Bowman’s “no-brainer”
Plus: Viva la vote-a-rama, Patel gets the top FBI gig, McConnell says sayonara and the House Dems’ hefty campaign haul.
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! Welcome back to Once Upon a Hill. The IRS cut more than 6,000 jobs today … in the middle of tax season.
On another note, where my White Lotus fans at? Here’s a profile of Mike White, the hit show’s creator, to hold you over until Sunday’s episode drops.
Now, onto the news…
1. Exclusive: Bowman’s “no-brainer” next project
First things first: Former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said the decision to host a new monthly show with former Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) for the progressive media company Zeteo required little consideration.
“Cori is my sister. I love her. We’ve been in the trenches together. We’re both battle-tested. We fought the fight together. We came in together,” Bowman told me during a phone interview this afternoon after announcing the show. “And so the relationship is super close. And when it was brought to my attention that Zeteo might be interested in doing something with us, it was a no-brainer.”
In the know: The former two-term congressman told me he and Bush would share stories from their time in office, some of which he said people would be hearing for the first time.
“We also have stories as it relates to our time running for office as well—what it's like to navigate the space of PACs and super PACs and big money and politics, and how all of that absolutely corrupts our democracy.”
The ultimate goal of the show? “We hope to pull back the curtain a little bit just to give people an inside look at our experiences there, and what we learned, and who’s real and who’s fake in that place.”
Bowman credited Zeteo, which was founded by former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan a year ago, with having the courage to showcase two lightning rods, namely, him and Bush.
“They have the vision, they have the brilliance and the expertise. Their team is amazing. And in terms of political alignment, the political alignment is there,” he said. “I think this space gives us the opportunity to really push the envelope and push the conversations we need to have as it relates to our democracy, as it relates to the Democratic Party, as it relates to so many other issues.”
In his own words: Although he’s only officially been a private citizen for a couple of months, Bowman said being an outsider has advantages.
“When you’re in it, you're like, stuck, almost polarized, observing and navigating the trees. But when you're out of it, you just kind of take a 30,000 foot view and really see the forest and the trees simultaneously,” he told me. “And so that’s what it’s been like, man. It’s kind of been seeing the arc and trajectory of what we were warning against, which is white supremacy, Nazism, big money in politics, the privatization of our government, all manifesting now in real time.”
Bowman namechecked several House progressives as effectively resisting the most harmful and extreme elements of Trump 2.0 as the broader Democratic brand faces an identity crisis in the wake of the 2024 election:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.)
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.)
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (Texas)
Rep. Greg Casar (Texas)
Rep. Robert Garcia (Calif.)
“I just want to do whatever I can and use my platform and my voice to continue to fight with my colleagues who are out there fighting.”
While much of the fight may be waged in Washington, Bowman also has his eye closer to home. New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s future hangs in the balance after President Donald Trump’s Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors to drop bribery and fraud charges and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations against him.
“It’s an absolute disgrace,” he said. “His deputy mayors are resigning. These are the people who have been most loyal to him throughout his entire tenure. So if they're stepping down, who’s going to step in now?”
Allow me to explain: Bowman and Bush share the distinction as the first two members of the left-wing coalition known as “the Squad” to lose their primary elections last year.
They each had their liabilities—Bowman with his fire alarm scandal and Bush with her vote against the 2021 infrastructure bill—but were also targets of the Israel lobby for their calls for a ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) contributed $14.5 million to support Bowman’s challenger, Rep. George Latimer (D-N.Y.), in US history’s most expensive House primary. Bush was up against $9 million from AIPAC to her now-successor, Rep. Wesley Bell (D-Mo.).
See for yourself: The trailer of Bowman and Bush
Read all about it: “Cori Bush has something to say”: “In an exit interview with Once Upon a Hill, the two-term congresswoman dishes on Trump’s return to Washington, the collapse of Build Back Better, the war in Gaza and her AIPAC-backed successor.”
2. The Senate vote-a-rama is upon us
First things first: Before Senate Republicans can adopt a budget plan that paves the way to enact President Trump’s border security and energy agenda, they’ll have to endure a marathon series of dicey amendment votes proposed by Democrats to put vulnerable GOP senators on record.
In the know: The session is known as a vote-a-rama. Since any senator can introduce an amendment without a time limit, it’s expected to extend into early Friday morning.
Democrats are expected to put Republicans on defense with amendments highlighting three issues:
The GOP’s plans to extend tax cuts for wealthy individuals and big corporations.
The proposed disinvestments in popular federal social programs to offset the cost of those tax cuts.
The Trump administration’s unilateral termination of government agencies and freeze on congressionally appropriated funding.
“Democrats are going to hold the floor all day long—and all night long—to expose how Republicans want to cut taxes for billionaires while gutting things Americans care about most: health care, jobs, public safety, national security, housing, education,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a floor speech this morning. “Days like today—where we vote on amendments late into the night—go a long way to revealing where each party stands and who each party is fighting for.
Allow me to explain: It’s unlikely that any of the amendments will succeed. And Republicans don’t need Democratic votes to adopt their budget plan, thanks to a wonky process called “reconciliation.”
But the point is to inflict political pain on Republicans and show weary Democratic voters, activists and donors that they’re holding the GOP accountable with the few legislative tools at their disposal.
The elephant in the room: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.C.) proceeded with the vote-a-rama even though Trump dismissed the Senate GOP’s plan on Wednesday to break the president’s agenda, which also includes tax policy, into two bills.
Thune’s strategy was designed to deliver Trump an immediate legislative win he could take to the American people while lawmakers work through the complexities of extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts and passing new ones on tipped income, overtime pay and Social Security benefits.
House Republican leadership’s plan squeezes the president’s priorities into one bill. It remains to be seen if the House would take up the Senate’s first bill if it ever reached the chamber.
What’s next: Once the vote-a-rama is completed, the Senate will vote on the budget plan.
If adopted, relevant committees will write legislation to match the budget plan’s instructions. Several more procedural steps, including another vote-a-rama, will follow this.
When it returns from recess, the House is expected to vote on its budget blueprint next week.
Read all about it: “A guide to the big tax fight that’s consuming Washington right now”
3. Trump gets his FBI pick
First things first: The Senate voted to confirm Kash Patel as FBI director after he cleared his final procedural hurdle this morning.
Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) were the only two Republicans who opposed the nomination, along with all Democrats.
The final tally was 51–49.
What it means: Patel is the last of four controversial Trump nominees to be confirmed, following Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who voted against Hegseth, Kennedy and Gabbard, supported Patel’s confirmation.
The other side: Democrats fiercely lobbied against Patel from the moment Trump picked him to lead the nation’s top law enforcement agency. Many pointed to his involvement in creating Project 2025 and their belief he’ll politicize the FBI to President Trump’s benefit.
4. McConnell calls it quits
First things first: Sen. McConnell celebrated his 83rd birthday in dramatic fashion: He announced he will not seek reelection in 2026.
“My current term in the Senate will be last,” he said from the Senate floor before receiving a standing ovation.
What it means: Though the announcement is significant, it’s not all that surprising. It comes amid recent health concerns, including several falls and episodes of freezing during speeches that have prompted discussions about his retirement.
McConnell will retire from the Senate as the longest-serving party leader in US history.
He will leave a legacy defined by his steadfast commitment to blocking President Barack Obama’s legislative priorities. This included refusing to hold hearings on Merrick Garland’s Supreme Court nomination in 2016 and leading the confirmation of three Supreme Court nominees during the first Trump presidency, entrenching a conservative supermajority for the next generation.
His shrewd political instincts and preference for party unity over personal ideology helped remake the GOP in the image of Trump, even though he despises the man.
In the know: The race to fill his seat is expected to be competitive.
Former Republican Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron declared his candidacy soon after McConnell’s announcement. Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) said he’s strongly considering a campaign for the seat.
Republicans can sigh with relief: Popular Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear won’t be running.
“Republicans were already facing a difficult Senate map and now another open seat has created an additional defensive headache for them,” David Bergstein, a spokesperson for the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, said in a statement.
The last time a Democrat won a Senate seat in Kentucky was in 1992 when incumbent Sen. Wendell Ford was re-elected to his fourth and final term.
What’s next: McConnell, a longtime defense hawk, said he would focus on national security and preserving constitutional order for the duration of his term.
5. DCCC kicks off year with $9.2 million haul
First things first: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the House Democrats’ campaign arm, raised $9.2 million in January.
What it means: It’s the committee’s best-ever off-year fundraising total for the month as House Democrats look to flip the House next year after holding Republicans to the narrowest majority in nearly a century in 2024.
In the know: House Democrats have homed in on a GOP attack strategy focused on the economy as Trump’s poll numbers on the issue have softened.
They also could use the upcoming government funding deadline next month to force Republican concessions in exchange for their votes.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also established a rapid response and litigation task force to oppose the Trump administration’s executive actions.
By the numbers: The Cook Political Report rates 18 House seats as toss-ups on the 2026 map.
Democrats hold 10.
Republicans hold the other eight seats.
The current party breakdown is 218 Republicans to 215 Democrats, with two vacancies.