Exclusive investigation: A Congressman’s Bronze Star

Today’s notice: A deep dive on Cory Mills’ Bronze Star. Nonprofits try to band together to face Trump. New food on the Hill and possibly new food staff, too.

Exclusive: Cory Mills and the Bronze Star

Rep. Cory Mills has made his combat record a central part of his narrative since he first won his House seat in 2022, flipping a Florida district for Republicans. The story of that combat record is now in dispute.

Five people who served with Mills in Iraq as part of an Army deployment in 2003 say they have “no recollection of Mills being at the incidents listed on the form” that led to Mills earning the Bronze Star. One of the men the form states Mills saved tells NOTUS’ John T. Seward and Reese Gorman “he didn’t save my life.”

Questions around Mills’ Bronze Star “have been relayed to the Office of Congressional Ethics,” and a formal complaint has been sent to authorities in the military and law enforcement.

This is a complicated piece, with on-the-record quotes from men who served with Mills and the brigadier general who signed the form recommending Mills for the military honor. The brigadier general says he signed the form without reviewing the achievements listed on it, which is not as unusual as it may sound.

Mills told NOTUS in a statement that he “was on the ground. It was a chaotic day and understandable that others may have different recollections of events.”

Read the story.

Nonprofits Brace For Impact

Trump’s threats to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status has political nonprofits fretting they could be next, potentially crushing a massive part of American political infrastructure.

Leaders from thousands of these groups joined a call last month to brainstorm a unified pushback, NOTUS’ Alex Roarty, Claire Heddles and Anna Kramer report. The White House denied that any executive action on this is coming, but groups aren’t taking anything for granted.

One wrinkle they see: The sector includes organizations across the political spectrum. Try to change the way nonprofits raise and spend money, and the administration could get pushback from groups they would consider their allies.

Read the story.

Not Us

We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.

• Why did Tommy Tuberville vote in Florida if he lived in Alabama?, by Kyle Whitmire for AL.com
• How Mahmoud Khalil First Glimpsed His Son, by Alexander Sammon for Slate
• John Fetterman’s Struggle, by Ben Terris for New York magazine

What’s on the President’s Wish List

A trillion dollars’ worth of defense spending. A 65% increase in Homeland Security spending. More charter schools. Funding for Make America Healthy Again. NASA’s manned Mars program. These are just some of the requests in Trump’s budget proposal.

But the big cuts in the budget — including foreign aid programs Elon Musk has assailed, research at NIH and assistance for low-income Americans — closely mirror DOGE proposals, NOTUS’ Mark Alfred, Jasmine Wright, and Haley Byrd Wilt report. And that’s not an accident.

On a call Friday morning, senior budget officials told reporters that the Office of Management and Budget, which prepared the proposal, is “joined at the hip” with Musk’s DOGE.

Read the story.

The Downside of Better Food on the Hill

After nearly a decade of complaints, the people who write some of our laws are getting a Qdoba. Slack channels and text threads lit up Friday after the House’s chief administrative officer announced new food vendors on that side of the Capitol.

Goodbye Dunkin’ and Au Bon Pain, hello Starbucks and Panera! (Read this X thread for the full list of changes.)

Many House staffers hated the old vendor, Sodexo. But as soon as they heard about the change, some texted NOTUS to ask about the future of the current staff, many of whom are beloved. The answer? Their jobs are not guaranteed.

“Incoming vendors are being encouraged to consider retaining Sodexo staff who are interested in remaining in the House. That said, all staffing decisions are at the sole discretion of the vendors, both outgoing and incoming,” CAO spokesperson Samantha Carter said.

—Oriana González

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Front Page

• Florida Leads the Way in Expanding a Controversial Immigration Enforcement Program: As the Trump administration pressures local officials to work with deportation efforts, enrollment has shot up in a program that deputizes local police to enforce immigration laws.
• Democrats Wait on the Sidelines for Roy Cooper: The former governor is still undecided, but Democrats are beginning to game out who would run should Cooper decide against it.
• Republican Moderates Tell Leaders They’re Not on Board With Proposed Medicaid Cuts: Their frustration follows a push from Republican leadership to get members on board.
• Lawmakers Are Preparing to Reintroduce the Kids Online Safety Act: The bill died last year, but its backers think they can get House leadership on board this time.

• ---

Week Ahead

• Congress is back and Republicans will try to make progress on the reconciliation package.

• Scott Bessent is scheduled to appear before a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday.

• So is Kristi Noem.

• The presidents of Haverford, DePaul and Cal Polytechnic-San Luis Obispo are among the witnesses announced for a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on campus anti-semitism Wednesday.

• The conclave to choose a new pope is scheduled to begin Wednesday at the Vatican.

• Janette Nesheiwat’s nomination for Surgeon General is scheduled to be considered by the Senate HELP Committee Thursday.

Be Social

RIP Longworth Dunkin’, soon to be gone but never forgotten.

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