A More-MAGA-Than-Thou Primary Season Accelerates: Starting Line

Who’s More MAGA?

Yes, just yesterday you watched New Year’s Day football but make no mistake it’s now a new season. Midterm elections are upon us, beginning with a contest in which President Donald Trump is holding his party in suspense.

The Texas primaries are about eight weeks out, which means the rhetoric, advertising, social media barbs, and pleas for cash are already intensifying. As Lillianna Byington explains, there’s a lot to learn with every turn in Sen. John Cornyn’s attempt to again secure the Republican Senate nomination against tough competition. His main challengers, state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas), are close or leading him in polls. There also are a dozen other names on the ballot, so backers will have to pause and seek out the one they want.

All three are pitching themselves as Trump loyalists, and the president hasn’t endorsed in the race. Circle March 3 on your calendar; it’ll be worth staying up late to watch where each candidate is strong and whether the nomination has to be settled in a runoff. Later, you’ll want to watch the Senate primary action in Georgia, Maine, Colorado, Michigan, and Minnesota. Read More

Congressional Hyperdrive

When Congress comes back to town next week — the Senate’s scheduled to convene Monday and the House follows on Tuesday — it has an ambitious to-do list and a tiny window to work on it.

In today’s Congress Tracker, Jonathan Tamari describes the rocky road ahead, beginning with simultaneous negotiations on reviving the expired Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies and on finishing the appropriations process for the fiscal year that began three months ago.

Bills providing new spending — or keeping things going at the old spending levels — need to be signed by Jan. 30. If not, a government shutdown will sway the talking points in the early midterm primaries.

There’s a little more time for lawmakers to work on the next multi-year authorization for farm programs, as Skye Witley explains. Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) said “the primary barrier” he sees is the difficulty dealing with Democrats who objected to the GOP cutting billions in food assistance spending.

Fraud Hearing

Actual criminal fraud investigations dating back to 2022 and a YouTuber’s new unverified fraud allegations about the use of federal money in Minnesota are combining into a critical mass of attention on Capitol Hill, where the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday.

Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) bills it as “Part 1" and has asked Gov. Tim Walz (D) and state Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) to testify at a second hearing in February.

“We will hear from Minnesota state lawmakers who sounded the alarm on this fraud— and whose warnings were ignored by the Walz administration,” Comer said in a press release. “This misconduct cannot be swept aside, and Congress will not stop until taxpayers get the answers and accountability they deserve.”

See Also: US Freezes Childcare Payments to Minnesota Over Fraud Claims

Next week’s also the five-year anniversary of the violent storming of the US Capitol. House Democrats are planning to mark the date with a Tuesday event in which members of Congress will “share their personal experiences from that horrific day,” according to an announcement from Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.).

“We will examine ongoing threats to free and fair elections posed by an out-of-control Trump administration, expose the election deniers who hold high-level positions of significance in the executive branch and detail the threats to public safety posed by the hundreds of violent felons who were pardoned on the President’s first day in office,” Jeffries’ announcement said.

Eye on the Economy

The big economic news we’re watching for this month: who Trump will name to head the Federal Reserve after Jerome Powell’s term as chair ends in May.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has been seen as the frontrunner, though Trump has also expressed interest in former Fed governor Kevin Warsh. Other finalists in the process have included current Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman and BlackRock’s Rick Rieder. Earlier this week, Trump told reporters aid he has a favorite, and in an interview with The Wall Street Journal said, “I think the two Kevins are great.”

Trump also said the next Fed chair should consult with him on interest rates, something that would upend a tradition of the Fed’s independence.

See Also:

• Here’s How the US Economy Fared Under Trump in 2025
• Here’s (Almost) Everything Wall Street Expects in 2026

Before You Go

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Federal Workers to See More Restrictions on Telework in 2026

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Trump’s Battle With Big Law Firms Heads Into 2026: What to Know

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Kennedy Center Renaming Divides Artists Staying and Leaving

Grammy-nominated trumpeter Wayne Tucker is the latest artist to cancel his performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, following the board’s decision to add President Donald Trump’s name to the nation’s premier cultural center.

BGOV OnPoint: Democrats Exit Permitting Talks Over Wind Energy

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Grok Posts Sexual Images of Minors After ‘Lapses in Safeguards’

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok said “lapses in safeguards” led to the generation of sexualized images of minors that it posted to social media site X.

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