Heard on the Hill
What we're hearing from people we trust on and around the Hill
SCHUMER VS. SCHUMER: For years, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) has opposed government shutdowns. But Senate Republicans noted that Schumer is “in the minority and [is] feeling the heat from progressives, [and] is willing to oppose a clean continuing resolution and shut down the government.” Just last year, Schumer said that “avoiding a shutdown is very good news for the country, for our veterans, for parents and children, and for farmers and small businesses – all of whom would have felt the sting had the government shut down.” A GOP aide told the Washington Reporter that “we’re going to give them a clean CR, which Dems have advocated for in the past. Plus it will have a bunch of money for member security in there. Nothing they can claim is partisan. Will be hard for them to oppose with a straight face.”
LAW AND ORDER ADS: Campaign sources tell us that former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democratic Party candidate for Senate in North Carolina, will face a barrage of ads over Cooper's soft-on-crime policies that led to the horrific murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte. Expect the ads to start this week.
DEM LEADERS MIA: The House hosted a vigil to honor Charlie Kirk following his assassination. No top Democrats appeared. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) blamed a Steering and Policy Committee meeting, but Jerry Calengor with Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R., La.) office noted that “both [Debbie] Dingell and [Jimmy] Panetta are on Steering and Policy but managed to make it.”
GUESS WHO’S BACK: Failed vice presidential candidate, Gov. Tim Walz (D., Minn.) announced that he will run for another term.
PENN ON NOTICE: Rep. Pat Harrigan (R., N.C.) wants the University of Pennsylvania to fire disgraced climate activist Michael Mann, following Mann’s celebration of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. “Penn doesn’t get to hide behind statements or hand-waving,” Harrigan said. “Fire him. Make it clear that celebrating political murder disqualifies you from teaching a single American kid. If they keep him on payroll, they own every word he posted.” Will Hild, the executive director of Consumers’ Research, noted that “Penn is aware of Michael Mann's vile rhetoric attacking Charlie Kirk, but is choosing to remain silent.”
SHOPPING SPREE: Sen. John Cornyn’s (R., Texas) campaign rolled out a microsite modeled after “Crime Stoppers” targeting his opponent in the GOP primary; the site is called “Ken Stoppers.”
DUI DAVE MIN’S NEW NEIGHBOR: Rep. David Min (D., Calif.), a controversial lawmaker best known for a DUI arrest, posted a bizarre and false tweet about how the “Charlie Kirk assassin has been identified as MAGA,” his office neighbor, Rep. Addison McDowell (R., N.C.) posted a poster of Kirk outside his office, so that Min will see it every time he goes to work.
KASH ON THE HILL: FBI Director Kash Patel is on the Hill this week, joining the House and Senate Judiciary Committees for hearings. Earlier today, he noted to senators that “we are on track to have the lowest murder rate in modern American history.”
ELI LILLY EXPANSION: Eli Lilly announced plans to create 2,450 high-wage manufacturing and construction jobs outside of Richmond, Virginia. David A. Ricks, Lilly’s CEO, touted his company’s commitment to “building a secure, resilient supply chain that delivers for patients today and supports the breakthrough medicines of tomorrow.” The Reporter was first to break Lilly’s planned multi-billion dollar investment earlier this year, and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R., Ind.) last week touted Lilly as a Hoosier success story in an interview with us.
THANKS FOR READING: Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) shared our full story, “EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Darrell Issa will use NDAA to expand Gold Star family access to military bases,” on his government website.