Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
Jobs win in North Carolina: In another jobs win for President Trump, Amgen announced a $1 billion investment in North Carolina with hundreds of new high-paying jobs. Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), who has the reputation on the Hill of being a relentless salesman for investment in North Carolina, praised the move as a “welcome opportunity” for his state.
Partner problems: Eric Holder, one of the Democrats’ go-to figures for political and racial gerrymandering, may be complicating things for his colleagues at his day job. Holder, who served as Barack Obama’s controversial and disgraced attorney general, is a senior counsel at the Covington & Burling law firm, which did not respond to the Washington Reporter’s request for comment about whether Holder’s increasingly partisan and strident defenses of President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter represent the firm’s views.
D’Esposito to DEA? Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, who narrowly lost a heavily Democratic district, is getting some home town backing to run the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which is one of the few top agencies without a nominee. “@realDonaldTrump should nominate @RepDesposito a highly decorated @NYPDDetectives & proven crime fighter as @DEAHQ Administrator,” the Nassau County Detectives Association tweeted. “As a respected member of Congress, D’Esposito has demonstrated leadership & commitment needed to help DJT in his goal of Making America Safe Again 🇺🇸.” D’Esposito is also picking up support from his colleagues, including Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas), the newly elected chair of the powerful Republican Study Committee, who said that D’Esposito, a former longtime NYPD cop, said that D’Esposito “would be an excellent pick to head the [DEA].”
Geography 101: Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) just introduced legislation to eliminate the federal usage of the term “West Bank.” The term “West Bank” is an invention of the left to refer to territory that has never been a “Palestinian” state. For more about how the territory, which should correctly be referred to as “Israel” or as “Judea and Samaria,” we recommend watching this quick video about Jordan’s illegal occupation of the land from 1948 to 1967.
RFK backup plans? Former Gov. Bobby Jindal made his way to Mar A Lago this week. Our sources speculate that he could be making his case that he could be a solid pick to run the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can’t get confirmed. Jindal served in high-ranking HHS roles during President George W. Bush’s administration.
Senate swagger: The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) Christmas party featured ornately designed cookies, but more importantly, several of the incoming Senate Republicans, stopped by. Several of the NRSC’s top staff are making their way to the official side, we’re told. Mike Berg will be chief of staff to Tim Sheehy and Phil Letsou will be Bernie Moreno’s chief.
Paging Jeff Bezos: The Washington Post picked an odd hill to die on this week. In its partisan bid to derail Pete Hegseth’s nomination to be Secretary of Defense, the liberal outlet insisted to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s (R., Ala.) office that Hegseth’s nearly two dozen military accolades do not make him “highly decorated.”
Party like an X star: X’s staff hosted a happy hour this week where they spiked the football on their platform’s success in bringing back advertisers following an overt pressure campaign by progressive activists to shut it down following Elon Musk’s historic purchase of Twitter.
POOLHOUSE in the house: POOLHOUSE’s Christmas party filled an entire D.C. speakeasy where patrons danced to, you guessed it, the Trump version of Y.M.C.A.
Spirited away: The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States hosted its Christmas party this year, where they cautioned about controversial Canadian scientists who are advocating that any alcohol consumption at all is unhealthy. We’d note that all of human history suggests otherwise…
Sazerac soiree: The Sazerac House hosted its Christmas party this week, featuring a rare bottle of Weller Millennium, a blend of bourbon and wheat whiskeys from 2000, 2003, 2005, and 2006. One drinker of it told the Reporter that it “was immaculate. It truly the nectar of the gods.”