Today’s notice: Speaker Johnson hits the road to keep his job. The Grand Prix could be a yearly D.C. tradition. Political scammers are trying to nab a Trump pardon. The NRCC falls victim to a fraudster. And: A behind-the-scenes look at the Patriot Games.
THE LATEST
On the road again: Speaker Mike Johnson is in the middle of a 30-day campaign stretch stumping for vulnerable House Republicans. But it’s not a selfless effort; he’s also campaigning for his own political future, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman writes from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
If Republicans lose the majority in November, the House GOP conference could look for someone else to lead their cause, a possibility Johnson told Reese he isn’t thinking about.
Trending
“We’re going to win, so I don’t have to answer that question,” Johnson said outside a campaign stop for Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the Lehigh Valley. “I intend to be the speaker going forward.”
Johnson also flipped a joke that Donald Trump makes — that Trump has two jobs, as president and speaker. He said others in the White House view it differently.
“Some on his staff have said, ‘No, it’s really like you’re co-president,’” Johnson told NOTUS. “Because the president and I speak all the time.”
It’s Johnson, though, zipping across the country to keep his majority — including by correctly folding and downing a pizza slice with Reps. Mike Lawler and Aaron Bean in New York on Friday — because his political future is up in the air, and names to replace him are already being tossed around. This after a term where his colleagues have openly cursed at and continuously defied him.
As one GOP member put it to Reese, “in the political burn down that’s coming, we slaughter everybody at the front of the room.”
Open tabs: Jeffries and Kushner Meet Privately as Midterm Attacks Fly (NYT); Secret White House bunker undercuts Trump’s ballroom lawsuit, ex-officials say (WaPo); ‘The writing on the wall’: Trump’s staff departs ahead of possible turmoil (Politico); Iran condemns US plans to announce new sanctions (Reuters)
From the White House
Hitting the apex: The summer of America’s 250th celebrations came to a close this weekend with the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race, including a special appearance by Trump waiving the green flag after a ceremonial slow spin around the track in the Beast.
Some in Trump’s orbit want to make the Grand Prix an annual event, NOTUS’ Jenna Monnin reports. Speaker Johnson said he’d like “to bring it back next year.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said there’s “nothing to announce yet” but he’s been inundated with calls for the event to happen again. Even outgoing D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said this “first ever” race could be “followed by second and third.”
But Penske is footing most of the multimillion-dollar bill for the event. Company President Bud Denker has said the race “might be the only” Grand Prix D.C. will ever see — and some Washingtonians might be happy about that.
Trump has been granting pardons at record speed this term, and everyone wants in. From granting clemency to the almost 1,600 Jan. 6 rioters to a slew of political allies, the increase in pardon mercy has garnered the attention of a new crop: political scammers. NOTUS’ Ben T.N. Mause reports today on how three convicted political grifters have asked for the president’s leniency.
The trio collectively swindled tens of thousands of Americans using tactics that included impersonating Trump himself. A White House official told Ben that they had turned down one request and are not actively tracking the others, but the requests show a pardon system that has truly become a free-for-all.
From the campaign trial
The NRCC lost more than $16,300 to an unknown actor, NOTUS’ Dave Levinthal reports, the latest in a litany of thefts that have befallen prominent federal political committees. The NRCC described the “fraud” as from a “foreign country” in an FEC filing but later clarified to Dave that it was unsure the origin of the actor who intercepted a vendor’s payment.
“Protecting donor funds is a top priority for the NRCC,” committee spokesman Will Kiley said. “We caught it immediately, we’re working to recover the funds, and we’ve taken steps to ensure it can’t happen again.”
THE BIG ONE
They loved Jesus, sports and the flag: Every kid left with a medal, as round and shiny as every other kid’s medal, NOTUS’ Sam Fortier reports from the Patriot Games with an inside look at the inaugural competition that earned criticism for its religious overtones and lack of diversity.
The contestants applied through a murky, chaotic selection process, and each was, well, a patriot — a boy and girl from each of the 50 states, plus D.C. and territories. Or sort of. Some kids were representing places they did not live, Sam writes. The girl representing Maine was from New Hampshire; the New Jersey boy went to school in Texas. One boy jokingly cheered on his friend representing Puerto Rico by yelling, “Let’s go Alabama-Virginia-Washington, D.C. — all your states!” On the final day, a seemingly-disengaged Trump flew into the small Ohio town and handed the two winners a check and a gold trophy.
Later, kids would gush on social media, “Best week of my entire life” and “I’m so grateful that I got this opportunity!” They would tell interviewers that they’d made new, lifelong friends. One boy would decry “lies on the internet” and say, “Freedom 250 did a phenomenal job.”
NOTUS PERSPECTIVES
Forget Mar-a-Lago face, writes Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson. The real symbol of right-wing politics is the cinched waist.
NOTUS METRO
Sign up for our local newsletter, written by Martin Austermuhle and Zara Norman.
Sports desk: Who Will Survive the Commanders’ Cuts? Projecting the 53-Man Roster, by Martenzie Johnson
NEW ON NOTUS
An unsettling settlement. The Israeli government moved forward with a plan to build developments in part of the West Bank where Israeli settlements are illegal under international law, NOTUS’ Akbar Shahid Ahmed writes. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) said the plan “purposefully slams the door on the already narrowing prospects for a viable Palestinian state.”
But unlike in previous years, the U.S. is unlikely to stop the move. When asked what the chances were that the Trump administration would block the plans, one U.S. official responded: “Zero.”
More: Democrats Are Getting More Bullish About Taking the Senate, by Igor Bobic
Canada Retaliates Against U.S. Tariffs in Tit-for-Tat Trade War, by Angie Orellana Hernandez
‘Disappointed’: Ranchers and Republicans React to Trump’s Beef Import, by Angie Orellana Hernandez
Rob Bresnahan Blames a ‘Clerical Error’ for a Video a Constituent Alleges Broke House Rules, by Avani Kalra
NOT US
- Homeland Security Made a Big Claim About Noncitizen Voting. Now It Can’t Prove It. By Nick Corasaniti for The New York Times
- She’s a Trump acolyte. He’s a ‘gringo Sandinista.’ Meet the Harps. By Terrence McCoy for The Washington Post
- Russia Tests Readiness for New Round of Military Mobilization, by Thomas Grove and Alexander Ward for The Wall Street Journal
- Doctors say Trump’s weight poses a significant health risk, by Dan Diamond for The Washington Post
WEEK AHEAD
Monday
JD Vance travels to Brewer, Maine, to speak at CompoTech.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent holds a press conference to discuss plans to put economic pressure on Iran.
Tuesday
Runoffs in the Oklahoma primaries, the South Carolina GOP special primary for Senate and a special election in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District.
Wednesday
Jeanine John Taele, the man arrested this month at the Trump National Golf Club in Los Angeles, appears in court on a federal weapons charge.
Thursday
Detention hearing in the case of the Tate brothers, who are facing rape and sex-trafficking charges.
Hearing on an emergency injunction request regarding the planned Trump inscription on the Kennedy Center.
Friday
Former Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.
Saturday Michigan Democratic Party holds its fall nominating convention in Lansing.
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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Sean Chee for NOTUS.
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