Today’s notice: A pope who could post online about whether New York or Chicago’s pizza is best. Lawmakers gearing up to ban their own stock trading. An Appropriations Chair navigating Trump 2.0. Republicans navigating reconciliation. Judge Pirro’s shoes to fill.
American Man Elected, Other Elected Americans Excited
Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, has a degree from Villanova. Also, 20 years in Peru plus joint citizenship there. But after it was revealed yesterday the white smoke was for him, lawmakers in Congress were saying two words: American Pope.
“I called my family in Chicago,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Catholic Democrat, told our Hill team. “They’re doing research to see if we ever went to mass with him.”
The excitement was bipartisan. “I never thought that would happen,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Catholic Republican, said.
As it is with any American ascending to a prominent position these days, the new pope’s social media history was quickly scoured — or, at least, the X account people believed was his. There were a number of posts where, as a priest and Vatican official, Prevost appeared to directly challenge Donald Trump and MAGA politics over the years. One post from February mentioned the Catholic JD Vance by name.
But on Capitol Hill, Republicans shrugged off the posts. Vance posted nothing but good wishes for Leo XIV, even if other MAGA torchbearers were less forgiving. Laura Loomer tweeted “MARXIST POPE,” which — while ideologically confused on, you know, several levels — is the kind of thing any American getting elected to anything has come to expect.
Some Catholics in Congress hope the new pope can influence his fellow citizens toward a different kind of politics, however. “This is a great choice,” Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat with a sister who is a nun, said. “It’s not just that he’s American that’s exciting, but he’s going to continue the commitment that Pope Francis had to social justice.”
—Evan McMorris-Santoro | Read the story.
Ban Stock Trading for Thee, Not for Me
There seems to be serious momentum toward a ban on members of Congress trading stocks, NOTUS’ Riley Rogerson and Katherine Swartz report. A bipartisan group is coalescing around “a total ban on members buying or selling individual stocks, requiring instead that certain assets be handled by a qualified blind trust,” to be debuted once reconciliation is done.
But Riley and Katherine find the “political pressure to associate with the issue has led to some members stepping on each other’s toes.” Rep. Rob Bresnahan introduced a bill this week that would ban stock trading starting in 2027, with a clause grandfathering in any stocks already held when a member is sworn in. What makes the whole thing even more awkward, however, is The New York Times recently naming Bresnahan one of Congress’ most active traders. (His aide told us he does not do the trading himself.)
The bipartisan group’s bill is different from Bresnahan’s. Theirs has no grandfathering, and it kicks in 180 days after it’s passed. It is similar in one notable respect: the name, which seems to have angered some in the group.
“I think his staff should learn how to Google,” Rep. Chip Roy, one of the authors of the stronger bill and a leader in the bipartisan movement, told our team.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- DC’s Sole Congressional Rep Is Too Old to Drive. Can She Defend the City From a Hostile GOP?, by Stephanie Mencimer for Mother Jones
- He Faced a Possible Prison Term for Assault. Instead, He Was Deported, by Tim Arango, Hamed Aleaziz and Miriam Jordan for New York Times
- From Trump whisperer to West Wing pariah: What went wrong for lobbyist Brian Ballard, by Rachael Bade and Caitlin Oprysko for Politico
Hate the Game, Not the Player
Reaching across the aisle has never been as hard as it is under Trump 2.0. House Appropriations chair Tom Cole, who has cultivated a reputation of bipartisanship over two decades in Congress, has found himself between the White House and a hard place with little latitude to negotiate with Democrats on critical funding bills. But as NOTUS’ Em Luetkemeyer reports, while Democrats are bitter at the process Cole oversees, they hesitate before putting the blame on him.
“What we’ve seen to this point is that reasonable people like Tom Cole seem to have been kind of pushed to the sidelines,” Rep. Jim McGovern told Em.
Reconciling Our Differences … Next Week
Lawmakers jetted out of town yesterday without resolution on a number of disagreements in the reconciliation package. But NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz reports that some decisions are finally coming — maybe, Republicans promise. Committees tasked with figuring out Medicaid cuts and the SALT cap questions are expected to mark up their part of the bill starting on Tuesday. That’s “a signal that leaders at least think they’re close to a consensus,” she writes.
Read more of the play-by-play.
Can Judge Pirro Pick Up Where Ed Martin Left Off?
Public opposition from Sen. Thom Tillis this week helped scuttle the nomination of Ed Martin as U.S. Attorney for D.C, a controversial “Stop the Steal” activist, citing Martin’s views on Jan. 6. Trump moved to replace him Thursday with a lawyer much more well-known outside of MAGA world: former prosecutor and current Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who he named as interim USA but has not yet formally nominated.
But NOTUS’ Mark Alfred and Oriana González report that some MAGA folks really liked Martin. He was also “considered a top pick by the anti-abortion movement,” they write. It’s unclear if Pirro creates the same energy, but she certainly has a higher profile.
Front Page
- James Comer Is Brushing Off Concerns Around the Trump Family’s Business Deals:The Republican lawmaker was one of the biggest advocates for first family financial disclosures under Biden.
- A Little-Known Agency With a Big Role in Disaster Response Is About to Get Demoted:If the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response is subsumed by the CDC, “the U.S. will get left in the dust” when it comes to preparing for disasters, said one former official.
- There’s a New Bipartisan Caucus Borne Out of Frustration And... ‘Abundance’: The House Build America Caucus aims to cut red tape and increase the speed of infrastructure projects.
- Trump Announces a Trade Deal With the UK. The Final Details Are Still in Flux: President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer tied the “historic” deal to Victory in Europe Day.
- Trump Promises a ‘Complete Modernization’ of America’s Air Traffic Control System: The highly anticipated announcement, led by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, comes at a time of increased air safety concerns.
Be Social
Jets rapidly departing DCA do leave white smoke behind them sometimes.
Not even cardinals want to vote on Fridays
— Kirk A. Bado (@kirk_bado) May 8, 2025
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