You’re Telling Me Now for the First Time

Today’s notice: As the tariff turns. The DNC vs. the DNC vice chair. Conservatives vs. K-12. And we can’t think of anything funnier than “come on, feel the Illinoise!”

It Turns Out Tariffs Are… Bad?

Even the most bipartisan, most politically salient parts of Donald Trump’s tariff program are starting to look not long for this world.

After the tariff program began on April 2, and the markets reacted with strong disapproval, most of the tariffs were quickly paused. The program was refocused on China, a more politically defensible position, and the Trump administration said it would be making new trade deals with countries before the full slate of tariffs ever take effect.

But the economic impact of Trump’s proposals may already be making him gun-shy.

On Wednesday, Trump sort of told reporters there were active conversations going on with China over how to bring the tariff war to an end. “Actively. Everything’s active. Everybody wants to be a part of what we’re doing,” Trump said.

Earlier in the day, the markets took another roller-coaster ride after it came out that Trump may unilaterally lower the tariffs on Chinese goods to spur talks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said publicly that was not true, but also that the trade war was “unsustainable” for both nations.

The business day ended with another report on tariff changes — this time a story that Chinese car parts would be exempted from Trump’s tariffs, which came as the U.S. auto industry warned the White House it could decimate carmakers with its trade war.

Then came a new organized effort to strip Trump of his unilateral tariff power. Twelve Democratic attorneys general filed suit against the administration, alleging that the White House’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs willy-nilly is unconstitutional. The case will be argued in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, though the arguments will be led by lawyers from Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s office. The venue has been seen as favorable to Trump on the tariff issue, but Rayfield told NOTUS he feels confident in the case his office is leading on behalf of the consortium.

From a political perspective, he suggested it was clear critics like him are already winning the tariff argument, even if the legal question remains an open one.

“The challenge that all of us are experiencing is, sometimes our national economic policy really feels like it’s at the whims of an angsty teenager, right?” Rayfield told NOTUS. “I am hopeful that the people who are standing up and challenging these things will cause the Trump administration to take notice. And if they want to follow the laws that Congress enacted [on tariffs], that would be an incredible win.”

Meanwhile, Republicans are also threatening Trump’s tariff power. Sen. Rand Paul is reportedly planning to co-sponsor a bill in the Senate aimed at taking those powers away, too.

—Evan McMorris-Santoro

NOTUS Scoop: The Dem Plan to Pen Hogg

In advance of a regularly scheduled Democratic National Committee planning call today, Democrats are griping about vice chair David Hogg’s plan to support young primary candidates against older incumbents. NOTUS’ Katherine Swartz and Alex Roarty report that the DNC’s chair, Ken Martin, is expected to propose on the call a new measure binding DNC officers to neutrality in all races.

That would effectively force Hogg to choose between his anti-incumbent campaign and his current role in DNC leadership, which is what many Democrats want Hogg to decide between.

A range of Democrats told Katherine and Alex that launching challenges against incumbents should not be the role of the national party.

“You cannot at the same time be a vice chair that is there to support the party and support Democratic elected officials and be part of an effort to unseat those very same Democratic elected officials,” said Jay Jacobs, the New York State Democratic Party chair.

Read the story.

Front Page

• Young Voters Don’t Like Trump. But They Don’t Like Congressional Democrats Either.: Democrats are grappling with a young electorate that’s disaffected with both parties.
• Trump Is Trying to Reshape College Accreditation: The president signed a series of orders he said would improve America’s education system — including by changing how colleges and universities are accredited.
• ‘A Lot of Excuses’: Trump’s FEMA Uncertainty Is Frustrating Officials Navigating Hurricane Recovery: “It’s still not completely clear what the feds are gonna pay for and what they’re not,” one North Carolina state lawmaker said.
• Health Leaders Throw Cold Water on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Sweeping Goals and Fast Timelines: “It’s hard to guarantee when science will make an advance,” said the NIH director.
• Trump Ended an Agreement to Fix Sewage Issues in This Predominantly Black County. Residents Want to Know What’s Next.: There was one big question at Rep. Terri Sewell’s town hall: How are you going to solve our wastewater issues?

Bring Out Yer Conservative K-12 Lawsuits

One thing Trump’s Department of Education seems keen on: helping conservative nonprofits investigate school districts for Title IX violations, specifically noncompliance with Trump’s executive order barring transgender athletes in sports.

“This feels like, we’re going to show you,” Ellen Kahn, senior vice president of equality programs at the Human Rights Campaign, told NOTUS’ Violet Jira. “And we’re going to turn the tables. And if you dare to use the pronoun of a child that’s not the pronoun that we think is their actual pronoun. Or if you’re going to be inclusive of a trans kid in a soccer game, we have a pathway for the most conservative parents out there to make a complaint.”

Read the story.

Come On! Feel the Illinoise!

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin announced yesterday he won’t run again, opening up a competitive Democratic primary and a spot in Senate leadership. Five of the 17 Illinois U.S. House members told NOTUS’ Helen Huiskes in January they’d be interested in running, and a few statewide officials are also rumored to be weighing bids.

“We need them now more than ever,” Durbin said in his announcement.

Read the story.

Not Us

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

• Harvard Spends Record Amount on Lobbying in First Quarter of 2025 As It Fends Off Federal Threats by Avani B. Rai and Saketh Sundar for The Harvard Crimson
• The Impossible Four-Hour Test You Need to Pass to Become a Tariff Pencil Pusher by Esther Fung for The Wall Street Journal
• Trump Administration Texted College Professors’ Personal Phones to Ask If They’re Jewish by Akela Lacy for The Intercept

Be Social

Chuck Grassley is enjoying recess.

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