Today’s notice: What Mike Johnnson reads. Amba$$adors. Talking out the budget. FEMA gets a break.
Fundraising in a Trade War
At a fundraiser for the NRCC last night, Donald Trump wisecracked about House Republicans feeling angsty about his tariff plans.
“I just saw it today, a couple of your congressmen, sir, ‘I think we should get involved in the negotiation of the tariffs,’” he said, pointing at Speaker Mike Johnson, who was sitting at a table near the stage. “Oh, that’s what I need, I need some guy telling me how to negotiate. Ay-yi-yi.”
Trending
The black tie event at the National Building Museum was a celebration, with Rep. Richard Hudson, the NRCC’s chair, announcing that the committee has raised $35.2 million for its candidates. That’s the good news. The bad news is they’ll need more, and Republicans have to raise it during this period of economic upheaval.
It’s very early to make any conclusions about how the tariffs will impact Republican fundraising. But one Republican strategist told NOTUS’ Alex Roarty and Taylor Giorno about a “major contributor who temporarily suspended all political giving because of the economic uncertainty related to the tariffs.”
Another GOP strategist put it to them this way: People won’t start really caring about 2026 for a while, and their donations will be “totally dependent on what the actual reality is at the time.” If Trump is right about his plans, it’d be a good reality for Republicans to run and raise money in.
As for right now, the economic reality isn’t looking so good. While Trump was talking, Johnson was looking at his phone. Our eagle-eyed reporter in the press area above the crowd took this snap, showing Johnson reading Drudge. The blaring red headline? “Stocks Continue Plunge.”
Ay-yi-yi, indeed.
—Evan McMorris-Santoro | Read Alex and Taylor’s story.
New Tariff Strategy, Same as the Old Tariff Strategy
Is Trump’s tariffs plan a negotiation tactic or an immovable object? The White House answer to NOTUS’ Jasmine Wright at yesterday’s briefing was, basically, yes.
“Both things can be true at the same time, and it is a nonnegotiable position that the United States has faced a national security and economic crisis because of the unfair trade practices by countries around the world,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “The entire administration has always said that President Trump is willing to pick up the phone and talk, and the president met with his trade team this morning, and he directed them to have tailor-made trade deals with each and every country that calls up this administration.”
Front Page
- Israel’s Democratic Allies: Gaza Protesters Deserve Due Process — And to Possibly Lose Their Visas: Democrats said they want international students to go before a judge before their visas are stripped from them.
- Most House Republicans Are Standing Behind Trump’s Trade War: For now, at least.
- Rep. Terri Sewell Says Protests Can Get the Trump Administration to Reverse Course: The Alabama Democrat pointed to some examples of DOGE backtracking.
- ‘We Can Fight This’: California Lawmakers Don’t Want the State to Cooperate With Trump’s Education Ultimatum: The president wants states to abandon DEI efforts at schools. California officials might resist.
- Energy Department Pushes More Voluntary Resignations Before Full-Scale Cuts Take Place: The renewable energy office was told every team would be affected by the coming reduction in force.
- Trump’s Trade Official Didn’t Offer Senators a Lot of Reassurances Tariffs Will Be Over Quickly: “The best way to have certainty is to build in the United States,” U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer told senators.
- Two of Trump’s Closest Advisers Are Openly at War Over Tariffs: Elon Musk and Peter Navarro are publicly attacking each other over trade policy. It’s only escalating.
Paying the Cost to Be the Boss (Of an Embassy)
Ambassadorships remain one of the great patronage goodies a president can give big donors. And Trump’s ambassador list features some really big donors, NOTUS’ Violet Jira reports. Ambassador appointees in Trump 2.0 have donated nearly $60 million combined to GOP candidates and committees in the last two years, Violet finds. Compare that to $22 million in combined donations to Democrats over a 10-year period from Joe Biden’s ambassadors.
Warren Stephens, Trump’s ambassador-designate to the UK, comes in first on the list with $27 million in donations. Some ambassador-designees donated less but had other close ties to Trump: Charles Kushner gave only $2 million in the lead up to his appointment as ambassador to France, while Kimberly Guilfoyle, designated ambassador to Greece, gave just $47.
Big, Beautiful Bill Update
The push for a reconciliation bill — and quickly — is bringing out House feels. NOTUS’ Hill team reports on one emotional, closed-door meeting between House GOP leadership and members concerned about the draft bill’s deep cuts to Medicaid. And then there was the other emotional leadership meeting with House members upset about the Senate budget — the one where our team reported a Rep. Greg Steube told Speaker Johnson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”
Meanwhile, the White House is continuing to pressure the House to speed this all up. NOTUS’ Reese Gorman scooped the latest Trump administration effort to light a fire under skeptical members and keep them onside: DHS blasted out a memo to Hill offices warning them that if they fail to fund the department at current levels, the result will be “reduced deportations” among other things
Read about the Medicaid meeting. | Read about the rebuking.
Overhauling the FEMA Overhaul
The Trump administration is continuing its quest to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but seems to want that process to play out slowly. At the White House’s direction, North Carolina Rep. Chuck Edwards — one of the people Trump tasked with reviewing FEMA — canceled a Tuesday press conference where he was set to offer recommendations on how the administration could make adjustments to the agency and accelerate disaster recovery in his home state, NOTUS’ Calen Razor reports.
The change came after the White House asked Edwards for more time to look over and comment on the recommendations, he told Calen. The lawmaker added that he plans to meet with administration officials this week and would announce recommendations later.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- The Shocking Far-Right Agenda Behind the Facial Recognition Tech Used by ICE and the FBI by Luke O’Brien for Mother Jones
- DOGE head denies responsibility for mass firings in private group chat message by Shira Stein for San Francisco Chronicle
- HHS guts sexual violence prevention division, leaving local efforts adrift by Selena Simmons-Duffin for NPR
Be Social
It’s field trip season.
“So what brings you to the capital?”
— Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) April 8, 2025
Kids keep you humble.pic.twitter.com/WKvnXTIpGt
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