The Semiquincentennial Split

Today’s notice: Turning 250 turned partisan. Checking in on the Great American State Fair. Republicans plan to engage low-propensity voters. Four million fewer Americans on ACA’s rolls after price hikes.

THE LATEST

The 250th that could have been? A patriotic, unified kumbaya moment where all sides dropped the fiery attack rhetoric to raise the Stars and Stripes in celebration could have marked America’s 250th anniversary. But Donald Trump has changed the vibe of the nation’s birthday party, many on Capitol Hill tell NOTUS’ Igor Bobic and Oriana González.

“I remember the 200th in 1976 and how the whole country celebrated together, and it’s unfortunate that it seems to be turning into a more partisan event,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire), a board member of the congressionally anointed America250 commission running into competition with Trump’s self-appointed Freedom 250 group.

Trump allies dispute that. “He’s not trying to sabotage the America250,” said Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Alabama). He acknowledged that there are people on the America250 commission who do not “embrace” what Freedom 250 is doing, “but that’s OK.”

Mother Nature did temporarily sabotage Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair on Sunday as organizers told crowds to disperse and seek shelter, adding to the rocky start for the festival on the National Mall already hampered by power outages and sparse attendance. The 110-foot-tall Ferris wheel briefly shut down and ice cream melted, but, thankfully, Iowa’s butter cow survived, NOTUS’ Jenna Monnin reports. A Confederate flag made a brief appearance in North Carolina’s booth before Gov. Josh Stein (D-North Carolina) condemned the display, which was not state sanctioned.

Trump took a detour on his way to Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Virginia, on Sunday to peek at the remodel of the public golf course at D.C.’s Potomac Park East, saying work there will begin Sept. 1. His motorcade also took a slow drive around Memorial Circle, where he wants to construct an arch, not far from the replica at the fair on the National Mall.

Peace talks with Iran, meanwhile, were stalled or ongoing, depending on who you want to believe. After an exchange of strikes this weekend, Iran said it pulled out of technical talks Sunday, while a U.S. official told Jenna negotiations to end the war continue and both sides have agreed to “stand down for now,” allowing vessels free passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

Open tabs: With time running out, Trump digs in on changing midterm election rules (WaPo); The Supreme Court Is Building Its Own Massive Police Force (Politico); Ukraine’s drone set another Russian oil refinery ablaze as Putin admits fuel shortages (AP); Trump warns likely next DC mayor against ‘communist’ policies (The Hill)

From the campaign trail

Lessons from Trump 2024. Republicans plan to deploy the same strategy that rocketed Trump back to the White House to keep control of Congress: turning out people who usually don’t vote. Strategists are building an entire strategy around aggressively courting the support of “low propensity” voters, after that bloc propelled Trump to office in 2024, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty reports.

If you cast a ballot two years ago but often skip midterm elections, you’re at the top of the list for Republican strategists — who believe targeting overlooked voters will give them a chance to defy widespread predictions of their electoral doom.

“There has never been an operation like this before,” Theresa Vaccaro, political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, told Alex.

From the administration

Sticker shock over double-digit premium hikes may have caused 4 million Americans to drop out of Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces in their first month of coverage this year, NOTUS’ Paige Winfield Cunningham reports. That’s the number who signed up for a plan but were no longer enrolled as of February, according to a report released online Friday by HHS.

Americans who dropped out largely failed to pay monthly premiums, which rose after congressional Republicans allowed for extra pandemic-era federal subsidies to expire in December. Democrats are likely to seize on the figures to blame Republicans for higher health care costs ahead of the midterms.

NOTUS METRO

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Local news: Most Metro Fare Evasion Cases in D.C. Are Thrown Out, by Martin Austermuhle

NEW ON NOTUS

How cotton won: When the original MAHA Commission Report was released last May, America’s cotton growers were dismayed. The centerpiece of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s early tenure, which sketched out a blueprint for future policy moves, attacked pesticides and herbicides, which the cotton industry relies on, and warned of exposure to microplastics in children’s clothing without differentiating between natural fabrics and synthetic ones. NOTUS’ Margaret Manto takes a deep dive into what happened next.

A National Cotton Council of America VP, Marjory Walker, met with the MAHA Commission and made this case: Cotton does not release microplastics like synthetic garments can. In the following months, cotton’s argument became RFK’s argument as the focus on pesticides diminished in Trump 2.0 under industry pressure. Some in the MAHA cohort are frustrated, but Big Cotton is thrilled.

More: Julia Letlow Wins Primary Runoff for Louisiana Senate Seat; Federal LGBTQ+ Youth Hotline Could Relaunch Without Its Primary Advocate; Texas Approves Required Reading List Including Bible Stories

NOT US

• Money once used for crucial national-park repairs is now financing Trump’s redecorating projects, by Michael Scherer for The Atlantic
• GOP lawmakers divided over Hegseth’s ouster of top Army commander, by Filip Timotija for The Hill
• How the Reflecting Pool Turned Green, by Maxine Joselow and Luke Broadwater for The New York Times
• Trump’s “communist” midterm message, by Mike Zapler for Axios

WEEK AHEAD

Today

• Supreme Court rulings expected.

Tuesday

• Primary elections in Colorado.

Wednesday

• Trump speaks at the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota.

Thursday

• Latest job numbers are released.

Friday

• Independence Day (federal holiday observed).
• Trump attends a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

Saturday

• Independence Day (America’s 250th anniversary).

BE SOCIAL

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The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr and Nikie Johnson. Photo by Jacquelyn Martin/AP.