What we’re hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill – please send us more tips!

• “MAGA fans in the deep state”?: Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released data on Friday showing a massive number of illegal aliens with violent crime convictions had been released into the U.S. during the Biden administration. What was especially noteworthy was that this data was released at all — especially the same day of Kamala Harris’s border visit. A Senator told us, “there must be some MAGA fans in the deep state.” 
• John Thune’s recess travel: Sen. John Thune (R., S.D.), a top contender to lead Senate Republicans, is joining a Kari Lake fundraiser in New York City as a special guest tomorrow morning, per an invitation obtained by the Washington Reporter. A source familiar with Thune’s travel added that he is also doing events for Senate candidates Bernie Moreno, Sam Brown, Dave McCormick, and Mike Rogers while he’s in the Big Apple. Read the Reporter’s interview with Sen. Thune here. 
• John Cornyn’s recess travel: Fresh off of announcing that he’s raised almost half a billion dollars — “$406,874,101 to be exact,” he told donors — Sen. John Cornyn (R., Texas), a top candidate to lead the Senate GOP next year, plans to “visit multiple battleground states across the country to campaign with candidates over the October recess and raise valuable hard dollars as he’s done for the last two decades,” a source familiar with his political operations told the Reporter. Read the Reporter’s interview with Sen. Cornyn here. 
• Rescuing the Republic: A Senator, a Christian rock band, several former presidential candidates, a Hollywood icon, and some of the internet’s most-banned individuals descended on the National Mall. What sounds like the beginning of a joke was actually a joint concert and rally, where Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) rocked and rallied with Skillet, Rob Schneider, Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and a motley crew of mostly to “RESCUE THE REPUBLIC!” An attendee told the Reporter about the “heavily tatted hippies and libertarians who loved Johnson and treated him like a celebrity.” We have back stage photos and videos HERE.