T-minus six days and a peek at our lineup for Premiere Week Here’s just a few of our Week 1 guests. Go to www.535.news and register for advanced look at our guests, updates and alerts from our team, and newsy clips from the show!

In just SIX days @the535news launches. @mariannasotomayor.bsky.social and I have worked together at NBC, WaPo and now PUCK! We’ll also contribute to 535! 3 hours a day, 3 days a week about members, policy and the dirty deets about how the sausage is made. Sign up at 535.news

Of all our promos, this was my favorite. Both @daniellamicaela.bsky.social and @pkcapitol.bsky.social looked at me like “can we air that?” And the answer is, oh absolutely we are going to air that. Remember to sign up at www.535.news to get all the fun stuff. 12 days to launch! 🚀

In addition to starting with @notus.com 3 weeks ago -- link below to latest columns -- a few of us from NOTUS, Puck, alum from WSJ/NPR/NBC will contribute to @535news.bsky.social -- launching in May. Deep policy discussions w/ rank-file, in the weeds even. But fun. Sign up here: 535.news#subscribe

My latest @notus.com column might surprise: Dem lawmakers are a lot younger than most realize. Their 2024 frosh class media age was 1.5 years younger than the Rs. And because of a series of deaths & retirements of 70-plus Dems, they’re gonna be lots younger in ‘27. www.notus.org/analysis/dem...

The amazing @kristin-wilson.bsky.social Brody Mullins & Woody Woodruff launching streaming interview show with members of Congress. Couple hours a day, when Congress is in session. Reporters from @notus.com @puck.news & veterans of NPR, CBS will be contributor/interviews. Click through & sign up.

Premiering May 12. A new way of covering Congress. Policy, not just politics Stream on 535.news. Live from Capitol Hill. Tues, Weds, Thurs @pkcapitol.bsky.social @mariannasotomayor.bsky.social @lacaldwelldc.bsky.social @igorbobic.bsky.social @daniellamicaela.bsky.social @macfarlanenews.bsky.social

Here’s a rundown of some of the most influential (and biggest flameouts) of the 2012 class.

My latest is a look at the massive House class of 2012, Dems and Rs alike, with so much ambition. Swalwell wanted a book about all the characters. Jeffries Meadows DeSantis Tulsi Sinema Mullin Beto JK III Cotton And .. Swalwell. It’s a mixed record. www.notus.org/analysis/201...

As Weigel says, bumping that. www.youtube.com/watch?v=t365...

It’s tempting to see March jobs report and think economy is resilient and good. But it’s very much a region by region thing. This NYT story - meant to be fun look at March Madness - also spells out Vegas is basically in a recession, mostly driven by Trump policies. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/31/b...

We just published my swan song for The Post: Congress nears tipping point of irrelevance. It’s been an amazing 19-plus-year run, especially last decade of this @PKCapitol column. The Post has been family, giving me this perch to cover Congress. So lucky … www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

As the Senate is once again considering the future of the filibuster, could we pause to remember the most entertaining filibuster of all time? @pkcapitol.bsky.social www.upi.com/Archives/198...

There really is no organization like Ticketmaster when it comes to making its potential customers feel small and insignificant.

The stories weren’t played together on A1, but they probably should’ve been. We’ve come a long way as a planet from the Arab spring days when tech bros touted themselves as harbingers of freedom.

So @whitehouse.senate.gov & Lindsey Graham leading bipartisan Senate crew to Munich Security Conference. McCain used to lead this CoDel to MSC & after his death, these 2 took up mantle, naming it “CODEL McCain” in his honor. Except these days only 1 of the 2 acknowledge McCain. It’s not the R.

These charts sum up U.S. economic highs and lows. One industry hiring right now is healthcare/social care (very aging population will need more workers there). Consumer spending is resilient and booming - for top 10%. And 7 tech companies are driving stocks high. Via @washingtonpost.com

So @joshhuder.bsky.social has come up with a great explanation for something I’ve struggled I’ve struggled to describe for few years: Speaker Johnson is both omnipotent & impotent in leading House. Rs are so hyper-partisan they won’t even work with each other. gai.georgetown.edu/nobody-knows...

Thom Tillis wants you to know something: ‘I’m sick of stupid’ Latest from @pkcapitol.bsky.social -- www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

House Rs tonight hit new low in their MINO status: Majority. In. Name. Only. Just 191 Rs voted in last roll call, while 199 Dems showed up to vote. More than 12% of House Rs (27!) didn't bother to show up. I wrote about this days ago for my Sunday column: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

A majority in name only? House Republicans are barely hanging on. @pkcapitol.bsky.social does the arithmetic. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Three PA Republicans voted for it -- Bresnahan, Fitzpatrick and Mackenzie

17 House Rs voted with all 213 dems to pass bill that would extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. Aside from 1 vote in Nov. 2009 - when House passed its 1st version of ACA - these are the first GOP votes ever for what they long derided as Obamacare. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

👀 Marriage “bootcamp,” huge tax breaks for couples with kids, capping alimony, discouraging online dating… A WaPo exclusive, we got the final draft of the Heritage Foundation’s “Manhattan Project” for more babies. Plus a previous draft with scrapped ideas, which you’ll want to see. 🎁 link:

A great @pkcapitol.bsky.social scoop here, and a write-up entirely worth your time, even at this hour.

I sat down for 2-plus hours Tuesday with Steny Hoyer as he talked about a career that began in Annapolis in 1967 and will end later this year. He’s not running again. And he’s content with a storied career even if he didn’t get the speaker’s gavel. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

The plaque is several feet wide, several feet high. It was last seen in a basement workshop of a House office bldg next to a mini-frig, a scooter & set of small lockers. Now that plague’s hidden status symbolizes everything about 5 years ago. My column. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Seeing this on the POTUS calendar for tomorrow was kinda triggering. I hope he doesn’t tell any 7-yr-old’s that it’s “marginal” to believe in Santa. Like he did Christmas Day 2018. www.youtube.com/shorts/F1JaV...

Read this beautiful tribute by @stephenking.bsky.social about Rob Reiner. I definitely teared up more than once. “You’re gonna be a great writer someday.” Truer words were never spoken.

Within 20 minutes of one another Cynthia Lummis & Elise Stefanik announced they wouldn't run next year. It's latest blow in a tough year for GOP women in Congress. After record highs in '23, R women falling in House. Same in Senate. Some R women see sexism. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

An important must read from my colleagues: Robert E Lee’s statue got ejected from Capitol Crypt 5 years ago. Today Virginia replaced the Confederate with Barbara Rose Johns, who at 16 led protest that helped spur Brown v Board of Ed in 1953. Amazing. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

How anger has become a defining characteristic of voters for party out of power, and how Dems are more angry than either party’s voters have been. Amazing @pewresearch.org look at 3 decades of voter attitudes. Appears 2006-08 was pivot point. My column. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

This was a pretty wild exchange I had with Sen. Kennedy denying the reality of even Trump's own press secretary confirming the facts as my WaPo colleagues reported. The Trump WH dispute is merely over whether the 2nd strike was legal. Yet a GOP senator denied even that reality.

I’ve seen lotsa House speaker & Senate leader types with their own swag. Some of it quite sharp looking. I’ve never seen a House speaker wearing swag that was more heavily promoting the president than his own team brand. Photo from @notus.com

Meet the author who coined a 4-word rejoinder to MAGA that’s embraced by @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social “There’s something unifying when we are asked to do something together, and building a strong floor, no ceiling is just like that,” Oliver Libby tells me. He’s not a consultant or pollster. ….

Six-year-itch midterms are funky. There’s usually only a little change for presidents in the House - but the Senate turns into a massive dumpster fire. In 2006, Dems +6 included 4 states W had won twice; in ‘14 Rs +9 included 3 Obama ‘08 states. 2026? www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Why you should always, always read @pkcapitol.bsky.social capitol (I may be saying this a lot over the next year) -- It’s called the ‘six-year itch.’ Democrats hope it favors them for the Senate. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

"The brutality of Jamal’s murder, reported to be on orders of the Crown Prince … the extensive Saudi efforts to cover it up … and our government’s apparent willingness to accept these repeated lies … " - Fred Ryan, publisher of Washington Post, Jan. 10, 2019 1/ ....

The ultimate tribute to @pelosi.house.gov may be, more than 3 years after announcing she was leaving leadership, the same week she announced she’s retiring, the NRCC is still pumping out fundraising emails invoking her name. She wore the GOP hatred of her as a badge of honor. O

The internet version of @pelosi.house.gov is she was always a powerhouse icon. Not so. She spent 8 long years between passing ACA & flashing her shades at Trump. It was a formative time, a struggle that tested the caucus. And she became better as Speaker 2.0 www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Yup. A judge can swear @adelitaforcongress.bsky.social in to Congress. But Congress first has to vote to allow it to happen. Click thru hear and watch Grijalva explain it in a nice smart, concise video.

Broader media is picking up on a theme that JMart at Politico & me have been harping on for months: Trump doesn’t really do much aside from holding court (usually while sitting down) with WH press. JMart nails it here with Trump doing nothing on CA referendum: www.politico.com/news/magazin...

There’s been so much noise in House redistricting wars. My weekend column pulls back & looks at broad outlines via @cookpolitical.com & @rubashkin.bsky.social: Rs likely gain is 6-9 seats. If this is '20-'22-'24, that can help. But if '26 reverts to normal midterm, that’s lipstick on a pig ...

The strangest twist of No Kings rally, in build up inside the Capitol, is that Republicans can’t stop talking about it. For two straight weeks they’ve hyped it. Calling it the “Hate America rally”. Dems hardly mention it. Not sure what it will look like but Rs set high expectation of mass chaos.

Longtime R & D senators say this shutdown is unlike any other: “There’s less argument about things to fight about" and oddly "the least intensity about getting it resolved." Senate out till Tues night, House gone since Sept. 19. Nothing like fury of 2013/19. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Any time someone as high and mighty as a House speaker joins @cspanwj.bsky.social and takes calls, all I think of is “President Jimmy Carter” talking that kid down off a bad trip, telling him to listen to the Allmans. www.instagram.com/reel/DKxEcj8...

Don’t expect the shutdown to end soon with Dems caving. Not with polls like our WaPo version showing the public blames Trump and Rs for this by 17 points. 17! (Caveat: let’s see over next couple days what other polls show.) www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...

Copy editing is so essential to what we do. For many, many weekend PKCap columns, I’ve been blessed to have Kathryn Wenner catching my mistakes. She retired yesterday, my column one of her last edits. It was my privilege. And yes, she fixed a few things. What a career. t.co/D8wxHj4Wb6

Epstein discharge petition still sits at 217, one shy of Magic Number, which begins to force vote. Johnson adjourned House until at least Oct 1 - motive might not be just CR/shutdown showdown. On Tuesday Grijalva will win her father’s seat in AZ special. He wants to delay signature No 218.

Weekend @PKCapitol column: The missing man from GOP’s sales pitch for their proclaimed Big Beautiful Bill: Donald Trump. Since signing bill July 4, Trump hasn’t traveled outside DC for event promoting the bill one time. Other presidents (including Trump 1.0 & Biden) did lots more. t.co/6ILZDMAhnN