Today’s notice: Another Cabinet member gone. What Virginia’s data guru is expecting from tonight’s redistricting vote. The DOJ is leaving nothing to chance as it chases another Trump foe. The Democratic left is pushing for a federal jobs program. Plus: Republicans shrug off a cooling housing market.

THE LATEST

Another woman in Trump’s Cabinet is out: For those counting, Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s resignation yesterday from her role as labor secretary marked the third time since January a woman was pushed out of Donald Trump’s Cabinet. One Republican operative, a woman, texted Jasmine: “No DEI. Merit over gender and race.”

A male Republican operative texted: “He’s an equal opportunity employer and an equal opportunity unemployer.”

But of course Chavez-DeRemer, and Pam Bondi before her, and Kristi Noem before her, are not the only Cabinet members to get mired in embarrassing and distracting scandals. Kash Patel has been in a feud over his alleged drinking habits, Pete Hegseth had Signalgate and Howard Lutnick still has uncomfortable Epstein connections. They all still have jobs.

“Go watch the apprentice lmao,” a second female Republican operative texted, harking back to the brash style Trump presented on his hit TV show. “He definitely doesn’t think about the optics,” she said. But both women conceded the reshuffling has the makings of a narrative. Are Republican women in Washington talking about it? “For sure,” the second operative said.

Virginia is for nail-biters: Today is a major day for Democrats who want to redraw congressional districts. After California voters overwhelmingly voted to redistrict in response to a Trump-encouraged effort in red states, Democrats rushed to change the maps in blue states. But redistricting momentum has petered out considerably in Democrats’ East Coast strongholds. New York and Maryland appear unable or unwilling to do it.

In Virginia, the proposed 10-1 Democratic gerrymander will be a test of just how purple the place still is. “The early vote is roughly 3% redder than 2025, according to the State Navigate interactive,” Chaz Nuttycombe, the commonwealth’s data guru, told us. “Republicans are excited to vote in this thing.”

But he’s still predicting the “yes” win Democrats want, based on Trump’s poor numbers in the state and an energized Democratic base that turned out strongly in recent elections.

What to watch for: “This race is going to have higher turnout and a closer result than what we expected in January,” Nuttycombe told us. “Our poll has ‘yes’ by 5, so we’ll see if we’re right.”

What to think about: This vote could be a big effing deal, former top Obama operative Dan Pfeiffer told us ahead of the launch of his new subscription-based political consulting service. “Tonight’s vote in Virginia is a test of Democrats’ newfound willingness to toss aside norms and push for maximum political advantage,” he said, “and it will tell us whether Republicans can reenergize their base by nationalizing the election.”

Open tabs: What We Learned From a Secret Deposition of Ken Paxton (WSJ); Uncertainty reigns at DOJ in the aftermath of Bondi’s departure (WaPo); Nancy Mace Introduces Resolution to Expel Her Republican Colleague (NOTUS); Trump is quietly seeking allies to fix Gaza, says Norway (Politico)

From the DOJ

Venue shopping the John Brennan indictment? Several current and former prosecutors told NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery that’s exactly what the newly appointed lawyer overseeing the prosecution of the former CIA director is doing. The DOJ is alleging that Brennan engaged in a “grand conspiracy” to undermine Trump’s 2016 election victory.

Cases like these have not gone well for the Trump DOJ, with high-profile indictments of political enemies like former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James face-planting badly. But in the Brennan case, the DOJ seems to be trying to get the trial in front of Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump in his first term and is seen as a reliable judge who rules in favor of his administration, Jose writes.

From the campaign trail

First on NOTUS: The Working Families Party is pitching a new platform that includes a federal jobs program to counter AI job losses, affordable housing, “guaranteed low-cost childcare,” 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for all employees, a single-payer health care system and new taxes on the wealthy to pay for it all. Those are just some of the major planks in the lefty WFP’s new agenda, obtained by NOTUS’ Alex Roarty. Though it’s a separate organization, the WFP generally endorses Democrats in primaries, often leading to static with centrists.

The new platform was the result of a comprehensive research program meant to identify the most pressing needs of working-class voters, the authors tell Alex. Countering AI is a main focus. “One direction is very decidedly pro-robot and another direction is very pro-people,” Maurice Mitchell, the WFP’s national director, said. “When you talk to most people, they’re not on the side of robots. But when you talk to a number of politicians, they’re clearly captured by that robot lobby or they’re ambivalent.”

From Oklahoma

Project Hail Mary: When Oklahoma suddenly found itself down a senator last month, Gov. Kevin Stitt saw a rare opportunity to advocate for action on two issues: energy and infrastructure. Stitt told NOTUS’ Anna Kramer that he picked Alan Armstrong after a conversation with Senate Majority Leader John Thune about what it would take to get the intractable problem of permitting reform across the finish line in Congress.

“I’m going to send you an expert on this,” he said he told Thune, describing Armstrong as a “non-political appointee.”

Armstrong was the CEO of an energy company that has a history of lobbying Congress and the White House on comprehensive permitting reform. And Stitt wants to see a repeat, expressing optimism to Anna that a deal could be made. But it’s not clear that Stitt’s machinations will be able to accelerate delicate negotiations, in part because of Trump’s hostility toward renewable energy.

From the courts

Invoking national security is a common tactic for the Trump administration as it seeks to carry out its energy agenda, but that rarely includes revealing exactly what the national security concern is, NOTUS’ Shifra Dayak reports. Energy developers, lawyers and environmentalists have been asking for details in court filings but have largely not received them.

“They have these energy emergency executive orders to rely on, and those executive orders use national security framings and language, so that’s the default kind of approach,” Ryan Maher, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, told Shifra.

NEW ON NOTUS

Mortgage rates are climbing and home sales have slowed, but the GOP isn’t sweating the sluggish housing market in a crucial midterm year. Several Republicans who spoke with NOTUS’ Raymond Fernández insisted that the current downturn was a temporary blip and that things would pick up once Trump’s war with Iran wrapped up.

“By summer, things will be really, really good,” Sen. Bernie Moreno said. “We’ll be cooking.”

More: Some Republicans Fear They’re Making a Big Mistake on Reconciliation, by Igor Bobic and Al Weaver

The Trump Administration and Maryland Are Both Suing DC Water Over Potomac Sewage Spill, by Shifra Dayak and Anna Kramer

Politicians’ Investments in Data Centers Could Add Up to a Political Liability, by Em Luetkemeyer

NOT US

• How Professional Wrestling Prepared Linda McMahon for Trump’s Cabinet, by Zach Helfand for The New Yorker
  
• What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat, by Noah Hawley for The Atlantic
  
• Nick Fuentes spreads hate online — and fans pay him hundreds of thousands of dollars, by Drew Harwell and Jeremy B. Merrill for The Washington Post

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