Today’s notice: Trump’s big sit-down with Xi Jinping. Lisa Murkowski says dealmaking is happening. Democrats look in the mirror as primary season approaches. Plus: What the shutdown means for home energy assistance.
THE LATEST
‘Dealing with very smart, talented and wonderful leaders.’ The White House says Donald Trump’s Asia trip has been a massive success for the president’s tariff-based foreign policy. On Truth Social and in speeches, Trump has repeatedly touted the trade-deal frameworks he has signed, most of them deals to reduce tariffs he imposed in the first place.
“Around the world, we’re signing one trade deal after another,” the president boasted Wednesday at the APEC summit in South Korea.
Trending
Last up: Trump’s long-awaited face-to-face with China’s Xi Jinping was, in at least appearance, different from others this week. Missing was the over-the-top flattery many Asian leaders deployed. Instead, a more sober-minded diplomacy prevailed, with a few niceties thrown in: Trump called Xi a friend; Xi, through an interpreter, said it “feels very warm” to see Trump again.
It’s important not to parse too deeply into the opening remarks. But in one notable moment, Xi brought up Trump’s efforts to ink peace deals — including his latest feat in Cambodia–Thailand — but quickly added that China also helped negotiate it, and planned to help with others, too (cough, Russia–Ukraine).
What’s at stake: The U.S. is looking for China to stop the flow of fentanyl, buy more soybeans, open up access to rare earths and finalize the TikTok deal. And Xi is looking for lower tariffs.
The foreign leader is not the only one skeptical of Trump’s tactics. The Senate last night approved a largely symbolic measure to end the national emergency that Trump used to impose levies on Canada, bolstered by votes from four Republicans.
Open tabs: Guard Troops Were Sent to Portland Despite Court-Ordered Halt (NYT); Future Fed Rate Cuts ‘Far’ From Certain After Divided Meeting (WSJ); Hegseth to unveil arms sale overhaul (Politico); DOJ Indicts Congressional Candidate Kat Abughazaleh (NOTUS)
From the Hill
“I’m encouraged,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski told reporters yesterday regarding shutdown negotiations. It’s been a while since we’ve heard even that level of positivity coming out of Congress. (And yes, that’s even as Republicans blocked Democrats’ bill to fund SNAP.)
Quick, someone find a Sharpie and poster board. “I think that there have been enough of the pieces that have been talked through, that if somebody can just diagram out how it all comes together and present that — yes, I do believe it’s possible to kind of come together quickly,” the Alaska Republican said of negotiations to end the shutdown, from ACA subsidies to appropriations bills.
Ultimate vibe check: “I think the mood today on Wednesday is healthier than it was on Monday,” Murkowski said. Though she did acknowledge that the biggest roadblock to resolving the shutdown was the “trust deficit.” That’s around when Sen. Mark Warner popped into the conversation with reporters to note that his biggest worry was that Republicans will only do what Trump tells them.
What might be coming: CNN reported that a “gang of Republicans and Democrats” have been negotiating to resolve the health care debate embroiling Capitol Hill and reopen the government. They are also hoping to reach an agreement on funding for departments like USDA, which runs SNAP.
From the shutdown
Why are there suddenly sounds of deal-making in the Senate? In part because serious shutdown consequences are rapidly coming to the surface.
Home heating assistance payments for low-income families will be delayed for at least a month, even if the government reopens tomorrow, NOTUS’ Anna Kramer reports.
Funding lapses for Head Start programs mean tens of thousands of families have already lost access to services, NOTUS’ Adora Brown writes.
Tribal nations have been hit particularly hard, with leaders begging for relief, NOTUS’ Helen Huiskes reports.
And there are warnings that shutdown politics will be felt for a long time. NOTUS reported earlier this month on RIFs at the Office of Population Affairs, the HHS division that handles reproductive health programs. The office has long been a Republican target, and the administration gutted it as part of its effort to lay off federal workers and blame it on the shutdown.
Reps. Lizzie Fletcher, Sharice Davids and Judy Chu sent a letter to RFK Jr. this week warning that cuts at OPA are “threatening the loss of health care for many of the millions of people that these programs support annually.”
From the campaign trail
Pure anxiety in Michigan? “She’s bought herself some time with fundraising reports, but it’s not going well. Anybody with two brain cells to rub together sees that,” a Democratic strategist in Michigan said of Rep. Haley Stevens’ Senate campaign, which has the backing of the national Democratic establishment.
National Dems are still eyeing Gretchen Whitmer, sources tell NOTUS’ Alex Roarty and Daniella Diaz. Whitmer has repeatedly denied interest. That leaves Stevens carrying the party banner in a primary that has proven difficult for her to break out of.
She is up against opponents with powerful grassroots brands in state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and the former Wayne County public health director, Abdul El-Sayed. They are very easily finding momentum, and seem quite happy to do it — grateful, maybe — without establishment backing.
The other key dynamic for Democrats next year is the question of experience vs. fresh voices more reflective of a new electorate.
“‘Keep going with Cohen.’ People have embraced that slogan. They’ve embraced that concept. And that’s the issue. You want to keep going with Cohen, a known quantity that’s delivered. Or do you want to go with some goals, wishes to glimmer, but no record?” Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee told NOTUS’ Torrence Banks, explaining his side of the argument as he faces a primary challenge from a guy who interned for him as a high schooler.
“It’s not necessarily so much about age as it really is about the energy to be who we need,” state Rep. Justin J. Pearson, that former intern, told Torrence. “The reality is, people who’ve been in office for 20, 30, 40 years, the world is very different from when they entered into it.”
NOTUS PERSPECTIVES
Does Zohran Mamdani’s Socialism Have a Future Outside New York City? History and demography suggest the answer — surprisingly — is yes, according to journalist John B. Judis.
NEW ON NOTUS
Maryland redistricting update: Hakeem Jeffries is convinced Democrats have a shot at redrawing the state’s congressional maps — even after the state Senate’s president, Bill Ferguson, earlier this week seemingly torpedoed the effort in a letter to his colleagues.
Ohio redistricting gets interesting: Republicans on the state’s redistricting commission offered Democrats a choice, Alex reports: Go along with maps that make seats held by Democrats more competitive or get stuck with a map passed in the state General Assembly that likely puts at least two Democratic-held House seats out of reach.
It looks like Democrats are going to take the deal, Punchbowl reports.
More: USDA Quietly Deletes Its Contingency Plan for Funding SNAP, by Raymond Fernández
Bloomberg Jumps Back Into NYC Mayor’s Race With 11th-Hour Donation, by Amelia Benavides-Colón
Top CDC Vaccine Adviser Says School Mandates Are ‘Not Necessary,’ by Amelia Benavides-Colón
NOT US
- The Tragedy of Eric Adams, by Molly Ball for Time
- Karine Jean-Pierre’s book tour is non-stop cringe. Her former colleagues can’t look away. By Eli Stokols and Alex Gangitano for Politico
- Citing Trump Order on “Biological Truth,” VA Makes It Harder for Male Veterans With Breast Cancer to Get Coverage, by Eric Umansky for ProPublica
- Some White House ballroom contractors go underground, by Arden Farhi for CBS News
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