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Politico
an hour ago
- Health
- Politico
RFK Jr. promised tribes help was on the way. They're still waiting.
The agency, he said, was 'chronically understaffed' and needed the help. But when Trump released his proposed budget for 2026, some Native leaders were disappointed. Unlike the deep cuts the budget called for at other health agencies, the IHS would get a $1 billion increase if Congress agrees, most of which would go towards reimbursing tribes for administrative and facility costs. Still, tribal health leaders told POLITICO that real improvement would take tens of billions more. The budget proposal also did not include advance appropriations for IHS — the government has, in recent years, provided the tribes access to their funds early — a provision tribal leaders say helps prevent disruptions to care during government shutdowns. They also said other programs Republicans are cutting are likely to have a negative impact on their health. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act Trump signed on the 4th of July slashes more than $1 trillion over a decade in health care spending, mostly from Medicaid, the federal-state insurer of low-income people on which many American Indians rely. 'Tribes rely on these other agencies to fill the gaps where IHS cannot,' said Jerilyn Church, chief executive officer of the Great Plains Tribal Leaders' Health Board, citing years of inadequate funding. 'In the spotlight' Native people are more likely than others in the U.S. to die from a host of chronic conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory disease, cirrhosis, stroke, pneumonia, kidney disease and hypertension. During his 2024 presidential campaign, before he dropped out and endorsed Trump, Kennedy courted the tribes, spending time with Native people and listening to their concerns. He recalled his namesake father, who was a New York senator and attorney general, and uncle Edward, who served 47 years as a Massachusetts Democrat in the Senate, and their advocacy for American Indians. And he brought up his own involvement in the founding of the newspaper Indian Country Today. During his Senate confirmation hearing in February, Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski said Kennedy had previously committed to 'immediately triple the budget to support tribes' and asked for some details. Kennedy didn't have many. But he said he wanted to designate a Native American as an assistant secretary and that he enjoyed traveling in Alaska. Last month, he swore in Mark Cruz — a citizen of the Klamath Tribes — as senior adviser to the secretary. Some tribal leaders say, despite some concerns, they're happy with Kennedy so far. That includes OJ Semans Sr., executive director of the Coalition of Large Tribes that endorsed Kennedy's appointment as health secretary in January. 'He put IHS in the spotlight nationally,' Semans told POLITICO. 'Sometimes we don't get as much and sometimes we get more, but it's having the discussion that counts.' IHS supports 21 hospitals, 53 health centers, and 25 health stations, and provides care to about 2.8 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Some facilities are managed by the federal government, while some are overseen by tribes. The Indian Health Service, an arm of the Department of Health and Human Services, has funded Native health care for 70 years. | Felicia Fonseca/AP It has suffered from underfunding for years, and slight increases to its budget have not kept up with health care inflation over the past few decades, according to a peer-reviewed article published in the American Journal of Public Health. IHS is unable to fully fund some of its facilities and the care provided there, and the difference must be made up by billing Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers.
Politico
an hour ago
- Health
- Politico
Tribes still waiting on Kennedy's health promises
Presented by Driving the Day WHAT'S THE PLAN? Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly said that he wants to fix the way the government provides care to American Indians and Alaska Natives. He has yet to explain how. Whenever he's been asked about tribal health care during congressional hearings, he's become impassioned about the need to do better by America's Indigenous people. He's stressed his famous family's long history of concern and his involvement in founding a newspaper that covers tribes. But, in his first few months as health secretary, he has failed to outline a comprehensive plan that would drastically improve Native American health. Some leaders in tribal health care are noticing. Still waiting: 'We're looking at the lives of real people, Indian people,' said Phyllis Davis, chair of the Great Lakes Area Tribal Health Board. 'I don't know if anybody really knows him well enough to understand what he wants to do, and I wish — for him — that he took more time to learn more about who we are.' HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told POLITICO that 'HHS and Secretary Kennedy remain fully committed to supporting the Indian Health Service and its mission to provide high-quality, culturally competent care to American Indian and Alaska Native communities,' noting that HHS will continue to work with tribes to improve their health care. The budget request: When Trump released his proposed budget for 2026, some Native leaders were disappointed. Unlike the deep cuts the budget called for at other health agencies, the IHS would receive a $1 billion increase if Congress agrees, with most of the funds going toward reimbursing tribes for administrative and facility costs. Still, tribal health leaders told POLITICO that real improvement would take tens of billions more. The budget proposal also didn't include advance appropriations for IHS — the government has, in recent years, provided the tribes with early access to their funds — a provision tribal leaders say helps prevent disruptions to care during government shutdowns. They also said other programs Republicans are cutting will likely have a negative impact on their health. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Trump signed on the Fourth of July slashes more than $1 trillion over a decade in health care spending, mostly from Medicaid, the federal-state insurer of low-income people, which many American Indians rely on. And the administration sent termination notices to nearly everyone working on a program at the CDC to improve chronic disease in Native Americans. 'Tribes rely on these other agencies to fill the gaps where IHS cannot,' said Jerilyn Church, CEO of the Great Plains Tribal Leaders' Health Board, citing years of inadequate funding. WELCOME TO THURSDAY PULSE. If you're not up to date on the RFK Jr./ostrich debacle, I must recommend this story. Send your tips, scoops and feedback to khooper@ and sgardner@ and follow along @kelhoops and @sophie_gardnerj. At the White House A NEW ADDITION TO SCHEDULE 1 — President Donald Trump signed a bill into law Wednesday that Congressional Republicans say will make it easier to jail and prosecute fentanyl traffickers, POLITICO's Carmen Paun reports. The details: The HALT Fentanyl Act adds fentanyl derivatives to Schedule 1, which also covers drugs such as heroin and LSD that have 'no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,' according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The substances have been on Schedule 1 since 2018 but only on a provisional basis. 'It's a big deal, as they will tell you, meaning anyone caught trafficking these illicit poisons will be punished with a mandatory, 10-year minimum sentence in prison,' Trump said at a White House bill-signing ceremony attended by people who lost loved ones to fentanyl poisoning or overdoses, as well as lawmakers and some Republican governors. Why it matters: The law delivers on one of Trump's campaign promises to crack down on fentanyl traffickers and Mexican cartels that produce the drug, which drove a record rise in fatal drug overdoses in the U.S. during the pandemic. The CDC estimates that nearly 113,000 people died of an overdose, most of them driven by fentanyl, between August 2022 and August 2023. The number of deaths has decreased since, with the CDC estimating that more than 78,000 people died of a fatal overdose between February 2024 and February 2025. In Congress BANNING FDA-APPROVED DRUGS? A group of House Democrats plans to introduce legislation clarifying that states can't ban the prescription or use of drugs and vaccines that the FDA has already approved, POLITICO's Lauren Gardner reports. The bill, by Rep. Deborah Ross (D-N.C.), would confirm that the FDA approvals of medicines preempt any attempts by states to forbid or restrict their sale or use. It would also ensure that preemption applies despite a 1993 law intended to protect religious freedom. Key context: The preemption argument has come into the spotlight as states have clashed with the federal government and drugmakers over abortion pills. The legislation comes after the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected a bid by the manufacturer of generic mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion, to overturn West Virginia's ban on the procedure by arguing the FDA's approval of the drug preempts state prohibitions on its use. The company, GenBioPro, first leveled the argument in a separate case challenging Mississippi's telehealth abortion ban, though it abandoned the case in 2022. Why it matters: The bill's clear tie to state restrictions on medication abortion all but ensures it won't advance in the Republican-controlled Congress. But the issue of whether a drug's approval by a federal agency preempts state-level efforts to ban or limit it will likely persist in future legal challenges concerning mifepristone — and potentially other medicines.. What's next: Ross said she expects a companion bill to be introduced in the Senate but declined to say who would sponsor it. OZ'S BIPARTISAN GAGGLE — CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz is scheduled to meet with Democrats and Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee next Wednesday, as lawmakers look to tackle year-end health care legislation, building on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, POLITICO's Benjamin Guggenheim reports. The details: According to a notice of the meeting viewed by POLITICO, Ways and Means Committee members are invited 'to discuss the priorities' of CMS, including issues 'involving health care matters' that fall within the panel's jurisdiction. The conversation could turn to what's next for Ways and Means and its counterpart in the Senate, the Finance Committee, where Republicans are actively discussing overhauling the operations of pharmaceutical benefit managers, the intermediaries that negotiate drug prices among pharmacies, manufacturers and health plans. WHAT WE'RE READING The Associated Press' Patrick Whittle and Geoff Mulvihill report on how a major medical provider in Maine is getting hit by an item in Republicans' sweeping policy and tax bill intended to block Medicaid dollars from flowing to Planned Parenthood. The Wall Street Journal's Liz Essley Whyte reports on the personality clashes behind the departure of two top aides to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. STAT's Bob Herman and Tara Bannow report that CMS is proposing 'efficiency' pay cuts that would hit highly paid specialists the hardest.
Politico
4 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
Capitol agenda: Brutal day ahead for Mike Johnson
Turns out President Donald Trump didn't have the magic touch House Republicans were expecting. Another day of crypto drama has now put the House in a severe time crunch, setting members up for a mammoth day of voting Thursday. To recap: Speaker Mike Johnson headed into Wednesday confident that Trump had struck a deal with conservative holdouts to move a trio of cryptocurrency bills. But that quickly evaporated after committee chairs pushed back at hard-liners' demands to attach a central bank digital currency ban to another bipartisan crypto bill. The impasse kept the House rule vote open for nine hours until GOP leaders finally cut a late-night deal to include a CBDC ban in the National Defense Authorization Act. The crypto crash-out now leaves the House with a lot to do in very little time: The three crypto bills, the Defense appropriations bill and a rescissions package were all scheduled to get a vote this week. House Republican leaders wanted to punt the Defense bill to next week — but an irate Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) insisted they finish up this week. The House stayed in extra late Wednesday night for general debate and en bloc amendments. 'He is just mad — I don't blame him,' one House Republican told POLITICO about Cole, who has his eye on the 11 unpassed fiscal 2026 spending bills and the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline. Which brings us to Thursday: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told POLITICO the House will begin debating individual Defense amendments Thursday morning before finishing up that bill and moving on to the three cryptocurrency bills. But the real must-do is recissions. The Senate finally passed a modified package around 2:30 a.m. Now the House needs to reconvene the Rules Committee, approve yet another rule on the floor and then vote on sending the $9 billion clawbacks package to Trump's desk. That's a lot to cram into less than two days, especially with the rescissions deadline looming Friday night. If they get too close to the deadline, it's possible Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — fresh off of an eight-hour 'magic minute' speech two weeks ago — could try to blow past it. If something's got to give, watch to see whether all three cryptocurrency bills end up getting a vote this week as planned. One possibility under discussion is passing only the Senate-approved stablecoin bill, which Trump wants to sign as soon as possible, and punting the other votes. He called into a meeting with holdouts and key committee leaders late Wednesday after they struck a new deal — for real this time. 'He's happy with it,' a person in the room told POLITICO of the outcome. What else we're watching: — Senate Approps resumes: Senate Appropriations will resume its markup of the Commerce-Justice-Science funding bill Thursday morning after a fight over the future location of FBI headquarters derailed last week's proceedings. — Bove, Pirro get a committee vote: It appears all but certain Senate Judiciary will have the votes to favorably advance Emil Bove's nomination Thursday morning, but the panel's Democrats are still expected to put up a big fight against Trump's pick to serve as a judge to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. Also up for a committee vote is Jeanine Pirro, Trump's nominee to be the U.S. Attorney for D.C. — Epstein files fallout: GOP leaders are keeping their distance as MAGA outrage grows over the releasing of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Johnson said he was 'misquoted and misrepresented' in reports that he was breaking with Trump over whether to release the files. Senate Majority Leader John Thune dodged again Wednesday, telling reporters: 'I'm not at this point taking a position on it. I just think it's going to be a question that's left to others to decide.' Meredith Lee Hill, Jennifer Scholtes and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
NASA reportedly set to lose 2,000 senior staff members as Trump looks to slash agency's budget
NASA will soon be facing a major brain drain as more than 2,000 senior employees prepare to leave the agency amid a push to reduce its workforce. Some 875 NASA workers work at the highest level of government and in managerial or specialized positions, POLITICO reported Wednesday, citing related documents the website had obtained. Furthermore, more than 1,800 serve in mission areas, such as science and human spaceflight, and the employees make up the majority of 2,694 civil staff who have agreed to leave NASA, POLITICO said. Reacting to the report, Dr. Jessie Christiansen, a research scientist at Caltech/IPAC and chief scientist at the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, told The Independent that losing senior staff members would leave 'deep knowledge and expertise holes across all NASA centers and impact all NASA's strategic plans.' 'We have a direct and immediate precedent for how difficult it is to rebuild institutional knowledge once it has been lost with our plans to return to the moon. We are still trying to get back to the capabilities we had sixty years ago,' Christiansen noted. NASA will not be releasing the number of individuals who take the Deferred Resignation Program before the offering window's closure on July 25. The agency told The Independent that it remains committed to its mission, working "within a more prioritized budget." The brain drain comes as the White House's budget slashes the agency's Fiscal Year 2026 funding to about half of its previous $7.33 billion allocation. The cuts come as President Donald Trump has led a push to reduce the federal budget and shrink the government's workforce. 'There is no set target number for the [resignation program]. This program is a voluntary opportunity available to NASA employees,' spokesperson Bethany Stevens said. 'We are working closely with the administration to ensure that America continues to lead the way in space exploration, advancing progress on key goals, including the moon and Mars,' she added. The report's findings come after leaders at NASA facilities told employees they already expected impacts and the Fiscal Year 2026 budget. A reduction in force at NASA, led by the Department of Government Efficiency, was initially delayed in February before the first layoffs in March, closing the Office of the Chief Scientists and Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy. 'Indiscriminately firing the next generation of NASA scientists, engineers and wider team members is exactly the wrong step to secure America's leadership in space — just as competition with China is reaching fever pitch,' George Whitesides, NASA's former Chief of Staff, said in a post on X reacting to layoffs in February. 'These employee terminations, like the layoffs of nuclear workers at the National Nuclear Security Administration, bird flu workers at USDA, wildfire GIS workers at the Forest Service, and weather forecasters at NOAA, will only make America weaker.' If NASA's budget passes through Congress, the agency is expected to see blows to crucial initiatives that have been the product of decades of its research. Those would include 41 space missions, the agency's climate monitoring satellites and top climate lab, the ongoing Mars Sample Return mission and upcoming missions to Venus. In response to the budget, which would eliminate 47 percent of its science budget, all living former NASA science chiefs penned a letter condemning the cuts, calling on Congress to preserve U.S. leadership in space exploration and to reject the cuts. 'Continuing this support of space science is critical both in terms of leveraging existing activities while also planning and implementing future investments in the next generation of U.S. scientists and engineers who will lead the world in space science,' they wrote. 'To do otherwise would be to cede U.S. leadership in space and science to China and other nations, to severely damage a peerless and immensely capable engineering and scientific workforce, and to needlessly put to waste billions of dollars of taxpayer investments.' Solve the daily Crossword
Politico
5 hours ago
- Business
- Politico
DeSantis, Ingoglia offer ‘26 roadmap
Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Gov. RON DESANTIS and state Sen. BLAISE INGOGLIA laid out their plans for how to tackle the lead-up to 2026 as Ingoglia prepares to be sworn in as the state's new chief financial officer. The CFO pick pits DeSantis' choice against President DONALD TRUMP's endorsed candidate, state Sen. JOE GRUTERS. The fight will soon get ugly, as reported with POLITICO's Gary Fineout, but at Wednesday's announcement, the focus was policy. Ingoglia said during remarks in Tampa on Wednesday that he would spend much of the next year focused 'hand in glove' and 'side by side' with DeSantis on creating support to reduce or all out erase property taxes on Florida's primary homes. This approach will mean DeSantis and Ingoglia can message around affordability, which voters regularly say is their top concern. But it will also mean they'll be banking on the Legislature putting the question before voters when they meet for their next session that starts in January. Ingoglia promised another focus would be sifting through local government spending to find waste, noting he would be a 'conservative pitbull when it comes to spending.' That could give him the opportunity to travel and hold press events — something the governor already uses to his advantage to get his message out, as has state Attorney General JAMES UTHMEIER. Ingoglia further pledged to 'work on housing affordability overall' and to call out insurance companies that 'aren't doing what they are supposed to be doing.' All of this offers material for campaign fodder while the men carry out their official capacities. DeSantis said there would be no need to campaign for a year and a half because 'when you have a record you can run on' then 'all the campaigning takes care of itself.' When DeSantis ran for reelection in 2022, he often invoked his fights with Disney, federal Covid restrictions and 'woke ideology.' In the weeks leading up to the campaign, he paused campaigning to focus on the response to Hurricane Ian. What they're up against: Not just Trump's endorsement, but the dream team that helped carry the president back to the White House. Gruters brought on pollster extraordinaire TONY FABRIZIO and Trump 2024 campaign co-adviser CHRIS LACIVITA. The duo previewed their involvement in a post on X this week, with Fabrizio warning 'pudding fingers' DeSantis that he'd better hope he and LaCivita were 'both dead' by 2028 should he try to mount another presidential run. And as loud as DeSantis and Ingoglia might be with their message, they may get drowned out if the president held a rally for Gruters. (A senior White House official told POLITICO the president would campaign here 'if we need to.') What to watch next: When the fundraising heats up. Ingoglia hasn't yet formally filed paperwork to run, planning to do so in the fall, and he still has to be sworn into office. Gruters has more than $2.3 million available between his campaign account and two political committees, as Gary reported. Campaign filings show Ingoglia has more than $2.87 million available to spend from two committees. A final question is: Where does this leave Democrats? None have filed to run, and maybe the GOP's internal battles will change that. 'It is interesting that DeSantis chose to defy Donald Trump and pick Ingoglia over Trump's endorsed candidate ... Trump will probably view this as an act of disloyalty,' Florida House Democratic Leader FENTRICE DRISKELL said in a statement. Former CFO ALEX SINK, who was also the 2010 Democratic nominee for governor, said she has been reaching out to people she thinks would be strong candidates to gauge their interest. 'We need a CFO in this state who can hold our politicians accountable,' she said. Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@ and @leonardkl. WHERE'S RON? Gov. DeSantis will speak at the Teacher of the Year event in Orlando at 9:30 a.m. (Watch on the Florida Channel.) ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... TODAY — Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo will hold a news conference at 11 a.m. in Tampa about updated federal recommendations for healthy children regarding Covid-19 vaccines using mRNA technology. — Arek Sarkissian FLORIDA SAYS NO RUSH — State officials are pushing back against environmental groups urgently asking a federal judge to halt work underway at the Alligator Alcatraz immigration detention center in the Everglades. But a hearing in the case may not come soon: The case was reassigned to Judge Kathleen M. Williams after Judge Jose E. Martinez on Wednesday recused himself. After environmental groups on July 11 filed an expedited motion for a ruling on their June 27 request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, lawyers for state Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie told the court the groups don't have a right to tell judges how to proceed. — Bruce Ritchie NEXT STEPS ON DETENTION FACILITIES — DeSantis 'won't consider building another temporary detention facility at the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center until the one in the Everglades reaches capacity,' reports Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix. APPEAL FILED — The Louisiana company whose request to drill for oil along the Apalachicola River set off a political firestorm last year is taking its legal case to a state appeals court. Clearwater Land & Minerals filed a notice of appeal Tuesday challenging the state's decision to deny an exploratory drilling permit in June after a state judge recommended against it in April. — Bruce Ritchie BLACKOUT THREAT — 'A consultant hired by Florida Power & Light warned that without adding battery storage capacity included in its request to hike rates by roughly $9 billion, customers are highly likely to experience a rolling blackout next year,' reports Emily L. Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times. — 'Peanut farm that sought 700 acres of Florida state forest withdraws plan,' reports Max Chesnes of the Tampa Bay Times. — 'New schools commissioner delivers fiery speech to the state Board of Education,' by Christine Sexton of the Florida Phoenix. PENINSULA AND BEYOND TRIAL SET — Jury selection is expected to start the week of Nov. 3 for the trial of PHOENIX IKNER, the student charged with carrying out a mass shooting at Florida State University's campus in April, reports Kate Payne of The Associated Press. — 'UWF enters new chapter under Interim President Manny Diaz. Here are his priorities,' by Mary Lett of the Pensacola News Journal. — 'Orange County rejects plan for local jail staff to transport ICE detainees to Alligator Alcatraz,' by McKenna Schueler of Orlando Weekly. CAMPAIGN MODE PALM BEACH DREAMS — Republicans are aiming to have more registered Republicans in the county than Democrats ahead of the 2026 midterms, reports Antonio Fins of the Palm Beach Post. Palm Beach County GOP Chair CARL CASCIO said the party wanted to flip FL-23, the seat held by Democratic Rep. JARED MOSKOWITZ, who is also on the target list for the National Republican Congressional Committee. He also raised the seat of Democratic Rep. LOIS FRANKEL, which is not considered competitive in the Cook Political Report ranking. Correction: Wednesday's Playbook misidentified Moskowitz's fundraising in the second quarter. It was over $351,000. INGOGLIA'S SEAT — Republican Dr. RALPH MASSULLO, a physician, filed paperwork Wednesday to run in state Senate District 11, for the seat Ingoglia has held ahead of becoming chief financial officer. DeSantis endorsed Massullo, a former state representative, in a post on X. The governor's endorsement is notable: Three years ago, DeSantis endorsed Ingoglia instead of Massullo for the state Senate, a move that resulted in Massullo almost immediately dropping out. Massullo at the time was seen as Senate Republican's preferred candidate. The fundraising and political arm of Senate Republicans — the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee — announced Wednesday it was endorsing Massullo as Ingoglia's replacement. DeSantis has not yet set a date for the special election. — Gary Fineout TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Advocacy groups have filed an ethics complaint against a Florida judge in the state and in Washington, citing POLITICO reporting that he was lobbying for a federal judgeship while considering arguments in a defamation case filed by Trump. Demand Progress and Freedom of the Press Foundation filed the complaint against ED ARTAU, a Fourth District Court of Appeal judge, with the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Office of Disciplinary Counsel. The US Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on his nomination to be a US district court judge in Southern Florida on Thursday. 'Recent news reporting suggests that Judge Artau may have engaged in improper dealings to secure his judicial nomination in exchange for authoring judicial opinions which personally benefit President Trump to the detriment of everyone else's First Amendment rights,' the groups wrote. Last month, POLITICO reported Artau had already met with the Senate to discuss a potential seat on the federal bench by the time he wrote an opinion in Trump's defamation case against the Pulitzer Prize board, related to its award over coverage of Russian election interference and ties to the Trump campaign. In Artau's opinion, he blasted the 'fake news' and called for the overturning of New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the landmark Supreme Court decision that made it more difficult for public officials to sue media organizations for libel. He also sat on a three-judge panel that allowed the case to proceed. 'As public interest organizations, we are deeply concerned by the allegations against Judge Artau and the implications for the judiciary,' the groups wrote. 'We therefore ask you to investigate Judge Artau's conduct for compliance with the ethics rules enforced by your respective offices.' — Hailey Fuchs TODAY — About 50 anti-Trump 'Good Trouble' protests are scheduled across Florida, report Lianna Norman and Samantha Neely of USA TODAY NETWORK — Florida. They're organized by many of the same groups that led the 'No King' protests and are being done in recognition of the late Rep. JOHN LEWIS (D-Ga.). JUST INTRODUCED — At least 29 Democrats in Congress have signed onto legislation reintroduced Wednesday that would regulate fundraising around presidential libraries, just as Trump's team has been scoping out options to build in Florida. Moskowitz co-led the effort on the House side, calling the current system a 'black box' that needed 'commonsense ethics rules.' The bill would ban fundraising for libraries while presidents are in office, with the exception of nonprofits, as well as put a $10,000 cap on what organizations can contribute. It would mandate regular reporting and prohibit donations from foreign nationals or governments for two years after a president leaves office. DATELINE D.C. BIDEN HEALTH PROBE — Rep. BYRON DONALDS on Wednesday called for former first lady JILL BIDEN and former Vice President KAMALA HARRIS to testify to Congress about former President JOE BIDEN's mental acuity. The comments from Donalds, who's on the House Oversight Committee, come as the former first lady's chief of staff refused to answer questions during closed-door testimony Wednesday morning. 'Every member of the Biden Administration at this point needs to be subpoenaed,' Donalds told reporters. 'I don't care if they were a secretary. I don't care if they were a janitor working in there. They all gotta come in and answer questions for this Committee.' ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN BIRTHDAYS: USA Today Network — Florida's Ana Goñi-Lessan ... former state Rep. J.C. Planas.
