’Til Death Do Us Part

Today’s notice: Happy Valentine’s Day! Democrats love running senior citizens for office. And Democrats are trying to endear themselves to Republican voters with a new strategy. Meanwhile, Republicans are attaching themselves to Trump’s cabinet nominees. And, it turns out, Republicans also like to dote on their voters with taxpayer dollars.

Age Is Just a Number… in the Senate

Remember when all anyone could talk about was the ancient ages of American political leaders?

Joe Biden’s performance in the first presidential debate made everyone very aware that he was 81. Nancy Pelosi was 82 when she announced she wouldn’t run again for House Democratic leader, amid calls that it was time to pass the torch. And Mitch McConnell was the same age when he said he wouldn’t seek another stint as Senate GOP leader.

But that was all before 78-year-old Donald Trump won the White House against a comparatively spry 60-year-old Kamala Harris, with Harris unsuccessfully trying to make age an issue in the race after Democrats desperately tried to ignore that concern earlier in the campaign.

A few months later, NOTUS’ Ursula Perano reports that the lesson is not to worry that much about age — at least in the Senate. “As many as four Senate Democrats over the age of 75 are either planning to — or are weighing — a run for reelection next year,” she writes.

The word “Senate” actually comes from the Latin word “senex,” meaning, fittingly enough, “old man.” And Democrats seem to be taking the etymology to heart.

Ed Markey is 78, Jack Reed is 75. Both are running for reelection. The 80-year-old Dick Durbin and 78-year-old Jeanne Shaheen haven’t said what they’ll do yet. But the “new generation” stuff does not appear to be playing a role in the decision-making process.

Meanwhile, two 66-year-olds are peacing out. Gary Peters said it’s time for “passing the reins to the next generation” in his recent retirement announcement. And in a video yesterday, Tina Smith said her decision to retire is “entirely personal,” noting she has a 95-year-old father and several new grandchildren to hang out with back in Minnesota.

The 77-year-old Peter Welch, the first Democratic senator to publicly call for Biden to step aside, told Ursula age remains “a relevant factor.” But the 91-year-old Republican Chuck Grassley told her it’s not.

“It’s just a number. That’s what I always say,” he said.

Read the story.

Democrats Take the Fight to Red States

As Democrats look to mount an effective opposition to Trump, a new plan at the DNC is taking shape.

A DNC memo, first obtained by NOTUS’ Katherine Swartz, details the disproportionate economic effects that red states would suffer if Trump rolls back the Inflation Reduction Act. It’s a sign that Chair Ken Martin is devoting more of the committee’s resources to improving in GOP-friendly areas rather than just doubling down in Democratic strongholds.

Democratic messaging is also sharpening on Capitol Hill, where the party is seizing on the GOP’s budget squabbles. The argument: It’s so extreme that Trump might not approve, NOTUS’ Calen Razor reports.

“Someone should ask him if he even supports the Republican budget,” Rep. Ro Khanna told NOTUS.

Read Katherine’s Story. | Read Calen’s Story.

Front Page

• Will Congress Stop Playing ‘Whack-a-Mole’ With Chinese Apps?: Lawmakers approved a ban on TikTok and are pushing to limit DeepSeek. Some members think a broader approach is needed.
• GOP Senators Are Itching for a Supreme Court Battle — And Have Shown They Would Likely Win: “That’s one of the biggest accomplishments of the first Trump term, is three Supreme Court justices,” Sen. John Cornyn said.
• Getting More Air Traffic Controllers Is ‘a Top Priority.’ Could Raising the Retirement Age Fix It?: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants to let air traffic controllers, who retire at age 56, stay longer.
• Republican Senators Say They Want to Make Sure Ukraine Has a Voice in Trump’s Peace Talks: “I don’t want Putin to think he’s got a win,” Sen. Thom Tillis said.
• ‘A Very Worthy Cause’: Republicans Support Spending to Study Whether Vaccines Cause Autism: Many Republicans told NOTUS they would support the government researching the debunked link between vaccines and autism.

Trump’s Kitschy Cabinet

Republicans in the Senate have proved they are willing to embrace the president’s unique vision for an executive branch.

Outsider picks to run top agencies have sailed through confirmation, despite some early public indications that senators might take the Advice role seriously before Consenting.

But Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed and sworn in Thursday, which NOTUS’ Margaret Manto reports “signals a new era for the role of the federal health system in the U.S.” Tulsi Gabbard was confirmed on Wednesday to be director of national intelligence, despite concerns about her past associations. And Pete Hegseth has been the defense secretary now for three weeks, despite… everything going on with Pete Hegseth.

Only two Republicans, Susan Collins and Bill Cassidy, joined Democrats to give Linda McMahon a grilling on Thursday. There has been little GOP pushback to McMahon’s stated goal of shutting down the Dept. of Education, fulfilling a key but controversial Trump promise.

NOTUS’ Violet Jira reports McMahon assured the GOP senators that things they like about the department — like collecting data on educational outcomes — would get a thorough evaluation before heading to the scrap heap.

All Your IT Are Belong to Us

On the other side of the age debate, Elon Musk is relying on some very young IT experts to help lead DOGE’s technology efforts. The Trump administration is looking to take control over information systems at government agencies, NOTUS’ Claire Heddles writes, adding a controversial political element to biographical data collection among government workers.

Read the story.

Trend Alert: Republicans Love Government Spending Again

The Liberal Tears aspect of the Trump administration’s federal government raid seemed to shield DOGE from GOP criticism. But, as authorized government spending continues to be frozen, a growing number of Republicans in Congress are asking to turn the spigots back on.

The government purchases around $2 billion of food from American farmers for foreign aid programs, NOTUS’ Nuha Dolby reports. And much of that spending has been frozen as USAID gets DOGE’d. Farmers are feeling the pain, and Republicans are speaking up for them.

“President Trump and his team need to turn this stuff back on. You know, it’s one thing to find a few programs that are bad or being mismanaged, but just a blanket turn off impacts our farmers,” Rep. Don Bacon told Nuha.

Read the story.

Not Us

We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.

• Donald Trump Is Very Busy by Mark Leibovich at The Atlantic
• Who Wants to Co-Host ‘The Daily’? By Charlotte Klein at New York magazine
• Elon Musk’s Waste.gov Is Just a WordPress Theme Placeholder Page by Jason Koebler at 404 Media
• This Obscure Law Is One Reason Trump’s Agenda Keeps Losing in Court by Lawrence Hurley at NBC News

Be Social

True!

Tell Us Your Thoughts

How old is too old to run for office?

Send your thoughts to newsletters@notus.org.

Thank you for reading! If you like this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe (it’s free!).