Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
STATE OF OUR UNION: President Donald Trump will give his first joint address to Congress of his second term tonight; the Washington Reporter will be interviewing House Republicans from the media row set up by Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.) and will have a special edition with their thoughts on the state of our union later today.
IN THE HOT SEAT: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D., Mich.) is delivering the Democrats’ response to President Trump’s speech tonight. She is under fire for “promot[ing a] staffer who boosted Farrakhan.”
WALZ 2028: Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn), the House GOP Whip, told the Reporter that he hopes that his home state governor, Tim Walz, runs for president in 2028. “I think this is great, what a broken party,” he said of Walz. Emmer added that his lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, is “absolutely” a Minneapolis liberal, whereas Walz just plays the part. Flanagan is running for the state’s now-open Senate seat.
ALWAYS LOW PRICES: Walmart shares had their most calamitous day in three years, tumbling 6.5 percent. Walmart has long been able to offer lower prices than smaller competitors because of its reliance on Chinese products and its massive market share gives it over suppliers. Walmart has previously come under fire from Republicans for promoting DEI practices and selling LGBT products in their store.
“NORTHERN VIRGINIA IS SAFE”: Kristi Noem, the new Secretary of Homeland Security, brought President Donald Trump’s message of border security to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., with a “successful operation [that got] criminal aliens and gang members off our streets.”
PEACE POTUS: Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) nominated President Donald Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize.
ETHICS PROBLEM: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D., R.I.) was hit with an ethics complaint from the watchdog group Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT), which alleged that he “directly voted for legislation that recently led to $6.9 million of taxpayer funds being paid to an organization for which his wife works and receives an income from.”
NO ROGUE RULINGS: A top Republican staffer told the Reporter the No Rogue Rulings Act (NORRA) needs to pass to give President Trump more leeway in fixing the government. “We need to increase pressure on the Senate to get this passed. Nothing will unblock Trump and DOGE and the empowered Cabinet more than this bill, literally nothing.”
TAX CUTS AND YOU: Senate Republicans are meeting today to discuss reconciliation, led by Senator Crapo. One of the most pressing issues to resolve is whether others make the Trump tax cuts permanent, which is favored by a majority of the caucus.