WE TOLD YOU SO: As was first reported in the Washington Reporter, scandal-plagued Democrat Graham Platner announced plans to withdraw from the Maine Senate race against Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine).
WHAT’S NEXT IN MAINE? With Graham Platner poised to withdraw from the Senate race, Democrats are at odds about what should come next. “Pundits and consultants are already posting takes on who the new Maine Senate nominee should be,” Rep. Seth Magaziner (D., R.I.) said. “Advice: let the Maine Dem Party work it out. They know who has the judgement & integrity for the job, who’s electable and who has skeletons, way more than out of state ‘experts’ do.”
RESPECTED AGAIN: Lithuania rung in the Fourth of July by flying the largest American flag in Europe above its Vilnius TV Tower. See the pictures here.
ADIOS AMIGOS: Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R., Fla.) announced that he has “withdrawn as Co-Chair of the Congressional Friends of Spain Caucus following the Spanish government’s actions undermining our bilateral relationship & its increasingly hostile actions against America’s closest ally, the Jewish State of Israel.”
STRANDED IN EUROPE: Sen. Roger Wicker (R., Miss.), the Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), threatened to abandon Rep. Joe Wilson (R., S.C.) and his wife in Europe after Wilson remained adamant that a national security conference be held in South Carolina and not in Serbia. At issue is that Wilson had been planning the 2027 Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and had booked the convention center in Charleston, when Wicker shocked the delegation in Europe by declaring in front of an entire international assembly that the meeting should now go to Serbia; Wilson refused to accept this outcome he and one of his staffers remain abroad.
CRUZ MOVES: Allies of Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) are launching The Front Line, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit “aligned with the positions of Ted Cruz dedicated to countering right-wing antisemitism,” according to Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs. Cruz is not expected to be directly involved with the project, but he has been one of the GOP’s loudest voices in combatting rising anti-Semitism from elements of both major political parties.
SHINY OBJECT: Former Rep. Elaine Luria (D., Va.) referred to allegations against Graham Platner as being a “boogeyman” and that Republicans will try to “tie the Democrat to whatever shiny new thing is going to scare people.” While Luria said that Platner should drop out, Republicans were quick to use the remarks against her; Luria is in a close race against Rep. Jen Kiggans (R., Va.).
DOL WIN: Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Vice President JD Vance both praised the Department of Labor (DOL) for its high-profile work to combat fraud in the H1B visa program. The work is being spearheaded by Acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling, who is expected to be confirmed as early as next week, the DOL’s Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito, as well as the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Andrew Ferguson.
THE ROCKETS’ RED GLARE: The Department of Interior was the place to be for the largest fireworks display of all time over the Fourth of July. Attendees weathered multiple storms and got a front row view of the show. Among those spotted were Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum, Kathryn Burgum, Hannah Eddins, Grace Newton, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Logan Luse, FBI Director Kash Patel, Erika Bone, Matthew Foldi, Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.), Geoffrey Bice, Ainsley Bice, Mike Joyce, Laura Rigas, Emma Hall, Susan Cole, Sebastian Gorka, Ally Triolo, Sarah Hooton, Andrew Giuliani, Danny Gustafson, Jesse Arm, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Eli Diamond, Gates McGavick, Jacki McGavick, Ethan Klein, Calli Cooper, Brent Cooper, Isabel Brown, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Nate Swartwood, Brock Belcher, Aaron Miller, Hunter Pollack, Sarah Martin, Ari Patinkin, Wells King, Saurabh Sharma, Lucy Herrington, Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah), Michael Rigas, and David Neumann.
