EXCLUSIVE: CBC puts 2028 hopefuls on notice
Plus: Crockett on her viral launch video, Instacart pushes back after Schumer seeks an FTC review, why OBBBA’s rural health fund falls short and a congressman’s response to the Brown shooting.
Lawmakers returned to the Capitol this evening against a backdrop of domestic and international horrors that have left the nation and world grappling with unthinkable loss during what’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.
ICYMI, here’s a solemn summation of the trio of tragedies:
BROWN UNIVERSITY SHOOTING: A mass shooting on the campus of the Providence, Rhode Island, Ivy League school during a final-exam review left two students dead and nine others wounded, many of whom remain in critical or stable condition. Law enforcement initially detained a person of interest but later released him and the suspected gunman remains at large.
BONDI BEACH SHOOTING: Two gunmen, believed to be a father and son, opened fire on the crowd at Archer Park near Bondi Beach in Australia, killing at least 15 people—including a child and several community figures—and injuring more than 40 others in what authorities have described as an antisemitic terrorist attack. The older suspect was killed by police and the younger was critically wounded and taken into custody. A bystander disarmed one of the shooters in the midst of the chaos, and police later found improvised explosive devices that failed to detonate.
REINER HOMICIDE: Film director Rob and his wife, MICHELE SINGER REINER, were found dead Sunday afternoon inside their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home in what police have called an apparent homicide (both suffered fatal stab wounds). Los Angeles police arrested the couple’s 32-year-old son, NICK REINER, on suspicion of murder. He is being held in custody with bail set at $4 million, though formal charges are pending.
President DONALD TRUMP reacted to the Reiner deaths on Truth Social with a message that falsely suggested that the couple’s deaths were connected to what he repeatedly called “Trump Derangement Syndrome.” Several House Republicans publicly pushed back against Trump’s characterization of the Reiner deaths as inappropriate and insensitive, but the president later doubled down in the Oval Office.
Democrats have spent the better part of the past year arguing that Trump is an egomaniac more invested in himself than in the Americans he promised to lead into a new “Golden Age.” Posts like his Truth Social message only reinforce that case and in a moment that called for basic restraint. My thoughts are with the families, loved ones and communities grieving the lives lost at Brown University and Bondi Beach, and with those mourning the Reiners, as they navigate unimaginable loss and begin the long process of healing.
Here’s what Congress Nerds need to know tonight:
CBC puts 2028 hopefuls on notice
Crockett dishes on that viral campaign launch video
Instacart denies using dynamic pricing after Schumer seeks FTC review
OBBBA’s rural health fund too little to offset Medicaid cuts
How Brown University’s congressman responded to mass shooting
FIRST IN CONGRESS NERD: The Congressional Black Caucus is already thinking ahead to 2028 and quietly tracking how potential presidential hopefuls engage with its priorities, according to a Democratic operative close to the group.
The operative, whom I granted anonymity to speak freely about internal dynamics, said the caucus is “keeping good notes” on where support for CBC issues and candidates shows up, signaling that members are paying attention not just to rhetoric but to consistent, tangible engagement over time.
The message, the operative added, is that this reality should inform how ambitious Democrats conduct themselves through the 2026 midterms, which are viewed internally as a proving ground. Support for CBC incumbents, responsiveness during high-stakes moments, and a willingness to show up beyond safe or symbolic gestures are expected to factor into the caucus’s political calculus as the next presidential cycle unfolds.
Democrats are staring at a crowded, factional primary in 2028 rather than a clean heir-apparent situation. The field is likely to include multiple governors running on executive competence and post-Trump normalcy, at least one high-profile senator with national security or economic credentials, and a generational lane defined by age, style, and media fluency rather than ideology- or issues-anchored candidates tied to affordability, democracy, climate or racial justice. The primary is more likely to fracture along lines of coalitions, trust, and governing instincts—especially around turnout, base mobilization and who is seen as reliable when stakes are high.
Black voters remain the most reliable Democratic voting bloc, but they are often treated as a late-cycle constituency rather than a governing partner. The CBC is trying to reset that dynamic. This early posture establishes expectations years in advance and discourages candidates from parachuting in once polls tighten. It also could winnow unserious contenders and elevate candidates who invest in real relationships.
RELATED: The CBC formally endorsed the Justice for BREONNA TAYLOR Act, renewing its push to ban no-knock warrants by prohibiting their use by federal law enforcement and conditioning federal funding for state and local police departments on compliance. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, was killed in March 2020 when Louisville police fired into her apartment while executing a late-night no-knock search warrant during a botched raid, striking her multiple times as she stood in the hallway.
Rep. MORGAN MCGARVEY (D-Ky.), Sen. RAND PAUL (R-Ky.), Sen. CORY BOOKER (D-N.J.), Rep. JASMINE CROCKETT (D-Texas) and CBC Chair YVETTE CLARKE (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the legislation last week.
“We’ve worked with her mom every step of the way on this because it’s the right thing to do,” McGarvey told me last week of Taylor’s mother, TAMIKA PALMER. “This is a bill that, of course, is born out of tragedy, but we know will actually keep everyone safe. And so it’s important to continue that work and not give up.”