Welcome to At the Races! Each week we bring you news and analysis from the CQ Roll Call campaign team. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here. House Republicans retreated to Miami this week to work on finalizing their legislative agenda, while senators remained in Washington for hearings and votes on President Donald Trump’s Cabinet nominees. But a late Monday memo from the Office of Management and Budget announcing a freeze on federal loans and grant programs, which was then rescinded on Wednesday, became a focal point for Democrats and some Republicans. Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee boycotted the panel’s vote Thursday on Russell Vought’s nomination to lead OMB after an unsuccessful push for a delay. It’s the first time Democrats have taken such a step this year, but it’s a move they made in 2017 in an attempt to delay the confirmation of certain Trump nominees. Still, Republicans were able to advance Vought’s nomination on their own, voting 11–0 off the Senate floor Thursday while Democrats held a news conference calling for the nominee to return to the committee to further detail his agenda for OMB after this week’s memo. Connecticut Sen. Christopher S. Murphy told reporters, including our colleague Jim Saksa, that Republicans were “reeling” in the face of the memo, which prompted confusion across the federal government and around the country over its effects on programs such as Medicaid and Head Start. “We’ve done an effective job of communicating the stakes,” Murphy said. Indeed, the memo gave Democrats something to rally around as they adjust to being locked out of power in Washington under the new Trump administration. An aide to Charles E. Schumer said the Senate minority leader spoke Wednesday night with Democratic governors about how Democrats can respond to Trump’s policies. As Vought’s nomination next heads to the full chamber, Schumer vowed no further cooperation. “Senate Democrats will not move an inch to advance Mr. Vought’s nomination any further,” he said. Starting gate DNC decision time: Democrats will take a first step toward deciding the future of their party on Saturday when members of the Democratic National Committee elect a new chair. But it’s a contest many members of Congress have been reluctant to wade into. Sunshine State specials: Two Florida Republicans who were backed by Trump are on track to join the House in April. Jimmy Patronis, the state’s chief financial officer, and state Sen. Randy Fine each won special primary elections to succeed former Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s 1st District and former Rep. Michael Waltz in the 6th District, respectively. Both seats are deep red, making Patronis and Fine the overwhelming favorites to win the April 1 special general elections. Eyeing the exits: Michigan Democrat Gary Peters said Tuesday that he won’t seek a third term in the Senate next year, prompting a flurry of interest on both sides of the aisle to succeed him. Among the potential candidates we heard about this week are Reps. Haley Stevens and Hillary Scholten, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who are all Democrats, as well as Republican Reps. Bill Huizenga and John James. Former Rep. Mike Rogers, the losing GOP nominee for the state’s other Senate seat last year, said Thursday that he was “strongly considering” another run. Not-So-Golden: This is the first Congress since 2003 in which no speaker, majority or minority leader has called California home. Roll Call columnist and former Editor-in-Chief Christina Bellantoni takes a look at the diminished influence of the nation’s largest state in Washington. Interns reunited: Roughly 14 years ago, two congressional interns had overlapping stints in then-House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer’s office. Today, one of them is a freshman Maryland congresswoman and the other is her chief of staff, Roll Call’s Michael Teitelbaum reports. A tale of two former members: Former New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison Wednesday for his role in a sweeping criminal case. He has said he is innocent and will appeal the case. Roll Call’s Ryan Tarinelli has more. Meanwhile, the Justice Department dropped charges in a criminal case related to former Nebraska Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, Roll Call’s Michael Macagnone reports. ICYMI DSCC vice chairs: Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Adam B. Schiff of California and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware will be vice chairs for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is heading up this cycle. Guv update: Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will formally launch a campaign for New Mexico governor in the coming weeks, Axios reported. The news comes after New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, a fellow Democrat, announced he was passing on a 2026 gubernatorial run. Meanwhile, allies of former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra say the former House member is “strongly considering” a bid for California governor, the Los Angeles Times reported. And former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, another ex-Biden administration official, signaled to WSB-TV that she was eyeing the governor’s race in Georgia. The incumbent governors in all three states are term-limited. Molinaro’s next chapter: Republican former Rep. Marc Molinaro, who lost reelection to his upstate New York seat in November, has had discussions with Trump administration officials about leading the Federal Transit Administration, according to Gothamist. Recruitment ready: South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who is leading Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, is already recruiting for key races, Semafor reports. Scott has been in contact with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp about challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. A senator after all: Jane Timken, the former Ohio GOP chair who made an unsuccessful run for Senate in 2022, has been appointed to fill an open seat in Ohio’s state Senate. She will serve out the unexpired term of fellow Republican Kirk Schuring, who died in November. State Senate flip in Iowa: Iowa Democrats flipped an open seat for a state Senate district that Trump reportedly won by double digits. Mike Zimmer will succeed Republican Chris Cournoyer, who resigned to become Iowa’s lieutenant governor. Libertarian leader? Former Rep. Justin Amash, last seen losing the 2024 Republican nomination for Senate in Michigan, says he’s seriously considering becoming the next chairman of the Libertarian Party. “Whoever leads the party needs to uphold the ideals upon which the party was founded, restore accountability and trust, and bring together liberty-minded people across America to win elections,” he wrote on social media. Amash was the first Libertarian member of Congress, joining the party in 2020 after leaving the GOP and voting to impeach Trump the previous year. Life after Congress: Ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy is launching a new public affairs firm, Watchtower Strategy, with five close allies, Punchbowl News reports. Former Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, along with Trump’s 2024 co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita, is joining the global advisory council of crypto trading platform Coinbase, Semafor reports. The two big hires come as the industry begins to navigate the crypto-friendly Trump administration. Nathan’s notes Gary Peters likely won’t be the only senator to retire this cycle, Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales writes. Whether it’s age or opportunity, political pressure or personal circumstances, at least two senators have left the chamber every cycle, going back to at least 1930. Nathan takes a look at which senators might be joining the Michigan Democrat in heading for the exits next. What we’re reading Stu says: What to make of Trump’s call for Canada to become the 51st state? Roll Call political analyst shares some personal thoughts and recollections about our neighbor to the north and speculates on what a United States of Canada would entail politically. Fragile coalition: Trump won a decisive victory in November by winning the backing of a broad cross section of voters. But The New Republic says partisan infighting and a public impatient for results could undermine that support. It’s my party too: New York Rep. Ritchie Torres talks about a potential run for governor and bringing the Democratic Party back to the center in this interview with The Wall Street Journal opinion section. The new face of the non-MAGA GOP: The Christian Science Monitor profiles Utah Sen. John Curtis, who is walking a path different from that of his predecessor, fellow Republican Mitt Romney. “If you expect me to be Mitt Romney, I’m going to disappoint you,” Curtis said. No competition: An analysis by The New York Times found that just 8 percent of congressional races and 7 percent of state legislative contests were decided by 5 points or less last year. Partisan gerrymandering is largely to blame, and that could well have helped Republicans retain the House. The count: 46 percent That’s the job approval rating that Trump is starting his second term with, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Forty-three percent of voters disapproved of the president and 11 percent did not offer an opinion, the survey found. Those numbers stand in sharp contrast to the start of the first Trump administration, when 36 percent said they approved of his job performance, according to a January 2017 Quinnipiac poll, with 44 percent disapproving and 19 percent not offering an opinion. Coming up Democratic National Committee members are in National Harbor, Md., just outside D.C., for their winter meeting this week, with a vote to elect their next party chair scheduled for Saturday. Photo finish Workers remove stairs leading to a seating area on the West Front of the Capitol on Monday. The seating area was set up for last week’s presidential inauguration, which was ultimately moved indoors because of cold weather. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) Subscribe now using this link so you don’t miss out on the best news and analysis from our team.
