NJ-11 goes down to the wire
Late ballots are still being counted in New Jersey’s 11th District, where a razor-thin Democratic primary between Tom Malinowski and Analilia Mejia remains too close to call.
Today in Congress
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! 👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! In the special Democratic primary to replace Gov. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey’s 11th District, the contest between former Rep. Tom Malinowski and progressive activist Analilia Mejia remains too close to call, with both candidates well ahead of the rest of the 11-person field and the margin within fractions of a point as votes continue to be tallied. Mejia has shown late strength in in-person returns after Malinowski led on early mail ballots, and with uncounted ballots still outstanding in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, party and election officials say neither side has clinched the nomination. The Democratic nominee will face Republican Joe Hathaway in the April 16 special general election to fill the seat through the end of the current Congress.
Happenings
All times Eastern.
The House and Senate are out.
President Donald Trump will sign executive orders at 3 p.m. in the Oval Office before departing the White House en route to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend.
Trump will meet with the president of Honduras on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. He will attend a Super Bowl watch party on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. before returning to the White House.
In the Know
— Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) forced a floor showdown by seeking unanimous consent on legislation that would allow the Senate to sue the Department of Justice for failing to release the full, unredacted Epstein files as required by law—a request Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) blocked. Schumer called the move a “moment of truth” for Senate Republicans and accused the Trump Justice Department of openly defying the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act, which mandated full disclosure by mid-December last year. The failed request effectively shields the administration from immediate legal action and keeps the files sealed as Democrats escalate pressure over compliance, transparency, and congressional authority.
— Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is launching an investigation into what he calls corporate welfare embedded in President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” targeting Walmart, Kroger, Dollar General, and Dollar Tree. Sanders says the companies stand to reap major tax breaks while paying wages so low that tens of thousands of their workers rely on Medicaid and SNAP—costs borne by taxpayers even as Republicans enact historic cuts to those same programs. In letters to retailers, Sanders demanded disclosures on how much they expect to gain from the tax law and whether any of the savings will reach workers, while arguing that it’s unacceptable for highly profitable corporations to enrich executives and shareholders while public assistance props up their workforce.
— Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Reps. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) introduced legislation aimed at strengthening the nation’s strained mental health workforce by creating new career pipelines for students. The Mental Health Career Promotion Act would establish a grant program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to support high schools and community colleges in partnering with local providers to expose students to careers in behavioral and mental health care through coursework, mentorship, and hands-on training. The proposal comes as lawmakers warn that shortages of qualified providers—especially as youth mental health needs surge—are leaving millions without access to care.
— Democratic Women’s Caucus members pressed the Trump administration to scrap a proposed child care rule they warn would raise costs for families and destabilize an already fragile care system. Led by Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), and Lateefah Simon (D-Calif.), along with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), 23 caucus members urged the Department of Health and Human Services to withdraw a rule that would undo key protections in the 2024 Child Care and Development Fund regulations, including a cap limiting family copayments to 7% of household income. The lawmakers argued the rollback would make child care less affordable, weaken financial stability for providers, and further strain a workforce made up largely of underpaid women, women of color, and immigrants.
— Reps. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Kim Schrier (D-Wash.) secured a Government Accountability Office study examining the public health, equity, and economic consequences of eliminating the universal hepatitis B birth-dose vaccine recommendation. The review follows a December vote by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices—appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—to roll back the long-standing guidance. GAO will assess potential increases in infant infections and long-term disease, disproportionate impacts on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, and downstream costs to Medicaid, Medicare, and families, as Democrats scrutinize the scientific basis and decision-making behind the recommendation change.
— Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced bipartisan legislation to strengthen cross-border tourism with Canada and Mexico amid declining international travel to the U.S. The USMCA Travel and Tourism Resiliency Act would direct the U.S. Trade Representative to push for a dedicated Travel and Tourism Trade Working Group during the upcoming USMCA joint review, elevating an industry that generated $1.3 trillion in exports and supported more than 15 million U.S. jobs in 2024 but has seen sharp drops in international visitors—particularly from Canada. The bill is backed by the U.S. Travel Association, which says formal coordination could help reduce travel barriers and boost North American competitiveness.
— A new report from Future Caucus warns that rising safety risks, financial strain, and outdated legislative systems are pushing young state lawmakers out of office—threatening the long-term representativeness of state legislatures. Based on interviews and surveys with 89 Democratic and Republican lawmakers across 31 states, the data finds that inadequate pay, weak institutional support, and growing concerns about political violence are making public service increasingly unsustainable. Future Caucus says the problem isn’t disengagement but abandonment, arguing that young officials are left to fend for themselves once elected—a dynamic that risks legislatures becoming less diverse, less functional, and less reflective of the communities they serve.
Read All About It
“Inside the ICE forum where agents complain about their jobs” by Vittoria Elliott: “‘I’m all for removing illegals, but snatching dudes off lawn mowers in Cali and leaving the truck and equipment just sitting there? Definitely not working smarter,’ writes one forum user.”
“The intellectual edgelords of the GOP” by Laura K. Field: “The mainstreaming of transgressive ideas is the culmination of a yearslong conservative project.”
“Welcome to the resistance, public school parents” by Jessica Grose: “School communities are central to organizing against federal harassment.”