Washington Reporter The media misses the mark in attacking SSA’s Frank
Bisignano, Rep. Stephanie Bice posts a huge quarter, more bad news for Roy
Cooper, and more! The media misses the mark in attacking SSA’s Frank Bisignano,
Rep. Stephanie Bice posts a huge quarter, more bad news for Roy Cooper, and
more! ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

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July 23rd, 2026


In This Edition

[1] INTERVIEW: House Republicans discuss the “Bolshevik takeover” of the
Democratic Party
[2] Heard on the Hill
[3] EDITORIAL: A bizarre attack on Frank Bisignano misses the mark
[4] EXCLUSIVE: Senate GOP poll shows voters aware and concerned about
Democrats’ socialist turn
[5] EXCLUSIVE: Graham Platner remains liability for top Democrats
[6] EXCLUSIVE: Trump-endorsed Rep. Stephanie Bice in historic position ahead
of general election
[7] EXCLUSIVE: Trio of brutal sex criminals among the 3,500 criminals Roy
Cooper released early from prison
[8] SCOOP: Movement builds for “nonpartisan” legislation to end government
shutdowns for good
[9] OPINIONATED: Ashley Baker on the latest European Union overreach

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1 INTERVIEW House Republicans discuss the “Bolshevik takeover” of the
Democratic Party By: Matthew Foldi While history is on the Democrats’ side as
they aim to flip both the House and Senate in November, one of the top assets
the Republican Party has is the crop of candidates that Democrats are
nominating across America.

For both House and Senate Republicans, the influx of avowed socialists who
are winning primaries from coast to coast is nothing short of electoral jet
fuel. TheWashington Reporter previously reported
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that a GrayHouse poll viewed by Senate Republicans found that voters across
America have major reservations about the Democratic Socialist agenda that is
becoming the face of the Democratic Party.

But the GOP’s excitement goes beyond the Senate GOP’s polling, which
additionally found that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — an avowed
Democratic Socialist — is one of the most representative figures of the
Democratic Party, trailing only President Barack Obama and Vice President
Kamala Harris in who voters think is most representative of the Democratic
Party.

In a series of interviews with the Reporter, thirteen House Republicans
expressed everything from concern for America’s future due to the far left’s
success to exuberance at how toxic the Democratic Socialists of America’s (DSA)
agenda is. TheReporter conducted the interviews at the latest House GOP media
row hosted by Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich.). Finish Reading →
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2 HEARD ON THE HILL Heard on the Hill BIPARTISAN WIN: Rep. August Pfluger’s
(R., Texas) bipartisan bill that would combat illicit xylazine made it out of
the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Pfluger introduced the legislation
along with Reps. Jimmy Panetta (D., Calif.), Gus Bilirakis (R., Fla.), Chris
Pappas (D., N.H.), Scott Fitzgerald (R., Wis.), and Deborah Ross (D., N.C.).
The Senate version was introduced by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) and
Catherine Cortez Masto (D., Nev.). ELECTION 101: Kalshi launched a midterm hub,
which currently gives Republicans a 56 percent chance of maintaining the
Senate. “Prediction markets don’t care about spin or partisanship. They cut
through polarization and show you what the wisdom of the crowds actually
believes, backed by real money, not rhetoric,” Tarek Mansour, the co-founder
and CEO of Kalshi, said. “That kind of clarity is rare right now and that’s
what people are getting with the Midterms Hub.” MESSAGE DELIVERED: Sen. Ron
Johnson (R., Wis.) brought a simple message to his latest interview with
Punchbowl. Grace Carnathan, Johnson’s communications director, posted a picture
of Johnson with his report, “Unmasked: How Biden Health Officials Purposely
Turned a Blind Eye Toward COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Signals,” outside of the
Punchbowl office. AIR WAVES REINFORCEMENTS: Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Mich.)
is getting backup from GLFC, which is out with a new ad praising him for his
common sense, and contrasting it with the failures of Democratic leadership in
Michigan. “Common sense. Built in Michigan. Mike Rogers,” it says. INSIDE THE
PRAYER BREAKFAST: Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.) hosted South Carolina’s annual
Prayer Breakfast. Carly Moran was in the room, and her takeaways from it are
that it’s important to “tell someone you love them”; “reach out to who you
disagree with”; and to “let the love of God guide your steps.” DINNER WITH THE
MCCORMICKS: Sen. Dave McCormick (R., Pa.) and his wife, Dina Powell McCormick,
hosted a star-studded dinner at their Georgetown home, featuring Newsmax CEO
Chris Ruddy, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, CIA Director
John Ratcliffe, Tony Sayegh, Rep. Barry Moore (R., Ala.), Nick Luna, Cliff
Sims, Arthur Schwartz, and Taylor Budowich. TO THE ADMIN: Parker Armstrong is
now the Deputy Booking Director at the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS). Armstrong was a longtime vet of Rep. Erin Houchin’s (R., Ind.) office.
HIGH STAKES IN MICHIGAN: Rep. Shri Thanedar (D., Mich.) is one of several
Democratic incumbents facing a DSA-backed challenger. Should Thanedar lose,
Callie Strock with Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R., La.) office noted that it would
be a huge blow to the bipartisan Congressional Sneaker Caucus. NEW ROLE: Tatum
Wallace joined Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R., Ark.) office as his new communications
director. Wallace will also be comms director for the Senate Intelligence
Committee. She is an alum most recently of Sen. John Cornyn’s (R., Texas)
office. HAPPY BIRTHDAYS: The Washington Reporter wants to wish happy birthdays
to Morgan Impink, Lauren Bryan, Samantha Feigelson, and Lacey Bowersox happy
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3 EDITORIAL A bizarre attack on Frank Bisignano misses the mark By: Washington
Reporter Editors The Washington Reporter generally doesn’t critique other
outlets’ reporting. We’ll make an exception.

NOTUS questioned
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whether Social Security Commissioner Frank Bisignano crossed an ethical line by
sending agency employees chocolate-covered pretzels from his daughter’s company.

The article first quotes an ethics critic suggesting there may be a problem.
Only several paragraphs later does it disclose the key fact: no agency funds or
staff were used, and the gifts were reviewed and cleared through the agency’s
ethics process.

That should have been the lead. Had it been, the story’s premise would have
disappeared. In fact, the story doesn’t even make sense. Finish Reading →
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4 EXCLUSIVE Senate GOP poll shows voters aware and concerned about Democrats’
socialist turn By: Washington Reporter Editors A new national poll conducted
for the Senate Republican Conference, chaired by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and
shared exclusively with theWashington Reporter, finds voters have deep
reservations about the Democratic Socialist agenda that is fast becoming the
face of the Democratic party.

The survey of 1,280 registered voters, conducted by the firm GrayHouse, shows
the Democratic brand being defined by the far left, and independents strongly
oppose the policies that have been embraced by Democrats.

When voters were asked who is most representative of the Democratic Party
today, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the self-described socialist, ranked
third, trailing only Barack Obama and Kamala Harris and outpacing figures like
Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Among Democrats themselves,
Mamdani again placed third as the face of their party.

A senior Senate source told the Reporter that Senator Cotton will be sharing
the results with the Republican Conference and encouraging members to speak out
about the Democrats’ radical positions. The Senate Republican Conference is the
leading communications office for the Republican Senators, and is responsible
for coordinating messaging and supporting each Senate Office in its public
outreach work. Finish Reading →
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5 EXCLUSIVE Graham Platner remains liability for top Democrats By: Matthew
Foldi As Democrats prepare to swap Graham Platner out with Troy Jackson in the
Maine Senate race, their Platner problems are poised to extend well beyond the
the Pine Tree State, according to campaign finance records obtained by the
Washington Reporter.

Jackson himself was one of Platner’s top allies during the latter’s
scandal-plagued Senate campaign. Both Democrats frequently appeared alongside
each other, and both were endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.). Jackson’s
ties to Platner are expected to dog him through November’s election against
Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine).

But Jackson isn’t the only Democrat Platner remains closely tied to;
Platner’s most recent fundraising report, filed with the Federal Elections
Commission (FEC) shows that top Democrats and their leadership PACs stood with
Platner until the waning days of his campaign. The Democratic Senatorial
Campaign Committee (DSCC) donated $62,000 to Platner’s campaign, for example.

During his failed Senate campaign, Platner pushed the state’s governor, Janet
Mills, to suspend her campaign in the face of overwhelming support he received
from the state’s Democratic voters throughout the process. Finish Reading →
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6 EXCLUSIVE Trump-endorsed Rep. Stephanie Bice in historic position ahead of
general election By: Matthew Foldi Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.) is in a
historically strong position heading into November’s general election. The
Donald Trump-endorsed incumbent explained to the Washington Reporter that,
between her cash on hand and Trump’s support, she is well-positioned to keep
“all 77 [Oklahoma] counties red.”

“When I first opened my campaign office, I called President Trump to
introduce him to my amazing volunteers and staff,” Bice explained. “I’m honored
to have the endorsement of the president and know Oklahomans are excited to
vote for candidates who will fight to keep our border secure and maintain
Oklahoma’s vital energy sector.”

Bice, who previously explained in an interview with the Reporter why the
Trump agenda is critical to American energy security, is one of the most
reliable votes in Congress for the Trump agenda, which she has millions of
dollars to defend heading into November.

Bice’s latest campaign finance reports show the lawmaker with over $2 million
in cash on hand, which is over $600,000 more than she had two years ago. And
Bice has the support of Oklahoma leaders as she heads into a matchup against
Jena Nelson, which she is expected to easily prevail. Finish Reading →
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7 EXCLUSIVE Trio of brutal sex criminals among the 3,500 criminals Roy Cooper
released early from prison By: Matthew Foldi Former Gov. Roy Cooper (D., N.C.)
has been under fire since launching his Senate campaign for what his critics
view as his soft-on-crime record as Governor of North Carolina.

For months, GOP organizations, like the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) have
spotlighted Cooper’s “Felon Friday”; another trio of sex criminals is the
latest that Republicans are using to argue that Cooper should not be elected to
the Senate.

As governor, Cooper worked with activist groups to expedite the release of
over 3,500 criminals — among that group were murderers, rapists, and
pedophiles; 51 of them had been serving life sentences. The most high-profile
of them was DeCarlos Brown Jr., who murdered Iryna Zarutska on public
transportation in Charlotte, North Carolina.

But Brown is far from alone in posing a problem to Cooper politically and to
the public safety of North Carolinians. While Cooper claimed that “each and
every case” of clemency was vetted, another trio — that of David Wayne White,
Carlos D. McCombs, and Kenny Purcell Green — is another liability. Finish
Reading →
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8 SCOOP Movement builds for “nonpartisan” legislation to end government
shutdowns for good By: Matthew Foldi A bipartisan group of lawmakers is
scoring backup for its push to end government shutdowns once and for all, as
one of its leaders testifies on the Hill about the need for the legislation.

As Sen. James Lankford (R., Okla.) testified to the House Appropriations
Committee before Reps. Tom Cole (R., Okla.) and Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.),
groups ranging from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to
the Bipartisan Policy Center Action to Americans for Prosperity to the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters to Americans for Tax Reform back his
bipartisan, bicameral, bill.

“Very simply, if we get to the end of a fiscal year and appropriations are
not complete, an automatic continuing resolution kicks in, but Members of
Congress and the White House Office of Management and Budget have to remain in
Washington, D.C., in session, seven days a week,” Lankford noted. “During that
time, Congress cannot move to legislation other than appropriations bills until
we finish our work.” He added that a recent poll found that over 80 percent of
respondents support his proposal, which he described as “nonpartisan.”

The groups backing the bill, which range from public sector unions to
conservative free market advocates, does not agree on much. But, in the face of
what Teamsters President Sean O’Brien described as “increasingly commonplace”
government shutdowns, Lankford and his colleagues — Sen. Maggie Hassan (D.,
N.H.) and Reps. Jodey Arrington (R., Texas) and Jimmy Panetta (D., Calif.) —
want to change that. Finish Reading →
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9 OPINIONATED
Op-Ed: Ashley Baker: Brussels reaches into the server racks By: Ashley Baker
This week, 25 Republican lawmakers urged
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President Donald Trump to open trade investigations into the European Union’s
(EU) “anti-competitive acts, policies, and practices” of “economic extraction
and regulatory coercion against American firms.” Their letter specifically
cited the European Commission’s effort
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to single out Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure for “gatekeeper”
treatment under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), warning that subjecting both
companies to the DMA would impose “unprecedented regulatory burdens that
European and Chinese cloud competitors would not face.”

The Republican lawmakers are right. Last month, I argued
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inThe Center Square that Europe’s digital rulebook constrains American
technology firms without democratic accountability and that Washington should
be prepared to respond. The proposed gatekeeper designations of AWS and Azure
supply the clearest illustration of this pattern.

The Commission has yet to issue a final decision, but its reasoning is
already indefensible. Finish Reading →
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