Today’s notice: The Gaza conversation sounds different in the Senate. Former Rep. Mark Green has an investment opportunity for you. The trade deal imbalance. Democrats’ 2026 comes into view. And: AI vs. MAHA at the FDA.
THE LATEST
How Republican senators talk about Gaza now: “Obviously the humanitarian crisis is real,” Sen. John Cornyn told NOTUS’ Hill team Monday as Washington grappled with a shift in tone toward the war on Gaza.
Most blamed Hamas for the crisis. “If Hamas wants to solve this problem, they can, and can allow full transport of the aid to the tragic humanitarian crisis occurring,” Sen. Steve Daines said.
But Israel is coming under uncommon criticism, with Republican senators following the lead of Donald Trump, who on Monday pushed back against the Israeli government’s take on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Democrats are pushing for policy changes, which so far have not gained traction publicly among Republicans or White House officials. But the rhetorical movement is notable.
“I don’t often agree with President Trump, but I think him giving [Benjamin] Netanyahu a little smack about pretending that there’s no starvation happening was a needed move,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse told the NOTUS team.
Open Tabs: $750B Deal for U.S. Energy Collides With Market Reality (WSJ); Leading Israeli Rights Groups Accuse Israel of Gaza Genocide (NYT); Republicans brush aside Trump plan to slash NIH funding (Roll Call); Angry France slams US trade pact (Reuters); Trump blocks Taiwan’s president from NYC stopover (FT)
From the Hill
Prosimos. That’s the name of the company Mark Green recently left Congress to start. What it does is help American businesses expand overseas, he told NOTUS’ Reese Gorman in an interview.
Green offered answers to many outstanding questions about his resignation and somewhat mysterious exit from the House. “Part of the reason why I was so cagey about it is if I go and tell you the name of the company while I’m still a sitting congressman, couldn’t you make the accusation that I’m using my position to advertise my new company?” he told Reese.
But questions remain about what Green did to drum up business in his final days as a congressman, and where exactly he did it. Green denied the story Reese previously reported about lobbyists recalling him pitching them on investment opportunities while in official meetings (Green said Monday he has no stake in the company he was pitching investments in). But he also said he doesn’t see a problem with a lawmaker pitching potential investors or clients while still in Congress.
From the White House
The deal with the deals. Despite recent successes with the U.K. and EU, a NOTUS review found that the White House has yet to announce deals with about half of the U.S.’s top 15 trading partners — like Canada and Mexico, for example.
Is the clock really ticking? The president has said the Friday deadline is the deadline. A White House official told NOTUS’ Violet Jira yesterday that they expect the USMCA exemptions to remain in place as dealmaking continues, exempting about half of Mexican and 38% of Canadian imports from tariffs.
Trade deals have also yet to be reached with partners like India and Switzerland. Talks are ongoing with China. Friday is not far away.
And about that trade deal with Japan: Officials there have since split with the White House on the interpretation of its terms, the Financial Times reported. “There were some details that will need to be flushed out further even if the big picture agreement is in place,” the official told Violet.
THE BIG ONE
Democrats’ campaign picture: The minority party did not have a case of the Mondays yesterday, as Senate strategists got a few pieces of very good news. First was the formal announcement by former Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina that he would run for Senate. Democrats had been impatiently waiting for Cooper, whom they see as their best chance to pick up the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Thom Tillis.
The second piece of good news for Democrats was quieter, but also pretty big: Gov. Janet Mills of Maine is increasingly open to running against Sen. Susan Collins, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports. Mills is the Dems’ top recruit target for the race.
And finally, Axios reported that former Sen. Sherrod Brown met this past weekend in Ohio with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as he weighs another bid — one that would give Democrats likely their only shot at winning in the red state.
Is this making it easier for Democratic operatives to dream the impossible? Could the party actually turn around their god-awful 2026 map? Well…
Democrats still have an identity crisis.
The age question has not been solved, for example. In Illinois’ 9th District, 26-year-old influencer Kat Abughazaleh picked up her first major endorsement, from Rep. Ro Khanna, as part of his recent pledge that the “old guard needs to go.”
Ideology is also an open question, and Democrats will have to sort through it before they try to capitalize on their 2026 candidates’ fortunes. A lot of them still don’t want to even be seen with the party’s nominee for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, much less try to figure out how to fire up the voters who are fervently backing him.
NEW ON NOTUS
The trouble with Elsa: What is it like to be at the epicenter of the DOGE promise of faster, better government through AI? NOTUS’ Margaret Manto and Taylor Giorno talked to people at the Food and Drug Administration, home to a new AI tool called “Elsa,” and found a lot of frustration. Agency leaders, meanwhile, are all in on the AI project, and that’s attracting AI advocates including a Koch-backed nonprofit called the Abundance Institute. A story of how visions, and policy, clash in the MAHA revolution.
Recently departed FDA Commissioner Robert Califf: “I’m very enthusiastic about it going forward, but it’s got to be governed with the public health interest in mind.”
After Tony: Wisconsin politics is reeling from Gov. Tony Evers’ decision not to seek a third term, NOTUS’ Nuha Dolby reports. Democratic candidates are lining up; Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has already announced and others are waiting in the wings. But the governor’s move really shook things up for Republicans. Candidates appear to be pouring into that primary.
“[W]ith Evers out, I think every Republican would think, ‘Hey, I’ve got at least as good a chance as any of these Democrats that are being talked about,’” legendary Wisconsin pollster Charles Franklin told Nuha.
More: Maxwell’s Gamble May Give Epstein’s Pals Immunity, by Jose Pagliery; Project 2025 Architect Announces Primary Bid Against Lindsey Graham, by Amelia Benavides-Colón; Trump Admin Memo Allows Federal Employees to Proselytize at Work, by Nuha Dolby
NOT US
- Democrats Plan $20 Million Fund to Target Texas Republicans for Redistricting, by Shane Goldmacher and Nick Corasaniti for The New York Times
- Some of Mamdani’s platform is surprisingly similar to Bloomberg’s, experts say, by Zohreen Shah for ABC News
- Lawmakers Want More Security as Threats and Attacks Mount, by Olivia Beavers for The Wall Street Journal
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