Today’s notice: RFK Jr. vs. Big Ag. Heritage vs. getting the credit Heritage wants to get. Everyone vs. Mike Johnson.
Republicans Shrug at RFK Jr.’s Food Takes
As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. circles the Capitol this week, meeting with senators and trying to secure confirmation votes, some of his statements from throughout his long life in the public eye have cropped back up. It turns out he has strongly held positions on agriculture — on seed oils, corn syrup, hog farms, GMOs. RFK Jr. has suggested he will have significant influence over agriculture as health and human services secretary, which oversees the Food and Drug Administration.
Maybe not surprisingly, some farm-friendly Republicans disagree with his positions on basically all of that. But that might not stop them from confirming him after all. Why? They essentially don’t think he will be as effective as he says he will be on ag issues, senators told us.
RFK Jr. is “welcome to his opinions on farm policy, which I largely disagree with. But my understanding is he’s not gonna have any control over that,” Sen. Josh Hawley told NOTUS. “If I’m missing something, and he’s also being considered for like, ag czar, then I’m going to be really concerned. But he’s being considered for HHS secretary.”
The main takeaway? He’s not AgSec nominee Brooke Rollins. Sen. Tommy Tuberville told NOTUS that while he’s hearing from farmers back in Alabama with concerns on RFK Jr.’s ag positions, Rollins has “a lot of say” on those matters. Tuberville later told reporters Kennedy has his vote for confirmation.
—Nuha Dolby | Read the story with NOTUS’ Margaret Manto.
Talking With RFK Jr.’s Raw Milk Whisperer
RFK Jr. has helped make raw milk cool. But as HHS secretary, can he make raw milk safe?
That’s a heavy lift, NOTUS’ Margaret Manto reports. As raw milk becomes more popular, there’s an increased fear that it could spread bird flu from cows to humans. To confront those challenges, RFK Jr. has tapped raw milk entrepreneur Mark McAfee to be an adviser to the FDA — something like a “raw milk czar.”
“I want to be a tool for good,” he told Margaret. “And I will dedicate a couple years of my life to making sure we have high standards, farmer training and good testing so we can actually have a long, long, long future which is bright for raw milk and local farmers.”
Front Page
- Biden’s Administration Tees Up a Legal Fight Over Energy Exports for Trump: A new DOE report finds increasing LNG exports would hike household expenses.
- The Long-Awaited House AI Report Has Lots of Recommendations: Why it’s unlikely Congress will be acting quickly.
- How Democrats’ Old Guard Beat Out AOC: The party saw something different in the race between Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gerry Connolly.
Mike Johnson’s CR Uprising
If House Republicans were grumbling about Mike Johnson’s stopgap spending plan last week, this week they’re rioting.
Republicans from Rep. Mike Lawler to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene were voicing their displeasure, loudly, Tuesday afternoon when they still did not have the text of the continuing resolution ahead of Friday’s funding deadline. (The bill was finally released a little before 7 p.m. last night.) And what was pitched as a “clean CR” ended up including lots of extras that made members balk.
Freedom Caucus members who backed Johnson last week are now up in arms, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman, Katherine Swartz and Helen Huiskes report. One Freedom Caucus member texted NOTUS that “something has to change because this isn’t working,” in reference to Johnson and his speakership.
Johnson’s response? “I’m not worried about the speaker vote.”
Heritage Looking for Some Cabinet Credit
Who is The Heritage Foundation trying to reach with its ongoing pressure campaign aimed at pushing Republican senators to confirm controversial nominees? According to the senators, not them.
“They’re obviously welcome to do whatever they want to do. It’s not gonna have an influence on me,” Susan Collins told NOTUS’ Ben T.N. Mause, who also heard similar comments from other Republicans who are targets of Heritage’s effort.
The campaign is expanding from a petition drive into more digital and streaming advertising. MAGA-backer Rick Scott offered some insight into what’s going on here. “It’s always good to have someone supporting what you’re trying to get done,” he told Ben. “I’m sure Trump supports it.”
Support or not, it’s unclear whether Heritage will get a share of the credit from Trumpwold if it works. “The senators know this is the party of Donald J. Trump, and that’s more powerful,” one GOP operative said.
You Knew We’d Be Talking Drones at Some Point
Are the drones a threat? Are they simply commercial aircraft? Or are they a swirling cloud of failed government communications? Democratic lawmakers seem to be satisfied with the explanation provided by federal agencies that the “drones” are just normal nonthreatening sky things. NOTUS’ Emily Kennard spoke to a few after a closed House Intel briefing for the latest on this craze/wholly legitimate reason to stand on your lawn at night looking upward.
“They haven’t found anything that would indicate foreign influence, foreign actors or even little green men working on the American people,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan said of the findings shared by officials in the classified briefing. “I’m not really sure why some of my colleagues have decided that this is important to scare the public, but I don’t think that that’s a terribly responsible thing to do.”
Houlahan is among the lawmakers calling for legislation to “better equip state and local governments to respond to drone incursions,” Emily reports.
Number You Should Know
131-84
That was the vote total in the Democratic Caucus in Rep. Gerry Connolly’s race against Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to become the No. 1 Democrat on the Oversight Committee. In a battle that, in many ways, came down to the salience of seniority, the 74-year-old Connolly won handily over his 35-year-old challenger.
“You have to wait your turn around here. That’s just the way it works,” Rep. Marcy Kaptur — the fourth-most senior House lawmaker — told NOTUS.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- A New (MAGA) Republican Establishment Rises by David M. Drucker for The Dispatch
- The Alienation of Jaime Cachua by Eli Saslow for The New York Times
- After learning hard lessons in Austin, Greg Casar to take Congressional Progressive Caucus in new direction by Matthew Choi at The Texas Tribune
Be Social: These Aren’t the Memes You’re Looking For
If a Community Note strikes down former PA governor GOP nominee Doug Mastriano’s first tweet suggesting a TIE Fighter is a foreign-made attack drone, it will become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.
— Senator Doug Mastriano (@SenMastriano) December 17, 2024
Tell Us Your Thoughts
What is the best X Community Note you’ve seen?
Send your thoughts to newsletters@notus.org.