Today\u2019s notice: A new NOTUS podcast hosted by Reese Gorman launches today. All the stuff Congress has to deal with in a short period of time. And: A deep dive into government web design. <\/p>\n
THE LATEST<\/p>\n
The dogs of war are barking. Commercial airplanes were reportedly avoiding<\/a> Venezuelan airspace yesterday morning, hours after Donald Trump declared that bit of sky \u201cCLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.\u201d It\u2019s unclear how much the post and the clear skies are directly related. A slew of international airlines were already steering clear<\/a> of Venezuela days before the post.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s allies are promising what comes next will be limited. \u201cHe\u2019s made it very clear we\u2019re not going to put troops into Venezuela. What we\u2019re trying to do is protect our own shores,\u201d Sen. Markwayne Mullin told CNN<\/a> yesterday.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t seem to jibe with a bombshell report in the Miami Herald<\/a> over the weekend alleging that a phone call earlier this month between Trump and the country\u2019s president, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, quickly went south. Trump reportedly made a blunt offer to his counterpart: Save your life by leaving the country immediately, or risk the consequences.<\/p>\n Trump confirmed the call: \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say it went well, or badly. It was\u2026 a phone call,\u201d he told reporters aboard Air Force One yesterday.<\/p>\n Congressional pushback to any potential conflict is mounting. \u201cI along with others, filed a resolution, no war in Venezuela or against Venezuela without congressional approval. It failed, but that was before\u201d the recent buildup, Sen. Tim Kaine told CBS<\/a>. \u201cWe do believe that we will get more support for these motions when they are refiled,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n D.C. National Guard shooting. \u201cRadicalized since he\u2019s been here in this country,\u201d is how Kristi Noem described<\/a> the Afghan national accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard troops deployed in D.C. last week. One of the troops died; the other is still in the hospital.<\/p>\n This is a horrible story already subsumed by politics. The Trump administration basically wants to make it all about Joe Biden. Many Trump opponents want to make it all about the president\u2019s domestic deployments and federal law enforcement surges.<\/p>\n Room for agreement? Noem told NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d that DHS will review other Afghans brought into the U.S. after American forces hastily withdrew under Biden. Speaking on the same show, Sen. Mark Kelly suggested support for that plan. \u201cShe talked about changing the vetting process. I think that\u2019s a good idea,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Immigration. A conversation about vetting, however, is not where the aftermath of the D.C. shooting is headed. Trump declared his administration will \u201cpermanently pause migration from all Third World Countries\u201d in an evening post<\/a> on Thanksgiving. He followed that up last night by promising the shutdown would last \u201ca long time.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want them. We don\u2019t want those people,\u201d Trump insisted.<\/p>\n Democrats see a particularly nasty politics here. \u201cI take that as a message that they don\u2019t want brown people coming to the United States,\u201d Kelly said in the same NBC interview<\/a>. \u201cI find that disturbing.\u201d<\/p>\n Open Tabs Cory Booker Marries in a Private Ceremony<\/a> (NYT); 4 killed after shooting at California child\u2019s birthday party<\/a> (CNN); Trump\u2019s pick to replace DeSantis faces a Republican pile-on in Florida<\/a> (Politico); Trump to pardon former Honduran President for 2024 drug trafficking sentence<\/a> (AP)<\/p>\n From the Hill<\/p>\n In addition to all that stuff above, Congress has a very full agenda in the 13 scheduled legislative days between today and the holiday recess. NOTUS\u2019 Riley Rogerson breaks it down<\/a>:<\/p>\n ACA subsidies. The last thing we heard before turkey and stuffing, the White House was close to rolling out its plan<\/a>. There\u2019s no indication of when that might happen, but it is unlikely to sail through Congress. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be tough,\u201d Rep. Tom Suozzi said.<\/p>\n Appropriations. Nine appropriations bills have to pass by Jan. 30. Easy? Nope. Democrats need to figure out what to do in the Senate, and the top appropriations guy in the House told NOTUS that the chamber does not like to be rushed. \u201cThere\u2019s always, on our side, some chagrin about huge bills right before Christmas,\u201d Rep. Tom Cole said.<\/p>\n Morale. Riley reports that the toughest challenge for congressional leaders hoping to make the most of their baker\u2019s dozen working days is that no one really wants to do any more work in 2025.<\/p>\n From the White House<\/p>\n \u201cMuch work remains, but today was again very productive.\u201d That\u2019s how Secretary of State Marco Rubio described his meeting yesterday with special envoy Steve Witkoff, private citizen\/the president\u2019s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Ukrainian officials. A White House official confirmed to Jasmine that the meeting comes just days before Witkoff and Kushner\u2019s sit-down with Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n The meeting also comes on the heels of two bombshells. First, a double hit against Witkoff, who first had a transcript of his call with a Russian official \u2014 which was not flattering \u2014 leak. Then a deeply sourced Wall Street Journal article<\/a> detailing the financial motivations potentially steering Witkoff and Russia through the peace process. Second, Zelenskyy lost his top peace negotiator last week when his chief of staff resigned amid a corruption scandal plaguing top Ukrainian officials.<\/p>\n THE BIG ONE<\/p>\n Design is my passion. Government websites look a little different in Trump 2.0. A presidential executive order in August has led to a requirement that every agency in the federal government link up with Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia \u2014 chief design officer of the new National Design Studio \u2014 to give their sites a MAGA sheen. NOTUS\u2019 Margaret Manto and Emily Kennard looked into<\/a> how that\u2019s going.<\/p>\n The DOGE effect. This is all a huge departure from the careful way government websites have been built in the past. For more than a decade, a staff of workers at GSA helped ensure government sites had the proper ADA, privacy and other legal requirements. That office was closed in March after being deemed nonessential.<\/p>\n The scary stuff. One of the projects National Design Studio has worked on is TrumpRx, which offers discounted prescription drugs. Site administrators could theoretically see which medications people are taking.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I do it through a pharmacy and an actual health care provider, they\u2019ve been going through the requirements for HIPAA compliance for decades,\u201d Christopher Butler, a web designer who attended college with Gebbia, told Margaret and Emily. \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily trust that the guy from Airbnb has any background in that.\u201d<\/p>\n Gebbia did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n From your favorite podcast app! <\/p>\n Our first episode of the On NOTUS podcast is live today<\/a>! House Majority Leader Steve Scalise joins NOTUS\u2019 Reese Gorman for a candid talk about how to get things done in the House, why he decided to run for office and the assassination attempt that almost took his life. He also shared the advice<\/a> he readily hands out to new members of Congress:<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t try to question the integrity of somebody just because they vote against you today, because you may need them tomorrow,\u201d he tells Reese.<\/p>\n Every week, Reese sits down with a lawmaker and dives deep on their background, their journey to Washington and what motivates them. Subscribe on Spotify<\/a>, Apple Podcasts<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.<\/p>\n NEW ON NOTUS<\/p>\n Mitch McConnell\u2019s legacy: The Republican primary to replace the longtime senator has transformed into a public debate over his legacy. Despite Trump\u2019s takeover of the GOP, there is a loose coalition of Republicans in the state who defend McConnell, NOTUS\u2019 Alex Roarty and Helen Huiskes report<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt bothers me,\u201d Trey Grayson, a former Kentucky secretary of state, said of the \u201cmeanness\u201d expressed toward McConnell. \u201cI personally don\u2019t like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Latinos are the new swing voters: \u201cA couple Tuesdays ago was just the latest reminder you cannot, should not take Latino voters for granted,\u201d California Sen. Alex Padilla told NOTUS\u2019 Daniella Diaz<\/a> of Democrats\u2019 relative success with the crucial voting bloc. Republicans are now trying to adjust their strategy with Latino voters accordingly, Daniella reports.<\/p>\n More: Troy Nehls\u2019 Identical Twin Brother Wants to Replace Him in Congress<\/a>, by Amelia Benavides-Col\u00f3n<\/p>\n Tim Walz Responds to Trump\u2019s \u2018Hurtful\u2019 Thanksgiving Slur<\/a>, by Amelia Benavides-Col\u00f3n<\/p>\n NOT US<\/p>\n 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<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s free! Have a Tip? Email us at tips@notus.org<\/a>. And as always, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts on our newsletter at newsletters@notus.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s notice: A new NOTUS podcast hosted by Reese Gorman launches today. 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