Flooding the Zone

Today’s notice: Rep. Mike Flood showed up, and so did half the state of Nebraska apparently. Democrats are ready to gerrymander. What happens after a backroom deal? Senators get along at the prayer breakfast. And: letting AI figure it out.

THE LATEST

Last night in Lincoln: “I voted for this, I voted for this bill,” Rep. Mike Flood told NOTUS after a raucous town hall in his Nebraska district. “I’m here, I’m defending it and I’m not just defending it, I’m supporting it.”

Flood is one of the few Republicans to volunteer to face voters the traditional way. Our Lissandra Villa de Petrzelka was there, and reports that the heckling and energy from the auditorium full of more than 700 people reached levels locals usually reserve for whoever is playing the Huskers.

“Fascists don’t hold town halls with open question-and-answer series,” Flood said at one point after the shouts rained down.

The POTUS factor: The bill was crafted by Donald Trump’s campaign promises and muscled through the Republican conference by the president. It was a bumpy ride for many. (Flood included: At a town hall in May, he admitted that he hadn’t read the bill.)

After voters lined up around the block in Lincoln to express their displeasure, Lissa asked Flood: Is Trump doing enough to help make the case this bill was a good idea?

“This is not a messaging game you win from Washington,” he said. “I can’t expect him to come to Lincoln, Nebraska, and fight my fight for me.”

Open Tabs: Top Hegseth aide tried to oust Pentagon’s White House liaison (WaPo); New York Post to launch The California Post (Axios); Nancy Mace kicks off South Carolina gubernatorial bid (AP); D.C. area feeling toll of federal spending cuts (WaPo)

From the states

F*** it, we’ll redistrict live: “Our Democratic majorities in statehouses should not shy away from using their power to counter GOP gerrymanders — including mid-cycle redistricting,” DLCC president Heather Williams told NOTUS’ Emily Kennard for a story about what Texas’ plans to redraw its congressional map has wrought.

There’s a tectonic shift underway in the way Democrats think about district maps. Absurdly gerrymandered lines were frowned upon not long ago, but blue-state governors — many of whom previously supported independent redistricting measures — are now looking for ways to throw out the rules that prevent gerrymanders from happening.

New York likely won’t be able to make any new maps for 2026, but with Gov. Kathy Hochul backing a change to the state constitution, Democrats could have their own Texas moment ahead of 2028.

California would also like to get in on this, but Emily reports Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to change the process would likely face a plethora of legal and logistical challenges in the tight timeline he has to pass a statewide ballot initiative and act on it ahead of 2026.

Down in Texas, state House Republicans yesterday voted to green-light civil arrest warrants for Democratic lawmakers who fled the state in a last-ditch attempt to deny quorum and prevent GOP redistricting. It’s a largely symbolic move — the warrants only apply within state lines — and most Democrats have written off the threats.

From the campaign trail

Exclusive: MAGA goes on air against Massie: A new six-figure ad buy from the group run by Trumpworld insiders Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio is targeting Rep. Thomas Massie over his vote against the reconciliation bill. NOTUS’ Reese Gorman has the details: The ad is a response to Massie’s own recent spot touting his vote. Things are really underway in Kentucky’s 4th District.

From the White House

A backroom deal that’s causing problems: “It was written almost in real time, like back-of-the-napkin-type stuff,” said a source familiar with the drafting of Trump’s July 7 executive order restricting energy tax credits.

Until now, it had not been clear exactly what the House Freedom Caucus had gotten from the White House in exchange for its members’ votes on reconciliation. NOTUS’ Shifra Dayak reports that the caucus was directly involved in the White House’s drafting of the EO. The conservative holdouts were also behind an Interior Department memo increasing scrutiny on renewable energy projects.

The problem: “They better go back and look at congressional intent,” Sen. Thom Tillis told Shifra of the administration’s move (the EO essentially undoes what Sen. Lisa Murkowski and others negotiated in the budget law to ease tax credit cuts for clean energy developers).

Sen. Chuck Grassley put in the Congressional Record he intends to hold up Treasury Department nominees over the enforcement of Trump’s order.

NEW ON NOTUS

Trumped up weight-loss lobbying: Likely celebrating alongside drug companies after news the administration reversed to allow Medicare and Medicaid to experiment with covering weight-loss drugs? The companies’ new core of lobbyists, whom NOTUS’ Taylor Giorno reports include many top firms currently cashing in on their ties to the Trump administration.

Where to find Senate comity: There are three senator-only faith meetups every week: the Wednesday faith breakfast, Bible study on Tuesdays led by Capitol Ministries and a Bible study Thursday led by the Senate chaplain, Barry Black. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand tells NOTUS’ Helen Huiskes she’s usually the only Democrat to attend all three. “It’s always been very collaborative and positive,” she said.

Not in regular attendance: The Rev. Sen. Raphael Warnock. “Some of my colleagues that have shared the same scriptures should have some more conversations,” Warnock told Helen. “And, you know, no one owns the truth, but humbly, I wonder sometimes how people’s sense of faith drives some of the public policy decisions.”

Robot government, activate: “How do you do [deploy artificial intelligence] so it’s not 28 different programs across the building that aren’t talking to each other? That’s always been a challenge,” Sen. Dan Sullivan told NOTUS’ Samuel Larreal, as Republicans in Congress think through what all the AI in government they’ve funded could look like.

More: Trump Admin Plans Up to $15,000 Visa Bond Program, by Amelia Benavides-Colón; ‘Come and Take It’: Texas Dems Stand Their Ground, by Violet Jira; Bondi Orders Grand Jury Probe Into Obama Admin Officials, by Amelia Benavides-Colón

NOT US

• Democratic Group Pushes Party to Embrace G.O.P. School Voucher Plan, by Dana Goldstein for The New York Times
  
• The iPhone Update That Could Wreck Political Fundraising, by Gabe Kaminsky for The Free Press
  
• Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose, by Rebecca Hersher for NPR
  
• Democratic governors may offer a path forward for a party out of power in Washington, by Bill Barrow for the Associated Press

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