Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
Waiting all day for Monday afternoon: Legendary singer Carrie Underwood will perform at President Donald Trump's Inauguration; we had this great news before anyone else.
Decision time: Gov. Mike DeWine (R., Ohio) is expected to announce his pick to succeed former Sen. JD Vance (R., Ohio) any day now, Ohio political operatives told us. In the running are Rep. Mike Carey (R., Ohio), Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted, former Ohio GOP Chair Jane Timken, State Rep. Jay Edwards, Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and attorney Mehek Cooke.
Free falling: This quote caught our eye: “The [Washington Post’s] daily traffic last year reached a nadir of just a quarter of what it was at its peak in January 2021. That month, the Post had around 22.5 million daily active users. But by the middle of 2024, its daily users hovered around 2.5-3 million daily users.”
Accounting error? At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Florida accidentally paid an extra $5 million to a health care company to register people for vaccines, according to a lawsuit filed by a Florida agency. That company’s CEO at the time is now-Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D., Fla.). Cherfilus-McCormick self-funded her 2022 campaign with millions of dollars.
Horrible boss: Missy Cotter Smasal, Rep. Jen Kiggans’s (R., Va.) Democratic opponent from last cycle, is being sued by a former staffer for failing to pay his salary for the final months of the campaign. Smasal’s campaign manager told him over text that “Missy is holding about 5 people’s pay hostage right now.”
Moon landing: Gov. Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.) said he wants the headquarters of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) moved to Florida.
