Today\u2019s notice: After-address reviews. Campaign trail reporting on Medicaid, Michigan and where the abortion issue went. Members and SpaceX stock. And: Staying elected in Maine. <\/p>\n
THE LATEST<\/p>\n
What comes after that speech? The message from Donald Trump was not subtle last night: \u201cThese disclosures reveal an election system so broken and vulnerable that no one can possibly defend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president\u2019s address veered from campaign speech to list of grievances to complaints about the media to repackaging of long-standing MAGA conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no doubt people will be digging through the documents he released, though initial reads show them to be heavily redacted and missing context.<\/p>\n
Trump reinvigorated those ready to blow up the filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act. \u201cTonight\u2019s revelations in @POTUS\u2019 speech were truly shocking,\u201d Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) posted. \u201cWe need the SAVE America Act NOW.\u201d But there\u2019s no sign this speech changed the legislative math, which shows passage of the bill is simply impossible.<\/p>\n
The speech was not the subject of real-time chatter like the White House \u2014 which billed it as a major address and \u201cbreaking news\u201d \u2014 may have expected. Two broadcast networks \u2014 ABC and NBC \u2014 didn\u2019t carry it live, and CBS picked it up late. Fox News carried it live but quickly moved on to the Iran war after. NOTUS\u2019 Kadia Goba told us she sent dozens of texts about the speech to lawmakers and similarly plugged-in types and received mostly radio silence back.<\/p>\n
The message Trump delivered was old, and that may have been the problem. Two GOP strategists close with the White House, supportive of Trump and the SAVE America Act both told Jasmine they were unsure why the president chose five months before the 2026 midterm elections to rehash 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds like this is a speech of someone who thinks they\u2019re going to lose in November,\u201d one of the strategists said.<\/p>\n
When the second strategist got a look at one of the heavily redacted documents on China accessing voter files, they simply replied, \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be kidding me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democrats had a similar response. Rep. Joe Morelle (D-New York) told C-SPAN right after the speech, \u201cIt\u2019s the ranting of a pathetic and unserious person.\u201d<\/p>\n
But also, a person with a lot of power. The documents are there, and some pointed out that what comes next could be not more words, but actions.<\/p>\n
Before the speech was over, one lawmaker texted Kadia their summation: \u201cSetting the stage to meddle with the midterms.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NOTUS team has more details<\/a> on what was in the speech and what it means.<\/p>\n Open tabs: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say<\/a> (AP); Smoke Floating Far From Canada\u2019s Wildfires Will Darken Skies Again on Thursday<\/a> (NYT); Fetterman Lays Out \u2018Red Line\u2019 That Would Lead Him to Ditch Democrats<\/a> (NOTUS); Trump\u2019s Teleprompter Operator Is Accused of Betting on the President\u2019s Speeches<\/a> (NOTUS)<\/p>\n From the campaign trail<\/p>\n Medicaid cuts on the trail: Democrats say the steep cuts to the program in Trump\u2019s One Big Beautiful Bill are an albatross around the neck of any Republican incumbent. NOTUS\u2019 Zara Norman<\/a> traveled to Virginia\u2019s 1st Congressional District, a Trump +5, where Democrats say the cuts give them what they need to oust Republican Rep. Rob Wittman, who criticized the cuts before voting for them. Wittman allies say he knows the district and its politics better than any Democrat.<\/p>\n But one Republican seems very concerned about this issue. In Maine, Sen. Susan Collins is currently running a TV ad<\/a> that touts her vote against the OBBB, specifically because it made cuts to Medicaid. The ad really could not be stronger evidence that this particular Republican is very worried about being associated with these cuts: \u201cShady, out-of-state groups are falsely attacking Susan,\u201d the narrator says, \u201cbut independent fact-checkers have proven those attacks are false.\u201d<\/p>\n The two Democratic Senate primaries in Michigan: The establishment candidate, Rep. Haley Stevens, is outspending the progressive, Abdul El-Sayed, 10-1 in paid advertising. But as anyone who has a social media account knows, El-Sayed supporters are out-dunking on Stevens conservatively 1 million-1. Which matters more? NOTUS\u2019 Elena Schneider and Daniella Diaz detail<\/a> a particularly split-screen week in this race.<\/p>\n Abortion moves to the backburner: Four summers ago, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, inciting Democratic voters to overcome conventional midterm turnout and effectively thwart a Republican wave that November. That same fury about abortion rights appears to have vanished, reports NOTUS\u2019 Oriana Gonz\u00e1lez<\/a>, who tracked how the lightning-rod issue for Dems in 2022 and 2024 has receded ahead of these midterms.<\/p>\n Lawmakers are making adjustments. Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nevada) told Oriana that abortion would definitely play a part in her race because Nevada is one of multiple states<\/a> with a constitutional measure to protect abortion rights on the ballot. But, she said, \u201cI think the economy is a far bigger issue for people on a day-to-day basis.\u201d<\/p>\n From the Hill<\/p>\n \u201cBuy\u201d rating: A bipartisan moment in the House: Four members who sit on committees that directly regulate SpaceX have shares of the company\u2019s stock in their family holdings, NOTUS\u2019 Samuel Larreal reports<\/a>. Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-California) and family members of Reps. John McGuire (R-Virginia), Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania) and John James (R-Michigan) have together purchased up to $130,000 of the hot stock, which only IPO\u2019d in June. Cisneros, McGuire and Meuser did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for James said: \u201cThe James children are excited about space exploration and Liz purchased stock for them through a brokerage firm, like other members of the public were welcome to do.\u201d Liz is James\u2019 wife.<\/p>\n NOTUS METRO<\/p>\n Sign up for our local newsletter. NOTUS has some of the best reporters covering D.C.-area news, sports and culture. Sign up for all the latest<\/a>, launching Monday!<\/p>\n Local news: New House Bill Would Block D.C. From Raising Taxes<\/a>, by Jenny Gathright<\/p>\n In an Age of \u2018Takeovers,\u2019 D.C. Gives Teens Another Place to Party<\/a>, by Shamira Muhammad<\/p>\n NEW ON NOTUS<\/p>\n A good path to job security is to get yourself elected to statewide office in Maine, NOTUS\u2019 Paul Kane writes<\/a>. The last incumbent Maine senator to lose reelection was in 1978, when Republican Bill Cohen won his first of three terms. And it\u2019s been 60 years since a Maine governor sought reelection and lost.<\/p>\n More: The Trump Administration Is Under Scrutiny for Its Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Response<\/a>, by Margaret Manto<\/p>\n Todd Blanche Meets With Epstein Victims Amid Confirmation Push<\/a>, by Derek Hawkins<\/p>\n Trump Administration Cuts Off Health Care Research Grants Without Warning<\/a>, by Paige Winfield Cunningham<\/p>\n Trump Media Plans to Sell Quicker Access to the President\u2019s Truth Social Posts<\/a>, by Torrie Herrington<\/p>\n NOT US<\/p>\n Thank you for reading! If you liked 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.com<\/a>. And as always, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts at newsletters@notus.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The newsletter was produced by Thomas Burr, Brett Bachman and Andrew Burton. Photo by Saul Loeb\/Pool via AP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s notice: After-address reviews. Campaign trail reporting on Medicaid, Michigan and where the abortion issue went. 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