Paying for It

Today’s notice: Post-Noem politics. Moderates in the House back an unpopular war, and their opponents pounce. Why you can’t have nice things, like daytime. Facts vs. feelings at the National Park Service. Plus: A sleepy Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

THE LATEST

Money questions: Democrats now have two chances to exert Congress’ power of the purse. But what happens next?

The partial government shutdown seems destined to go on even after the announcement that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be reassigned. “The problems at ICE transcend any one individual,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said. NOTUS’ Hill team reports that the party seems more or less unified around this take.

Pressure is mounting to end it. Airline and travel groups held events on the Hill yesterday to warn lawmakers that no deal on DHS funding could lead to major travel snags, NOTUS’ Em Luetkemeyer reports. They were largely met with shrugs from dug-in members on both sides.

Bottom line: If Donald Trump thinks moving Noem out will smooth the path to a DHS funding deal, he’ll be disappointed.

It’s also possible Trump may ask Congress for money for the war with Iran. Democrats can prevent the cash from flowing if they stand together. But on this one, unity is not as clear. “We’re gonna have to wait and see,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat.

“I don’t need to decide until they send something to us,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, who helped lead the failed effort to pass constraints on Trump’s war powers on Iran. Like a few Democrats, he said he’d need to see what the ask was before making a call.

Two quotes that illustrate the potential divides among Democrats: Sen. Chris Coons also said he’d need a lot of questions answered before he’d approve supplemental war funding, “but I want to make sure our warfighters have resources they need.”

“N-O,” Sen. Bernie Sanders spelled out to Emily when asked if he’d consider voting for a war funding bill. Sens. Brian Schatz and Cory Booker publicly said more verbose versions of the same thing.

Bottom line: Early indications suggest it will be easier for the White House to convince Democrats to fund its war than to fully open DHS back up.

Open tabs: Analysis Suggests School Was Hit Amid U.S. Strikes on Iranian Naval Base (NYT); US and Venezuela agree to reestablish diplomatic relations (AP); Pentagon Formally Labels Anthropic Supply-Chain Risk, Escalating Conflict (WSJ); DOJ publishes missing Epstein files involving uncorroborated claim about Trump (CNBC)

From the Campaigns

Gonzales drops out: Rep. Tony Gonzales announced late last night that he will no longer run for re-election just hours after House Republican Leadership called on him to withdraw following his admission that he had an affair with a staffer. He did not resign, leaving Republicans’ slim majority intact.

He confirmed the affair this week shortly after the Texas primary where he failed to get enough votes to fend off a runoff with challenger Brandon Herrera.

From the Hill

Republicans’ war unity holds together: Moderate House Republicans helped kill a war powers resolution yesterday. They had to weigh two strong political forces during a midterm year: their war-weary constituents and the risk of breaking with Trump. Their arguments were largely that they’ll get involved later — if the war drags on.

“We are going to be staying on top of it, making sure this doesn’t expand into a larger conflict,” Rep. Ryan Mackenzie told NOTUS’ Hamed Ahmadi and Riley Rogerson. He admitted that his constituents were concerned about “another forever war.”

Top Democrats see a cost-of-living messaging opportunity. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was already sharpening that rhetoric yesterday, telling reporters that while Republicans are happy to green-light a costly war, “they can’t find a dime to make it more affordable for the American people to go see a doctor when they need one.”

Democratic moderates aren’t safe, either. Those who sided with Republicans are also facing primary threats from progressives, Axios reported Wednesday.

From K Street

An expensive fight over daylight continues: Lobbyists for farmers and insurers have advocated permanent daylight saving time, NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno reports, while lobbyists for airlines and broadcasters (it would hurt AM radio stations, they say) have pushed to keep the clocks as they are.

The status quo has won again. Sens. Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida, and Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state, say their bill to eliminate clock changes like the one coming up this weekend is not going anywhere this Congress. But hope springs eternal — 16 states have considered legislation this year that would make DST permanent if the federal government allows it, and 19 states have already passed similar laws over the past seven years.

From the National Park Service

The de-wokening conundrum: What if something is true, but also some people don’t like it? For National Park Service staff charged with carrying out the Trump administration’s anti-woke agenda, the answer is the fact has got to go. NOTUS’ Shifra Dayak reports that an NPS database leaked this week showed that items staff flagged for review as “partisan” or “disparaging” were rarely wrong, but conveyed potentially uncomfortable information about climate change, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement and the mistreatment of Native Americans.

On signage commemorating the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march: “While these statements are historically accurate and supported by firsthand accounts, they may be perceived as disparaging by individuals who are less familiar with the history of the Civil Rights Movement,” one leaked file reads.

Interior Department response: “We are aware that internal working documents were edited before being inappropriately and illegally released to the media in ways that misrepresented the status of this effort. Employees who altered internal records and leaked in an effort the hurt the Trump administration will be held accountable.”

NEW ON NOTUS

All quiet on the Midwestern front: Just a year after a record-setting Wisconsin Supreme Court race attracted the attention of Elon Musk and plenty of other deep-pocketed backers from outside the Badger State, another race for a seat on the panel has largely skated under the radar of national megadonors, NOTUS’ Jade Lozada reports.

This vacuum has allowed the liberal candidate, Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor, to pull ahead in contributions, raising more than $3.8 million, compared to the $438,000 that conservative appellate judge Maria Lazar has raised.

More: GOP Congressman Calls Top Pentagon Official’s Testimony ‘Gross’ and ‘Disingenuous,’ by Torrie Herrington

NOTUS PERSPECTIVES

What changes in the day-to-day work of Congress would meaningfully improve governance?

A NOTUS forum featuring Ben Olinsky of the Center for American Progress, Gil Ruiz of the Federation of American Scientists, Ganesh Sitaraman of Vanderbilt Law School and Chris Wingate of The Heritage Foundation.

NOT US

• How the Decision to Start a War Became the President’s, by Charlie Savage for The New York Times
  
• ‘Nazi heaven’: Inside Miami campus Republicans’ racist group chat, by Claire Heddles for the Miami Herald
  
• Inside War-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach Members Club-Turned-Gilded Situation Room, by Aidan McLaughlin for Vanity Fair
  
• Rahm Emanuel Floods Democrats With Criticism and Ideas. Will His Party Listen? By John McCormick for The Wall Street Journal

BE SOCIAL

She’s worn many hats, literally and figuratively.

Thank you for reading! If you liked this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe — it’s free! Have a tip? Email us at tips@notus.org. And as always, we’d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@notus.org.