Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
DC’S NEXT TOP LOBBYIST: Don’t forget to nominate your friends, loved ones, respected coworkers, or that very influential lobbyist you heard of for the Washington Reporter’s list of the most influential advocates in our nation’s capital! To submit a nomination, please provide the nominee’s name, affiliation, and a brief explanation of why they deserve a spot. Submissions should be emailed to Matthew@washingtonreporter.news with the subject line “NOMINATION FOR INFLUENTIAL ADVOCATE.”
THANKS FOR READING: President Donald Trump and the White House went on another spree of sharing articles in the Washington Reporter. Thanks for reading!
MUST-LISTEN: Reps. August Pfluger (R., Texas), Pat Harrigan (R., N.C.), and Sheri Biggs (R., S.C.) — all of whom are either military veterans or are actively serving in the reserves — did their first joint interview on the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) Right to the Point podcast, where the conservative trip discussed 100 days of President Trump's term, investments in America thanks to this administration, the Democrats' scandals related to the border, and how the military is finally returning to its mission of readiness and lethality.
BASIC MATH: Attorney General Pam Bondi caught some flak for claiming that President Trump saved the lives of 258 million Americans — but her team did the math and it checks out. Gates McGavick, the Department of Justice’s Deputy Director of Public Affairs, noted that “3,400,000 grams of fentanyl seized in [Trump’s] first 100 days, multiplied by the current purity level of 0.1518, divided by 0.002 — the lethal amount per gram of fentanyl — [leads to] 258,060,000 lethal doses of fentanyl.”
CHECKING IN: Rep. Steve Scalise (R., La.) met with President Donald Trump today.
DEAL MADE: Congress’s national security experts lauded the Trump administration’s success in striking a deal with Ukraine about mineral rights. “Peace, at long last, is within reach,” Rep. Zach Nunn (R., Iowa) said. “This represents not only a concrete step towards peace, but a commitment from both sides to work closely to hold Moscow accountable and isolate Putin if he refuses to join the President in negotiating an end to this war.” Nunn is the chairman of the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) National Security Task Force.
HISTORIC NUMBERS: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) approved 16 of Trump's nominees within his first 100 days back in office. The Biden administration had only confirmed 7 in that same timeframe.
BACKUP HAS ARRIVED: Sen. Bill Cassidy’s (R., La.) proposed reforms to the controversial 340B program were lauded by industry experts and conservatives alike. The Reporter covered their reactions here.
ROLLOUT: Americans for Prosperity (AFP) rolled out a nationwide ad targeting the “trillions of dollars recklessly spent for Green New Deal cronyism under the Biden administration.”
100 DAYS OF AN AMERICA FIRST STATE DEPARTMENT: Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined Substack! In one of his first-ever posts, he outlined what State has already gotten done for the American taxpayer.
STEFANIK SURGING: Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) would start off with a nearly-insurmountable lead in a GOP primary for Governor of New York, should she run. Stefanik is also nearly tied with the state’s unpopular and controversial incumbent, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D., N.Y.). This poll, which the Reporter covered here, comes as top Republicans are urging Rep. Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.) to run for reelection in his competitive district.