The Epstein Capitulation

Today’s notice: To prove it’s a hoax, they’re doing exactly what the hoaxers want. Team Trump cooks up a health care plan. MAGA’s latest breakup. And: The big money paying for congressional portraits.

THE LATEST

If you can’t beat ‘em: “House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide,” Donald Trump posted late last night in a shift that can really only be characterized as a capitulation in the face of a failed pressure campaign by the White House.

Not that Trump sees it that way. “Some ‘members’ of the Republican Party are being ‘used,’” Trump’s post went on, sticking to the hoax narrative he tried to use for months to shut this down.

That did not work. Winners this week include Rep. Thomas Massie, whose discharge petition was already picking up GOP steam against Trump’s wishes and now sails smoothly to passage. Also, those Democrats who have kept saying the Epstein push is worth the distraction from The Economy, Stupid despite some in the party fretting about it.

“Well, I certainly hope that we can make up,” another winner of the week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said yesterday after Trump branded her a “lunatic” Friday over, among other things, her support for Massie’s petition on the Epstein files. There had been a debate over whether MAGA would abandon its Epstein obsession because Trump demanded it, or whether demands for more from movement die-hards like MTG would win out. It looks like they won out.

Open tabs: Trump’s ballroom could be an early casualty if Dems win in 2028 (NBC); Homeland Security Missions Falter Amid Focus on Deportations (NYT); Trump Lashes Out at Indiana Republicans After Redistricting Effort Stalls (NOTUS); Former Fed governor violated trading rules while at central bank: ethics report (CNBC)

From the White House

How the health care policy convo is going. The Domestic Policy Council is reviewing a number of ideas that could help control Americans’ health care costs. The power, and ultimate decision-making, for now seems to be concentrated there, Jasmine and Violet report.

The people to know: council Director Vince Haley, top White House aide Heidi Overton and Mehmet Oz are leading the internal discussions.

Those options include leaving things as they are. A senior aide told NOTUS that Donald Trump has not ruled out an extension of the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits.

Or, doing something dramatically different. Some are hoping the political pressure of this moment will finally create consensus around a GOP response to the ACA. One option gaining steam among Republicans (and lobbyists working on the issue) is tax-free savings accounts, like HSAs and FSAs, where government subsidy money is given to the consumer.

Another pressure point is 2026. Republicans on the Hill have been planning to include health care policy in a second reconciliation package to pass before the midterms, Jasmine and Violet report, with the goal of filling out that “affordability” line on everyone’s campaign strategy Mad Libs these days.

From the campaign trail

“That play is over,” Sen. Cory Booker told New Hampshire Democrats on Friday in his first visit to the state since the shutdown ended. He was one of two Democratic senators who hit the state last week for, you know, exploratory reasons. NOTUS’ Reese Gorman reports that voters wanted to know what the %#@! happened in The Great Cave. Booker said he’s “not happy about it” but that it was time to move on.

Sen. Chris Murphy was a bit harsher at his stop in the state. He refused to explicitly back Chuck Schumer and equivocated when asked if he still had faith in Schumer’s leadership. “We’ve got to have this conversation in the caucus very quickly,” Murphy said.

The state’s actual Democratic senators, Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, both supported the shutdown deal and took a lot of flak from Democrats for it at their stops, Reese writes.

The DCCC is hunting for a Rep. Jared Golden replacement, NOTUS’ Torrie Herrington reports. Jordan Wood, who was running for Senate, switched to this House race. Maine’s auditor, Matt Dunlap, was already running. That hasn’t stopped House Democrats’ campaign arm from searching — for “someone who truly reflects the district and will fight every day for the people who call it home,” a national Democratic source said.

NOTUS INVESTIGATIONS

Let us paint you a picture. Since the ’90s, the portraits of select members of Congress that adorn committee rooms and congressional halls have been funded through private donations, managed by the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. Dave Levinthal found a largely hidden world of big money with little oversight in his latest investigation for NOTUS.

Some numbers: Dave digs in on two past House Ways and Means chairs, powerful guys definitely on the portrait list. In 2021 and 2022, 26 companies, trade groups, political action committees and individual lobbyists contributed a combined $132,500 to former Rep. Kevin Brady’s portrait. He retired from Congress in 2023. Rep. Richard Neal, who succeeded Brady after Democrats took back the House, currently has $128,000 in his portrait fund, and his career isn’t over yet — he’s running for reelection. Big donors to his portrait fund include MetLife, MGM Resorts, HCA Healthcare, Altria, FedEx, the American Hospital Association PAC and Deloitte.

Few rules govern contributions to congressional portrait funds. Only the donations of registered lobbyists or groups that employ them are effectively traceable. Others are for the most part a black box.

Problem? “If our donors wish to share their particular reasons for donating to the society — such as which program they intend to support with their gift — they are more than welcome to do so,” Samuel Holliday, the historical society’s executive vice president, said.

NEW ON NOTUS

‘Tread carefully’: South Miami Mayor Javier Fernández has held out from deputizing the city’s police to act as immigration agents. Why? A $112 million jury verdict in New York in favor of unlawfully detained immigrants is one concern.

“This is exactly the kind of concern that was at the center of our deliberations, where we could be exposed to paying a substantial legal claim,” Fernández told NOTUS’ Jackie Llanos.

More: Maryland’s Redistricting Hits a Snag, by Manuela Silva

National Guard Troops in Chicago and Portland Are Being Recalled, by Amelia Benavides-Colón

NOT US

• Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts, by Justin Elliott, Joshua Kaplan and Alex Mierjeski for ProPublica
  
• Trump-Licensed Presidential Seal Beer Pong Set Could Violate Federal Law, by Zach Everson for Forbes
  
• Admit It. Gavin Newsom Is the 2028 Front-runner. By Jonathan Martin for Politico

WEEK AHEAD

Monday: RFK Jr. is scheduled to speak in Washington at a Turning Point USA Q&A hosted by the GWU College Republicans.

Tuesday: Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, will reportedly be the guest of honor at a state dinner-like event at the White House.

Reps. Massie and Ro Khanna have scheduled a press conference on Capitol Hill with Epstein victims, NOTUS’ Em Luetkemeyer reports.

Wednesday: Former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, now the CEO of the Airlines for America trade association, is scheduled to testify at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the shutdown’s impact on air travel.

Thursday: A State Department Foreign Terrorist Organization designation for four international groups is slated to go into effect.

Saturday: The G20 summit is scheduled to kick off in South Africa. The United States is boycotting.

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