Today’s notice: Republican Trump critics are all but extinct on Capitol Hill. Republican leaders have found their favorite Democrats. And even outside of the federal government, DEI programs are shutting down. But we found something plentiful in Trump’s Washington: White House security clearances.
The Death of the Republican Trump Critic
To hear former Republican Rep. Mark Sanford tell it, the GOP resistance to Donald Trump is a thing of the past.
Trending
“It’s gone,” he said. “It’s extinct.”
Until he lost to a Trump-backed primary challenger, Sanford was one of the foremost critics of Trump on Capitol Hill. And as Trump returns to the White House, there’s the uncomfortable reality that he and several other former Republican lawmakers told NOTUS they’re wrestling with: No one within the party is going to speak out.
There’s a choice to be made in Trump’s Washington — and it is Trump’s Washington — for Republican lawmakers: bite your tongue when Trump does something objectionable and try to influence decisions from the inside or object and possibly face excommunication.
The Republican members who once criticized Trump have been repopulated by MAGA diehards. But they also feel confident that many of their former colleagues are keeping quiet for fear of losing a primary, a committee gavel or a legislative project.
“It’s been hard,” former Rep. Charlie Dent told NOTUS. “I think a lot of them feel as I do. They’re just quiet about it.”
With Trump perhaps more powerful than ever — he is armed with the popular vote, a trifecta and his preferred speaker — his former detractors aren’t sure anyone can take their place and get away with it.
“The paradox with Donald Trump is he seems to make dishonest statements just for the fun of it, as a challenge to see if anybody has the gumption or the wherewithal to take him to task for the dishonest statements he makes,” former Rep. Mo Brooks said.
“He sees it as a game,” Brooks warned, “and he’s winning it.”
The New New Democrats
Republicans are starting to take an early shine to the freshman class of House Democrats, NOTUS’ Katherine Swartz reports. There are 33 of them, and 25 joined the moderate New Democrat Coalition, while only seven joined the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Two GOP immigration bills have passed the House so far with bipartisan support, mostly thanks to “a large group of moderate freshmen [that] also joined the GOP to support the measures,” she writes.
There’s a lot of talk about “tough districts” and reelection challenges for these freshmen Democrats that Katherine talked to. “Sometimes those districts are very purple, and that’s the type of member and the response you’re gonna get to issues about immigration and border security,” said Pete Aguilar, the No. 3 Democrat in the House.
But many of the freshmen say they represent a kind of politics where partisanship is not the priority. “We’re really keenly aware that most people do not trust either party,” freshman Rep. McDonald Rivet told Katherine.
Obviously, this could get awkward. But so far, the freshman moderates say Democrats are playing nice. Rep. Shomari Figures, another supporter of the immigration measures, praised House Dem leadership for not pressuring them to fall in line (at least on these votes). He called it “symbolic of the type of leadership that we have in this caucus that’s different from our other counterparts across the aisle.”
Front Page
- Virginia Democrats Say Trump’s Executive Actions Could Upend Life for Federal Workers: A slate of executive orders targeting federal employees could have an outsize effect in Virginia, which many of them call home..
- Donald Trump Is Already Going After Legal Immigration: The president’s executive actions are keeping refugees out of the country, even if they’ve gone through legal channels.
- Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes Visits Capitol Hill and Meets With a House Republican: Florida Republican Rep. Gus Bilirakis met with Rhodes days after Trump commuted his Jan. 6-related sentence.
- Trump Just Injected a Lot of Confusion Into Future Infrastructure: The president has unraveled permitting regulations. It’s not clear what happens next.
Congressional GOP Shrug Report: White House Security Clearances
Trump is taking the unprecedented step of “handing out temporary top secret security clearances to White House staff without any of the usual background checks,” NOTUS’ Claire Heddles and Jasmine Wright report. The move solves an age-old problem: It lessens the time it can take new White House staff to even temporarily get to work while undergoing traditional background checks. But it also creates a situation where Congress remains “in the dark as to who exactly will get the clearances.”
Democrats are concerned. Republicans, mostly not. “I believe the president’s going to do the right thing to keep our country safe,” Sen. Rick Scott said.
DEI Another Day
The federal crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs could affect workplaces far outside the government purview, NOTUS’ Tinashe Chingarande reports. Advocates that have been pushing for greater diversity in Democratic-supporting groups — efforts that have been unsurprisingly welcomed in recent years — worry that a general chilling effect on DEI will affect even them.
“Many are concerned that anti-DEI efforts could turn off donors,” Tinashe writes, “and stunt the growth some of these groups have seen.”
Dems See Ozempic Access Slipping Away
There are many possible consequences to Trump’s executive action undoing a Biden order on prescription drug prices for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Democrats have been eager to allow government programs to treat obesity as a disease, making GLP-1 inhibitors accessible to Americans who can’t afford the high-priced drugs.
NOTUS’ Margaret Manto reports on the ongoing confusion about where the Trump administration stands on access to drugs like Ozempic.
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- ‘America has DOGE fever’: Republicans in state capitals rush to emulate Trump and Musk’s government-slashing project by Sam Brodey for The Boston Globe
- Disagreements with Elon Musk prompted Ramaswamy’s ‘DOGE’ exit by Faiz Siddiqui, Elizabeth Dwoskin and Jeff Stein for The Washington Post
- Rep. Nancy Mace says she is considering a run for South Carolina governor by Meg Kinnard for the Associated Press
Be Social
Latte Going On Here
From a source:
— Matt Fuller (@MEPFuller) January 22, 2025
Oath Keeper Stewart Rhodes, whose 18-year sentence for seditious conspiracy was just commuted, is at the Dunkin’ Donuts in the Longworth House Office Building. pic.twitter.com/83cfEQhJUd
Tell Us Your Thoughts
What kind of donut do Capitol rioters prefer the most?
Send your thoughts to newsletters@notus.org.
Thank you for reading! If you like this edition of the NOTUS newsletter, please forward it to a friend. If this newsletter was shared with you, please subscribe (it’s free!).
Authors
