Joe Biden’s return to the spotlight this week is igniting anger among Democrats who wish the former president would ride off into retirement and stay there.

In a wide-ranging interview on “The View” with former First Lady Jill Biden on Thursday, Biden owned up to his role in Donald Trump’s return to power even as he defended his decision to stay in the race as long as he did last year. But if he was expecting a warm reception, he’s not getting it. Many in his party are desperate to turn the page on Biden's presidency, craving new leaders and fresh faces as Democrats look to find a way out of the political wilderness.

“It’s time for Joe Biden to go away with all due respect and let the next generation of Democrats take the mantle,” said Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha. “Every time he appears on a show or says something, it's just another week or a month that we have to defend him and remind everybody that we got beat by Donald Trump, again.”

“For those of us trying to rebuild the brand, it does no good when you're constantly reminded about the old brand that won't go away,” Rocha said, adding that the only good thing about the interview is that it was quickly overtaken by news of the selection of a new pope.

Biden’s reemergence comes as the Democratic Party works to move beyond its current predicament — shut out of power in Washington and embroiled in a fierce debate about the party’s direction and strategy against Trump.

However unwelcome for many Democrats, Biden is an unavoidable subject.

The former president’s allies are bracing for the potential release of audio of Biden’s interview with Robert Hur, the special counsel who investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents and raised questions about his mental acuity. That’s in addition to an upcoming book by two high-profile journalists that promises to shed light on Biden’s decision to run for reelection “despite evidence of his serious decline” mentally, according to promotional copy for Original Sin, set for release on May 20.

For many Democrats, both events are dredging up past problems— not just around Biden's age, but also inflation and the party’s handling of cultural issues.

"Every interview that Biden does drags us backwards and reminds people of the older generation of Democrats that got us into this mess — when attention is our scarcest resource, we need to prioritize hearing from the next generation of leaders who could excite and rebuild the party," said Amanda Litman, co-founder of Run For Something, a progressive group that helps young people run for office.

Some Democrats saw value in Biden's reemergence, even if they said he needed to be more thoughtful about how to present his message.

“I think this is an incredible inflection point as a nation, as a world and people like Joe Biden add value to the conversation — when [he’s focused] on being constructive,” said Democratic strategist Ashley Etienne, who served as a senior advisor to Biden, as well as to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“I do believe we’ve got to reconcile what actually happened, be honest about it, confront it and move past it. I think central to that … would be an autopsy from the party,” Ettiene added. “Absent that, then you got all these books that are going to fill in the gaps and the holes and it's going to keep perpetuating the problem and deepening the wound.”

A Biden adviser granted anonymity to speak freely said he had no immediate public events in the coming weeks.

At least some Democrats would welcome hearing more from him. Noting that Biden is the only person to ever beat Trump, Erica Loewe, who served as special assistant to Biden during his presidency, said that as the party tries to rebuild following its November losses, “there's no reason why Joe Biden should not be a part of this conversation."

"There's no question that Democrats as a whole have a messaging problem,” she said, “but that can't solely be blamed on Joe Biden."

Biden said in his interview that he’s working on his own book and offered his own assessment of Kamala Harris' loss to Trump, saying Republicans took “the sexist route” But he acknowledged his contribution to Trump’s victory, saying, “Look, I was in charge and he won, so I take responsibility.”

Some Democrats appreciated his willingness to say that publicly.

“I think people have wanted to hear him acknowledge some sense of responsibility,” said longtime Democratic strategist Karen Finney, who worked on HIllary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. She also said many Democrats were more upset that Biden, who had cast himself as a transitional figure, ran for reelection anyway.

That, she said, “goes back to his initial promise, where he said that he would only serve for one term.”

Relitigating the most painful parts of the Biden presidency has been especially frustrating for Democrats who see the party finally showing signs of life. Democrats got their preferred candidate elected statewide in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race in April, and Trump's handling of the economy — which had once been a strength — is quickly becoming a liability.

And though Democrats’ chances of retaking the Senate are slim as they face a deeply unfavorable map, the picture is looking brighter for them than it once did, with popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia passing on a Senate bid against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and former Republican Gov. Chris Sununu forgoing a run for an open Senate seat in New Hampshire.

For some Democrats, Biden’s return only pulled attention away from that string of good news for the party.

“Most Democrats … are tired of the distractions,” said Georgia-based Democratic strategist Andrew Heaton. “The last thing we want is anything that's going to feed it to the naysayers who are going to point to see: ‘once again, it was a big cover up in the party.’”

Heaton likened Democrats’ current situation to a wildfire. At some point, he said, it will be important to understand how it started. But for now, he said, “Digging into the machinations of the Biden reelect is not something that I think a lot of folks are focused on right now.”

He said, “Like, can we just move on?”

Adam Wren, Elena Schneider and Liz Crampton contributed to this report.

© Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

BUCKS COUNTY, Pennsylvania — Arizona Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego said Republicans are trying to pull John Fetterman to the right and argued Democrats should keep the Pennsylvania senator in their corner as he faces mounting questions over his health and shifting political persona.

“There needs to be space for Fetterman and for other senators in our caucus,” he said in an interview Saturday. “He still is a senator that fights for working-class people. We may not be 100 percent in agreement a lot of times in a lot of areas, but we don't have to be.”

While some Democrats have distanced themselves from Fetterman, top Republicans have rallied around him in the wake of news reports that his current and former staffers are concerned about his mental and physical health. Several GOP senators, including Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), have come to Fetterman’s defense on social media.

"The radical left is smearing him with dishonest, vicious attacks because he's pro-Israel and they only want reliable anti-Israel politicians," Cotton said.

Asked if Republicans are trying to tug Fetterman to the GOP, Gallego said “of course.”

“In the Marines, we call these fuck-fuck games,” said Gallego, who traveled to Pennsylvania Saturday for a town hall.

Fetterman has said repeatedly that he will not change parties. But that isn’t stopping some conservatives from trying to push him to vote for their priorities — and perhaps more broadly come onto their side. The Club for Growth, a conservative group, is airing a TV ad in Pennsylvania this weekend praising Fetterman as “standing up for every working family in PA” and urging him to back President Donald Trump’s tax cuts.

Fetterman has voted against the budget blueprint laying the groundwork for a massive package that would include the extension of Trump’s first-term tax cuts, and he said on Friday he remains opposed to the efforts. Gallego expressed confidence that Fetterman would continue to hold that position, saying “I think the last thing he'll do is harming working-class families by voting for the reconciliation bill.”

While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has said Fetterman is an “all-star” who is “doing a good job,” several House Democrats in Fetterman’s state have offered more chilly responses, saying that the recent reporting raises questions and voters should read it. Fetterman has also drawn criticism from some on the left over his hardline position on Israel and recent meeting with Trump.

During Gallego’s town hall, Gallego repeatedly stressed the need for Democrats to maintain a big tent. He was asked by a member of the audience why he did a fundraiser with Marc Andreessen, a pro-Trump businessperson. Gallego said he runs “the largest venture capital firm in Arizona.”

“We got so pure that we started kicking people out of the tent — it ends up there aren't enough people in the tent to win elections,” he said to applause.

Gallego’s stop in the critical battleground of Pennsylvania, first reported by POLITICO, has drawn speculation that he is interested in a future presidential bid. When asked in an NBC News interview about the prospect of running for the White House, Gallego said, “Has it ever crossed my mind? Fucking of course, I’m an elected official, it crosses my mind. Am I thinking about it right now? Absolutely not.”

© Ben Curtis/AP

Democratic National Convention Chair Ken Martin on Saturday doubled down on his ultimatum for rogue Vice Chair David Hogg: Take a neutrality pledge or step down.

“Party officers have one job: to be fair stewards of a process that invites every Democrat to the table — regardless of personal views or allegiances,” Martin said.

After weeks of infighting about how the hobbled party should move forward, Martin laid out his longstanding vision on Saturday in a post on X and called out Hogg, who caused an uproar last month after he told POLITICO that he would fund Democratic primaries for “ineffective, asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats.

Following Hogg’s comments, Martin made it clear that as a party officer, you must remain neutral in Democratic primaries — and suggested Hogg should step down from his role if he can’t get on board.

The statement comes hours after it was reported by POLITICO that Hogg privately pitched a compromise to his party in recent days. He proposed a so-called internal firewall in which he would stay on as vice chair but be barred from accessing internal committee information about races as long as he was supporting challengers.

“Some critics have wrongly framed this as an effort to shut people out of the party or to discourage contested primaries,” Martin wrote. “Let me be unequivocally clear: That's not only false, it's the opposite of what I stand for.”

Martin, as many party officers in the past have argued, said that the pledge allows for a fairer process without interference from party leadership.

In the lengthy thread, Martin mentioned Hogg by name, saying he respects the 25-year-old activist-turned DNC vice chair.

“When I ran for DNC Chair, I ran on a platform of democratizing the party,” he wrote. “Those reforms weren’t about any one person, and they certainly aren’t about me versus David Hogg. … Long before David was ever involved in politics, I was pushing reforms within our Democratic Party.”

Martin added that when you lead the institution that calls “balls and strikes, you don’t get to also swing the bat.”

“I am more committed than ever to introduce the slate of structural reforms that enshrine these values into the official rules of the Democratic Party,” Martin said. “These reforms will require all party officers — including myself — to remain neutral in primaries.”

© Rod Lamkey Jr./AP

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Republican firebrand and ally of President Donald Trump, is passing on the Senate race in Georgia.

“I’m not running,” she said in a lengthy post on social media on Friday, citing her frustrations with the Senate as the main reason she didn't want to run. "Even with a few good Republicans in the Senate, nothing changes."

The two-term Georgia representative’s name had been floated as a potential Republican candidate after popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp passed on a bid this week to take on incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff. Greene's decision loomed large over the race, with many Democrats salivating over the possibility she’d enter the contest in one of the swingiest of swing states in the nation.

Trump carried Georgia by about 2 percentage points last year, after Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the state since former President Bill Clinton in 1992.

In passing on a run, Greene, a prolific fundraiser and darling of conservative media, nevertheless claimed she could have won.

"When I met with the NRSC a few weeks ago, they told me their internal polling shows any Republican can beat Ossoff," she said in her post. "But now they’re pushing a public poll of just 800 people claiming only certain Republicans can win."

The outspoken MAGA star’s lengthy statement left open the door for another statewide run. She did not rule out the possibility of running for governor to succeed Kemp, who is term-limited.

Should she decide to embark on a gubernatorial bid, many questions that hovered over her potential Senate run would remain. Georgia, with its demographic shifts, has become a purple state in recent years, now with two Democratic senators in Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

While Republicans control the governor's mansion and both chambers of the state legislature — and while Trump won in 2024 — the state is not considered a MAGA stronghold.

Georgia Republicans bucked the president in recent elections, including during the 2022 cycle when Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger roundly defeated Trump-backed primary challengers after both men rejected efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. They were able to cruise reelection victories in the general election.

Raffensperger has not signaled if he plans to run again for statewide office, but is likely to be a formidable candidate should he decide to run to succeed Kemp or challenge Ossoff for his seat.

© Francis Chung/POLITICO

John Fetterman’s popularity is sinking among Democratic voters in his backyard, according to an internal poll obtained by POLITICO — one of the first major indications that the Pennsylvania senator is taking a hit with the very voters who elected him.

The poll is likely to take on new relevance as Democrats in Pennsylvania increasingly talk behind the scenes about the prospect of a primary challenge against Fetterman in 2028.

Fetterman, who lives just outside Pittsburgh, is underwater with likely Democratic voters in the city. Forty-nine percent said they have an unfavorable impression of him, while 46 percent said they have a favorable impression, according to the survey. By way of comparison, the poll showed 82 percent view Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro favorably, versus 13 percent unfavorably.

The poll, completed by a Democratic firm surveying the upcoming mayoral primary election in Pittsburgh, was conducted before New York magazine published an article reporting that staff are concerned about Fetterman’s mental and physical health.

It is a single poll, and runs counter to recent public surveys. Still, it has shocked some Democrats in the state.

“In Pittsburgh, this is a break-glass, freak-out moment for Fetterman,” said a Pittsburgh-based Democratic strategist who was granted anonymity to speak frankly.

The results suggest a real vulnerability for Fetterman, who has made his personal ties to the region a key part of his political brand. During his 2022 Senate campaign, his team gave supporters yellow, Fetterman-branded towels modeled after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Terrible Towel.” Fetterman frequently uses the term “yinzer,” slang for a Pittsburgh native, and talks up his love of the convenience store Sheetz.

In the 2022 Senate primary, Fetterman overwhelmingly won Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, by 25 percentage points, outpacing his rivals then-Rep. Conor Lamb and state lawmaker Malcolm Kenyatta.

The poll of 500 likely Democratic primary voters in Pittsburgh was conducted from Feb. 6 to Feb. 11, through a mix of phone calls and text-to-online responses.

The survey’s results are a marked contrast from public polling that has shown Democratic voters in Pennsylvania sticking by Fetterman even as many on the left criticize him over his positions on Israel and meeting with President Donald Trump.

Recent Morning Consult surveys have found Fetterman’s popularity rising in Pennsylvania, the result of him improving his numbers among Republican voters while keeping steady support with Democratic ones. Polls of adults across the country have painted a different picture, with him sliding among national Democrats and independents while performing better among Republicans.

Some Democratic strategists in Pennsylvania have said that Fetterman’s shifting approach to Trump could weaken the senator among Democratic voters more than his hardline stance on Israel. Fetterman has voted to confirm a number of Trump’s top officials, including Attorney General Pam Bondi. He said in January that he was meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago because he “will meet with and have a conversation with anyone if it helps me deliver for Pennsylvania and the nation.”

The internal survey found that Fetterman’s standing among progressives in Pittsburgh is in particular bottoming out. Seventy-four percent of self-identified progressive Democrats in the city gave him an unfavorable ranking, while only 22 percent gave him favorable marks. His approval rating was 52 percent favorable to 47 percent unfavorable among liberal Democrats and 65 percent favorable to 27 percent unfavorable among moderate and conservative Democrats.

Amid mounting questions about Fetterman’s health, some Democrats in the state have begun looking into the rules guiding what would happen if he stepped down and whispering about potential replacements. Fetterman has strongly denied that he is unfit to serve, called the New York article is “a one-source hit piece,” and has vowed to stay on through his term, which ends in 2029.

© Francis Chung/POLITICO

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Former President Joe Biden said he takes “responsibility” for Donald Trump’s return to the White House and accused his successor of failing to protect the interests of the country.

Sitting for his first live television interview since leaving office, Biden was asked on “The View” if he felt responsible for Trump’s victory.

“Yes, I do, because, look, I was in charge and he won, so I take responsibility,” Biden said, responding to a question that probed his approval ratings falling and voter concerns over border security and inflation.

Kristian Ramos, a Democratic strategist, called it “refreshing” for Biden to do it, even if the party is still in the midst of rebuilding its brand.

“I do think him saying that in such a public way is healing for Democrats,” Ramos added. “Despite being convicted of multiple crimes and spurring an attack on our capitol, Trump has yet to take any responsibility for his actions. That says everything to me.”

Offering an assessment of Trump's return to power, Biden said his successor “has done, quite frankly, a very poor job in the interest of the United States of America.”

“I think, you know, the greatest alliance in the history of the world is NATO, not a joke, and he's blown it up,” he said. “He's had the worst 100 days any president has ever had.”

In a statement, the White House responded to a request for comment on Biden's interview: "Joe Biden is a complete disgrace to this country and the office he occupied. He has clearly lost all mental faculties and his handlers thought it'd be a good idea for him to do an interview and incoherently mumble his way through every answer. Sadly, this feels like abuse," said White House communications director Steven Cheung.

Biden has come under fierce criticism from Democrats for staying in the presidential race until last July, even in the face of polling that indicated a broad cross section of the country believed he was too old to hold the office and wasn't polling well against Trump. The inflection point came after Biden visibly stumbled over his words in a debate with Trump.

The former president defended his decision to remain in the race until late July, as he did in an interview with the BBC released Wednesday, saying that there were “still six full months” for Vice President Kamala Harris to make her case to the American public. When asked if he was surprised by her loss in November, he said he was not, while accusing Republicans of running a campaign of sexism against her.

“I wasn't surprised — not because I didn't think the vice president wasn’t qualified to be president — she is. She's qualified to be president of the United States of America,” Biden said. “I wasn't surprised because they went the route of — the sexist route.”

The former president was also asked about Harris’ own comments on “The View” in which she defended Biden's record, saying there was “not a thing that comes to mind” about what she would have done differently.

“First of all, I did not advise her to say that,” Biden said of Harris' remarks. “She has to be her own person. And she was."

"She was part of every success we had,” he added.

Biden, who said he remains in contact with Harris, said she has sought his advice on her next political move as she mulls a run for governor of California or another run at the White House.

“She's got a difficult decision to make about what she's going to do," he said. "I think she's first rate, but we have a lot of really good candidates as well. So I'm optimistic, I'm not pessimistic.”

© Stephanie Scarbrough, File/AP

John Fetterman has long been on a political island — and now his tendency to rebuff professional relationships is coming back to bite him.

Few fellow Democrats have rushed to Fetterman’s defense after an explosive article in New York magazine reported that current and former staffers are seriously concerned about his mental and physical health. The Pennsylvania senator, who has strongly denied claims that he is unfit to serve, is not doing traditional damage control, and most top Democrats aren’t going out of their way to do it for him.

Instead, private chatter about primary challenges to Fetterman has ramped up. And in recent days, some Pennsylvania Democrats have begun to quietly review the rules about what would happen if he stepped down and whispered about potential replacements. Fetterman has vowed to serve his full term, which ends in 2029.

Even some top Democrats in his state, who would normally be expected to be in contact with their legislative counterpart, aren’t speaking out in support of their party’s only senator.

“I have had no contact or conversation with him, so I have no way of weighing in on that,” said Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), when asked to comment on the report. She added that “I couldn’t tell you” when she’d last talked to Fetterman.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.) said she hadn’t spoken to Fetterman “recently” and didn’t know the “underlying facts” about Fetterman’s situation, but that the article “obviously raises questions.”

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.), a progressive whose district includes the town where Fetterman lives, said she hadn‘t talked to him recently. Asked about the story, she responded pointedly that Pennsylvanians’ thoughts matter more than her own: “I hope they read it.”

The episode has illustrated Fetterman’s standing — or lack thereof — in a party where many who once embraced him as a potential model for the future have now ostracized him over his shifting political persona. The public defense of Fetterman has largely come from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the few Democrats with whom Fetterman has existing relationships.

In a sign of evolving political allegiances, the home-state elected official offering the strongest defense of Fetterman is actually a Republican.

Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) told POLITICO that Fetterman “is authentic and a fighter, and these disgraceful attacks against him are not the John that I know and respect.” McCormick said he and Fetterman have a “great relationship, both professionally and personally.”

Fetterman declined to comment for this story. But in a Tuesday interview with CNN, he said the New York article is “a one-source hit piece, and it involved maybe two or three and anonymous disgruntled staffers saying just absolute false things.” He denied missing medical check-ups or doses of medication.

Fetterman has always had a go-it-alone attitude, and while progressives once adored him, he has never been a favorite of the Democratic establishment. In his 2022 Senate primary, only a handful of elected Democrats endorsed Fetterman. Going as far back as when he was mayor of Braddock, he ruffled feathers among Democrats.

So it’s no surprise to Fetterman’s current and former aides, at least, that he finds himself relatively alone at a perilous moment in his career.

“He’s never been somebody that has all these long-standing relationships with other elected officials,” said a Fetterman adviser who was granted anonymity to speak frankly. “That's been his whole career. So I don't think it's abnormal when it comes to him to not see an outpouring of defense or support for him.”

The adviser argued voters like “that he isn’t seen as his fellow colleagues’ best friend” and “he partly got elected for that reason.”

Recent Morning Consult polls have found Fetterman’s popularity on the rise in Pennsylvania, as Republican voters have increasingly given him a thumbs-up while Democratic voters have stood by him despite criticism from some on the left. Fifty percent of state voters approved of his job performance, while 35 percent disapproved. But a survey of adults across the nation painted a different picture, showing his approval rating underwater among Democrats and independents, but positive among Republicans.

Schumer told reporters that Fetterman is an “all-star” who is “doing a good job.” Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who joined the Senate in the same class as Fetterman, “recently had dinner with Senator Fetterman,” a spokesperson said. “He’s a friend and he’ll continue to support him.” Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.), a fellow western Pennsylvania Democrat, said Fetterman has been “up front in the past about his mental health treatment,” and “should get a chance to weigh in and address the reports here.”

Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), who has suffered his own health setbacks since having a stroke in 2024, said that he had “no” concerns about Fetterman’s fitness. But he also acknowledged that he has not talked with him recently, something he didn't read too much into and said was “par for the course.”

When Fetterman faced medical crises in the past, Democrats united around him in a tight battleground election while Republicans expressed concern.

After Fetterman suffered a stroke in his 2022 campaign, top Democrats, especially then-Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), strongly vouched for him. Democrats also came to his defense when he checked himself into the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for clinical depression in 2023. They hailed him as courageous for speaking out about his mental health struggles — a marked departure from past elected officials.

But Fetterman's personal and professional support has dwindled since then. Online progressives, once his social media army, now detest him over his hardline views on Israel and meeting with President Donald Trump. His congressional office has hemorrhaged staff. And Casey, who lost reelection last year, is no longer in the Senate.

The article in New York magazine reported that his former aides claim he has avoided doctor’s appointments, driven away people close to him and potentially not taken his medication.

The fallout has exacerbated existing party tensions. Even before the most recent accusations, Democrats had floated the prospect of primary challenges against Fetterman, including by current and former members of the congressional delegation.

Talk of a contested primary — an attempt to oust the party’s own swing-state incumbent — has also increased, years before the seat is up for election in 2028. Fetterman’s erstwhile primary rival, former Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Pa.), has drawn attention recently by criticizing Trump — and, now, Fetterman.

“I’ve seen politics be hard on people so I’m concerned for the Fettermans,” Lamb said. “I think I share the feeling of many that I don’t know his true condition, but if he is okay, as he says, I don’t understand why he’s rarely seen in our state and he doesn’t answer constituent questions on things like his vote for [Attorney General] Pam Bondi or his advocacy for war with Iran.”

Asked if he is weighing a challenge against Fetterman, Lamb said he is “not considering any campaign right now” and that his recent appearances at public demonstrations against Trump are aimed at “just trying to help others.”

© J. Scott Applewhite, File/AP

Brian Kemp's decision not to run for Senate isn’t just a setback for Republicans in Georgia. It is the latest sign that the GOP's prospects across the Senate map are far less certain than just a few months ago.

It could turn worse, too, as President Donald Trump's tariffs cause global market chaos ahead of next year's midterms and a cloudy economic picture comes into fuller view.

Republicans are still widely expected to keep the Senate. But after Kemp and former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu rejected GOP recruitment efforts — and with hardline conservative Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton primarying the establishment Sen. John Cornyn — the GOP is bracing for a more turbulent cycle than once expected.

That’s not to mention other brewing challenges in Louisiana and North Carolina, where MAGA figures are threatening primaries against longtime incumbents.

“Midterm elections [are] generally tough for the party in power,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said in a brief interview. “I’m always worried.”

There is cause for Johnson’s heartburn. A senior Senate GOP campaign official, granted anonymity like others in this story to discuss the situation candidly, acknowledged he would have loved for both Kemp and Sununu run — and for Paxton to have sat out a Cornyn challenge. But this person and others involved in GOP recruitment efforts argued the party hadn’t been counting on either of the governors — and had considered them longshot recruits even amid heavy efforts to court them.

In Texas, the senior Senate GOP campaign hand said there will be a “serious effort” to ensure Cornyn is the nominee. The senator recently brought on former Trump pollster Tony Fabrizio to burnish his MAGA credentials, according to two people familiar with the decision. GOP senators wanted to keep Paxton out of the race, maneuvering to undercut him before his launch and urging Trump to endorse Cornyn, a close ally of leadership and former chair of the Senate’s campaign arm.

It remains unclear if Trump or the White House will ask Paxton to stand down. Advisers in the White House are aware he’s a political liability — and that Texas is an expensive state to campaign in.

Republicans could have another unwanted primary on their hands in Michigan, where Rep. Bill Huizenga is mulling whether to join former Rep. Mike Rogers in seeking retiring Sen. Gary Peters’ seat.

As for Georgia, Republicans are deemphasizing any despair over Kemp by pointing to the growing field of potential candidates emerging from both the House and state government.

Democrats are salivating over the possibility that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) could mount the bid she was already flirting with before Kemp announced his plans. But GOP senators continued on Tuesday to downplay concerns that the MAGA firebrand could tank their chances.

“I’m encouraged by the fact there’s a lot of interest,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday in response to a question about whether the GOP could flip the seat if Greene is the nominee. “I expect Georgia will be a competitive race. We’ll be close to the end. But I think it’s a race that we can win.”

Democrats see Republicans’ failure to recruit Kemp and Sununu as evidence that even quality GOP candidates do not want to spend a grueling cycle answering for Trump’s policies — particularly surrounding the economic fallout from his tariffs.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement that “every GOP candidate will be forced to answer for Trump’s harmful agenda” in 2026, and the party’s “disastrous start to the year” puts Democrats on the offensive, even as they face a tough map.

“Senate Democrats are positioned to win seats in 2026,” she said.

But Democrats have long been facing a bleak outlook at retaking the Senate — one made even darker by a series of retirements. The party has limited pickup opportunities: Just one seat up next year is held by a Republican in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in 2024. And Democrats have four open seats to defend between battleground Michigan and a trio of bluer states.

National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement that Republicans broadly “must hold every red seat and chase opportunities in toss-up states like Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire.” And in Georgia, which Trump won in 2024, “we remain confident a Republican will beat pro-impeachment Democrat Jon Ossoff in 2026.”

Some senators, including former NRSC chair Rick Scott of Florida, suggested Republicans’ recruitment misfires were more telling of how prospective candidates sized up the job in Washington compared to their executive roles back home.

“I don’t think it’s about chances, I think it’s about: they know how difficult this job is,” the former Florida governor said in an interview. Governors “get to be the executive and lead the state. The legislative process is a lot harder, especially up here. I think it probably reflects more how difficult it is to get a result up here.”

And GOP senators defaulted to arguing that Democrats still face a more challenging map.

“I would much rather have the Republican side of this map than the Democrat side of this map,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in an interview, while acknowledging that it was “unfortunate” Kemp and Sununu passed and that they would have “been very strong candidates.” (Cruz, who won an upset against former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2012, is so far declining to endorse in the primary in his state.)

Still, multiple Republican senators and operatives acknowledge their overall efforts hinge on the economy as they wait to see how Trump’s tariffs land.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a problem — it depends on the economy, obviously,” Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who has been considering a run for governor rather than seek reelection next year, said in an interview. “It depends on how President Trump does in the next 12 months.”

Jay Williams, an Alpharetta, Georgia-based GOP strategist, said his party could face a further darkening outlook.

“I think ultimately it's going to come down to the economy and at that time, and how scared Republicans are,” Williams said. “If things economically are going well, you'll get to the social issues [playing more a deciding factor]. If things are really bad economically, I think it's gonna be tough for Republicans. Like, I don't know how you slice it any other way.”

Williams added, “Never underestimate Republicans' ability to pull defeat from the jaws of victory.”

Brakkton Booker and Andrew Howard contributed to this report. 

© Francis Chung/POLITICO

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will not run for Senate in 2026 — putting an already competitive seat up for grabs. The popular Republican would have been a prime recruit against first-term Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.

"I have decided that being on the ballot next year is not the right decision for me and my family," Kemp said in a statement posted on X. "I spoke with President Trump and Senate leadership earlier today and expressed my commitment to work alongside them to ensure we have a strong Republican nominee who can win next November."

Kemp shared the news publicly after POLITICO reported that three people familiar with the decision said he would not run. Without Kemp in the race, Republicans may face an unpredictable primary that could include divisive candidates like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Kemp’s decision was a letdown for Republicans both in Washington and in Georgia.

"It's like, wow, not necessarily the news we wanted to hear," said former Cobb County GOP Chair Jason Shepherd.

Kemp had been seen by many Republicans as the strongest opponent to put up against Ossoff in the midterms. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll last week showed Kemp and Ossoff within the poll’s margin of error. President Donald Trump carried the state by about 2 percentage points in November, and it is a top target of Republicans.

"Obviously we're disappointed," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune. "He would have been a great candidate. But I've said all along that seat's going to be competitive, and the good news is there's lots of interest."

Kemp’s decision comes after Ossoff last month reported raising $11 million in the first quarter of the year, an enormous sum for a Senate incumbent in an off year. Democrats were taking a victory lap after Kemp decided not to run.

“Brian Kemp’s decision to not run for Senate in 2026 is yet another embarrassing Republican Senate recruitment failure,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Communications Director Maeve Coyle. “Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda and recruitment failures put their majority at risk in 2026.”

The Senate map otherwise looked favorable to Republicans, with few incumbent GOP senators facing tough races next November. Democrats, meanwhile, have seen several senior senators retire this cycle, including in New Hampshire and Michigan.

“While Jon Ossoff is running to impeach President Trump, Republicans have a number of strong candidates who can build a winning coalition to add this seat to President Trump’s Senate Majority,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez.

Kemp’s decision leaves open the possibility of a presidential campaign in 2028. Shepherd said that Kemp in recent months has been crisscrossing the state for bill signings and “utilizing his office to continue to get a positive name out there.”

© Mike Stewart/AP

Ruben Gallego is setting off to a key battleground state to speak with voters this week, a sign the Arizona senator may have higher ambitions as some Democrats float him as a potential 2028 presidential candidate.

Gallego will headline a May 10 town hall in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, a pivotal bellwether that President Donald Trump flipped in 2024, according to plans shared first with POLITICO.

“No one understands the struggles of working-class Americans like Ruben Gallego,” said Gallego’s chief of staff, Raphael Chavez-Fernandez. “He’s heading to Pennsylvania to speak directly to voters about what it means to fight for working-class families — because he’s lived their fight.”

Gallego is visiting the district held by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), a perennial Democratic target, as part of an effort by the party to spotlight vulnerable Republicans over possible cuts to Medicaid and to pressure them to vote against Trump’s budget bill.

Gallego is the latest in a string of potential Democratic presidential candidates to hit the road in what is transforming into an all-out shadow primary years ahead of 2028. Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is traveling to hold a town hall with a veterans group in Iowa this month, following his success in the presidential caucuses there in 2020. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is headed to the early primary state of South Carolina to appear at a top Democratic dinner. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker recently visited New Hampshire, another early primary state, to keynote a dinner.

Gallego is a rising star in the Democratic Party who won a state in 2024 that Trump carried in part by overperforming among Latino voters compared to former Vice President Kamala Harris. He previously told POLITICO that one reason for his victory is that “we rejected what people had assumed the Democratic position had been, which is a very loose, loose enforcement of the border.”

Gallego’s allies have also argued his success stems from his ability to talk about his humble beginnings at a time when Democrats are struggling to win over working-class voters. Gallego grew up poor with a single mother, eventually making it to Harvard, where he worked part-time as a janitor, and enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in the Iraq War.

In a statement, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin called Gallego “a critical voice for the Democratic Party.”

© Matt York/AP

The blast radius from the controversy surrounding Virginia’s Republican lieutenant governor candidate expanded this week, when a top political aide to Gov. Glenn Youngkin stepped down from his post. His departure was the latest event in a week of turmoil that has pitted Republican leaders in the state against the GOP’s grassroots, upending a party that was already confronting a difficult election year.

The conflict centers on the political future of lieutenant governor candidate John Reid, who resisted a week of pressure from some Virginia Republican Party leaders to step aside over allegations that he maintained a social media account with sexually explicit images of men. Reid, the first openly gay candidate for statewide office in Virginia, denied that he was connected to the photos and has argued that efforts to remove him from the Republican ticket are rooted in discrimination against his sexual orientation.

When Republican Party leaders in Virginia became aware of the photos, some tried to force Reid out of the race. Youngkin asked Reid to drop out last week, confirmed by POLITICO. But the attempts to oust him backfired. Matt Moran, who ran Youngkin’s political operation, stepped aside as he was accused of pressuring Reid to remove himself from the GOP ticket — something Moran has denied publicly.

Moran did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Youngkin pointed to comments from the governor Friday where he declined to say if he would campaign on behalf of Reid but said he will “support the nominees and their ticket. And at the end of the day, Republicans need to win. And that's the bottom line.”

The fallout has created a rift within the state party as it faces an uphill battle in November. President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk's war on the federal workforce has hit hard in a state where more than 150,000 federal employees live. The controversy, Republicans conceded, could tarnish Youngkin’s efforts to position himself as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, and it is widely viewed as a misstep.

“If John Reid is conservative and he's being trashed by his own political party, you need to go out there and support him,” said Scott Pio, who chairs the Loudoun County GOP, which has started selling “In John Reid We Trust” mugs, with proceedings going toward Reid’s campaign. “You need to lean in and support the guy instead of run away from him.”

One Virginia Republican operative, who like others in this article was granted anonymity to speak freely, shrugged off the photos as “just a bunch of penises,” while another said of the episode, “This is insane.”

The second operative said the day before Moran’s departure became public, “The only winners here are Democrats and then a bunch of losers who are Republicans and starting with the governor and going on down to the rest of the ticket.”

Yet GOP consultant Rory Cooper dismissed the drama as a “purely Virginia thing” that has mainly captured the attention of political insiders and likely won’t have any impact on an election six months away.

“Candidate choice matters, the party being united matters, and I think they’ll get this stuff behind them because they really have no choice,” Cooper said. “A fractured party is not going to be able to beat a moderate Democrat who has high favorables going into the general, and so they'll figure it out.”

That message of unity appears to be echoed by Reid’s campaign.

"John is proud to be the Republican nominee and he looks forward to campaigning across the state over the coming months," Reid's campaign said in a statement. "He has been very clear that he welcomes the support of the governor, full ticket, and all Virginians who are committed to unity around our ticket and a positive future for our home."

Fear that the controversy could weaken the GOP ticket is not limited to strategists inside the GOP. Winsome Earle-Sears, the presumptive GOP gubernatorial nominee, in a public statement Tuesday quoted from the Book of Matthew and called the focus on Reid a distraction from what she cast as a mission of uniting Virginians. “It is his race and his decision alone to move forward,” she said. Earle-Sears did not respond to questions.

Earle-Sears, who authored a Christian self-help book, holds socially conservative beliefs. In 2024, when fulfilling her duties as lieutenant governor to sign legislation, she handwrote her personal objections to a bill that prohibits officials from denying marriage licenses based on sex, gender or race.

Reid held a solo rally in Henrico, Virginia, on Wednesday evening, after plans for Youngkin and the entire GOP ticket to appear together were scrapped. Facing a large crowd, Reid railed against the “Richmond swamp” that “does not like it when they encounter a different type of person who they can't control."

The fact that Reid is drawing fervent grassroots support in the GOP represents another marker in the ongoing populist transformation of a party that, for decades, made social conservatism and, in particular, opposition to same-sex marriage, a key part of its platform. This shift, embodied by the election of Trump, a thrice-married New York reality television star, has led to Republican primary voters focusing more on “fighting” than on “family values.”

The attempt to oust Reid, and the turmoil that followed, may in part be because the operative class has not quite caught up to the grassroots on this issue. A third Republican operative familiar with the situation said there was the sense that some Virginia Republicans were panicked that Reid’s sexual orientation would be an electoral drag and then used the social media account to work backward and justify dropping him from the ticket.

U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, a Republican, said that having a diverse GOP ticket — a Black woman, an openly gay man as well Attorney General Jason Miyares, the son of a Cuban refugee — should help Republicans’ odds in November. “That's a good, feel-good story, no matter what,” he said, referring to the candidates' backgrounds. “And that story should override, assuming that those pictures aren't a whole lot worse than it was depicted.”

On Thursday morning, Reid guest-hosted a four-hour conservative radio show, and a series of callers spent their morning bashing Youngkin and his allies. Reid, who said he had secured the guest spot before he was asked to leave the race, was filling in for host John Fredericks, who described Reid as "a friend."

“Everyone who is trying to come out against you really learned a lesson last night of what not to do,” said a Virginia caller named Casey. Another caller went straight after Youngkin, calling the governor “nothing more than a RINO.”

The backlash doesn't bode well for Youngkin, who is term-limited in the state and looking for his next opportunity. How he navigates this situation with his own state party could have major implications for his political future.

Reid’s only primary opponent, longtime Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity, dropped out of the race late last month due to health concerns, locking in Reid as the nominee.

“If you were that worried about (me being gay), why didn’t you run a bunch of other people?” Reid said on the radio show Thursday morning.

But staying on the ticket is one thing. Winning in November is another.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, who represents part of Northern Virginia, said it doesn’t matter who the GOP nominates for lieutenant governor, because the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal government has created a tough environment for down-ballot Republicans in a state where many federal employees live.

“Virginians are mad right now,” Subramanyam said. “Whoever the Republican nominee is in November is going to pay a price for what's going on in D.C. right now.”

Ally Mutnick contributed reporting.

© Pool photo by Ben Curtis

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is set to travel to the early primary state of South Carolina at the end of this month to headline the state party’s influential Blue Palmetto Dinner, according to plans shared first with POLITICO. He's delivering a commencement speech at the historically Black Lincoln University on Sunday in Pennsylvania, a key swing state. And he's going on national shows like "The View" to bolster his profile as he heads into a reelection bid next year.

Still, in an interview, Moore insisted he isn't running for president in 2028.

“I am clear — I’m not running,” Moore told POLITICO on Thursday, something he also said on his national television appearance that day. “But what I am doing is running to make sure that Maryland really is going to have the most explosive decade that it’s had at any time in recent history.”

Moore, a Democratic rising star, has drawn praise from actor and Democratic megadonor George Clooney as many have widely seen him as a presidential contender. However, the governor framed his thinking about present-day challenges and not the 2028 calendar — still three years away.

“I think that anyone who is, you know, focusing their time and their efforts trying to audition for 2028, to me, what it says is, you're not taking 2025 very seriously,” he said, and maintained his focus is on winning a second term in Maryland next year.

Moore’s remarks came as other prospective Democrats are making not-so-subtle moves ahead of the 2028 campaign.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker traveled to New Hampshire this past weekend for a dinner where he railed against “do-nothing Democrats.” Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, taking a more conciliatory approach to President Donald Trump, appeared alongside him at a rally in Michigan, claiming a victory in his announcement of a new F-15 fighter mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base. Former Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told David Axelrod she is considering running for president, and former Vice President Kamala Harris, who is weighing a gubernatorial campaign in California against a potential presidential bid, rebuked Trump in a return to the national stage in San Francisco.

For his part, Moore’s visit to South Carolina will coincide with the party’s annual fish fry, a high-profile political gathering hosted by the influential Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), who shaped the 2020 race when he backed then-candidate Joe Biden in the primary.

“Mr. Clyburn was very insistent on me getting back down there,” Moore said, referring to his decision to skip the state party’s “First in the Nation Celebration Dinner” that then-President Joe Biden headlined last year.

Moore's excuse for not attending at the time: “My [Baltimore] Ravens were in the AFC championship, and you know, there's no way in hell is gonna miss that.”

The former nonprofit leader and author has been making the rounds on sports radio and podcasts, in a move widely seen as shoring up support with men. It's a demographic the party struggled with when Harris topped the ticket last year. But whatever his loyalties to his favored football team, he said he also knows his political obligations.

“I told him I would make it up for him,” Moore added. “And you know, you do not say no to Mr. Clyburn.”

South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain, who confirmed Moore will headline the event on May 30, said the dinner has become a showcase for future presidential hopefuls. But she acknowledged: “We've had speakers who haven't run for president.”

She added of Moore, “we're appreciative that he would come.”

She also noted there’s still plenty of time for other potential candidates to ingratiate themselves with the party faithful in the state.

At the Blue Palmetto gala held last May, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Raphael Warnock of Georgia were headliners. Both are now  being discussed as potential presidential candidates.

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© Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Political cartoons from the desk of Matt Wuerker

It was a wholesale rebuke of Donald Trump. But Republicans are shrugging off the Canadian election results — a race that favored conservatives until it became a referendum on the president — as a warning sign for their party.

The cementing of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s Liberal Party into power on Monday served as an expression of Canadians’ deeply felt anger about the president’s tariffs and annexation taunts. It was evidence of an electorate turning against conservatives in a neighboring country — one Trump has suggested should be the 51st state — when Trump became involved. But on this side of the border, GOP strategists, pollsters and party leaders said they were unbothered by the outcome and dismissed any trouble that may lie ahead for Republicans in the midterms.

“Not concerned. Change takes time,” said Alex Stroman, former executive director of the South Carolina Republican Party.

Or as Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), put it on Tuesday, “I wouldn't look at it so much as a backlash.”

Trump’s allies in the GOP have a long history of discounting reasons for concern about Trump’s political standing – sometimes accurately, as during legal proceedings that many observers predicted could derail him in the 2024 presidential primary, and sometimes inaccurately, as in the run-up to his loss in 2020.

Even as Republicans remain publicly confident, there are real signs of vulnerability for Trump today. Recent polling showed that the president has record low approval ratings 100 days after his second inauguration. And Trump’s tariffs — which have wreaked havoc on both financial markets and business' ability to plan for the future — have angered other longtime allies as he pursues an isolationist trade agenda, like the European Union.

Yet in Republican circles in Washington, the collective response was more akin to: “Eh?”

A GOP consultant, granted anonymity to speak freely, said the outcome was a “pretty specific result based on the tariffs and 51st state trolling.” But when it comes to the midterms, “other factors will come into play domestically,” like the potential for empty grocery shelves or a recession as a result of retaliatory tariffs imposed by U.S. trading partners.

When it comes to the Canadian election, Republicans dismissed it as a foreign country’s result. Or they minimized Trump’s involvement. Or they took comfort in the fact that the midterms are still more than a year off.

“I don't think you can draw any broad conclusions to the 2026 midterms other than that for Republicans to win a majority, they need to deliver on their promises,” said Adam Kincaid, who heads the National Republican Redistricting Trust.

He brushed off concerns about Trump’s perceived unforced errors, like the trolling of the former prime minister by referring to him as “Governor Trudeau” or repeatedly blaming fentanyl crossing the Canadian border as the impetus for imposing heavy tariffs, as minimal effects on domestic elections next year.

“My only concern with the midterms is Republicans not being motivated to turn out,” Kincaid said. “Passing President Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ is the best thing Republicans can do to deliver on the president’s promises and motivate our voters to vote in 2026.”

Some Republicans even speculated that Carney and Trump’s relationship may not end up being as hostile as anticipated, despite Carney declaring on election night that Canada will “fight back with everything we have” in negotiating economic and security deals with Trump.

For Republican strategist Alex Conant, there was just one takeaway from the election: “It’s a pretty good reminder of how bad it would be for Republicans if Canada was a state.”

Holly Otterbein contributed to this report.

© Jordan Pettitt/AP

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

The Trump Organization’s online store is now selling “Trump 2028” merchandise, the latest indication — even if frivolous — that the president wants to run for a third term.

Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s son, posted a picture on his Instagram story wearing the "Trump 2028" hat, which is being sold for $50. In a social media post, Trump’s political operation promoted the hat as well.

“.@EricTrump rocking the new Trump 2028 hat!” the Trump War Room account said, alongside two emojis, eyes and fire.

Running for a third term in the White House would violate the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, which says “no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

That hasn't stopped popular MAGA figures from saying the president should try to run again. MAGA podcast host Steve Bannon said in a December speech “Maybe we do it again in ‘28?”

In March, Trump refused to rule out a third term when asked by NBC’s Kristen Welker, telling her “there are methods” for doing so.

“You know, we’re very popular,” Trump said at the time. “And you know, a lot of people would like me to do that. But, I mean, I basically tell them, we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”

On the Trump Store website, the description of the hat tells buyers they can "make a statement" by wearing the hat, which was a change from an earlier version. The shirt — which was promoted by Eric Trump on X a couple hours after the hat — says "(Rewrite the Rules)" underneath "Trump 2028," a more overt call to create an exception for Trump to run again.

It’s not the first time Trump has floated the idea. In a May 2024 speech to the National Rifle Association before his November victory, he pointed to President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four election wins, which came before the 22nd Amendment was ratified in the 1950s.

“You know, FDR, 16 years — almost 16 years — he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?” Trump said then.

At other times, however, he dismissed the idea. He told Time magazine in April 2024 that he would not want to run again.

“I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job,” he told Time.

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© Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Ballard Partners, the lobbying firm led by a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, has more than tripled its quarterly lobbying revenues compared with the same time a year ago, as companies and organizations have sought help from a handful of firms close to the new administration to decipher a second Trump administration marked by upheaval and retribution.

The firm will report $14 million in lobbying revenues for the first three months of 2025, more than double the $6.2 million Ballard brought in last quarter. Ballard reported $4.2 million in lobbying revenues during the first quarter of 2024.

Many of the largest firms on K Street have yet to report their first quarter revenues ahead of Monday’s midnight deadline, but Ballard’s haul will likely place it near the top.

The beginning of any new administration tends to be lucrative for the lobbying industry — and business was already booming on K Street before Trump swept into office again.

At the end of last year, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck topped the revenue rankings with $16.9 million in the fourth quarter, according to a POLITICO analysis, while the runner-up, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, reported $14.6 million that quarter. Brownstein’s revenue dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2025, to $16.8 million.

Longtime Florida lobbyist Brian Ballard set up a Washington office for his firm not long after Trump’s first White House victory in 2017 and quickly became one of the go-to firms for companies and trade associations looking to understand the unpredictable political novice in the Oval Office.

Though Ballard employs a number of Democratic lobbyists, the firm saw its business fall during the Biden administration. Still, it remained among the top 20 firms on K Street, according to POLITICO’s analysis.

Ballard’s rise this year represents a shift that happens every time power changes hands in Washington, as corporate America looks for an in with an incoming president or congressional leader. But that dynamic kicked into overdrive ahead of Trump’s second presidency. Ballard, along with a handful of other firms with close ties to the administration, like Miller Strategies, Mercury Public Affairs, Michael Best Strategies and Continental Strategies, have seen a tsunami of new business since November. Those firms did not respond to requests for their first quarter numbers.

But Ballard has disclosed more than 130 new lobbying clients just since Election Day, including JPMorgan Chase, Chevron, Palantir, Netflix, Ripple Labs and the Business Roundtable. The firm also registered to lobby for several entities that have been singled out for punishment by the Trump administration, such as the governing body of Harvard University, the Public Broadcasting Service and the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. (Ballard is also registered to lobby for Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company.)

Several former lobbyists at Ballard now serve in high-ranking posts in Trump’s second administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi and White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Another Ballard alum, Trent Morse, works as Trump’s deputy director of personnel. The firm’s Florida roots mean that Ballard also has relationships with the Floridians in positions of influence in Trump’s Washington, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

CORRECTION: Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the time period for which Ballard will report its revenues.

© M. Scott Mahaskey/POLITICO

NEW YORK — Opponents of President Donald Trump’s administration took to the streets of communities large and small across the U.S. on Saturday, decrying what they see as threats to the nation’s democratic ideals.

The disparate events ranged from a march through midtown Manhattan and a rally in front of the White House to a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration marking the start of the American Revolutionary War 250 years ago. In San Francisco, protesters formed a human banner reading “Impeach & Remove” on the sands of Ocean Beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

Thomas Bassford was among those who joined demonstrators at the reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord outside of Boston. “The shot heard ’round the world” on April 19, 1775, heralded the start of the nation’s war for independence from Britain.

The 80-year-old retired mason from Maine said he believed Americans today are under attack from their own government and need to stand up against it.

“This is a very perilous time in America for liberty,” Bassford said, as he attended the event with his partner, daughter and two grandsons. “I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”

Elsewhere, protests were planned outside Tesla car dealerships against billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk and his role in downsizing the federal government. Others organized more community-service events, such as food drives, teach-ins and volunteering at local shelters.

The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide protests against the Trump administration drew thousands to the streets across the country.

Organizers say they’re protesting what they call Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shutter entire agencies.

Some of the events drew on the spirit of the American Revolutionary War, calling for “no kings” and resistance to tyranny.

Boston resident George Bryant, who was among those protesting in Concord, Massachusetts, said he was concerned Trump was creating a “police state” in America as he held up a sign saying, “Trump fascist regime must go now!”

“He’s defying the courts. He’s kidnapping students. He’s eviscerating the checks and balances,” Bryant said. “This is fascism.”

In Washington, Bob Fasick said he came out to the rally by the White House out of concern about threats to constitutionally protected due process rights, as well as Social Security and other federal safety-net programs.

The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.

“I cannot sit still knowing that if I don’t do anything and everybody doesn’t do something to change this, that the world that we collectively are leaving for the little children, for our neighbors is simply not one that I would want to live,” said the 76-year-old retired federal employee from Springfield, Virginia.

In Columbia, South Carolina, several hundred people protested at the statehouse. They held signs that said “Fight Fiercely, Harvard, Fight” and “Save SSA,” in reference to the Social Security Administration.

And in Manhattan, protesters rallied against continued deportations of immigrants as they marched from the New York Public Library north towards Central Park past Trump Tower.

“No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” they chanted to the steady beat of drums, referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Marshall Green, who was among the protesters, said he was most concerned that Trump has invoked the wartime Alien Enemies Act of 1798 by claiming the country is at war with Venezuelan gangs linked to the South American nation’s government.

“Congress should be stepping up and saying no, we are not at war. You cannot use that,” said the 61-year-old from Morristown, New Jersey. “You cannot deport people without due process, and everyone in this country has the right to due process no matter what.”

Meanwhile Melinda Charles, of Connecticut, said she worried about Trump’s “executive overreach,” citing clashes with the federal courts to Harvard University and other elite colleges.

“We’re supposed to have three equal branches of government and to have the executive branch become so strong,” she said. “I mean, it’s just unbelievable.”

© Lynne Sladky/AP

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

President Donald Trump’s pick for Internal Revenue Service commissioner recently cleared a substantial debt from his failed 2022 Senate bid, using campaign contributions that rolled in after Trump announced his intent to nominate him to lead the tax agency, according to federal filings.

Former Republican Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.) raked in roughly $137,000 in campaign donations in January — the month after Trump said he would nominate him to serve in Trump’s administration — according to campaign finance disclosures filed late Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission.

Long then paid back an outstanding personal loan of $130,000 he had made to his now-dormant 2022 U.S. Senate campaign in February. A number of the donors are affiliated with firms in the tax consultancy industry.

The Lever was first to report on the filings.

Before January’s flood of donations, Long had only raised roughly $36,000 through his latent Senate campaign committee over the last two years, much of which came in December.

The IRS directed POLITICO to the Treasury Department for comment, which did not immediately respond. Long's campaign treasurer did not immediately return a request for comment via email, and Long could not otherwise be reached for comment.

The disclosure comes as Long is facing backlash from Democratic lawmakers for connections to alleged tax credit loopholes. The disclosure report lists various contributions from financial advisers working at consulting groups such as White River Energy and Lifetime Advisors, which are in hot water with Democrats.

The firms are mentioned in a letter sent from Senate Finance Committee Democrats to the IRS on Monday urging the agency to open a criminal investigation into the groups’ promotion of allegedly fraudulent “tribal tax credits.”

The Missouri Republican represented the state’s 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2023. He lost the 2022 GOP Senate primary contest to now-Sen. Eric Schmitt.

After leaving Congress in 2023, Long pitched tax products for Lifetime Advisors. He also reported earning at least $5,000 from White River Energy for a duty designated as a “Referral to Capitol Edge Strategies” — a firm that, according to Bloomberg Tax, promotes tribal tax credit resources.

In 2022, the Supreme Court struck down limits on how much post-election cash candidates can use to repay personal loans, opening the door for donors with business before candidates to refill their coffers.

Long’s nomination to lead the IRS is still awaiting Senate confirmation.

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© Ethan Miller/Getty Images

CHICAGO — Former President Joe Biden ripped the Trump administration’s efforts to slash Social Security spending in his first major public speech since leaving the White House, but never mentioned the current president.

“In fewer than 100 days, this administration has caused so much damage and destruction. It’s breathtaking,” Biden told about 200 people gathered for the conference of Advocates, Counselors, and Representatives for the Disabled on Tuesday. “They’ve taken a hatchet to the Social Security Administration."

Biden attacked the Trump administration for thousands of job cuts at the federal agency, arguing that they’ve eviscerated services and endangered benefits for the roughly 73 million seniors who rely on the popular financial assistance program.

“They’re shooting first and aiming later,” Biden said. “The result is a lot of needless pain and sleepless nights.”

Biden-isms shined throughout the sometimes rambling, roughly 30-minute speech, as he used the phrases “folks” and “I mean it sincerely” to make his points. The former president told well-trod stories of growing up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and of seeing his parents struggle to make ends meet, and he reminisced about his decades on Capitol Hill.

Biden’s comments were timed with "Social Security Day of Action" on Tuesday to protest what advocates describe as severe threats to the program under the Trump administration. His gradual reemergence comes as other — more critical — voices begin to shape the narrative surrounding his term. Biden’s aides have been bracing for the release of several books documenting his physical and mental state before he abandoned his reelection campaign last year, with allies already challenging reporting about his decline.

The speaking engagement in Chicago’s River North neighborhood was held just blocks from a high-profile campaign fundraiser held last year for Biden before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

The central argument of Biden’s speech Tuesday was that the Trump administration presents an untenable threat to Social Security.

“Social Security is more than a government program; it’s a sacred promise," he said.

The White House response to Biden’s speech? “Embarrassing,” said a spokesperson, who referred POLITICO to the Social Security feed on X, which accused Biden of “lying to Americans.”

Two former administration officials granted anonymity to discuss private plans said that although Biden wants to remain “engaged,” his speech in Chicago is not necessarily a sign of a more aggressive public schedule. Instead, Biden is expected to pick his spots on specific issues, like Social Security, that matter deeply to him, these officials said. In recent weeks, he’s spoken to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, accepting an honorary membership, and he dropped in on students at the Model United Nations conference.

“Coming out with a big democracy, rule of law speech would have been, maybe, too on the nose, so picking Social Security, something that is real to people ... and it matters to him, makes a lot of sense,” said a third former Biden administration official. “No one would be talking about Social Security tomorrow if Joe Biden wasn’t giving this speech, so that alone is proof positive that he can still command a certain level of attention and ability to set the agenda."

He’s also working on another book, these officials said.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said, "The unprecedented assault on Social Security is an all-hands-on-deck moment that requires all of us to show up, stand up and speak up, which is why President Biden's voice in this fight is going to be so incredibly important.”

Former Democratic Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who introduced Biden at the event, said he thought the former president waited the “appropriate” (almost) 100 days to make his first big speech. And former Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who also was in attendance, said it was “absolutely” important that Biden speak out on what’s happening in Washington, even as some Democrats still have hard feelings about Biden staying in the campaign as long as he did last year.

Earlier in the day, David Hogg, vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, described Biden’s return to public view as a natural step taken by former presidents who want to share their expertise.

“He’s not gonna stop being involved. He is a workhorse and he wants to get things done and he wants to help with the party,” Hogg said.

But Biden left office with sagging approval ratings, and many Democrats blamed their party’s losses in November on him staying in the presidential race for so long. Hogg, responding to some of the criticism about Biden in 2024, said: “Somebody can be very good at legislating, but not necessarily the right person to be out there on the front and center of things.”

Biden is not the only former world leader stepping out in recent days. Biden’s predecessor, President Barack Obama, took to social media on Monday night to criticize the Trump administration’s funding freeze for Harvard University. And on the same day Biden spoke in Chicago, Justin Trudeau, who had been laying low since resigning as Canada’s prime minister last month, was back in public view with an exit interview scheduled to air on a PBS station in Buffalo.

Canada is in the middle of a snap election, and voters have largely moved on from the three-term Liberal leader who was intensely unpopular at the time of his exit. And as with Biden, Liberals in Canada may not be eager to see him back in the spotlight.

The conversation with broadcaster Valerie Pringle for “Canada Files” was taped after Trudeau’s final Cabinet meeting. Although there is seemingly little in the interview to hijack a campaign, the timing is less than ideal for a Liberal Party that’s counting on Canadians to forget the reasons they wanted Trudeau gone in the first place.

“How are you feeling?” Pringle asked Trudeau off the top of the half-hour broadcast.

“Really good,” he replied. “I'm feeling serene about everything that I got done. I think I had a good run.”

Sue Allan and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

© Nam Y. Huh/AP

Former Michigan state Sen. Adam Hollier on Monday launched a Democratic primary challenge against two-term Rep. Shri Thanedar.

The announcement marks Hollier’s third attempt to secure the House seat representing most of Detroit. Hollier previously served as a Michigan state Senator from 2018 to 2022 and has also led the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency under Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

“From housing to daycare to the rising costs of everything from groceries to the brakes on our cars, we’re in a real crisis in this country,” Hollier said in a press release announcing the run. “We need bold solutions and leaders who won’t back down in the face of this challenge.”

Thanedar, an Indian American Democrat, has held Detroit’s plurality-Black district since 2023. Hollier, who is Black, came up short to Thanedar in the 2022 primary and didn’t make it onto the ballot in 2024. Leaders within the Congressional Black Caucus have previously rallied around Hollier.

Thanedar, a multimillionaire, has largely self-funded his congressional bids since taking over the seat held by former Democratic Rep. Brenda Lawrence.

“The last thing we need are more millionaires and billionaires like Elon Musk and Shri Thanedar who are only in it for themselves,” Hollier said.

“While everyday Michiganders are struggling, Shri Thanedar is spending hundreds of thousands of their hard-earned tax dollars putting up self-portraits of himself all over the district,” he added. “That’s something only Donald Trump would be proud of.”

© Paul Sancya/AP

Democrats are targeting Donald Trump's weakened standing on the economy — even after the president paused his far-reaching reciprocal tariff policy that reverberated across global markets.

In interviews with more than a dozen Democratic lawmakers, congressional staffers and media strategists, many in the party see a prime opportunity to attack Trump on a key campaign promise they argue he’s failing to deliver — a message likely to be featured prominently in political ads if the economy continues to falter. Some candidates are already hitting tariffs in campaign launch ads, while the party is planning to capitalize on anger over the economy, among other issues, in upcoming town halls.

It's an opportunity for Democrats on the economy, a major point of strength for Trump in his presidential campaign last year, even as they conceded the economic crisis had eased somewhat after the president paused some — but not all — tariffs on most countries. On Thursday afternoon, Trump clarified that the combined tariffs on Chinese goods is now at 145 percent. Most other nations will be subject to the 10 percent baseline tariff the administration levied last week. The markets reacted accordingly, with stocks plummeting at the end of the day.

Now, Democrats are banking on rising panic in worldwide markets and fears of a recession to knock Republicans down.

“We heard for five freaking months going into the last election, people beating up Biden and Harris about inflation, and the price of fucking eggs,” said longtime Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher, who worked on both of Barack Obama’s presidential campaigns. “So why the hell would we make [ads] about tariffs, as opposed to making it about the economy?”

He said Trump is presenting one of the most favorable gateways to Democrats in recent history, imploring Democrats not to squander the week of earned media about a near-global market implosion.

“There is an opportunity here, of historical proportions, given the advantage on the economy writ large that Republicans have had for decades,” he added. “You see Trump underwater on handling the economy and fighting inflation and bringing down costs – that is a major opening and a historic way for Democrats to take away what has been a major positive for Republicans.”

And recent polling backs up that claim that voters are waning on Trump’s economic stewardship. An Economist/YouGov poll of about 1,700 American adults released Wednesday showed Trump’s overall approval rating drop five percentage points from last week, combined with a four percentage-point drop in his handling of the economy. A poll from the Democratic group Navigator Research released Tuesday also showed 55 percent of 1,000 registered voters disapproving of Trump’s handling of the economy, an eight percentage-point swing since the group’s last poll in March. Another recent poll from the liberal group Data For Progress also showed a majority disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.

Not every poll showed dramatic changes. In a poll of 1,400 registered voters released Wednesday that was conducted April 3-7 from Quinnipiac, Trump’s handling of the economy and his overall approval rating remained steady or dropped only slightly.

Democrats and their affiliated groups are already blaming Trump for his scattershot tariff rollout as a way to pummel vulnerable Republicans in elections later this year and heading into the midterms.

Hours before Trump announced the tariff pause, the Democratic-aligned super PAC American Bridge released audio of Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP gubernatorial nominee, praising Trump’s tariff plan. Democrat Mike Sacks announced his candidacy Wednesday in a nearly two and a half minute ad. It featured an image of the word “tariff” nine times in bold red font along with a crimson-color graphic of a stock market plunging that was superimposed over the face of his opponent, incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), widely considered one of the most vulnerable House Republicans next cycle.

The Democratic-aligned group Families Over Billionaires, a nonprofit, is putting six figures into an ad running on social media and streaming platforms bashing the Trump administration over tax plans, and Democrats are planning a new round of town halls in GOP-held House districts over the upcoming recess.

Democrats argue the upheaval Trump injected into the economy undercuts the central premise that he campaigned on: that as a businessperson, he would be best positioned to grow the economy.

“The one thing that American voters want is security and safety. What they don’t want is chaos and uncertainty,” said Alex Jacquez, a former economic adviser to former President Joe Biden who is now chief of policy for Groundwork Collaborative. “I think why you've seen such rapid deterioration on his approvals on the economy and on cost of living, tariffs and trade, is because not a single action that he has taken has been in service of addressing people's number one concern, which is cost of living.”

And that is precisely what has Democratic admakers salivating.

“Keep it simple and keep it tangible and keep it relatable to everyone's lives here,” said veteran media strategist Julian Mulvey, who has cut ads for Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris. He urged Democrats and affiliated groups to not overcomplicate their messaging by talking about esoteric economic concepts like supply chains and capital markets.

Instead, he referenced the “you break it, you own it” doctrine of politics.

“Trump is sort of charging headlong into breaking the economy and, and he's going to find out when he does,” he said. “Or in the modern vernacular: fuck around and find out.”

The White House, meanwhile, criticized the Democrats’ planned strategy.

“President Trump is the first president in modern American history to take decisive action to finally corner China and restore American Greatness,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement. “If Democrats see an opportunity in President Trump and Republicans standing up for everyday Americans and restoring American Greatness, they’re headed for a worse election night than November 5, 2024.”

Several Democratic media strategists acknowledged it’s too early to say what the economy will look like when prime time campaign season hits. But that hasn’t stopped progressive strategists like Chuck Rocha from storyboarding what the anti-Trump attack ads will look like in the coming months.

“The best way to deliver the ad is from one of his voters, a white guy in his 50s who works in a steel mill, works at whatever the place down the street is that says: ‘Look, I don't really care about either party. I voted for Donald Trump because I thought he would change a rigged system,” Rocha said of a hypothetical ad that features someone speaking directly to a camera. “But he's even rigging it more, and he's rigging it for himself.”

And that's on top of the party's already established playbook around Elon Musk's sledgehammer to government. Some Democratic ad-makers said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutinck's comments about "fraudsters" getting Social Security checks was bound to backfire.

It’s something that’s caught the attention of lawmakers too, including Steven Horsford (D-Nev.), who won reelection in a key swing state that Trump flipped last year. The representative is one of 26 Democrats that the Republican campaign arm is targeting in the midterms.

“Market manipulation … that’s what happened,” Horsford said on Wednesday. “On the same day that they're screwing America.” Horsford was referring to Trump’s social media post Wednesday where the president proclaimed: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY."

© Pool via AP

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Ken Paxton’s entry into the U.S. Senate race in Texas is becoming a major headache for Republicans.

Top GOP senators were maneuvering to undercut the Texas attorney general even before he announced his primary campaign this week against four-term Sen. John Cornyn. Others urged President Donald Trump after Paxton got into the race to endorse the incumbent leadership adviser and former chair of the Senate campaign arm with a deep donor base.

“The best thing would have been to keep Paxton out of the race,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a close Trump ally. He added that at this point he would tell Trump, if the president asked for his advice, to do “whatever is most helpful for John.”

Notably, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is staying neutral in the matchup between Cornyn and Paxton so far. And two members of the Texas delegation have already backed the challenger.

Paxton is just the start of the party’s primary problems. Republicans are on edge that Trump, if he chooses, could elevate more MAGA-aligned challengers to incumbents in several states, forcing a round of bitterly contested primaries. Senate Republican leaders are working to prevent a Trump-backed primary threat to Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina, home to one of the most competitive races next November. And Sen. Bill Cassidy in Louisiana, who voted to convict Trump following his impeachment in 2021’s riot at the Capitol, is facing a challenge from the right.

Republicans are holding out hope that Trump will help them fend off intraparty upsets that would complicate their Senate map next year. But they also know a single utterance from the president would be enough to upend their plans.

Sen. Tim Scott, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has said that he is working with Trump to ensure they are on the same page when it comes to protecting incumbents. Scott re-emphasized his support for Cornyn after Paxton jumped into what is expected to be the party’s most expensive primary fight of the cycle, calling him "a leader who delivers on President Trump's agenda” and an “essential part of the Republican Senate Majority."

But the behind-the-scenes efforts by GOP leaders to persuade Trump to endorse Cornyn is cementing a well-known reality for Republicans: They need Trump but also know they can’t control him.

The Senate map is heavily tilted toward Republicans in 2026. But they are still eager to avoid what’s been a perennial problem for the party: watching untested candidates win primaries only to cost the party in the general election or force them to spend money on what should have been safe seats. In the 2022 midterms, Trump endorsed candidates like Mehmet Oz, Blake Masters and Herschel Walker who went on to lose hotly contested general elections.

Sen. Steve Daines, last cycle’s chair of the NRSC, went to great lengths to forge a different path, working closely with Trump to handpick candidates with better chances in the general election. He succeeded, helping to deliver the Senate majority to Republicans. But the GOP is playing more defense in 2026, including with incumbents facing new challenges from the right.

“Look, you always have to take primaries seriously, always,” Daines said. “What we tried to do at the NRSC last time is try to minimize that. But you’re always concerned about colleagues in a primary.”

Trump, Daines said, is keeping “a close eye” on Senate races.

Senate Republicans aren’t alone in trying to work Trump to get involved in primaries on their behalf — and in some cases, their efforts are having unintended consequences. Paxton entered the primary sooner than he otherwise would have because he learned Senate Majority Leader John Thune was trying to secure Trump’s endorsement for Cornyn, according to a person close to Paxton who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. Paxton also has allies urging the president to endorse him, the person said.

Cornyn yoked himself to the president during the first two-and-a-half months of his second term and touted his previous work with Trump during his failed bid for majority leader last year. But Paxton has still made clear he will run a campaign accusing Cornyn of being insufficiently loyal to Trump.

Aides to Trump and the Republican National Committee did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In North Carolina, Tillis has already drawn primary challengers and could face another bid from Michele Morrow, an inflammatory candidate who unsuccessfully ran for the state’s superintendent for public education last fall. Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, has also been floated as a potential challenger – though she recently signed on at Fox News Channel.

Tillis, asked if he had spoken with Trump or his team about an endorsement, said “it’s too early for me to get into those sort of discussions.”

But it’s Cassidy who Trump’s Senate allies are less certain will be able to work himself back into Trump’s good favor. Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming has already announced a run against him, and more Republican challengers are expected to jump into the fray. And while Cassidy has sided with Trump on major GOP causes this year, including providing a key vote for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to lead Trump’s Health and Human Services Department, some Senate Republicans aren’t sure that is enough to entice the president to his side.

Cramer, a close Trump ally, wasn't certain that Trump could find his way to help the Louisiana Republican: “I don’t know — impeachment, that’s a tough one.”

Another Trump ally, granted anonymity to speak candidly, predicted there was “no way” the president would remain neutral, much less endorse Cassidy, in the primary. And the normally gregarious Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) declined to comment when asked if he was, or planned to be, in talks with Trump about endorsing or at least staying neutral in Cassidy’s race.

Cassidy was reluctant to discuss the possibility of facing a Trump-backed challenger on Wednesday.

“That’s kind of a silly question,” he said about that prospect. “I’m not worried about that.”

Asked if he had spoken with Trump or his team about an endorsement, he asked: “Where is this coming from?”

A key difference between Cassidy and other potentially endangered incumbents is that his seat in Louisiana is not in play in the general election, so the party’s fate isn’t tied to Cassidy winning his primary.

Cassidy is also facing a new obstacle as he tries to hold onto his seat: Louisiana did away with its unique primary system for congressional races that advances the top two vote-getters to a general election regardless of party (unless one candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote.) That means Cassidy will need to win over a more conservative and Trump-aligned electorate to advance to the general election.

If Trump targets Cassidy, it would open up a public split between Trump and Thune and the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, which backs incumbent senators. Not to mention that any money siphoned away from Republicans during the primary takes away from funding that could be spent in the general election on competitive races.

Asked if he had a similar conversation with Trump and his orbit for Cassidy as Republicans have done for Cornyn, Thune said in a brief interview that Republicans are taking the races “one at a time.”

“Obviously we’re invested in helping our incumbents,” Thune said, adding that he is working with the White House and the Senate GOP campaign arm to “make sure we’re in the best possible shape going into the midterm elections with both our candidates — incumbents, but also some challengers.”

© Francis Chung/POLITICO

Two Texas House Republicans have endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s 2026 Senate bid — breaking with longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn for what’s anticipated to be a heated primary contest.

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas), a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, announced his backing of Paxton in a statement first shared to Fox News on Thursday.

"Attorney General Paxton is the conservative champion we need in the U.S. Senate," Gooden wrote.

He added that Paxton “will take a sledgehammer to the establishment, secure the border, and fight hard for President Trump’s agenda. Ken Paxton has my complete and total endorsement."

Gooden’s endorsement comes two days after Paxton, a widely known MAGA firebrand, launched his highly anticipated 2026 Senate campaign to challenge Cornyn.

“It’s definitely time for a change in Texas,” Paxton said. “We have another great U.S. senator in Ted Cruz. And it’s time we have another great senator that will actually stand up and fight for Republican values, fight for the values of the people of Texas, and also support Donald Trump.”

Gooden isn’t the first Texas Republican to throw his support behind Paxton. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) touted his backing of the attorney general’s campaign bid Wednesday.

“He’s a bulldog, and that’s what we need in the Senate,” Nehls told POLITICO.

Cornyn and Paxton are longtime ideological rivals. Paxton has repeatedly attacked Cornyn for what he views as inadequate embracing of Trump, and Cornyn recently bashed the Trump rabble-rouser over his legal scandals.

Cornyn recently earned the backing of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who beat Cornyn in last year’s battle to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as the party leader in the chamber. The NRSC — led by Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) — also said it would support the incumbent.

While both moves were expected, it signals the primary could get incredibly expensive — and that national Republicans could be willing to spend to back the longtime lawmaker.

But the Republican endorsement that will likely hold the most weight is Trump’s. While the president has yet to announce whom he’ll support, Trump and Paxton have long been closely aligned.

Ben Jacobs contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump praised Gretchen Whitmer in a White House meeting on Wednesday, echoing a bipartisan message the Michigan governor delivered during an earlier speech in Washington, D.C.

The meeting was Whitmer’s second sit-down with the president since he took office. She raised the ongoing ice storm in northern Michigan, investments in the Selfridge Air National Guard Base outside of Detroit, invasive fish in the Great Lakes and the hottest topic of the day — tariffs — according to a spokesperson for the governor.

Trump spoke positively of Whitmer’s leadership, and even brought her with him to the Oval Office while he signed a number of unrelated executive orders.

"We’re honored to have Gretchen Whitmer from Michigan, the great State of Michigan, and she's been, she's really done an excellent job, a very good person," Trump said.

Whitmer's spokesperson said she was “surprised she was brought into the Oval Office” for Trump’s press conference “without any notice.”

Whitmer has emerged as one of the key Democratic contenders to run for president in 2028. Even though the governor insists she is not setting herself up for the White House, Whitmer will come up on her term limit in 2026 and has successfully rallied voters in a state that Trump has carried twice.

Among the directives Trump signed, he opened investigations into two of his first-term aides: former Department of Homeland Secretary official Miles Taylor and former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs. The president accused Taylor of fraud, Krebs of treason, then stripped both their security clearances, repeating false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

“Her presence is not an endorsement of the actions taken or statements made at that event,” Whitmer’s spokesperson said.

Whitmer’s approach with Trump on Wednesday contrasted the staunch criticism that has united much of the Democratic Party’s platform, specifically around tariffs. Other Democratic governors that have been floated as 2028 hopefuls, like Colorado Gov. Jared Polis or Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, have denounced the tariffs as a tax on average American families.

Whitmer struck a different tone in her speech, emphasizing their common ground related to building up manufacturing jobs in Michigan.

“I understand the motivation behind the tariffs, and here’s where President Trump and I do agree. We do need to make more stuff in America,” Whitmer said. “I’m not against tariffs outright, but they are a blunt tool. You can’t just bust out the tariff hammer to swing at every problem without a clearly defined end goal.”

She pushed for tariff exemptions for the auto and energy industries, which are crucial to Michigan’s economy. Trump’s 90-day pause on tariffs will not include those levied on auto imports.

The conciliatory relationship is a departure from Trump’s first term, where he and Whitmer repeatedly butted heads — especially on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, when Trump called her inept. He also referred to her as “the woman from Michigan,” which Whitmer reclaimed in a post on X.

As for Trump’s second term, Whitmer signaled that she’s open to working with the president to help her state.

"If you're not at the table, you're on the menu," the governor told journalist Gretchen Carlson at an event on Wednesday.

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© Win McNamee/Getty Images