Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
THANKS FOR READING: President Donald Trump shared another Washington Reporter piece on his Truth Social account. This time, it was an op-ed from Rep. Andy Barr (R., Ky.) about why he wants Trump to be on a new $250 bill.
BIDEN DONOR ARRESTED FOR ARSON: The Washington Reporter was first to report how Jonathan Rinderknecht, the alleged arsonist behind California’s wildfires, was a Joe Biden for President donor.
WHY CAN’T WE BE FRIENDS? This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) finally found common ground: breaking the monopoly at the American Medical Association. Cassidy said the AMA’s billing system may be driving up health care costs and he questioned whether the group’s advocacy, including on controversial social issues, has strayed from its core mission of supporting doctors and patients. Kennedy is also exploring ways to limit the AMA’s influence over how physicians get paid, while the group stays quiet amid growing scrutiny of its power and politics.
NO MORE TIPTOEING: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R., Ala.) is the latest Republican lawmaker who wants to formally ban Sharia law in the United States. During a fiery Senate speech this week, the Alabama lawmaker described the dangers of radical Islam and called for anyone who practices Sharia law to be deported immediately.
SEE YOU LATER: Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) deported a pro-Hamas protester from a Senate hearing. “The only genocide that has happened since October 7th is the genocide that Hamas has perpetrated against the Jewish people…have him removed immediately,” he said.
CALLED OUT: During this week’s cabinet meeting, Vice President JD Vance chided Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) for being the only Senate Republican to vote with almost all Democrats against reopening the government.