Today’s notice: Destiny is calling, will Dems accept the charges? Saying no to a great job. And, people who said yes: Meet the new class of AJI fellows!
Trump Is Giving Democrats Opportunities. Can They Capitalize?
Republicans on Capitol Hill are locked in an uncomfortable fight over cutting Medicaid and other services people like. Donald Trump’s tariffs are kicking in for real now, and his approval numbers remain among the lowest of his political career. Should be a good week to be a Democrat, in theory.
In practice it seems to be quite challenging, as Semafor detailed in a recent piece about Dem poll numbers, which remain persistently low despite the public souring on MAGA. An interesting thing happens when one asks Democrats about this situation – this gift of a week fades out of view and the continuing party identity crisis pops right back to the surface, as though it was mid-November of last year.
“What are we for? We’ve got to show that,” Sen. Peter Welch told NOTUS yesterday.
Political operatives will tell you it’s very early to think about polls in an election sense, or a voter engagement sense. Some Democratic strategists we talked to say Trump’s numbers are more important now, pointing to his losing voter confidence in some of his strongest issue areas, like immigration and the economy. That creates space for Dems to build in, they say.
Democrats have been on an aggressive outreach tour this year, even hosting events in red districts in an effort to channel public anger at Trump 2.0 toward increased support. But at least on Tuesday, how that project translates to Capitol Hill was unclear, as NOTUS’ Claire Heddles and Casey Murray report. Yesterday, as Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent testified at one House hearing and Homeland Security Sec. Kristi Noem at another, “visible anger was in short supply” from the opposition party, they write.
Democrats are still trying to figure this out, clearly. Click to read more on what they told us.
—Evan McMorris-Santoro and Samuel Larreal
Exclusive: Offering Access to RFK, Jr. … For A Price
Angela Stanton King was a top adviser to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s presidential campaign and, NOTUS’ Margaret Manto reports, continues to have a personal relationship with the HHS secretary. She also has close connections in the MAGA world — Trump pardoned her in 2020 after a 2007 conviction as part of a car-theft ring.
King now runs a pregnancy resource center called Auntie Angie’s House, and Margaret writes that on social media, she has “spelled out her response to questions asking for her help getting things from the Trump administration and Kennedy, from navigating the pardon process to making connections with the secretary or getting jobs at HHS.”
In short, multiple posts reviewed by Margaret say in effect, hire me or help Auntie Angie’s House, and we’ll talk. A well-worn D.C. vibe to be sure but one with some potential extra baggage.
While HHS told Margaret that King “does not have any role in decision-making” and does not have a job there, King told Margaret she now advises RFK on maternal health issues, part of her personal relationship with him. King added that no one has ever paid her to connect them with Kennedy. Meanwhile, HHS gave Auntie Angie’s House a boost on X in a post last week featuring a photo of King and RFK at HHS HQ. The post said she was there “to discuss maternal health and infant mortality rates in Georgia.”
An expert Margaret talked to said that King is free to influence peddle like any lobbyist or Washington consultant. But, Margaret writes, King’s “parallel role as an adviser to Kennedy complicates things because it gives her a degree of access to the secretary that most lobbyists could only wish for.”
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- Young Catholic influencers are bringing MAGA to the masses, by Jennifer Gerson and Mariel Padilla for The 19th
- For LGBT nonprofits, Trump’s orders target their very existence, by Bob Egelko for the San Francisco Chronicle
- Ohio governor moves to keep the state GOP from endorsing Trump-backed Vivek Ramaswamy to succeed him, by Henry J. Gomez for NBC News
- U.S. Orders Intelligence Agencies to Step Up Spying on Greenland, by Katherine Long and Alexander Ward for the Wall Street Journal
NOTUS Scoop: Saying No To Cyprus
“Can’t say exactly how it’s gonna happen. But I’m optimistic.”
Ohio AG Dave Yost asked for a presidential appointment as an off-ramp for his flagging bid in the Republican gubernatorial primary, NOTUS’ Reese Gorman reports. But the off-ramp he got, an offer to be U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus, was apparently not enticing enough and Yost “rejected it,” Reese writes.
“For the White House to come through with an offer like this both shows their respect for him, and how much they value him, and then to turn that down is unbelievable,” a source familiar with the deal told Reese.
Rethinking Migrant Worker Visas
Rep. Derrick Van Orden tells NOTUS’ Emily Kennard he’s in talks with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Tom Homan on a plan aimed at ensuring industry has ready access to migrant workers, while also denying them “a pathway to citizenship” or “any free pennies,” as he put it. Details on his proposed bill are scarce, but in essence the plan would “alter work authorization programs such as H-2A and H-2B, which allow foreign workers to fill temporary or seasonal jobs,” Emily writes. Trump “floated a similar idea” in a cabinet meeting last month.
How Do You Count Equilibrium?
On Tuesday, Johnson met with about 18 members from vulnerable districts as they tried to iron out differences in their reconciliation package, like potential Medicaid cuts.
These Republicans told NOTUS that the House shouldn’t make substantial cuts to Medicaid and other programs, especially if the Senate is also opposed. Following their advice would put Johnson in a bind with conservatives in his conference.
“We’ve been working really hard to take all the input and find that kind of equilibrium point where everyone’s at least satisfied,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday.
Front Page
- Inside the Shadow Race to Be the Top Democrat on Oversight: Reps. Jasmine Crockett, Robert Garcia, Stephen Lynch and Ro Khanna are all considering a run to be one of the Democratic Party’s top messengers. But no one can be too public about it.
- Not All Billionaires: Democrats Aren’t Against Big Money Donors If They Share Their Values: Democrats are trying to paint Republicans as the party of the extremely wealthy but they don’t think they need to cut off their own big money donors.
- The Already Crowded Illinois Senate Race Gets Another Contender: Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi announced Wednesday that he’s jumping into the Senate race.
News About … Us
NOTUS is proud to announce our third class of Allbritton Journalism Institute fellows!
Our two-year fellowship trains the next generation of top political journalists through an unmatched educational program and on-the-ground reporting experience.
Meet our 10 new colleagues here.
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