Who’s Next?

Today’s notice: Who’s next on Trump’s chopping block? What’s Todd Blanche’s deal? An exclusive interview with John Thune. The Rayburn House Office Building is falling apart. “Leadership change” at the Pentagon. Plus: The EPA sets its sights on microplastics.

THE LATEST

You’re fired! It’s not unheard of for high-ranking administration officials to leave one or two years into office — either weary from a demanding job or pushed out by a president as they inch closer to midterms or reelection campaigns. But were the oustings of Pam Bondi and Kristi Noem isolated incidents or signs of more firings to come?

It depends on who you ask. One MAGA strategist close to the White House simply texted, “no, I don’t think so,” adding, “I think if there’s any time for him to do a shuffle, it’s now.”

Another source familiar with Donald Trump’s thinking framed Bondi’s exit as a result of the president’s unhappiness with the pace of indictments against his foes, among other issues, and Noem’s as the result of a bad hearing and an ill-advised $200 million ad campaign.

The president is in a precarious position thanks to sinking poll numbers, high gas prices, tumult over the war with Iran and lingering concern over the Epstein files. So who else could be vulnerable, at a time of high vulnerability? We asked our sources and two names in particular came up.

• Tulsi Gabbard: The White House and allies of Gabbard went through great pains yesterday to deny that the director of national intelligence was at risk of losing her job, with one source telling Jasmine that she was “safe.” An ominous sign, though: Two sources told NOTUS that Trump has been asking around about her job performance.
  
• Lori Chavez-DeRemer: The labor secretary has faced numerous scandals in her 12 months in office. They include accusations of an “inappropriate” relationship with a subordinate, which led to an investigation by the inspector general, and reports that her husband was barred from the department building after inappropriate behavior. Several of her top aides have resigned, leading supporters of the president — including some inside the administration — to question whether she should be in her role.
  

Open tabs: Trump’s Media-Bashing Is Coming Back to Bite Him in Court (NYT); Hegseth has intervened in military promotions for more than a dozen senior officers (NBC); Trump signs order imposing 100 percent tariff on brand name drugs (The Hill); Inside Trump’s Search for a Way Out of the Iran War (Time)

From the DOJ

In a presidential administration inundated with scandals, the newly elevated acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, stands out for operating as a sort of fixer. And now he has the reins at the DOJ.

The issues Trump had with Bondi — not being sufficiently aggressive at pursuing political enemies and her handling of the Epstein files rollout — don’t seem to stick to Blanche, NOTUS’ Jose Pagliery and Jasmine report. That’s due, in part, to the bond Blanche formed with Trump when he worked as his defense lawyer.

“Trump says, ‘What do we do to make this go away?’ Todd says, ‘I’ll go down there,’” is how one person familiar with both Trump and Blanche described the decision-making process at the White House to Jose.

But Blanche is a controversial figure with some MAGA faithful. Two close Trump allies told NOTUS that they blame Blanche, not Bondi, for the lack of progress in indicting people the president has targeted.

“He’s the one that has actually been running the department,” the first source said, calling Bondi a “figurehead.” The second said, “He needs to be removed.”

From the Senate

Majority Leader John Thune has been stuck between a rock and a hard place continually

since Republicans came to power, with Trump’s demands on one side and the Senate — a chamber chock-full of both rigid procedure and delicate camaraderie — on the other.

“The president was where he is, and I know that. I just tell him, ‘I’m not telling you. I’m just giving you a dosage of reality. It’s not going to happen. The votes aren’t there,’” Thune told NOTUS’ Al Weaver about Trump’s repeated requests to change the upper chamber’s rules or to nuke the filibuster.

He has midterms to worry about. Plus, gas hit $4 a gallon this week. Thune recognizes that a prolonged war with Iran could spell trouble for his party.

“People are pocketbook voters,” Thune told Al. “It has real implications and ramifications, and I think an extended presence there creates that.”

He’s also not bitter about Mike Johnson and Trump’s newfound support for the Senate’s plan to fund DHS, saying he’s “usually under the bus” when it comes to the House anyway.

“There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and that the House is going to hate on the Senate,” he said.

From the House

The Rayburn House Office Building is struggling, and some of the lawmakers who work there know it. “We’re sinking!” Rep. Mike Quigley, who has an office in the building, joked to NOTUS’ Manuela Silva.

“We put things off for a long time, and we’re paying the price,” Quigley said. And quite a big price, too: Thomas Austin, the architect of the Capitol, said his office is asking Congress for $1.6 billion, nearly double what it received this fiscal year, in part to fix the building, which opened in the 1960s and now houses over 150 congressional offices.

Leaks and asbestos are just some of the problems posed by the building’s poor shape. Rep. Mike Rogers had a clear tube installed to drain pink “goo” leaking into his office. He then had to relocate his staff for three months because fixing the goo-filled pipes meant busting up asbestos in the walls.

Austin recently warned the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch that “a catastrophic system failure in Rayburn” was possible, but lawmakers are still waiting on a final proposal from him.

What will that look like, and where will lawmakers go? No one knows that yet, either: Among some options are tearing Rayburn down completely and starting over, though other lawmakers said that’s not being considered. Congressional offices could relocate to another building. Or, the renovations could be done in stages, like those wrapping up at the Cannon House Office Building.

“All this stuff takes so long, it’s crazy,” Rep. Riley Moore told Manuela. “It’s representative of how hard it is, unfortunately, for Congress to do anything.”

From the Pentagon

“Leadership change”: That’s how a Department of Defense spokesperson described Pete Hegseth’s decision to oust the Army’s chief of staff, Randy George, yesterday. Hegseth asked the experienced general to retire, a request George promptly granted.

He was appointed by Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023. Army chiefs of staff usually serve four-year terms, and George’s was set to expire in 2027. The decision comes as Trump is weighing whether to launch a ground operation in Iran.

NEW ON NOTUS

Move over, fluoride: EPA head Lee Zeldin is setting his sights on microplastics and pharmaceuticals in the country’s water supply, NOTUS’ Margaret Manto reports. He announced yesterday that the agency would classify microplastics, “forever chemicals,” disinfection byproducts and drugs like antidepressants and antibiotics as drinking water contaminants. The move was accompanied by a $144 million investment by the Department of Health and Human Services into studying the potential health risks of microplastics.

More: This Democrat and Republican Want to Help Americans in Rural Areas Buy Houses, by Raymond Fernández

DOJ Says the Presidential Records Act Is Unconstitutional, by Torrie Herrington

NOT US

• ‘Think Everybody Dead’: How the Threat of AI Is Fueling a New Political Alliance, by Calder McHugh and Brendan Bordelon for Politico
  
• The Team Behind a Pro-Iran, Lego-Themed Viral-Video Campaign, by Kyle Chayka for The New Yorker
  
• The Manosphere Feels Betrayed, by Hanna Rosin for The Atlantic

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