Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
DAY ONE AT HUD: Scott Turner, the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, spent part of his first day in office laying out plans to recognize biological sex throughout his agency’s programs; Turner’s moves following President Donald Trump’s executive order on “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”
KASH ON THE TABLE: Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) spoke at a senators’ lunch making the case for Kash Patel, arguing that Patel has shown he has the integrity, knowledge, and tenacity to be an effective, nonpartisan FBI Director. Tillis has become one of Patel's chief advocates in the Senate. The Washington Reporter previously covered the lengthy anti-Trump record of Tillis’s primary challenger.
REVIEW SEASON: Expect Congressional Review Acts (CRAs) to first come from the House and as soon as next week. Congressional Republicans are working with the White House on which CRAs to prioritize.
TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK: Billionaire Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is making the rounds on and off the Hill, trying to build support for his bid to buy TikTok, following the deadline extension granted by President Trump. He spoke this week with a group of conservative reporters, including the Washington Reporter, about his bid, right off of Capitol Hill.
BLESS THEIR HEARTS: Senate Republicans are thrilled that the Democrats are protesting budget cuts at USAID and see it as a winning issue for Republicans. One member said “I can't believe they're doing this but God bless them. Hope they keep it up.”
GOOD READS: House Oversight Chairman Jamie Comer's, (R., Ky.), book "All The President's Money" just hit the New York Times Bestseller List for the third week in a row. The first time ever for a member of Congress.
SOROS SLAMMED: An international research group backed in part by the George Soros Foundation claimed that the Los Angeles wildfires were caused in part by “human-induced” climate change; the reality, according to experts, is that “there's no peer review that's been done on this data,” Jason Isaac, the founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute, said.
HELPING HAND: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) has been reaching out to Republican senators up in 2026 with an offer to help them build up their communications functions on social media and the press. One Senate GOP political operative told the Reporter that “Blackburn is a political animal and she's all in for 2026, especially in making sure red-state senators don't get caught flat-footed. Her colleagues love her for it.”
DEMOCRAT PIRANHA PIT: Leaderless Democrats are jockeying for their party’s next presidential nomination with their grandstanding, pandering, and protesting against President Trump and the Republican agenda, according to a Senate GOP aide.