SCOOP: The Trump administration is paying millions to quickly cover four enormous bronze horses with extra-thick 23.75 karat gold leaf. The money for the rush job is coming from National Park Service funds. In total, I found ~$100 mil spent on new DC beautification projects.

Read @bueninvierno.bsky.social and my latest on Trump’s stock purchases.

The White House sent us this statement on Trump’s stocks today, after originally referring our questions to the Trump Org.

NEW: President Donald Trump bought and sold millions of dollars worth of stock in tech companies and government contractors including Nvidia and Palantir. Some of those trades overlapped with regulatory decisions that were favorable to these companies. www.notus.org/money/donald...

NEW: Progressives are taking a big swing at mobilizing AI-anxious voters, betting that concerns about data centers and job loss could win over young and working-class voters. "There’s an opening, but you’ve got to be aggressive," State Sen. Mallory McMorrow told me. www.notus.org/2026-electio...

Defense industry executives and PACs pumped millions into the campaigns of lawmakers in key regulatory positions (and competitive races) amid the U.S. war with Iran NEW from @bueninvierno.bsky.social www.notus.org/defense/mili...

I’ve been using Firefox as my main browser for the first time in over a decade because I got sick of Safari. I’d say it’s refreshing to see a solid, feature-rich browser get some love after Arc crashed and burned.

Thank you Birda, the birdwatching app, for blessing me with a non-AI, non-GLP-1 ad on YouTube. More of this, less scary and dystopic tech.

LLMs like Claude and ChatGPT are going to be major sources of information for voters in the '26 midterms. Most Republicans and Democrats have no idea what to do about that www.notus.org/2026-electio...

Where are they now? DOGE Edition

Trump on Palantir:

Democrats are increasingly rattled about the GOP's financial edge ahead of the '26 midterms. -- their deficit might be as much as a half-billion dollars On the fly in the ointment for Ds in an election they otherwise are feeling good about. w/@taylorgiorno.bsky.social www.notus.org/2026-electio...

NEW: Rep. Eric Swalwell repeatedly pitched the services of his AI startup to fellow lawmakers in possible violation of House Ethics rules, six Democratic sources told NOTUS. One of them told me Swalwell is “relentless” in promoting his company. www.notus.org/democrats/de...

SCOOP from @bueninvierno.bsky.social: Rep. Eric Swalwell repeatedly peddled the services of his politics-focused startup company, Findraiser, to House Democrats — potentially violating House Ethics rules "He’s peddling the shit out of that thing," one source said www.notus.org/democrats/de...

Josh Hawley's bill to ban mifepristone put the spotlight back on an issue Republicans try to avoid on an election year: abortion Lawler said he won't support the bill Evans said he's "cautious of issues like that" Valadao said Republicans should focus on the economy www.notus.org/republicans/...

NEWS: In a meeting with CDC staff, Jay Bhattacharya said he and RFK Jr. have disagreed on "scientific matters" and that the new CDC director nominee will be announced tomorrow:

NEW: “NOTUS found that a number of the individuals on DHS’s list weren’t living in American communities even before they were in prison,” @violetjira.bsky.social reports. “Instead, some were extradited to the U.S. by the DOJ and have never left federal custody.” www.notus.org/immigration/...

ICYMI: Rep. Eric Swalwell has a side gig — and some of his political allies are pumping it full of money. Via @bueninvierno.bsky.social of @notus.com. www.notus.org/money/eric-s...

NEW: Democratic primary turnout continued to surge Tuesday, part of a trend in higher turnout in these races than what the party saw in '22 and '24 The new wave of voters could complicate the party's primaries -- but is also giving some Dems hope for November www.notus.org/2026-electio...

Rep. Eric Swalwell has an AI-powered political analytics startup. And Swalwell’s nascent company is making money from some familiar sources — other Democratic members of Congress. New from @bueninvierno.bsky.social of @notus.com: www.notus.org/money/eric-s...

ICE and military contractor Palantir hires two new Democratic lobbyists. New from @bueninvierno.bsky.social of @notus.com: www.notus.org/money/palant...

Ever wonder how members of Congress get and stay wealthy? Here’s a place to start: www.notus.org/capitol-gains

A political ad bonanza funded by some of America’s wealthiest and most controversial special interest groups has swamped four Democratic House primaries in the Chicago area --> w/@bueninvierno.bsky.social www.notus.org/2026-electio...

How is AI being used in the war with Iran? Doesn't appear key members of Congress have much of a clue, reports @bueninvierno.bsky.social of @notus.com. www.notus.org/defense/defe...

"Anyone's better than that dog murderer." FEMA staff are rejoicing at Kristi Noem's ouster. I've had folks asking me for months if I knew when she might get fired. That day is finally here, and they are delighted.

“We need to ban the word ‘agency.’ I’m a dog.” harpers.org/archive/2026...

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) has quietly watched the value of his Palantir stock soar. This year, Suozzi voted to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has done massive business with Palantir. From @bueninvierno.bsky.social of @notus.com: www.notus.org/money/tom-su...

Some Republicans are increasingly baffled with Trump’s support of data centers. “It’s filling our acreage. It’s sucking all the good out of our state, and it’s all done by taxpayer dollars,” OK State Sen. Kendal Sacchieri, who supports a data center moratorium, said. www.notus.org/technology/t...

At least 32 kids entered foster care in 2025 after immigration agents detained their parents. That includes four toddlers ages 1-3 in Vermont. Here’s my story on the patchy tracking of family separations through the foster care system. www.notus.org/immigration/...

the Super Bowl so far is just one big AI ad

Oh, the quotes … When you’re a member of Congress who keeps slamming ⁦‪ICE‬⁩ — but you personally invest in a company that powers ICE tech. Via @bueninvierno.bsky.social of @notus.com: www.notus.org/congress/pal...

We found so many examples of missing federal government data that we couldn’t put them all in this story. “The status quo was, the federal government is going to collect and disseminate data. That is no longer a reasonable assumption.”

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam is seeing his constituents grow frustrated with data centers firsthand. "People are angry right now at the way data centers are being deployed," he told me, arguing that Congress needs to prevent nationwide backlash against them. www.notus.org/technology/v...

“.. It was never a commitment,” Huang told reporters in Taipei on Sunday. “They invited us to invest up to $100 billion and of course, we were, we were very happy and honored that they invited us, but we will invest one step at a time.” @bloomberg.com #$NVDA www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

I guess some things never change

The Senate passed legislation funding multiple departments. The House is not expected to vote on it until early next week, triggering a partial shutdown. https://bit.ly/4a3q0DI

oh, and one more thing before the weekend

The AI industry super PAC is walking into the midterms with $70 million in cash on hand. Their main objective: Backing candidates that support unconstrained AI innovation and oppose state-level regulation. www.notus.org/money/ai-sup...

scoop: Kristi Noem has more than $1 billion in disaster prevention projects piling up on her desk. Somehow, three states w/ powerful GOP politicians have escaped the logjam — Georgia, North Carolina, and Oklahoma. Everyone else left begging for help.

Trust in TikTok at a low point in Congress: Democrats seem to be taking censorship claims rather seriously. “There’s no doubt that Trump is going to be putting calls to tell them to censor content that’s critical of him,” Sen. Chris Murphy told NOTUS. www.notus.org/technology/d...

Meet Congress' Nvidia stock trading club. There are Democrats and Republicans. And there are millions of $$ at stake for these lawmakers' personal portfolios at a time when the chip maker has big business before gov't. Via @bueninvierno.bsky.social of @notus.com: www.notus.org/money/nvidia...

New: It's a great time to be a data center lobbyist in Washington. "Data centers," "grid modernization" and "energy permitting reform" dominated last quarter's lobbying disclosures as the issue becomes central to the midterms. www.notus.org/technology/d...

Opposing sides in the AI regulation debate plan to spend tens of millions of dollars to help elect more lawmakers who support their policies. Here’s how AI is already shaping the midterm elections: www.notus.org/2026-electio...

Remember when the Trump administration ignored a judge's order to return planes deporting 200+ "alien enemies" to El Salvador in March? In DC court just now, that judge said he'll force DOJ officials to testify. And maybe top Trump admin officials. @notus.com: www.notus.org/courts/feder...

Consumer advocacy groups hope whoever replaces Nancy Pelosi will more aggressively regulate the tech industry. https://www.notus.org/technology/nancy-pelosi-election-tech-regulation

The Senate is starting to feel a lot like “Groundhog Day” as the shutdown spills over into its second week.

Amid a backdrop of escalating political violence and national instability, Silicon Valley health care workers are preparing for the unthinkable when Levi's Stadium becomes the first region to host a Super Bowl and World Cup in the same year.

California’s new AI law might set the baseline for what Democratic-led AI regulation looks like — It could also play a role in a hypothetical Gavin Newsom presidential run. www.notus.org/technology/g...

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed off on an agreement on a TikTok sale he said would bring the app into compliance with U.S. law. ✍️ @bueninvierno.bsky.social, @notus.com

After four deadline extensions to force a sale of TikTok, the U.S. is finally close to a sale agreement for the massively popular video platform, a White House official said Monday. ✍️ @bueninvierno.bsky.social, @notus.com