GOP’s Top Woman on the Hill
In five years, Rep. Lisa McClain has climbed from political neophyte to top-tier insider with support both on the Hill and in the White House.
Maeve Sheehey takes a look at the only Republican leader in the House or Senate whose entire career has been in the Trump GOP era, describing a politician who can shape-shift from personable Midwestern mom of four to sharp-tongued party defender.
“She plays more of a good soldier propagandist than someone who’s an ideological or policy warrior,” said Michigan political strategist Jeff Timmer, a Lincoln Project adviser who has tracked McClain’s rise. Read More
Defendant Musk
Elon Musk will have to face a lawsuit that claims the billionaire is wielding illegal power by orchestrating President Donald Trump’s dramatic cuts in federal government jobs and spending.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan refused to toss the case filed by Democratic state attorneys general against Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency, though she dismissed the case against Trump, saying courts can’t limit the actions of a president performing his official duties.
At issue: Whether Musk was granted the same authority as Trump’s Senate-confirmed cabinet. Musk has denied that he holds a formal position or has any authority to direct agencies to carry out the president’s cost-cutting agenda, even though he’s been the public face of DOGE.
Rulings to deny motions to dismiss normally can’t be appealed, but our team will be watching whether the Justice Department tries for an exception because the case presents significant questions about presidential power and interpreting the US Constitution. Read More
Musk commented on the megabill the House passed last week, saying in a CBS interview he was “disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decreases it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.” Read More
Meanwhile, back at Musk’s day job, SpaceX’s colossal Starship rocket suffered a leak, tumbled out of control in space and disintegrated as it hurtled back to Earth during a test flight on Tuesday. It’s the a third setback in a row for the Musk-led company. Read More and check out the video from Bloomberg Television.
More From the Trump Court Docket
Congestion Pricing: New York won a federal court order temporarily freezing potential Trump administration moves to withhold federal approvals or funds for the state’s transportation projects. The administration has threatened retribution unless New York stops charging tolls to drive into NYC’s heavy-traffic zone. Read More
National Public Radio: Add one more lawsuit to the list of litigation stemming from Trump’s determination to change the relationship between the government and media entities. In a new federal court filing, NPR challenges the constitutionality of the order choking off its federal funding. Read More
Eye on the Economy
The entities that back or purchase the majority of conventional home loans have been under government conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis. Since then, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have returned to steady profitability, and Trump is talking about a new relationship.
“I am working on TAKING THESE AMAZING COMPANIES PUBLIC, but I want to be clear, the US Government will keep its implicit GUARANTEES, and I will stay strong in my position on overseeing them as President,” Trump wrote last night on his Truth Social platform.
Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency that oversees Freddie and Fannie, said in February that any effort to release the entities must be “carefully planned” to make sure the housing market remains safe without pressure on mortgage rates.
Taking them public would make hedge funds and other investors happy, and bring a boost of receipts to the government. Read More
Twist in the Deal
In the latest swivel in a deal that’s remained in limbo for nearly a year and a half, the federal government would get a so-called golden share in US Steel as a condition for approving Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of the American company. The plan would give the government de facto veto rights on certain company decisions. Still unclear are the scope of such veto powers and what the administration has decided regarding the existing $14.1 billion merger agreement. Read More
Pitbull Opportunity
In the right hands, it’s a made-for-memes opportunity: deliver the pointed questions, insta-ready charts, and repeatable remarks that create a partisan counterweight on a committee with a high profile and unlimited jurisdiction.
The job: No. 1 minority-party member of the House Oversight Committee, a position that’s open because of the death of Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.). Democrats have scheduled their internal election to fill the vacancy for June 24.
Maeve Sheehey reports that their options include Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.). The runner-up to Connolly six months ago, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), is staying on the Energy and Commerce Committee rather than become Oversight’s attack-dog-in-chief.
“There is arguably no more important work than the work of the minority party on oversight,” said Public Citizen’s Aaron Regunberg.
‘Free and Clean’
“Your parents are going to be free and clean, and I hope we can do it by tomorrow,” Trump says in a video showing him on a call promising Savannah Chrisley, daughter of reality stars convicted of fraud and tax evasion, that her parents were getting pardoned.
Todd and Julie Chrisley, who starred in the television show Chrisley Knows Best, were found guilty of conspiring to defraud community banks out of more than $30 million in fraudulent loans. A jury convicted them of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit tax evasion. Julie Chrisley additionally was convicted of obstruction of justice.
Prosecutors said the Chrisleys submitted fake documents to banks when applying for loans and that Julie Chrisley also submitted a false credit report and bank statements when trying to rent a house in California. The couple then used a company they ran to hide income to avoid paying taxes, prosecutors said. Julie Chrisley was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Todd Chrisley was sentenced to 12 years. The couple was also ordered to pay restitution. Read More
See also: Trump to Pardon Sheriff Found Guilty of ‘Cash-for-Badges’ Scheme
Troll Thy Neighbor
Trump followed up thusly on his recent description of a space-based shield to protect the US from ballistic missiles, hypersonics and other threats:
“I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State,” Trump said in a social media post. “They are considering the offer!”
Since the 1950s, Canada and the US have had a joint air defense system known as the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or Norad. In 2022, Canada unveiled a $28 billion long-term plan to contribute to a modernized Norad. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed interest in the new proposed military defense project but declined to place a price tag on it. Read More
Before You Go
Scrutinizing Their Socials: Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered US embassies worldwide to stop scheduling interviews for student visas as the Trump administration weighs stricter vetting of applicants’ social-media profiles. The directive is laid out in a cable sent to diplomats worldwide. David Leopold, a Cleveland-based immigration attorney, said the squeeze on admissions could be “cataclysmic, maybe even catastrophic” for both international students and the US universities that rely on them. Read More
Transgender Backlash: Trump is threatening to withhold federal funding from California, accusing Gov. Gavin Newsom of failing to comply with an executive order barring transgender people from competing in women’s sports. “California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS,’” the president posted on social media. “Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to.” Trump also said he was “ordering” local authorities “if necessary” to bar the person from competing in the event, a power he appears to lack. Read More
No Shot: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Covid shot has been taken off of the country’s recommended vaccine list for healthy children and pregnant women. The move underscores the profound impact Kennedy is exerting on immunizations in the US, a polarizing topic that has long galvanized his base of vaccine critics. His social media announcement also leapfrogged a planned meeting of medical experts who guide the CDC on vaccine policy to evaluate which Americans would benefit most from the shots. Read More
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