Obama-appointee U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett. The online edition of Tuesday’s newsletter and corresponding article have been updated to accurately reflect the speaker.
Have a Tip? Email Us. Reach us at tips@notus.org. As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on our newsletter at newsletters@notus.org.
Thank you for reading! If you like this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe (it’s free!).