February 4th, 2026
In this edition
| [1] | INTERVIEW: Rep. Bryan Steil pitches comprehensive election reforms | | [2] | Heard on the Hill | | [3] | SCOOP: Trump administration rolls Trump Accounts out as "the antidote to socialism" | | [4] | SCOOP: Montana Senate race heats up with ad campaign, site launch focused on Bodnar's Democratic ties | | [5] | SCOOP: DNI explains how election integrity, data security a core, statutory part of its mission | | [6] | SCOOP: Sen. Ted Cruz's legislation, Trump Accounts, rolled out by Trump and Bessent | | [7] | SCOOP: GOP heads into midterms flush with cash across outside groups | | [8] | OPINIONATED: Rep. John Faso on the problems with the current proposed ban on congressional stock trading |
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| [1] | INTERVIEW: Rep. Bryan Steil pitches comprehensive election reforms
By: Matthew Foldi
Rep. Bryan Steil (R., Wis.) wants to Make Elections Great Again, and as the chair of the House Committee on Administration, he's set about doing that by unveiling the Make Elections Great Again (MEGA) Act — a "comprehensive election integrity reform package that lays out a series of reforms that are needed to improve the operations of U.S. elections, and in particular, reinstill Americans' trust in our elections," he explained during an interview with the Washington Reporter.
This bill follows years of Steil trying to reform American election systems and "jurisdictions that poorly administer their elections."
Election integrity has been a longstanding priority of President Donald Trump, and Steil said that he "worked closely with the Trump administration as we were drafting this legislation to make sure that we were working hand in glove in a unified government on what's actually needed to strengthen America's election system."
"We've incorporated in this legislation the president's executive orders as they relate to elections," Steil added, "and it's my belief that passing this legislatively, rather than simply through executive orders, is essential so that future administrations can't unwind many of these really important reforms."
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[2] |
Heard on the Hill
- ANOTHER JOHNSON WIN: In what Rep. Virginia Foxx (R., N.C.) called "another big win for Speaker Mike Johnson✨," House Republicans voted to end another government shutdown.
- BICAMERAL SHARIA BAN: Sen. Tommy Tuberville joined Rep. Keith Self (R., Texas), Rep. Chip Roy (R, Texas) and other members of the Sharia-Free America caucus to sound alarm on rise of Sharia law in America during a press conference today.
- TRUMP ADMIN VS. BDS: Leo Terrell, the Chair of the Department of Justice's (DOJ) Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, forcefully rejected an anti-Semitic proposal at the University of Nebraska to boycott Israel. "Antisemitism has NO place on college campuses. I'm calling on the student government at the University of Nebraska to VOTE NO on the antisemitic BDS resolution pushed by SJP, a group that has celebrated attacks by terrorist organizations and is now targeting AMERICAN companies through its BDS campaign."
- GEORGIA SHAKEUP: Businessman Rick Jackson just threw his hat in the race for Georgia governor with an ad obtained exclusively by the Washington Reporter that takes aim at Brad Raffensperger, comparing Georgia's GOP Secretary of State to "Judas." Jackson announced plans to immediately pour $40 million of his own money into his campaign.
- TIME FOR A REBUILD: A Trump Kennedy Center insider spoke with the Washington Reporter about the coverage of how the center will shut down for at most two years to complete full-scale renovations. "Trump is cleaning up the massive mess left by Dems who were running this place," the source explained. "He is temporarily closing it bc the building reached a breaking point (literally)."
- BIRTHDAY SHOUTOUT: Happy Birthday to Rep. Claudia Tenney (R., N.Y.), friend of the Washington Reporter and conservative leader serving the great upstate New York.
| | | [3] | SCOOP: Trump administration rolls Trump Accounts out as "the antidote to socialism"
By: Matthew Foldi
Trump Accounts are the "antidote to socialism," the administration lauded at a star-studded event where everyone from President Donald Trump to Nicki Minaj discussed how the accounts will revolutionize savings for millions of newly-born Americans.
Brad Gerstner, a Hoosier venture capitalist who was one of the originators of the idea, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), helped kick off the summit, describing the accounts as the opposite of universal basic income.
Trump Accounts, which were a key component of the GOP's One Big, Beautiful Bill (OBBB), are new government savings accounts available for children born between 2025 and 2028, to which parents, businesses, and philanthropies can contribute thousands of dollars. The accounts are invested in low-cost index funds for future use, and can only be accessed by the holders once they turn 18.
The Trump Accounts launch was praised by financial experts in and out of the government. Jonathan Gould, the Comptroller of Currency and finance veteran, told the Washington Reporter that "President Trump and Secretary [Scott] Bessent are revolutionizing the financial future of the next generation of Americans. Trump Accounts provide a pathway for every individual to invest in our nation's competitive marketplace and take part in American prosperity."
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[4] |
SCOOP: Montana Senate race heats up with ad campaign, site launch focused on Bodnar's Democratic ties
By: Matthew Foldi
Montana's sleepy Senate race is heating up as Republicans take aim at a potential independent candidate who hasn't even launched a campaign yet.
A new site, "BOTH WAYS BODNAR," launched — and Republicans are texting the microsite to voters and launching a statewide ad campaign. One Montana political veteran told the Washington Reporter that the site "is getting texted to every R voter in MT." The newly-launched website, paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), relies on the Reporter's latest coverage of the race.
Seth Bodnar, the now-former president of the University of Montana, is likely to run for Senate against Sen. Steve Daines (R., Mont.) as an independent. The Reporter previously covered how Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and ousted Sen. Jon Tester (D., Mont.) are closely involved in Bodnar's efforts. Bodnar's extensive ties to Democrats would likely still sink his bid in the conservative state.
| | | [5] | SCOOP: DNI explains how election integrity, data security a core, statutory part of its mission
By: Matthew Foldi
Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard's recent trip to Fulton County, Georgia, focusing on election integrity efforts is in line with the DNI's responsibilities, a spokesperson explained to the Washington Reporter, following Gabbard's trip.
In one of President Donald Trump's first cabinet meetings of his second term, Gabbard explained the "long list of things that we're investigating," with "election integrity being one of them. We have evidence of how these electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time and vulnerable to exploitation, to manipulate the results of the votes being cast."
Shortly after those remarks, she noted that the DNI is continuing "our extensive investigations around exposing the very serious issues we have related to election integrity, illegal abuses of FISA, Crossfire Hurricane, and others."
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The App Store "Accountability" Act strips away your choice, forcing app stores to share your child's personal information with apps.
Tell Congress to keep parents in control of their families online.
Learn more at netchoice.org/keepappstoressafe |
| [6] | SCOOP: Sen. Ted Cruz's legislation, Trump Accounts, rolled out by Trump and Bessent
By: Matthew Foldi
President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hosted Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.), Sens. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and Katie Britt (R., Ala.), Gov. Brad Little (R., Idaho), Rep. Jason Smith (R., Mo.), Brad Gerstner, Michael Dell, Kevin O'Leary, Nicki Minaj, and others at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium for a summit on Trump Accounts, which were a key component of the One Big, Beautiful Bill that Cruz worked extensively on.
Trump Accounts are historic investment accounts for American children that are now law thanks to Cruz's successful push to include them in the OBBB last year.
From the summit's main stage, Cruz explained how the idea came to be. "Brad [Gerstner] got on a plane, flew from Silicon Valley to D.C., pitched the idea to me, I said ‘I love it.' We drafted the legislation, that is what is in the bill — that idea that came from a 2 A.M. poker game with Phil Hellmuth." | | | | [7] | SCOOP: GOP heads into midterms flush with cash across outside groups
By: Matthew Foldi
As both parties brace for November's midterm elections, the GOP has outraised Democrats when it comes to money raised by party committees, super PACs, and with candidates, according to both parties' latest campaign finance records.
Republicans have just shy of $1 billion across organizations like the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), and the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), combined with other outside groups in the Trump orbit.
The GOP's standard party committees raised over half a billion dollars in 2025; when combining what elections analyst Rob Pyers calculated as the "$385 million or so more spread across the Trump SuperPAC, leadership PACs, and joint fundraising committees" of the president's orbit, the GOP is flush with cash as it attempts to defy historical trends and maintain its narrow control of both houses of Congress. | |
[8] |
OPINIONATED
Op-Ed: Rep. John Faso: The proposed congressional stock trading ban isn't the answer
By: Rep. John Faso
A few short weeks ago, everything seemed like smooth sailing for the proposed congressional stock trading ban, the Stop Insider Trading Act, which was on track to pass with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Then, last week, some members jumped ship, claiming that the bill didn't go far enough. It still ultimately cleared the committee on a party-line vote.
The bill will thus soon be considered by the full House. It would prohibit members of Congress, their spouses, and their dependent children from purchasing publicly traded stocks. Members would still be able to keep stock assets in investment and retirement funds holding broad categories of financial assets, but they would not be able to trade individual stocks. Most Americans support such restrictions.
Members have voiced several objections, including that the bill would allow lawmakers to keep stocks they already own. | |
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