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Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®, which shares the latest from the wild west of political landscapes, highlighting news that fits the qualifications of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the downright absurd.

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GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

RHODE ISLAND GOV. MCKEE SIGNS BILL RAISING STATE’S MINIMUM WAGE: The wages they are a raisin’ in Rhode Island, after Gov. David McKee [D] signed legislation that will bring the state’s minimum wage to $17 over the course of the next two years. For ref, the state’s current minimum wage is $15 and the federal minimum wage is still at $7.25. In the Ocean State, the wage rate will move to $16 as of January 1, 2026 and then to $17 as of January 1, 2027. Per the Governor’s Office, the increase will directly impact at least 50,000 Rhode Islanders who are currently earning minimum wage.

MARYLAND GOV. WES MOORE ANNOUNCED $17M INVESTMENT TO MAKE SCHOOLS MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT & REDUCE COSTS: The state of Maryland is investing upfront to reduce costs in the long-run via the Decarbonizing Public Schools Program, which gives the assist on developing and implementing clean energy solutions that aren’t just better for the enviro, but also for Marylander’s wallets. And as announced by Gov. Wes Moore, this investment of $17M will be directed to 30 projects in 11 different school districts, all with the goal of advancing energy efficiency. The cost savings via utilizing renewable energy solutions like solar energy systems go hand-in-hand with the state’s Climate Solutions Now Act. The grants made available through this investment are also going toward the construction of net-zero energy schools – translation: “energy-efficient buildings that generate as much or more renewable energy on-site than they consume annually.”

NY GOV. HOCHUL $43M IN FUNDING FOR HARLEM RIVER GREENWAY & CLIMATE RESILIENCY PROJECTS: New York state’s Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act continues to deliver a tongue twister when said aloud, and funding for climate resiliency projects. In this case, the Act will provide $43M in funding to what has been known as the Manhattan Greenway Harlem River Project – another long-winded tongue twister. More importantly, the project aims to enhance area protection from sea level rise and extreme weather flooding with the reconstruction of a seawall. In addition, the project will build out a waterfront park – like seven blocks of park [more room for activities!] – and new pathways for pedestrians and cyclists. The project is also tied-in with a city-led plan – the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway Initiative – to create a 32.5 mile ring of protective green space around Manhattan.

MA GOV. HEALEY UNLOCKS $1B IN INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING BY SIGNING CHAPTER 90 BILL: Infrastructure and transportation funding is getting an upgrade in the state of Massachusetts thanks to Gov. Maura Healey signing the new Chapter 90 bill. The bill green-lights $300M in funding that the state’s cities and towns can tap into for road and bridge repairs. $100M of the funding will be distributed based on a formula that’s designed specifically to help rural communities – basing the funding on road mileage. The investment in the state’s infrastructure glow-up includes $500M for pavement and bridge upgrades, $200M to replace culverts and small bridges [increasing those that are built for climate resiliency], and $185M to ease congestion and improve safety in school zones, intersections, etc. 

EXTREMISM

…that’s the tweet [or the x]

• CNN interviewed a Christian Nationalist [Doug Wilson] who co-founded a church that advocates for revoking a woman’s right to vote and promotes the idea that women should submit to their husbands, saying verbatim:  “women are the kind of people that people come out of.” Wilson wants to create a Christian nation and Christian world, and btw believes that homosexuality is a crime. The most well-known of congregants of the Idaho-based church that’s now opened in D.C. is Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, who retweeted Wilson’s segment. For further context: Hegseth has cheated on multiple wives, faced sexual assault allegations, and been accused of domestic violence. 

• In Georgia, a man who was convinced that the COVID-19 vaccine was the reason he was depressed and suicidal, took himself and five guns to the HQ of the CDC, opening fire on the facility. Through his act of violence, the Georgia man killed Dekalb County Police Officer David Rose, a former Marine who had just graduated from the police academy in March.

• In a double entendre of cruelty, the Air Force announced that they’re rescinding the early retirement approvals for the transgender service members it was kicking to the curb thanks to the Trump Admin’s trans military ban. That means that those with 15-18 years of service to this country will have had their approved early retirements nullified and will only have the option of separation.

• For a different type of troop(s) in the news, there are two groups – American Heritage Girls and Trail Life USA, with membership in all 50 states, that are #obsessed with teaching their 110K members that homosexuality is a sin, and promo-ing anti-LGBTQ+ bull from another group known as “Focus on the Family,” a group that <3’s conversion therapy.

IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID

That money though

• Many of Trump’s tariffs went into effect last week, raising the import taxes to the highest level since the Great Depression. The math on that is that it will cost the average American family another $2,400/year.

• And on the “day the music died” could very well apply to music stores in the U.S. which are facing an enormous jump in costs for the products that they sell, again thanks to Trump’s tariffs. 

• Per the WashPo, the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits for at least a week has risen to the highest level since November 2021. The rising numbers can be attributed in many parts to sky-high tariffs, with businesses laying off workers as a result.

• Straight outta The Heritage Foundation, the ultra-conservative group that’s behind Project 2025, is Trump’s nominee to be the next commissioner or the Bureau of Labor Statistics, E.J. Antoni. Trump had to nominate a new commissioner because he fired the old one because he didn’t like the numbers in the latest jobs report…

• In a last-minute swerve, Trump extended the existing parameters of a “trade truce” with China for another 90 days. 

• The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office [CBO] reported that the Trump x GOP mega-bill that they passed will result in less income for the country’s poorest Americans, while benefiting the ultra-wealthy. feigns shock

• Michigan Gov. Whitmer is trying to clock the exact amount of harm Trump’s tariffs are having on the state’s economy, signing an executive order to Sherlock Holmes the sitch and report back.

• Meanwhile, in India, anti-American sentiment is on the rise as a result of Trump’s tariffs that make no sense to anyone that understands economics. In tandem with the WTF is this guy doing vibes, are now calls for the boycott of American goods and brands. 

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Stories that are guaranteed to make it to the group chat

• The owner of several Trump-themed burger joints in Houston, TX – literally named Trump Burger – was rounded up by ICE and faces deportation for overstaying his visa, which expired in February 2024. No, you really cannot make this shit up.

• Billy Long has become the shortest-tenured IRS commissioner confirmed by the Senate, ever, after Trump fired him late last week. Rumors have swirled about the tussle that led to the ouster, and they’ve focused on possibly being over White House requests for confidential tax records to be used to help locate undocumented immigrants… an added layer to the story though, is that Long – who btw, as a fmr rep sponsored legislation to get rid of the IRS – has now been nominated for an ambassadorship. 

• It appears GOP Congressman Rob Bresnahan [PA] was catching flights not feelings for his constituents' needs, via a secret helicopter he owns that’s worth $1.5M.

• Toxic positivity and revisionist history teamed up on this one: A directive from Sec. of the Interior Doug Burgum, that assigned staff at the National Park Service to “review all public-facing monuments, memorials and markers to catalog anything  inappropriate or that disparage any American alive or dead, including those that lived in colonial times,” according to The Post and Courier, has resulted in several autobiographies and books on slavery in South Carolina, being put under review for whether or not they can continue to be sold in the gift shops at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historic Park, as well as the Charles Pinckney National Historical Site.

• A GOP Congressman, Cory Mills [FL], who has faced DV allegations, accusations of benefiting from federal contracts while in office, having owed $85K in back rent [blamed on a processing error] has now threatened his ex – Lindsey Langston, a GOP state committee member –  with the release of her nude videos and harm to her future partners. 

• Trump’s focus instead of releasing the Epstein Files is revenge decorating, which is somehow worse than the gaudy gold ballroom decorating he is also doing. The revenge decorating is Trump moving Obama and Bush’s presidential portraits to a hidden stairway, away from guests’ view.

• Right-wing Congressman Andy Biggs [R-AZ], whose own siblings came out against him, has at least one family member who follows the beat of his drums. It’s his daughter, who has publicly said that she doesn’t think that women belong in elected office… who is now running for a state senate seat… 

• ICYMI the current VP, JD Vance cannot stop going on vacay. On one of his latest getaways that cost taxpayer’s money, he wanted to kayak, which would seem almost normal for a guy who hates cats and loves couches…. However, he had the Secret Service raise the river level. 

• New Yorker Mag crunched the numbies on how much Trump is raking in as president – and it looks like this, so far: $91M from lawsuits settled with major corps, $125M from Mar-a-Lago, $127.7M in merch like the “Trump guitar,” $150M from the private jet gifted from Qatar, $385M from the Trump coin, $412.5M from crypto investments, $1.3B from Trump Media’s crypto ventures, and more.

• Dem Texas state reps are continuing to break quorum to put a halt to Trump/Gov Abbott/AG Paxton/ Sen. Cornyn/TX GOP from gerrymandering the state’s Congressional map in such a way that it would nix five Dem seats and essentially hand them to Republicans. Dems, ATM, specifically governors in support of gerrymandering their Blue states to even the score, are trying to create space between their approach and the GOPs.

CHRONICALLY ONLINE

Politics meets social media

• In GOP on GOP crime, Trump devotee Laura Loomer and MTG got into it on Twitter, with Loomer saying the following about MTG: “I wish RepMTG go on her knees for her lord and savior as much as she got on her knees for men that aren’t her husband. Just another fake Christian. Can you call yourself a Christian when your mouth is full of other men’s cock?” Andy? A camera? Anywhere?

• At the presser, where Trump announced his fashy federal takeover of D.C., the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, appeared to be “seeing sounds” as described by Congressman Maxwell Frost [D-FL] in the comments section of this clip capturing it all.

• Congressman Jason Crow [D-CO] discussed the cover up being orchestrated by the Trump Admin with regards to the Epstein files, led by a distraction-fest on Truth Social, and the importance of not losing sight of the substance of the situation.

• The Ohio Dems meme’d perfectly close to the sun, with this illustrative look at Ohioans trying to stay financially afloat, while current VP, JD Vance goes diva-boy, asking the Army Corps of Engineers to raise water levels for vacay kayaking.

• Senator Martin Heinrich [D-NM] and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI] rolled out the white board to explain how the Trump x GOP mega-bill that passed will raise energy prices.

• Suffolk County Executive, Ed Romaine made a comical boomer-style slip of the tongue when describing what will be America’s 250 celebrations as a “gang bang.”

LEGAL BEAGLE

Lawsuits & legal tings to know about

• SCOTUS has been formally asked to overturn its landmark ruling that brought marriage rights to same-sex couples across the country. The case is being brought by a former Kentucky county clerk whose fashion choices would bring charges from Joan Rivers, and whose stone-age views led her in 2015 to refuse to issue a marriage license to a gay couple on what she claimed were religious grounds. She’s staking two claims – one in which she’s appealing a jury’s decision for her to be liable for $100K in emotional damages + $260K in attorneys fees. The second, that SCOTUS’ decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, based on the 14th Amendment’s due process clause, is “wrong.”

• In a move that can be most-qualified as an attempt to distract from Trump not releasing the Epstein files, the man painted in orange make-up has decided to essentially commandeer D.C. Blaming crime despite the city’s violent crime rate being at historic lows, Trump described what will include the deployment of 800 National Guard troops in the District, as an effort to “take the city back” from “violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals.” As for the legality and constitutionality of it all, civic educator Ben Sheehan, explains it tl;dr fashion.

• A South Carolina GOP state rep [RJ May] has resigned from his post from his current zipcode – jail – where he is awaiting trial on charges that he distributed sexual abuse materials involving kids, while using the screen name, “joebidennnn69.”

• A federal judge said “nah” to a request from the Trump Admin to release the grand jury transcripts from the DOJ investigation into Epstein’s creep-in-chief, Ghislaine Maxwell. The U.S. District Judge made the ruling based on his evaluation that the transcripts would not “bring to light meaningful new information.”

HEALTH & WELLNESS

In the club, we’re all sick

• OBGYN deserts are increasing in rural areas, leaving women without places to give birth, according to reporting from The 19th. Included in the critical print are two details: 1 in 3 U.S. counties don’t have a single OBGYN and Medicaid, which are going to take a machete to hospital revenues, are only going to further reduce maternity wards.

• Planned Parenthood has announced that it’s closing its doors in Louisiana, leaving thousands of patients who rely on its services like cancer and STI screenings, without a health provider. 

• The CBO – nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, for the long version – has determined that the Trump x GOP mega-bill that they passed together will not just drop millions of Americans from their health insurance, but will result in way higher ACA premiums. Translation: the law is going to cost Americans money, lots of it.

• ‘Fork found in kitchen’ with this one – a Yale epidemiologist, through his research, found that artificial turf fields that athletes play on from coast to coast,  contained loads of carcinogens, hormone disrupters, toxic metals, and phthalates. Editor’s anecdotal note: if you ever had to play on these growing up, you’ll remember that not only did they smell like toxic chemical melt, but they were 20 degrees hotter to be on than the general outside temperature – aka you slide and dive for the ball? Burn. 

WEATHER REPORT

Climate & enviro-related deats

• Severe flash flooding hit the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area over the wknd, leading to the activation of the National Guard to assist and the cancellation of the final day of the Wisconsin State Fair.

• The EPA axed a $7B grant program that was designed to help lower-income households pay for residential solar projects that would reduce electricity costs. Lee Zeldin, failed candidate for NY governor and now head of the EPA, cited the passage of the Trump x GOP mega-bill as the reason for it, claiming that it removed the authority for the program – he also called the program a “boondoggle.” That all said, Senator Bernie Sanders [I-VT] and solar industry fellows are saying that the grab back of previously approved congressional funds are illegal.

• DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is continuing to hold up more than $100M in pre-approved recovery funds for North Carolina as the state continues to grapple with the clean-up from Hurricane Helene. The FEMA monies that are supposed to be sent are for debris removal, wastewater repairs, and bridge reconstruction. 

• U.S. Energy Sec. and fossil fuel exec, Chris Wright shared that not only is his department reviewing national climate assessment reports that came to the light of day during other admin’s, but that they’re “updating them.” The five alarm fire of climate denial came after his department had drafted a report that called concern for the climate crisis, “overblown,” according to reporting from the Guardian.

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

Bills, bills, bills

FEDERAL, VOTING: Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett [TX] has intro’d two new bills to fight voter suppression. First, the SWIFT Act [Taylor is not in the room with us], if passed, would provide $120M in federal grants to help states upgrade their electronic pollbooks, track and share voting line wait times, and train poll workers on new technology. The second bill, the Poll Act, would mandate that states create plans to keep voter wait times to under 30 minutes, require the use of emergency ballots when machines fail, and allow voters to sue if long lines block their right to vote. 

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

• NPR: Factories from GE to Kraft Heinz lose immigrant workers, stressing those who remain

• Politico: Amazon Web Services gives the Trump admin $1 billion coupon

• The Advocate: Andry Hernández Romero explains how he survived CECOT after the U.S. government disappeared him

• The Bulwark: The Democratic Youth (er, Young Adult) Movement Arrives

• MPR News: Duluth man walks up to 12 miles a day checking in on people living on the streets

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