👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Welcome back to Congress Nerd Daily. I hope today was everything for you. The midterms are in 21 days.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
New White House press secretary Katie Zacharia made headlines during an unusually brief first briefing this morning, announcing that President Donald Trump had asked U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign after allegations that she sought $100,000 from a Trump donor to pay a personal credit card bill.
Zacharia’s debut lasted just 14 minutes, much of it spent reading prepared remarks she occasionally stumbled through, before she took questions from only three conservative outlets. Guilfoyle subsequently confirmed her departure on X, denied the allegations and pledged to defend her reputation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) celebrated her exit, calling her “corrupt,” before asking, “Why is Pete Hegseth still around?” As I’ve reported, Democrats are eyeing the defense secretary for oversight and accountability if they reclaim the House majority.
Zacharia ended the briefing by directing reporters to ask Trump questions when he departed for Alaska, although the president was not scheduled to leave for more than an hour. The abbreviated exchange offered an early glimpse of how the new press secretary intends to handle the briefing room, including her pledge to maintain and potentially expand the Trump administration’s rotation of alternative media outlets.
Trump, meanwhile, is in the middle of a campaign swing ahead of next month’s midterms. After last night’s rally in Youngstown, Ohio, the president is scheduled to campaign in Wasilla, Alaska, this evening before traveling to Las Vegas overnight. He will hold rallies in Bullhead City, Arizona, and Kalispell, Montana, on Wednesday, according to the White House schedule.
VIEW FROM THE HILL
Georgia Democrats are confident voters will have a free and fair election next month, even as they prepare for potential interference from the Trump administration in a state whose closely contested races could help determine the balance of power in Washington.
The assurance comes as early voting begins today in Georgia, where Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) is seeking reelection and both parties are competing for the governor’s mansion. Ossoff cast his ballot this morning as Democrats urged voters to turn out early amid concerns about the administration’s intentions.
Hakeem Jeffries has declared that Democrats have assembled the largest voter-protection effort in modern American history. In an Instagram post over the weekend, he offered an unequivocal prediction: “There will be a free and fair election.”
Four Democratic officials and voting-rights advocates endorsed that confidence during a Monday press call organized by the watchdog group Try and Stop Us. But their responses to questions from Once Upon a Hill made clear that the outcome Jeffries anticipates will require considerable preparation.
“Yes, we will have free and fair elections,” state Rep. Jasmine Clark, the Democratic nominee in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, said. “But it is going to come with us preparing and doing what it takes to get us there.”
