Today’s notice: Democrats go after Elon in Wisconsin. Confusion over FEMA’s future. Abortion opponents’ policy plan. But first: We’re gonna see what this economy can take.
Testing Economic Absorption
Public health officials in both blue and red states are worried that another round of DOGE cuts targeting jobs at HHS will likely make it harder to make America healthy again, NOTUS’ Margaret Manto and Mark Alfred report. The cuts will also put thousands of Americans out of work.
While the Trump administration insists the economy can absorb the DOGE agenda, some critics and outside observers are starting to wonder if a massive government-wide layoff affecting thousands of middle-class jobs is coming at the wrong time economically.
Trending
They’re also looking at this week’s announcement placing a 25% tariff on foreign cars — along with President Donald Trump’s planned day of tariffs on April 2 — and starting to wonder if this economy can hold much more without severe consequences.
“I don’t think it’s possible to announce sweeping tariffs and then expect a muted market reaction,” Colin Grabow, associate director at the Cato Institute’s Center for Trade Policy Studies, told NOTUS.
A collection of progressive economists and former Democratic staffers at the Groundwork Collaborative are closely following the public disclosures and earnings calls companies are required by law to share with investors. They’re starting to see Big Business plan for a painful short-term for regular Americans. “We see a lot of discussion about ‘pricing environment,’” Alex Jacquez, the group’s policy chief and a former Biden White House staffer, said of the calls. That means… prices are going up.
Jacquez, who watched Biden’s support wither away as prices rose, suggested that if things play out the way the earnings calls predict they will, this economic moment may be difficult for Trump too.
“I’ve been kind of shocked at how quickly he’s been able to flip consumer sentiment and future projections,” Jacquez said of Trump. “Fair or unfair, the reality is, people blame the guy in the big chair.”
—Evan McMorris-Santoro | Read Margaret and Mark’s story here.
Mixed Messages on FEMA
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she wants to “eliminate” FEMA, reportedly meeting with Cameron Hamilton, the agency’s acting administrator, to talk over plans to end its disaster aid functions by October.
But Sen. Thom Tillis told NOTUS’ Calen Razor he’s been in touch with Hamilton and the Office of Management and Budget and insists they aren’t shutting FEMA down. “The narrative of it just going away is stupid on stilts, and they know that — and they’re not proposing that,” Tillis said.
Meanwhile, North Carolina Republican House members who say Trump tapped them to be on a FEMA Review Council say they’re still finalizing a comprehensive list of reforms to present to the president next week. Those lawmakers, including Reps. Chuck Edwards, Tim Moore and Virginia Foxx, are not listed on DHS’s website as review council members.
So what gives? The North Carolina-dominant task force appears to either be on the sidelines or on a different track than the administration. For now, Calen reports, the North Carolina lawmakers just want the funding to keep flowing to their state.
Front Page
- The Battle Over Discharge Petitions and Proxy Voting for New Parents Heats Up: Leadership is pushing against the resolution to give new parents remote voting ability.
- Trump Pulls Elise Stefanik’s Nomination to Serve as UN Ambassador: The decision comes as House Republicans continue to struggle with a narrow majority.
- The Treasury Secretary Preserves His Phone Data as Part of Signal-gate Lawsuit: New court filings show Scott Bessent turned over his phone to be digitally copied.
- Ethics Office: Rep. Cory Mills’ Companies Likely Had Federal Contracts While He Was in Office: The Office of Congressional Conduct’s 2024 report was made public for the first time.
- Lawmakers Have Few Details About ICE’s Mysterious Detention of an Alabama Student: It appears to be the first high-profile arrest of an international student in a conservative state.
The Push to Defund Planned Parenthood ASAP
More than 300 anti-abortion activists flooded the halls of the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, hitting up every single Republican office in both the House and the Senate. Their mission: to convince Republicans to defund Planned Parenthood through budget reconciliation, NOTUS’ Oriana González reports. There are plenty of Republicans who support defunding Planned Parenthood. But apparently there are also some who are nervous about the political consequences of doing so, especially through reconciliation.
“I’ve talked to some [Republicans] that are a little bit nervous about it, but they’re nervous about it solely, I think, from an electoral standpoint,” Rep. Andy Biggs said, though he declined to name which Republicans he was referring to.
The White House is already planning to freeze Title X Family Planning Program grants. But the majority of their funding comes from Medicaid reimbursements for services unrelated to abortions.
Dept. of Government Normalcy
The federal government is just like an Apple Store, a household and a corporation all at once. That’s according to Elon Musk, who appeared on Bret Baier’s “Special Report” last night. Musk and seven DOGE staffers — notably not among them, DOGE’s reported official administrator, Amy Gleason — told Baier that their intrusion into almost every part of the executive branch has simply paralleled procedures happening in other sectors around the country.
The group tried to make the case that what they’ve been doing is just a routine move that boils down to “fixing the computers.” Amidst all the attempted normalizing, however, Musk also said that DOGE is “the biggest revolution in government since the original revolution.”
—Shifra Dayak | Read the story.
The DNC Goes After Musk
The Democratic National Committee will take out full-page ads in seven local Wisconsin papers in the final stretch before the state’s April 1 Supreme Court election, marking the first time the DNC has used paid media to explicitly go after Musk. The billionaire has spent millions on the race, and the election is viewed as a litmus test for his status as GOP kingmaker — or as a political liability.
The advertisement includes a photo of conservative candidate Brad Schimel; he’s in front an image of Musk making a gesture during an event celebrating Trump’s inauguration that looked like a Nazi salute (Musk denied it was a Nazi salute). The ad’s captions read, “Elon Musk is trying to buy a Wisconsin Supreme Court Seat for Brad Schimel” and “WISCONSIN IS NOT FOR SALE.”
“On April 1, Wisconsinites get the chance to say what Americans across this country are thinking: ‘Go to hell, Elon,’” the DNC’s chair, Ken Martin, said in a statement about the ad buy.
—Nuha Dolby
Not Us
We know NOTUS reporters can’t cover it all. Here’s some other great hits by… not us.
- Trump Turns Homelessness Response Away From Housing, Toward Forced Treatment by Angela Hart at KFF Health News
- The plot against Jasmine Crockett by David Weigel and Kadia Goba at Semafor
- She Inspired Laws to Hold the Fossil Fuel Industry Accountable. Now She’s a Target. By Coral Davenport at The New York Times
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