Exclusive: Richard Hunt on "draconian" credit card rewards bill

Exclusive with the Electronic Payments Coalition’s Richard Hunt

November 25, 2024

In this edition

1. Interview: Richard Hunt wants to protect your credit card rewards from a “draconian” bill

2. Heard on the Hill

3. Exclusive: “We can’t even see our 12 year old daughter’s birthday”: Army’s health care system withholds childrens’ data from their parents

4. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda chronicles family’s journey from internment camps to the federal government

5. “Trying to suck up to Trump like a cheap straw”: Former Republican congressman reversing course on Trump

6. Scoop: Microsoft under MAGA microscope

7. Op-Eds: Incoming Rep. Julie Fedorchak on Gov. Doug Burgum’s energy agenda, Bonnie Glick on the lessons of 2024, ILGOP Chairwoman Kathy Salvi on the radicalism of Gov. JB Pritzker, Dan Eberhart on the pro-energy agendas of Doug Burgum and Chris Wright, and Alex Titus on why Howard Lutnick is the perfect pick to run the Commerce Department

8. What we’re reading

In our latest edition, we have an interview with Richard Hunt about attacks on your credit card rewards miles, an expose on one of the military’s health care providers, op-eds from incoming Rep. Julie Fedorchak, Bonnie Glick, Dan Eberhart, and much more!

Interview: Richard Hunt wants to protect your credit card rewards from a “draconian” bill

by Matthew Foldi

Even though Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) may not run for reelection in 2026, he may be gunning for Americans’ credit card rewards, Richard Hunt, the executive chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC), told the Washington Reporter in an interview.

Hunt is a well-known advocate and giant in the D.C. financial services space who is deeply respected across the aisle. He has a reputation for being tenacious and a brawler on policy issues; he is detail-oriented, but also, in a complimenting description from a Hill staffer, “down-to-earth and doesn’t take himself too seriously.”

Durbin has pushed for the Durbin-Marshall Act alongside Sen. Roger Marshall (R., Kansas) for years. If it becomes law, Americans would move the current “safe and secure” payment system “that provides access to credit,” to one “that would increase fraud, limit credit cards, and eliminate all your valuable reward miles,” Hunt said.

Hunt’s EPC is a “coalition made up of financial institutions, large and small, a group of airports, airlines and small businesses across the country, making sure that payment for American consumers are safe and secure” and leads the opposition to the Durbin-Marshall bill, which Hunt called “draconian.”

Click HERE to read more from our interview with Richard Hunt, who is leading the fight to protect Americans’ credit card rewards.

Heard on the Hill

What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill

• Onward and upward: Dan Kunsman, Sen. John Barrasso’s (R., Wyo.), current chief of staff, will be heading up his Whip office. Congratulations! 

• Notable quotable: RealClearPolicy picked up the op-ed that Protect the Public’s Trust’s Michael Chamberlain wrote for us about how the Biden administration has been “Trump-proofing” itself for months.

• Florida men on the move: President Donald Trump has already made his picks in the races to succeed Florida Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz. Trump is packing Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer in the wide-open race to succeed Gaetz, and state Senator Randy Fine to succeed Waltz.

• Making his pitch: Rep. Mike Carey (R., Ohio) has been making the rounds pitching himself as the logical successor to Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio.). Gov. Mike DeWine (R., Ohio.) gets the final say in the decision.

• Kamala 2026? Kamala 2028? Kamala Harris has a surprising ally as she deliberates her political future: Dan Conston, the president of the Congressional Leadership Fund super PAC. Harris is reportedly weighing everything from another presidential campaign to a bid for governor of California in 2026, when Gov. Gavin Newsom will be term-limited. Following her campaign’s implosion, Conston tweeted “endorse” for either of her plans.

• Drink up: Jen Psaki was spotted at the Israeli coffee shop Tatte.

Exclusive: “We can’t even see our 12 year old daughter’s birthday”: Army’s health care system withholds childrens’ data from parents

by Matthew Foldi

Tricare, one of the health insurance providers for military families, allows children as young as 12 years old to opt out of sharing health information with their parents, a group of military spouses told the Washington Reporter.

“If we had a 12+ year old kid, we’d be unable to access their records if our child opted us out,” one military wife said. “They could feasibly get insurance-covered gender transition procedures done without our ability to see what their doctors are doing paperwork wise.”

TriCare policies obtained by the Reporter confirm that “dependents 12-18 must give authorization for anyone (even the parent!) to access their medical records.”

Click HERE to read more about how TriCare is allowing 12 year olds to opt out from sharing their medical information with their parents

SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda chronicles family’s journey from internment camps to the federal government

by Matthew Foldi

Two generations ago, Mark Uyeda’s grandfather lost everything when he was sent to an internment camp in Arkansas for Japanese-Americans. Following his release after World War II, he started a small business that delivered fresh produce to local franchises, including the then-new Mexican restaurant Taco Bell.

His grandson Mark, now a Republican commissioner at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), spoke to the Congressional Asian Pacific American Staff Association (CAPASA) last week about his journey to the top ranks of financial regulators.

“Despite the unjust internment of Commissioner Uyeda's family during World War II, the Commissioner emphasized that his proudest moments as a public servant have been representing the United States overseas,” an attendee of his speech told the Reporter. “His story exemplifies the resilience of the American spirit. We are fortunate to have dedicated public servants like Commissioner Uyeda.”

Click HERE to read more about SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda’s family journey from internment camps to the highest levels of government.

“Trying to suck up to Trump like a cheap straw”: Former Republican congressman reversing course on Trump

by Matthew Foldi

Former Rep. Jim Nussle, who left the Republican Party almost four years ago, is sounding a new tune following President Donald Trump’s decisive victory.

Nussle, who said in 2021 that “the GOP is NO more and left me and others behind,” is the president and CEO of America’s Credit Unions. Nussle is now “trying to suck up to Trump like a cheap straw,” a Republican strategist told the Washington Reporter. Nussle wrote to Trump urging him “to resist any calls for eliminating the credit union tax exemption just as you did during the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017.”

Click HERE to share this story about former Rep. Jim Nussle’s 180 on President Donald Trump.

Scoop: Microsoft under the MAGA microscope

by Matthew Foldi

Microsoft could find itself in MAGA crosshairs as the incoming Trump administration seeks to slash government with the help of Elon Musk, who has longstanding rivalry with Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Microsoft board member Reid Hoffman and Gates spent tens of millions of dollars in 2024 between the two of them on efforts to defeat President Donald Trump, which could leave them on the outside looking in next year.

Due to a variety of factors, including what experts call “vendor lock,” the federal government has given Microsoft hundreds of millions of dollars in minimally-competitive contracts. “In one prime example of vendor-lock, the government spent $112 million more to buy Microsoft Office than Google Workspace in order to avoid perceived costs to switch,” government procurement expert Michael Garland wrote in a report.

Click HERE to read more about how Elon Musk and DOGE could drastically reshape government contracting.

“What is the objective of war? Peace”: Rep. Derrick Van Orden discusses “sneaky war”

by Matthew Foldi

America should use different levers of power to wage irregular, or “sneaky,” warfare, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.) said during a Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) talk last week. Joined by a small group of national security professionals, including strategy expert Dr. Sean McFate, the talk illuminated several real-world examples of how the United States can emphasize America’s constitutional strengths relative to authoritarian states.

“One example the United States could have conflated in the information environment was in the fall of 2022 when Chinese citizens watched the World Cup broadcast where a stadium of fans gathered without masks for COVID and weren’t sick, or being castigated for congregating,” David Cook, SOAA’s executive director, told the Washington Reporter. “This put the Chinese authoritarian government on its heels for lying to a nation about the dangers of COVID. The United States could have fanned those flames with truth.”

Click HERE to read more about “sneaky wars.”

Op-Ed: Julie Fedorchak: Governor Doug Burgum is the right leader to usher in a new era of American energy dominance

by Julie Fedorchak

As a lifelong North Dakotan, I am proud of our state’s history that is grounded in resilience, innovation, and grit. Ours is a story about harnessing our abundant natural resources while protecting our land for future generations.

This is the approach Americans want in all their leaders, and it is the record of my governor, Doug Burgum, who is President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Chairman of the National Energy Council.

Click HERE to read more from incoming Rep. Julie Fedorchak about why Doug Burgum is the man for the job to run the Interior Department.

Op-Ed: Bonnie Glick: Thanks Obama: Democrats in the wilderness

by Bonnie Glick

As part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping electoral victory, he won in regions once thought unattainable for the Republican Party. The GOP has also regained control of the Senate and maintains its hold on the House. While countless analyses will attempt to dissect how Democrats arrived at this juncture, one underlying truth is clear: they have fundamentally lost touch with the American people.

To understand how we got here, we need to look back to the Obama administration. Although many Democrats fondly recall the Obama era, others remember it differently. To these voters, President Obama’s tenure was marked by an attitude that he alone knew what was best for the average American. Few have been as convinced of their own vision as Barack Obama, and many of his political proteges inherited that same belief: they knew better than the public.

The issue today is that these individuals now hold highly influential roles within the Democratic Party and American cultural institutions including businesses and education.

Click HERE to read more from Bonnie Glick about the implosion of the Democratic Party’s coalition.

Op-Ed: Kathy Salvi: JB Pritzker puts illegal border crossers before Illinois families

by Kathy Salvi

While President Donald Trump won the presidency in an historic landslide election and is now preparing for his second term, the 2028 Democratic primary for president is already underway — and it’s not looking promising.

At the forefront of the Democrats doing anything in their power for airtime and attention is Gov. JB Pritzker (D., Ill.). A serial tax-and-spend Democrat who has driven business and families out of Illinois, Pritzker is looking to propel himself away from the state he helped drive into the ground toward federal office, twisting himself into a pretzel to praise Joe Biden and get in the good graces of Kamala Harris in 2024.

Now that she’s failed, Pritzker is already pivoting towards 2028.

Click HERE to read more from ILGOP Chairwoman Kathy Salvi about how Gov. JB Pritzker is prioritizing illegal immigrants over the citizens of Illinois.

Op-Ed: Dan Eberhart: Energy realism and dominance are behind Donald Trump’s cabinet picks

by Dan Eberhart

President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet selections to run federal energy policy signal his intent to extend America’s “energy dominance” during his second term in office. While some argue that the United States, which has been the world’s largest oil and gas producer since 2018, has already achieved that impressive feat, thanks largely to the shale boom of the past 15 years, more can be done to unleash U.S. energy production.

After four years of the Biden administration, which prioritized alternative energy and tackling climate change while treating traditional fossil fuels as an unfortunate necessity, there is ample room for Trump to elevate America’s standing in global energy markets further.

Trump named Gov. Doug Burgum (R., N.D.) as both his Interior Secretary and as his “energy czar,” handing him sweeping authority to open federal lands to frackers and to deregulate agencies to boost U.S. oil and gas output. He later picked as his Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a shale executive who had been promoted by shale pioneer and Trump energy advisor Harold Hamm for months.

Click HERE to read more from Dan Eberhart about how Doug Burgum and Chris Wright will work with Donald Trump to unleash American energy once again.

Op-Ed: Alex Titus: Howard Lutnick is the right pick to run the Commerce Department

by Alex Titus

President Donald J. Trump announced this week that his transition co-chair, long-time friend, and billionaire entrepreneur Howard Lutnick will serve as his Secretary of Commerce, a key role to help carry out the president’s historic economic and trade agenda. By selecting Lutnick, President Trump is delivering an early win on his commitment to advance America First policies and push back on nefarious trade practices from countries like China.

Click HERE to read more from Alex Titus about why Howard Lutnick is the right pick to lead Donald Trump’s Commerce Department.

What we’re reading

• Fox News: State lawmakers, companies prepare to push back against DEI, 'woke' initiatives: experts, by Jamie Joseph.

• Daily Wire: Backed By Millions In Liberal Dark Money, Group Teaches Climate Activists To ‘Talk Like a Human,’ by Ashe Schow.

• National Review: U.S. Service Academies Must End Race-Based Admissions, by Sen. Todd Young.

• Washington Free Beacon: Biden-Harris Admin Races To Dish Out $25 Billion for Green Energy Before Trump Takes Office, Sparking Fraud Fears, by Thomas Catenacci.

• Financial Times: The Northvolt dilemma: can European EVs avoid relying on Asian batteries? by Kana Inagaki.

• Fox News: Ohio congressman vying to replace JD Vance in the Senate says Trump's agenda must be priority on 'Day One,' by Danielle Wallace.