Today’s notice: Late night loses another host. Two chambers, two leaders, one hometown (and one headache). A conservative argument over Charlie Kirk’s legacy. And: How do you appropriate appropriately after Trump?
THE LATEST
Scenes from a crackdown: Another Rorschach test moment from Trump 2.0 arrived last night with the indefinite suspension of Jimmy Kimmel from late-night TV. It is, depending on the political POV, proof that there’s a line that can’t be crossed after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, or…
“Another media outlet withered under government pressure, ensuring that the administration will continue to extort and exact retribution on broadcasters and publishers who criticize it,” the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s Ari Cohn told CNN.
This is a fast-moving project with lots of unpredictability. Kimmel was a longtime MAGA enemy and already the second late-night host to lose his chair under this administration. Earlier Tuesday, FCC Chair Brendan Carr put Kimmel and ABC on notice. Hours later, Kimmel’s show went dark.
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done,” Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social. “That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC. Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
But there are lines this crackdown hasn’t crossed, too. Around the time Kimmel was losing his platform, Rep. Ilhan Omar managed to keep hers, thanks to four Republicans who crossed the aisle to vote down Rep. Nancy Mace’s bid to censure the Minnesota Democrat and strip her committee assignments over post-assassination comments.
This is Congress though, so there was some wheeling and dealing. Rep. Cory Mills was among those who voted the censure down amid reports Democrats would drop their censure resolution aimed at him if the Omar one failed.
What comes next: NOTUS’ Emily Kennard’s latest reporting suggests more unpredictability.
She tried to pin down which people or groups Hill Republicans want to go after, with little luck. “I can name a lot of them, yeah, but I’m not going to,” Rep. Tony Gonzales told her. “Because I don’t want to.”
Open tabs: Childhood vaccination rates are backsliding across the U.S. (NBC); Bessent, Like Fed Governor, Made Contradictory Mortgage Pledges (Bloomberg); ICE to make job sites focus of arrests (Washington Examiner); Judge Orders Mahmoud Khalil’s Deportation (NOTUS)
From the Hill
Zo or no Zo, just leave us out of it: “It’s driving everybody nuts, it’s a distraction for the whole party from coast to coast and it’s making the entire Democratic Party appear to revolve around New York City,” a senior Democratic aide fumed to NOTUS’ Riley Rogerson and Daniella Diaz about the will they or won’t they routine playing out with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries re: endorsing Zohran Mamdani for mayor.
This is apparently news to Jeffries: “I haven’t had a conversation with any member of Congress who’s expressed frustration to me as it relates to the New York City mayoral race,” he told reporters yesterday.
From the White House
Watch this space: There is a right-wing battle going on over Charlie Kirk’s legacy, America’s Israel policy and the future of conservative politics. It is getting louder. Players include Kirk acolyte Candace Owens, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and other big far-right names.
The gist is some think Kirk left a legacy of nascent skepticism toward the war in Gaza, while some do not. The pro-skeptic side sees the other side as trying to gloss this over.
Yesterday the fight got loud enough that the White House appeared to take notice. “To my friends on the political Right: I understand the feeling that people are putting words into Charlie Kirk’s mouth. At some level, I agree and share your frustration,” JD Vance posted on X. “Let’s celebrate our friend, remember his impact, and save the debate for after his funeral.”
From the Fed
Fed does what Trump wants… or does it? The newest Federal Reserve governor, Stephen Miran, was the only one who voted against Wednesday’s interest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point. Miran wanted a half-percentage-point cut instead.
Trump has been pressuring the Fed to cut rates, and rates were cut. But, as NOTUS’ Violet Jira reports, it’s hard to draw too many conclusions. “I think you could easily be of the view that you should cut. You could easily be of the view that you shouldn’t cut,” Ellen Meade, a former board member, said.
THE BIG ONE
Which government is Congress trying to fund? “Some of the stuff that is restructured goes against the law,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said of the Trump administration’s overhaul of federal agencies. “How the appropriators handled it, I’m not sure.”
CR negotiations aside, the long-term problem is over what lawmakers are actually funding, NOTUS’ Oriana González and Riley report — the government that Trump is shaping almost entirely without congressional approval, or the one Congress has authorized?
“When we don’t really have any clarity … sure, there’s difficulties, but we’re open to working through it and we want to try and find a pathway forward,” Rep. Robert Aderholt, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee, said. “It’s one of those things that takes time.”
Some clues are in the bill’s text: “The Committee’s bill and report reflect the current organizational structure of the agencies funded herein,” the House’s appropriations bill for education, labor and health agencies reads.
NEW ON NOTUS
Bobby’s World: Former CDC Director Susan Monarez told senators yesterday that RFK Jr. ordered her to run all decisions by the political appointees in her office before they could be finalized, and asked her to meet with his personal lawyer, a prominent anti-vax voice.
“I was concerned about my ability to continue to lead while preserving evidence-based decision-making,” Monarez said.
What the boss wanted: “He said that the childhood vaccine schedule would be changing starting in September, and I needed to be on board with it,” Monarez said. Earlier this month, RFK Jr. said Monarez was lying.
More: One of Congress’ Most Active Traders Is Selling Off All Her Stocks, by Dave Levinthal
Kash Patel Says FBI Will Investigate Epstein Estate Over Trump’s Alleged Birthday Letter, by Jose Pagliery
NOT US
- America Loves Cocaine Again—Mexico’s New Drug King Cashes In, by Steve Fisher, José de Córdoba and Santiago Pérez for The Wall Street Journal
- Joe Manchin Would Like a Word. (OK, Maybe Several Words.) By Robert Draper for The New York Times
- ‘Progressive bromance’ over? Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander’s alliance grows strained, by Elizabeth Kim and Brigid Bergin for Gothamist
- Anti-Trump influencers flood the White House’s new TikTok account, by Drew Harwell and Dylan Wells for The Washington Post
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