{"id":536,"date":"2026-06-18T05:12:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T05:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=536"},"modified":"2026-06-18T05:12:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T05:12:42","slug":"a-necessary-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=536","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A Necessary Disaster\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Today\u2019s notice:<\/i><\/b> Democrats are ready to back Trump\u2019s Iran deal. The left leads in D.C. A controversial White House appointment. New House campaign spending. Food industry lobbyists vs. MAHA. And: Some new details on the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. <\/i><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018I\u2019m Blaming JD\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

THE LATEST<\/b><\/h2>\n

We hate this and we\u2019re wholeheartedly supporting it.<\/b> That\u2019s the early line from Senate Democrats in response to Donald Trump<\/b>\u2019s deal with Iran. They haven\u2019t seen the full details \u2014 no one has, except for (theoretically) a tight-knit group of Trump officials and some Iranians \u2014 but Democrats say they are ready to sign on to a plan if <\/i>it actually means the war is over, our Igor Bobic reports<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the only thing we can do is end the war, but I mean, Iran gets everything they want out of this \u2014 sanctions relief, implicit control of the Strait of Hormuz, no commitments on nuclear program,\u201d Sen. Chris Murphy<\/b> (D-Connecticut) told NOTUS. \u201cIt\u2019s a disaster, but it\u2019s probably a necessary disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rollout of the so-far secret deal has not impressed <\/b>many in the legislative branch. \u201cIf it was so great, wouldn\u2019t the president have printed it on gold leaf paper and sent it out to all of us?\u201d Sen. Jacky Rosen<\/b> (D-Nevada) said. But Democrats seem ready to sign on the dotted line if Trump asks them.<\/p>\n

What they\u2019re not willing to do <\/b>is continue to back Trump\u2019s calls for increased defense spending. NOTUS\u2019 Joe Gould reports<\/u><\/span> on how the bipartisan coalition that has generally supported an ever-increasing Pentagon budget is fracturing. Last week, more Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee voted against the National Defense Authorization Act than voted for it. Last year\u2019s NDAA was passed out of the committee 26-1.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had two days of negotiation and conversation, and didn\u2019t talk about the cost of the Iran war, when we all know that\u2019s the elephant in the room,\u201d Sen. Elissa Slotkin<\/b> (D-Michigan), one of those \u201cno\u201d votes, said. \u201cSo, what\u2019s the bill on that? When\u2019s that coming? That should affect us when we\u2019re talking about a trillion-dollar budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Open tabs:<\/b> Trump\u2019s \u2018American Flag Blue\u2019 Reflecting Pool is Green With Algae<\/u><\/span> (NOTUS); Pentagon used Musk\u2019s Grok AI to fire 2,000 missiles at Iran, official says<\/u><\/span> (Independent); Democrats Prep for Shrinking Southern Delegations<\/u><\/span> (NOTUS); U.S. Set to Offer Iran Broad Financial Gains in Peace Deal<\/u><\/span> (Bloomberg)<\/p>\n

Primary night roundup<\/b><\/h2>\n

Progressives\u2019 big night in D.C.: <\/b>People were still voting two hours after polls were scheduled to close in the District\u2019s primaries last night, which included the first open race for mayor since Democrat Muriel Bowser <\/b>took over in 2015. Early results showed the left carried the evening in the all-important Democratic primary. Council member Janeese Lewis George <\/b>was way ahead in the first results, crushing the hopes of many moderate supporters of former Council member Kenyan McDuffie<\/b>.<\/p>\n

There are still plenty of ballots to be counted, our local news team reports<\/u><\/span>, but Lewis George shared her supporters\u2019 elation in a speech at her election night HQ: \u201cWhat seemed like a distant dream is history unfolding before our eyes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s mixed night: <\/b>Tuesday\u2019s Republican primaries once again featured the president\u2019s endorsements looming large. In Georgia, Republicans picked Rep. Mike Collins <\/b>as their U.S. Senate nominee, following Trump\u2019s last-minute endorsement, NOTUS\u2019 Adora Brown reports<\/u><\/span>. But in the state\u2019s gubernatorial primary, voters rejected Trump\u2019s pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones<\/b>, and gave the nomination to billionaire Rick Jackson<\/b>, who spent a fortune on the race.<\/p>\n

Oklahoma keeps voting: <\/b>StateAttorney General Gentner Drummond<\/b> and former state Sen. Mike Mazzei<\/b> are headed to a runoff in the state\u2019s Republican gubernatorial primary. Trump endorsed Mazzei a few weeks ago, giving his candidacy a significant boost in the crowded field to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt<\/b>, Adora reports<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

From the White House<\/b><\/h2>\n

Charlton Allen\u2019s past:<\/b> Trump\u2019s nominee for general counsel at the Federal Labor Relations Authority is headed to the Capitol for a confirmation hearing this morning despite his litany of controversial statements about minorities, NOTUS\u2019 Eric Katz reports<\/u><\/span>.<\/p>\n

For example:<\/b> A series of bigoted articles published in a conservative newspaper Allen founded in law school that dogged him but did not prevent Republicans from confirming him to a state board in North Carolina in 2014. Those articles and other statements are surfacing again ahead of Allen\u2019s cattle-call confirmation hearing today, in which he\u2019ll appear with a dozen or so other nominees.<\/p>\n

From the campaign trail<\/b><\/h2>\n

Running on the map you got:<\/b> House Majority PAC, which is closely aligned with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries<\/b>, has reserved $11 million in new TV ad time to press the midterm fight on maps Jeffries hoped would not exist this cycle, Elena Schneider reports first for NOTUS. In Florida, nearly $5 million in reservations will go toward defending Rep. Jared Moskowitz<\/b>, whose seat got redder after the state\u2019s Republican-led legislature redrew district lines. New spending in Virginia has the goal of flipping seats held by Republican Reps. Rob Wittman<\/b> and Jen Kiggans<\/b>, two tough races Democrats had hoped to make easier through their own (dashed) redistricting effort in the commonwealth.<\/p>\n

Read more Knicks Will Visit Trump White House<\/a><\/p>\n

From K Street<\/b><\/h2>\n

The food industry turns its lobbying ammo on MAHA: <\/b>A proposed rule that would alter the so-called \u201cgenerally recognized as safe,\u201d or GRAS, classification at the Food and Drug Administration has been championed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/b>, consumer advocates and the Make America Healthy Again movement, all of whom say that manufacturers use broadly defined GRAS rules to skirt the spirit of the FDA\u2019s regulation of processed foods.<\/p>\n

Manufacturers hate the rule change.<\/b> They are putting their money where your mouth may soon be, NOTUS\u2019 Paige Winfield Cunningham and Taylor Giorno report<\/u><\/span>. The number of trade associations, companies and organizations that reported lobbying on the pending regulation has nearly tripled, and in-house and hired lobbyists for 35 organizations related to the processed-food industry disclosed lobbying around GRAS in Q1 of 2026, up from 12 in the same period in 2025 and one<\/i> in 2024.<\/p>\n

As for the proposed rule change, <\/b>it is languishing. The White House has been reviewing the FDA\u2019s proposed GRAS regulation for six months and has yet to release a federal definition of ultra-processed food, something Kennedy had promised by April.<\/p>\n

NOTUS METRO<\/b><\/h2>\n

Sign up for our new local newsletter.<\/b> NOTUS has added some of the best reporters covering D.C.-area news, sports and culture. Sign up for the NOTUS Metro Newsletter now!<\/u><\/span><\/p>\n

Local news:<\/b> This D.C. Housing Complex Is So Bad It Might Get a Tax Break<\/u><\/span>, by Zara Norman<\/p>\n

Sports desk:<\/b> Something Is Different About This U.S. World Cup Team<\/u><\/span>, by Dave Sheinin<\/p>\n

NEW ON NOTUS<\/b><\/h2>\n

Did Kevin McCarthy really think Democrats would save his speakership?<\/b> A new book dropping next week from top McCarthy aide John Leganski <\/b>tells the story of a (brief but real) effort to convince some House Democrats to vote for McCarthy in late 2023 and defeat the effort to oust him led by former Rep. Matt Gaetz<\/b> (R-Florida). NOTUS\u2019 Reese Gorman obtained a copy<\/u><\/span> of the book, which details some preliminary talks between McCarthy and Jeffries as Gaetz stoked the coup. The Democratic leader said he was sympathetic to McCarthy\u2019s plight but added that the idea had about zero traction in his caucus.<\/p>\n

This news was not a surprise. <\/b>I \u201ccannot imagine we would have been likely to step in to save him or Nancy Pelosi<\/b> if the shoe were on the other foot,\u201d Leganski writes.<\/p>\n

More:<\/b> Republicans Aren\u2019t Sure They Can Block Trump\u2019s IRS Audit Exemption<\/u><\/span>, by Avani Kalra<\/p>\n

NOT US<\/b><\/h2>\n