Today’s notice: Huge crowds turn out to mourn Charlie Kirk. Trump leans on the DOJ. Planning for AI’s impact on 2026, or not. And: Trumpworld picks an Iowa standard-bearer.
THE LATEST
Turning up the heat: President Donald Trump posted an open letter to AG Pam Bondi over the weekend in a series of Truth Social messages, marking the latest test in this administration’s ongoing effort to expand executive power.
The president demanded prosecutions of people who he said tormented him in recent years — New York AG Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff and James Comey, former director of the FBI.
That’s not all: The weekend also saw the departure of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert, whom Trump chose for the job in May. ABC News reported Siebert was told late last week Trump wanted him out after reports that James would not face prosecution for widely MAGA-circulated allegations of mortgage fraud Siebert’s office investigated.
Trump’s new pick: Lindsey Halligan. She’s currently serving on the White House staff after representing Trump in the criminal case brought against him over alleged mishandling of classified documents. The clear implication is she will do what Siebert wouldn’t or couldn’t.
It’s part of a plan to, as NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery reports, roll back Nixon-era reforms designed to convince the public the DOJ is not just a powerful political arm of the White House. Jose reports that the department’s Public Integrity Section is down to just two full-time lawyers, the smallest it’s been since it was created in 1976.
“The Department of Justice takes public corruption seriously and continues to investigate and prosecute these cases rigorously,” a DOJ spox told NOTUS.
“Seriously” can be a subjective term, however. The other big executive branch story from the weekend was an FBI public corruption sting that, according to MSNBC, snagged White House border czar Tom Homan before Trump’s DOJ shut it down.
Open Tabs: Trump admin set to tie Tylenol to autism risk: officials (WaPo); Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal Recognize Palestinian State (NYT); Ramaswamy nabs Teamsters endorsement (Semafor); Lachlan Murdoch involved in TikTok deal, Trump says (Reuters)
From Charlie Kirk’s funeral
So much for unity: “Charlie is angry at me looking down,” Trump said during a public memorial service for Charlie Kirk yesterday, attempting to sum up his late friend’s worldview.
“He did not hate his opponents. He wanted the best for them — but that’s where I disagreed with Charlie,” Trump told a capacity crowd at State Farm Arena in Glendale, Arizona. “I hate my opponent. And I don’t want the best for them.” The comment was met with raucous cheers and laughter.
It was a nearly 45-minute address that largely followed Trump’s favorite campaign talking points: cancel culture, the benefits of tariffs, out-of-control crime in Kirk’s native Chicago and a lengthy diatribe against the “radical left lunatics” he blamed for the conservative activist’s death.
From the Hill
Can we talk? Democrats are starting the week having made a “demand” to speak with Trump. “At your direction, Republican congressional leaders have repeatedly and publicly refused to engage in bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open,” Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer wrote in a letter to the president Saturday.
Democrats’ message: “We want to negotiate. We can’t negotiate by ourselves,” Sen. Peter Welch said.
Republicans’ message: Trust us this time. “I think if we get this new appropriations process, we’ll find strong Republican support for getting the items that are appropriated executed,” Sen. Mike Rounds said of Democrats’ anger toward recent partisan rescissions.
From the campaign trail
Trumpworld picks its Iowa standard-bearer: The president’s political operation is set to get behind Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan’s bid for the 4th District seat being vacated by Rep. Randy Feenstra, who is running for governor.
NOTUS’ Reese Gorman reports Trump 2024 data director Tim Saler, Trump 2016 Iowa director Juston Johnson and former RNC political director Blaise Hazelwood are running the “Iowa Always” super PAC, which will back McGowan.
Another Iowa exclusive: A caucus of young Democratic members on Capitol Hill is endorsing Iowa state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott in her competitive House primary for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty has learned. The endorsement, expected to be announced Monday, comes from Future Forum PAC, chaired by Democratic Reps. Morgan McGarvey of Kentucky, Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, Gabe Amo of Rhode Island, and Janelle Bynum of Oregon.
Iowa’s 3rd District is represented by Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, and is considered one of the Democratic Party’s most promising 2026 midterm targets. First, however, Trone Garriott has to win her primary against former Iowa state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst.
THE BIG ONE
The 2026 AI vulnerability. Advancements in technology have taken the conversation around AI from “someday a nefarious actor could derail an election with a deepfake” to “maybe tomorrow they will.” NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal reached more than a dozen lawmakers from both parties, and none had a protocol for dealing with election-related AI deepfakes.
Broad tech backlash has reignited in Congress after Charlie Kirk’s assassination. “I would like to just unplug the internet. Honestly, our lives would be immeasurably better if we just didn’t have these damn devices,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy told Sam. “All I know is, I’d rather give my kids a case of beer and a pack of cigarettes than this damn phone.”
There is a patchwork of state laws around how the truly sci-fi-sounding “synthetic media” can be used in campaigns. But they are confusing, and no one knows if they are effective. And the backlash puts candidates on a possible crash course with the companies they will need to protect them.
NEW ON NOTUS
NAB’s new silence on broadcast license threats: Last October, National Association of Broadcasters CEO Curtis LeGeyt released a scorching statement in response to then-candidate Trump’s promise to use broadcast licenses as a means to police political speech.
Maybe it was foreshadowing that the statement didn’t call out Trump by name, though: The Trump administration moving quickly to make good on its threats has been met with no public NAB response at all, NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno reports.
More: Trump Kneecapped the UN. Now He’s Returning to Address Its Members, by Violet Jira
Republicans’ CR Quietly Includes Funding for Mississippi’s Water Crisis, by Torrence Banks
CDC’s Vaccine Panel Postpones a MAHA-Backed Hepatitis B Vaccine Vote, by Margaret Manto
NOT US
- For Erika Kirk, a Husband’s Life Cut Short by Violence He Seemed to Foresee, by Robert Draper for the New York Times
- Trump is breaking US diplomacy, State Department staffers say, by Nahal Toosi for Politico
- ‘No evidence’ found yet of ties between Charlie Kirk’s shooting and left-wing groups, by Allan Smith, Michael Kosnar, Kelly O’Donnell and Ryan J. Reilly for NBC News
WEEK AHEAD
Tonight: Kamala Harris is scheduled to give the first major interview of her book tour to Rachel Maddow.
Tuesday: Trump is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly.
Thursday: Oral arguments are scheduled to begin in a D.C. federal courtroom in the suit filed by House Democrats against DHS over their access being denied to ICE facilities.
Friday: Trump told Fox News he plans to attend the Ryder Cup in Farmingdale, New York.
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