Welcome to the online edition of From The Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that provides the latest reports and analysis from the NBC News Politics team’s White House, Capitol Hill and Campaign Trail.
Today’s edition jumps into the political future of three senators. One wants to stick to Washington. Additionally, President Donald Trump will take the next step towards implementing his tariff agenda.
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– Adam Walner
McConnell takes on a new role in the Senate: Lonely Wolf
Two major Republican Senate votes on confirming that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the secretary to the Department of Health and Human Services illustrate the party’s new order under President Donald Trump.
Let’s start with Senator Mitch McConnell, who voted against Kennedy. He is now the third Trump candidate for which former Senate GOP leader, Kentucky’s McConnell, opposed on the floor. For Defense Secretary Pete Hegses, McConnell was joined by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Markowski of Alaska. But in Kennedy and the newly established National Intelligence Director Tarshi Gabbard, McConnell was the only GOP opponent.
As the longest Senate leader in history, McConnell uses procedural tactics to mercilessly use the writings of Scott Wong, Sahil Kapoor and Frank Thorpe V, to his rank and file. He fostered a reputation for queueing up members and keeping an irritated Democrat.
Now, 82-year-old McConnell, who is closing what is likely his last term, is free from leadership constraints and the prospect of facing voters once again. He not only voted against a recent trio of famous Trump candidates, but also publicly criticised Trump’s tariff plans.
At the same time, after a fall, McConnell, who has recently been using a wheelchair, lost much of his impact on the Senate Republican Congress, which he once managed with iron grips. A mag campaign to drive parties.
However, McConnell doesn’t seem to be upset about going alone. Republican senators said McConnell had not tried to lobby his colleagues to join him in opposition to Trump’s candidate, Melanie Zanona reported. And along with Hegseth, Gabbard and Kennedy, he did not publicly say how to vote in advance.
As the former McConnell aide said, “I think we’ve reached Peakyoro McConnell.”
But Senator Bill Cassidy finds himself in a rather different situation. The doctor and chairman of the Senate Health, Education and Work Pension Committee in Louisiana, Cassidy was struggling publicly with Kennedy’s appointment, particularly his anti-vaccine stance.
However, Cassidy eventually came in and said he led the country’s most powerful healthcare institution with enough guarantees to vote for Kennedy. The key difference between him and McConnell: Cassidy may run a reelection on the horizon in Louisiana.
He has not officially announced whether he will seek another term in 2026, but he shows that he will. As Bridget Bowman and Natasha Korekki report, problems await.
The Republican Never-Unjust Trump Wing has yet to allow Cassidy to vote for Trump to convict each of them in 2021 for inciting the January 6 Capitol riot. Cassidy already has at least one major challenger, with the others waiting on the wings.
“That’s not a secret. Louisiana GOP Chairman Derek Babcock said:
For more information about the 2026 Senate map, see below.
Another Open Senate seat could complicate Democrats’ plans for 2026
Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced Thursday that she is not running for reelection. That means Democrats need to defend another open sheet in 2026 with a difficult Senate map.
Senator Gary Peters, D-Mich. He also recently said he has not seen another term. The open seat race can play the difficult Democrat fights and control for the Senate. They need to win four seats to win the majority. This means you have to hold all the existing seats and turn four Republicans over.
And Democrats don’t have many obvious pick-up opportunities. Sen. Susan Collins, R Maine, is the only Republican to be re-election in the state where Kamala Harris won. Senator Tom Tillis (RN.C.) is also expected to be his perennial battlefield state’s best target. Democrats then have to go deep into Trump’s territory and target states that have won in double digits.
Democrats may need to devote more resources than expected to protect seats in Minnesota and Michigan. Furthermore, a competitive and potentially divisive primary can damage the final candidate (although the primary could be a useful test basis for candidates as well. ). Democrat Minnesota Lt. Colonel Peggy Flanagan has already announced that she will run for Smith’s seat, with some others being able to comply.
Minnesota may not have been at the top of the Republican Senate target list. Democrats defend two seats in the states Trump won (Michigan and Georgia), but that’s probably there. Trump lost four points to Minnesota and even improved his 2020 margin with state governor Tim Waltz on a Democrat ticket. Walz himself has not ruled out the Senate run, but he is also considering taking part in another term as governor.
But Democrats are confident they will hold their seats, noting that Republicans have not won the Senate elections in Minnesota since 2002.
Read more at Emerging Minnesota Senate Race →
Things you need to know from today’s President Trump
Trump has signed a memorandum of understanding calling for “fair and mutual” trade tariffs on all major US trading partners, including longtime allies. The memo asks administration officials to assess the national reports within 180 days. Trump acknowledged that new tariffs could lead to “short-term” price increases. New York’s top federal prosecutors and two senior prosecutors in Washington resigned after refusing to follow the Justice Department, which will drop a corruption charge against New York Mayor Eric Adams. The White House also closed several U.S. lawyers on Wednesday evening. A group of 14 states claimed that the White House’s power to recognize high-tech billionaires and government efficiency was unconstitutional, claiming 75,000 federal employees were “unconstitutional” I’ve accepted it. According to the White House, “resignation to resign” will resign, but will be paid until September. Education Secretary Candidate Linda McMahon said efforts to remove the department she is seeking, as Trump asks, would require Congressional approval at her confirmation hearing.
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today’s other top stories
I’m a cut for you, not for me: From cuts to funding health and farming to fear of new tariffs that will negatively affect local industries and consumers, Republican lawmakers have been saying that Trump’s actions It is beginning to carefully push back against certain aspects of strength. Read more →➡→No rush: The Senate is deliberately roaming the nomination of Rep. Elise Stefanik, the United Nations US ambassador. Concerns about the historically small majority of the White House party. Read more → 📰 Trump vs. Media: Trump moves beyond his usual anti-news media rhetoric, attacking others with lawsuits and instructions that critics say it’s a naked attempt to bending the news. While some outlets were able to take various actions that restricted access to the reporting of his will. Read more → 👀2028 Vision: Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro says he “has put at risk at least $5.5 billion committed to Pennsylvania” with federal funding, and about widespread freeze on federal funding He sued the Trump administration. Read more Read more → 🏈Another arena: Jim Tressel, former college football coach and soon-to-be lieutenant governor of Ohio, said he hadn’t thought of running for governor in 2026. I said that, but he didn’t rule it out. Read more → Radio Star: R&B Star Boys II men insist on behalf of more than 300 recording artists to lawmakers to pay the rights of AM/FM radio stations to play their songs It will be passed. Read more →
For now, it’s all from the political desk. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner.
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