Today’s notice: Just when he thought he was out, they pulled him back in, sorta. A day in South Carolina with the vice president. Congress after DOGE. Colleges in chaos. And, not running for Senate.
Different, but the Same
Is the Trump White House reverting back to its old ways? In the first Trump administration, people often got fired and no one knew what was going on. In the second Trump administration, people rarely get fired and often no one seems to know what’s going on. Yesterday captured the common ground between the two.
Mike Waltz started Thursday live on Fox News, possibly unaware that he was about to get canned from his job as national security adviser.
Later at the State Department, a reporter informed Marco Rubio’s spokesperson live on air that the secretary of state would be stepping in as national security adviser. “I just heard this from you,” spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. “That is an exciting moment here.”
Trump announced that Waltz wasn’t completely out: He’s now the nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, which means a confirmation hearing — a likely Signalgate-filled one. Senators appeared surprised this was happening. “No! Is that right?!” Josh Hawley, in a gaggle, blurted out when a reporter informed him.
Some saw Thursday as a chapter turn, away from White House professionalism and back to the chaos of 2017. But it actually had a lot of hallmarks of Trump’s second term: Recall, for example, the confusion over the OMB funding freeze memo and its reversal, or the many times DOGE has been leashed after making a move that seemed to surprise everyone. Or, you know, “Liberation Day” and the immediate pause of it. Thursday was quite a day, no doubt about it. But also, it was just a day ending in “Y” for Trump 2.0.
—Evan McMorris-Santoro
Vance’s Tariff Pitch
Meanwhile, JD Vance was at a steel plant in South Carolina telling workers to ignore the haters and expect great things from the trade war.
“If you listen to the American media or you listen to a lot of politicians in our own country,” Vance said, “they attack us when we implement trade policies that do a very simple thing: rebalance trade in favor of American workers and American businesses instead of foreign workers and foreign corporations.”
The steel industry – both unionized and, like the S.C. plant, not – has largely embraced Trump’s tariff program. Vance told them to keep the faith. He also confused NOTUS’ Reese Gorman for a plant worker. All visitors wore the plant’s protective gear, despite the fact that not everyone (ahem, Reese?) should be allowed near heavy machinery.
“You got all the shit on, I couldn’t tell,” Vance said.
—Evan McMorris-Santoro | Read Reese’s story.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- Yadira Caraveo’s former aides say they were mistreated, traumatized by Colorado congresswoman, by Jesse Paul for The Colorado Sun
- Trump Wants a New Air Force One So Badly He’s Refurbishing a Qatari Plane, by Andrew Tangel, Josh Dawsey and Sharon Terlep for The Wall Street Journal
- For One Texas County, Arresting Migrants Made Big Money, by Jack Herrera for The New York Times
Cleaning Up After DOGE
DOGE head Elon Musk is stepping back, and Republicans in Congress are starting to wonder what comes next. NOTUS’ Haley Byrd Wilt examined the internal argument.
“Members of Congress need to be focused on getting our government on a sound footing, not getting scared because you have a handful of people protesting in town halls,” Rep. Byron Donalds told Haley. He’s happy to keep on DOGEin’.
Not everyone is. “A lot of this is authorized into law by Congress,” Rep. Michael McCaul said of DOGE cuts to foreign aid programs. “I think only Congress can eliminate it.”
Chaos Coming to Higher Ed
“I think you will see schools that are already on the brink closing or merging that you never would have thought would be in trouble,” a CFO for a midsize college in a red state tells NOTUS’ Violet Jira in her new report on how the annual budgeting process at colleges has been derailed by White House moves. As a result, that red-state college, for example, “has been more conservative in how it’s funded scholarships,” Violet writes.
This Meeting Could Have Been an Email
House GOP leaders met with Trump on Thursday, hoping the president would help bring together a conference stubbornly divided over the budget reconciliation bill. NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz and Katherine Swartz report that even after that meeting, members have left town “with no clear consensus on how to both cut spending and preserve key social benefits.”
The Governor’s Mansion Is Looking Pretty Good Right Now
Several governors are opting not to run for Senate this year, despite being national parties’ best shots to flip seats in some cases. But that bucks a historical trend. Usually, the Senate is seen as a promotion. Not so much now. NOTUS’ Ursula Perano and Helen Huiskes talked to several governors-turned-senators currently in Congress, who told them they can see why the Senate’s tight margins and partisanship might make it less appealing. But they still insist the upper chamber is worth it.
Front Page
- The FEC Dismissed a Pro-Trump Legal Group’s Complaint Against Biden and Bragg: America First Legal Foundation accused the Biden campaign and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of violating election laws.
- ‘Virginia Democrats Think They Have a New Rallying Cry: Government Job Cuts: One of the states with the largest federal worker populations in the country is set to be a test of how much the cuts to the federal workforce resonate with voters.
- Trump, Talking About His Faith Office, Says ‘Let’s Forget About’ Separation of Church and State: “I don’t know,” President Trump said of the separation between church and state. “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
- Brown’s President Says the Trump Administration Is Withholding Millions in Grant Funding: In an email to Brown alumni, the university’s president said the withheld funds “represent a significant threat to Brown’s financial sustainability.”
- Republicans Are Using the Entire Government to Defund Planned Parenthood: Efforts to defund Planned Parenthood are moving through Congress, the executive branch and the courts.
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!).