Today’s notice: Congress’ 250th funds are not being sent to Congress’ 250th commission. What to watch on primary night. Medicaid work rules. Senators still have a lot of questions about Trump’s weaponization fund. And: The Democrats’ Year of Dark Money continues.

THE LATEST

Scoop: Freedom 250’s windfall. The group created by Donald Trump in December to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial pretty much exactly as he sees fit is getting tens of millions in taxpayer funds, while the bipartisan commission established by Congress a decade ago has a $100 million shortfall.

NOTUS’ Anna Kramer dug up these numbers, providing some substantive context around the news last week of artists dropping out of a planned concert series in Washington this summer.

That’s a Freedom 250 event, which is different from an America 250 event. Freedom 250 was created by Trump, while America 250 is the institutional effort established by Congress and run by a bipartisan commission. There were some questions about where the money Congress allocated to celebrate the nation’s birthday was going.

We now have an answer. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act gave the Department of the Interior the power to disperse allocated commemoration funds. Anna reports that the department has sent at least $68.3 million to Freedom 250. America 250, meanwhile, told Congress recently it has a $100 million shortfall and as of the end of April only got $25 million out of the $100 million it was expecting from Interior.

Open tabs: Scott Pelley Accuses CBS News Boss of ‘Murdering’ ‘60 Minutes’ (NYT); Pentagon bans journalists from press office, designating it a classified space (WaPo); D.C. Progressives’ Great Socialist Hope (Atlantic); Anthropic Files to Go Public (WSJ)

From the campaign trail

What to watch in tonight’s big primaries: California’s primary day is today, which means we will get answers to some pressing political questions, er, eventually — it can take the state a while to count votes.

Some of the most interesting California stories today are about Republicans. Just a few weeks ago, they really seemed to have a shot at competing for the governor’s mansion; but now, will a candidate who is not a Democrat make it through the jungle primary? Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt’s Republican campaign for mayor of Los Angeles has created some of the most viral politics of the year; how does that manifest in terms of votes?

Iowa is a big one tonight for Democrats. Many in the party see a path to retaking the U.S. Senate majority running through the state, and they’re eager to get a nominee they think can connect in the GOP stronghold.

NOTUS’ Elena Schneider on how it’s an east-versus-west argument: State Sen. Zach Wahls hails from eastern Iowa, the more populous and bluer-leaning half of the state, while state Rep. Josh Turek is from the redder and more rural west. Keep an eye on Iowa City — if Turek posts big numbers there, it’s a sign he’s won the electability argument.

Meanwhile, one Republican candidate in Iowa expected to clinch the party’s nomination has been campaigning for it by way of Palm Beach. Joe Mitchell’s campaign has spent nearly $78K at Mar-a-Lago, NOTUS’ Violet Jira reports. According to FEC records, Mitchell has spent more at Mar-a-Lago than any other Republican candidate running this cycle. (Only beating Mitchell is the RNC itself.)

From the Hill

Reconciliation is still not a done deal just because the DOJ heeded a court ruling and put Trump’s “anti-weaponization” fund plan on hold, NOTUS’ Avani Kalra and Igor Bobic report.

“Is it gonna be completely eliminated? That’s the question that I have,” Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski told reporters. “That would make [reconciliation] easier.
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From HHS

The Trump administration is taking a stricter stance on a controversial issue: work requirements for Medicaid. A new rule, NOTUS’ Paige Winfield Cunningham reports, could force millions of low-income people off the program.

State officials and patient advocates have been bracing themselves for the regulation. They’ve long been concerned tighter verification and exemptions rules could push people out of the program.

Now under the new rule, those on expanded Medicaid would have to work, go to school or volunteer at least 80 hours a week to remain qualified for the program. There are exemptions for pregnant, disabled or medically frail people, or those who are seeking substance-abuse treatment or are full-time caregivers for a family member.

The rule says that a person’s condition must “significantly impair” their ability to comply with the work requirement. The regulation helps fulfill a longtime GOP effort to corral the program.

“We’re forgiving but we’re not foolish,” Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said at a press briefing.

NEW ON NOTUS

Dark money confusion engine: Democratic primaries remain inundated with a seemingly limitless array of ads from unknown funders, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports. All over the country, the effect is that the shadowy groups have displaced campaigns themselves as the most influential entities in these elections. Alex reports on how huge spending could swing some of tonight’s races.

BE SOCIAL

NOT US

• Do We Live in the Age of “Hyperpolitics”? By Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins for The Nation
• Are Texans Ready for Talarico’s Kind of Christianity? By Ruth Graham and J. David Goodman for The New York Times
• It Was Supposed to Be a Lifeline for a Blue-Collar Town. Then Trump Returned. By Benjamin Storrow for Politico

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The newsletter was produced by Kelly Poe, Matt Berman and Andrew Burton. Image from The Associated Press.