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Truth vs. Spin

A Minneapolis local, who preferred to only identify himself as Zach, left, chats with a fellow protester.

A Minneapolis local, who preferred to only identify himself as Zach, left, chats with a fellow protester. Jose Pagliery/NOTUS

By Evan McMorris-Santoro, Jasmine Wright and Emily Kennard

January 26, 2026 06:01 AM

Today’s notice: What our reporter is seeing on the ground in Minneapolis. Democrats’ DHS funding fight. What Trump is not posting about. And: Can Trump redefine bystanders’ rights?

THE LATEST

Reality is back. Now what? Just about every credible news outlet of every ideological stripe reported that videos of a federal agent shooting and killing 37-year-old Alex Pretti are markedly different from how DHS described the incident.

The administration’s narrative-generation engine has broken down. “[D]angerous and wrong,” is how the NRA described a claim by Bill Essayli, a Donald Trump-appointed first assistant U.S. attorney in California, who posted that the death was the protester’s fault. Essayli’s take echoed admin talking points from Kristi Noem and JD Vance.

The site of the shooting became a vigil for Pretti on Sunday, NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery reports from the ground. Hundreds of people braved subzero temperatures to pay their respects — and demand accountability.

“I’d prefer to be warm in my bed right now, but now’s the time to stand with people,” Zach, who declined to give his last name, told Jose.

What to watch for next: Some Republican lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the shooting and questioning the ICE tactics on display in Minneapolis. “Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, told CNN.

Do those numbers grow? House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer even suggested that the president pull ICE out of Minnesota, though he framed it as a way to put state Democrats on the spot. “I think the people of Minnesota would rebel against their leadership,” he told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, who appeared visibly frustrated with the administration’s framing of the incident.

Can state and local officials assert any power? Minnesota officials scored a win when federal judge Eric Tostrud, a Trump appointee, granted their request to bar federal law enforcement agencies from altering or destroying evidence.

Immigration enforcement has been this administration’s North Star policy, the so-called “80-20” issue that vanquished their political opposition and melded their coalition together. How does the White House operate in a reality where it’s becoming a liability?

Open tabs: China’s Top General Accused of Giving Nuclear Secrets to U.S. (WSJ); Winter Storm Drives U.S. Flight Cancellations to Pandemic-Level Numbers (NYT); In secret recordings, Cruz trashes Trump tariffs, Vance (Axios); Man Arrested for Alleged ‘Racist’ Assault on Rep. Maxwell Frost (NOTUS)

From the Hill

Shutdown temperature check. Last week, seven House Democrats joined Republicans and passed a DHS appropriations bill that seemed on track for passage in the Senate.

Now, Senate Democrats are attempting to unite and block it, NOTUS’ Avani Kalra reports. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Brian Schatz said they will vote ‘no,’ and urged their colleagues to do the same. At least one of the Democrats who voted to end the government shutdown in 2025, Sen. Jacky Rosen, said she will now vote against the DHS bill.

Remember, any threat of shutdown is over a partial one. Still, there’s little appetite among Senate Republicans to spin DHS funding out of the minibus it’s currently in,NOTUS’ Daniella Diaz and Reese Gorman report. So a block on advancing the DHS bill would also be a block on everything within.

Watch this space: Eight additional House Democrats signed on to Rep. Robin Kelly’s impeachment resolution against Noem over the weekend, NOTUS’ Manuela Silva reports. For those counting, that makes 120 signatories, more than half of the House Democratic Caucus.

One of the new supporters: Rep. Laura Gillen is one of the seven Democrats who voted for the DHS appropriations bill.

From the White House

A notable caution? The prolific poster in the White House spent his snowy weekend on social media, like many of us. But Minneapolis was not a main topic, NOTUS’ Violet Jira reports. Trump endorsed Comer’s Fox News interview, but his Truth Social post didn’t mention the suggestion that he pull ICE out of the city.

Trump did tell The Wall Street Journal’s Josh Dawsey in a five-minute phone interview that he planned to pull federal agents from Minneapolis “at some point” while declining to say whether he thought the agent who shot Pretti had done the right thing.

“We’re looking, we’re reviewing everything and will come out with a determination,” Trump said.

From the campaign trail

First on NOTUS: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.’s longtime Democratic member of Congress, filed a report with the FEC that her reelection campaign has been terminated, NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno reports, ending months of speculation about the 88-year-old’s political future. Neither Norton’s campaign nor her congressional office immediately responded to requests for comment.

THE BIG ONE

Can Trump redefine bystanders’ rights? “The more that these criminal acts are captured on video, and they become part of the public consciousness and the public historical record, the easier it’s going to be to build the kind of political opposition to this regime that will be required to get rid of it one way or the other,” Patrick Eddington, a civil rights scholar at the Cato Institute, told NOTUS’ Jade Lozada and Emily.

Before Trump returned to power last year, Americans’ rights routinely frustrated the people in power. But this White House is trying to turn those frustrations into action and redefine what the public’s rights actually are. Namely, administration officials are cheering efforts by federal agents to clamp down on citizens filming their actions.

What does it mean if they’re successful? “If we didn’t have video footage of what happened to Mr. Pretti yesterday, what would the government tell us?” Will Creeley, legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, said.

From your favorite podcast app

Rep. David Valadao, a moderate California Republican, was one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump in 2021. Today, he’s one of only two still in office. In today’s On NOTUS, Valadao tells Reese Gorman that he has a good relationship with the Trump administration today. How did that happen? “I don’t know,” Valadao says.

Every week, Reese sits down with a lawmaker and dives deep into their background, their journey to Washington and what motivates them. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.

NEW ON NOTUS

One of Congress’ most popular stock buys in 2025 was Nvidia, with more than two dozen lawmakers reporting that they traded the chip company stock last year, NOTUS’ Sam Larreal reports. “I know for a fact they’re calling members of Congress,” Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican who introduced legislation limiting chip exports to China, told Sam. “They’re telling them not to vote for any of these provisions.”

More: Lobbyists Make Millions in Pursuit of Trump Pardons, by Taylor Giorno

RFK Jr. Is Inspiring More STEM Candidates to Run. Will It Expand Democrats’ Map? By Christa Dutton

Members of Congress Have Stepped Up Their Shadow Diplomacy As Trump Threatens Allies, by Helen Huiskes

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