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Emily Kennard

@emilykennard.bsky.social
854 followers 73 following 17 posts

reporting for The Washington Post formerly with The Washington Sun

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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The men’s bathroom is huge for getting quotes during House votes… so you might be hearing from a Congressman because he peed Anyway more exploration of this here: www.washingtonsun.com/congress/hou...
washingtonsun.com
The Best Place to Catch a Lawmaker? Where They Pee.
The facilities next to the lavish antechamber off the House floor are where many senior lawmakers make frequent stops.
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Dave Levinthal @davelevinthal.com · 25/09/2026
"Duly elected members of Congress are constitutionally required to be human, and all humans are biologically required to pee." Hilarious and telling story from @emilykennard.bsky.social of @washingtonsun.bsky.social: www.washingtonsun.com/congress/hou...
washingtonsun.com
The Best Place to Catch a Lawmaker? Where They Pee.
The facilities next to the lavish antechamber off the House floor are where many senior lawmakers make frequent stops.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
"Pod Save America" is in the wilderness too A media platform once criticized for being too beholden to the Democratic “establishment” now reflects the party’s existential woes for the freshly renamed @washingtonsun.bsky.social www.washingtonsun.com/media/pod-sa...
washingtonsun.com
‘Pod Save America’ Is in the Wilderness Too
A media platform once criticized for being too beholden to the Democratic “establishment” now reflects the party’s existential woes.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
INTERESTING: Rep. Seth Moulton's Wikipedia page was locked yesterday by an administrator after hours of back-and-forth edits and reversions regarding his stances on transgender policy issues
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Jose Pagliery @josepagliery.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
New from me @notus.com: We just revealed the White House has been brainstorming with prosecutors and even *the postmaster general himself* on how to restrict mail-in ballots and enforce federal voter lists. The government hasn't admitted to that in court. www.notus.org/trump-white-...
notus.org
The White House Is Meeting With DOJ, DHS and USPS About Creating Voter Lists
The timing of these discussions has the potential to affect two ongoing lawsuits brought by elections-rights advocates.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Trump posted a fake quote from Sen. John Kennedy last night, which claimed that former President Obama was part of an illegal scheme to siphon off Obamacare money. “I didn't say that. I don't know the basis of it,” Kennedy told NOTUS. www.notus.org/donald-trump...
notus.org
Trump Posted a Fake Quote Attributed to Sen. John Kennedy
“I didn't say that. I don't know the basis of it,” Kennedy told NOTUS of Trump’s Truth Social post.
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Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
New: RFK Jr. has encouraged the CDC to study whether antidepressants “contribute to mass violence.” At an event hosted by the MAHA Institute, he unveiled a plan to reduce how often they’re prescribed. www.notus.org/health-scien...
notus.org
RFK Jr. Unveils His Plan to Reduce Americans’ Reliance on Antidepressants
The department is encouraging clinicians to “de-prescribe” Medicare patients.
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Mark @markalfred.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Every election cycle, dozens of rich Americans spend millions trying to get themselves elected. They have an abysmal track record — but the candidates I spoke to insist it’s worth it to try. “This is God testing me, saying, ‘Put your money where your mouth is.’” www.notus.org/2026-electio...
notus.org
They Can Buy a Superyacht. Can They Afford a Seat in Congress?
Some rich Americans spend millions trying to get themselves elected. Most of them fail.
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Jackie Llanos @llanosjackie.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
The Trump administration views DACA recipients as deportable as any undocumented immigrant. For my latest, I talked to immigrants without permanent legal status who entered the country as children and spent months in ICE detention. www.notus.org/immigration/...
notus.org
ICE Is Detaining DACA Recipients. It's Growing Harder for Them to Get Out.
The Trump administration views DACA recipients as deportable as any undocumented immigrant.
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Anna Kramer @annackramer.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
SCOOP: The Pentagon failed to warn ships carrying supplies for the US military before starting the war in Iran. The ships got stuck in the Persian Gulf. They’re still stuck. And for a month, they were stuck w/ a group of college students — merchant marine cadets.
notus.org
U.S. Cadets Were Stuck in the Persian Gulf After Trump Bombed Iran
The Trump administration failed to warn vessels with close ties to the U.S. military ahead of the strikes, leaving them trapped in the region.
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Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
Shocking news: This year's World Vaccine Congress had a Weird Vibe www.notus.org/health-scien...
notus.org
The Vaccine Industry Is Troubleshooting Its Future Existence
Pharmaceutical executives are asking each other: How do they survive MAHA?
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
DC’s hottest club among young politicos might not be where, or when, you’d expect They go to Scarlet Oak on Wednesday nights. And it’s not just the half-off wine that brings them there www.notus.org/republicans/...
notus.org
Butterworth's Is for Bosses. MAGA's Next Generation Is Hanging Out at Scarlet Oak.
“If you want to feel like you're seen, and you're pushing the needle and you're ‘somebody,’ people go there to feel like that," said one Republican.
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Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
“On the vaccine issue, I know we see things differently. I’m totally fine with putting that on the shelf and working on this together.’” New from me on how medical societies are collaborating (or not) with MAHA: www.notus.org/health-scien...
notus.org
To Sue or to Woo? The Medical Establishment Is Divided on MAHA
Major medical societies are trying to figure out how to respond to Trump’s health agenda promoting healthy living alongside vaccine misinformation.
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Anna Kramer @annackramer.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
scoop: The Trump administration gave ICE $465 million to buy ten planes for its deportation flights, including two gulfstream G650s more commonly used as private jets
notus.org
ICE Plans to Expand Deportation Fleet With 10 New Airplanes
The Trump administration has given ICE $464.5 million to purchase eight Boeing 737s and two Gulfstream G650s, which are often used as private jets.
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The Washington Sun @washingtonsun.com · 03/10/2025
Former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn is attempting a political comeback — this time in an open House seat in Florida — but he shouldn’t expect any help from those in President Donald Trump’s orbit. www.notus.org/2026-electio...
notus.org
‘No Way’: Trumpworld Won’t Help Madison Cawthorn Attempt a Political Comeback
The scandal-ridden former North Carolina lawmaker has launched a run for a House seat in Florida.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Former national security officials and constitutional law experts warn that President Donald Trump’s directive on “domestic terrorism and organized political violence” could lead to government surveillance of people who simply disagree with him www.notus.org/policy/trump...
notus.org
Trump’s Directive on ‘Organized Political Violence’ Could Lead to Increased Surveillance of His Critics
The president issued a directive that could make dissent riskier for people and nonprofits.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
To town hall or not at all is the question for Republicans this recess. As strategists urge caution, some are going ahead. Rep. Rich McCormick told me that since his earlier this year "got ambushed," his future ones will have "strict rules" and ID checks. www.notus.org/republicans/...
notus.org
Republicans Try Work-Arounds to In-Person Town Halls
Back home, many of their constituents are eager to look lawmakers “in the face, eye to eye.”
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
The 2 reporters did a short Q&A on their RFK/MAHA story, and it’s great! (Via a @notusreports.bsky.social email, h/t @ddiamond.bsky.social)
We talked to Emily and Margaret about how it came together.
How did you get the idea to look through citations in the first place?
Margaret Manto: I got a tip over the weekend that there was some fishy stuff in the MAHA report citations. I started checking that they were real but figured out pretty quickly that l'd have to look at all 522 citations to know for sure.
522 citations! How long did it take, and what did you find?
Margaret: Emily and I took about five days to go through all of the citations.Emily Kennard: We didn't have full access to every article, so we were mostly confirming that the bibliographic information was correct. But we pretty quickly found a handful of articles that we couldn't find anywhere through search engines or in the listed journals, so we decided to go through and check each one. It took a few full workdays to pore over a spreadsheet and to reach out to cited researchers.
How did researchers respond? Have you heard from HHS or MAHA world?
Emily: Researchers are usually excited to have their work cited, but the ones we reached out to were surprised - probably because a few of them hadn't actually done the research that the report cited them for.
Margaret: HHS hasn't gotten back to our request for comment yet.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Some Republican lawmakers don't agree with Health Secretary RFK Jr.'s calls for states to stop fluoridating water. I talked to GOP former medical professionals in Congress — including four dentists, all of whom are House Republicans — about fluoride. www.notus.org/congress/con...
notus.org
Three Out of Four of Congress’ Dentists Agree: Fluoride Should Stay in Drinking Water
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for states to remove fluoride from their water, claiming it’s dangerous despite evidence that it improves oral health outcomes. Some Republican medica...
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Margaret Manto @margaretmanto.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
CDC officials “have been told very clearly to curtail some of their communications,” one state epidemiologist told me. “But in the meantime, us states aren’t going to just sit back and be at the mercy of this. We’re going to take it into our own hands.” www.notus.org/policy/bird-...
notus.org
The Fight Against Bird Flu Is Bumping Up Against the Hazy Reality of the New CDC
State health departments are giving mixed signals on what they’ve heard from the Trump administration on H5N1, with some officials and experts concerned about a lack of communication.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
GOP leadership has repeatedly shot down proposals to let new parents in Congress vote remotely, but multiple House Republicans told us they see lawmakers vote on one another's behalf — which is, according to the House rules, still proxy voting w/ @byrdinator.bsky.social www.notus.org/house/republ...
notus.org
House Republicans' Big Open Secret: They're Voting by 'Proxy' All the Time
GOP lawmakers told NOTUS it’s common for colleagues to hand each other their voting cards for convenience. "That's voting by proxy," Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Republican lawmakers are excited about Trump's prospects in his war against the "deep state," and they told me he's already making significant headway by firing career public servants. www.notus.org/house/house-...
notus.org
House Republicans Celebrate Trump Firing Public Servants as a Win Against the ‘Deep State’
GOP lawmakers told NOTUS the president faces opposition within his own branch. But they are cheering on his success in forcing public servants out.
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Claire Heddles @claireheddles.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
WH press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed in new campaign filings she hasn’t refunded business donations she wasn’t supposed to accept during her failed 2022 congressional campaign. The FEC has questioned the campaign at least 8 times about illegal donations. www.notus.org/whitehouse/w...
notus.org
White House Press Secretary’s Campaign Took Illegal Donations From Businesses — And Hasn’t Returned the Money
“This stuff is campaign finance 101. You don’t take freebies,” one campaign finance expert told NOTUS.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
The Trump administration's OMB just said never mind about that Monday night memo, which could have frozen an unclear amount of federal fund disbursements and was temporarily blocked by a federal judge just minutes before taking effect Tuesday. www.notus.org/whitehouse/t...
notus.org
Trump Administration Rescinds Freeze on Federal Aid
The temporary pause on federal grants and loans, which was halted by a federal judge before going into effect on Tuesday, caused widespread confusion across the country.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
As the White House spent Tuesday trying to walk back the scope of its memo freezing federal aid, many Republican senators said the panic was overblown — even ones representing states with budgets heavily reliant on federal funds. www.notus.org/policy/repub...
notus.org
Republicans From States Reliant on Federal Funding Are Lining Up Behind Trump Aid Freeze
As states struggled to figure out the scale of the anticipated federal aid freeze, Republicans in Congress supported the Trump administration’s efforts to review federal aid disbursements.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Yes, headlights are brighter. No, Congress isn’t doing anything about it. www.notus.org/congress/hea...
notus.org
Yes, Headlights Are Brighter. No, Congress Isn’t Doing Anything About It.
An online organizing effort has raised overly bright headlights to members of Congress. But their advocacy hasn’t gained much momentum on Capitol Hill.
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Oriana González @oriana.bsky.social · 03/01/2025
NEW: Trump says he doesn’t want to sign a national abortion ban into law, but his cabinet picks are expected to get rid of several federal policies aimed at protecting abortion rights. Here is how the Trump administration will be restricting access: www.notus.org/trump-transi...
notus.org
Trump Says He Won’t Sign a Federal Abortion Ban. His Administration Has Ways to Restrict Abortion Anyway.
Cabinet secretaries at practically every agency can change rules and policies that will have broad implications for abortion access.
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Oriana González @oriana.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
NEW: Republicans say they found their winning electoral issue: Anti-trans attacks. And the attacks have left Democrats flat-footed. “It just simply could be the case that it’s a losing issue for Democrats,” one House Democrat said. w/ @alexroarty.bsky.social www.notus.org/2026-electio...
notus.org
Republicans’ Anti-Trans Attacks Have Left Democrats Flat-Footed
“It’s like when Republicans were on abortion in 2022, they don’t want to talk about it because they look at it as a losing issue," one conservative advocate said.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
What might hold back USPS privatization? Some Republicans’ rural constituencies, which rely on the Postal Service. www.notus.org/congress/rep...
notus.org
Republicans Are Skeptical of Trump’s Idea to Privatize the Postal Service
Trump said last week that privatizing the U.S. Postal Service is “not the worst idea” he’s heard, but some Republican lawmakers told NOTUS that it’s not that simple for their rural constituents.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Exclusive: Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee are seeking information from the Department of the Health and Human Services about its efforts to engage agricultural workers in containing and monitoring the bird flu outbreak. www.notus.org/house/democr...
notus.org
Democrats Want HHS to ‘Double Down’ on Preventing the Spread of Bird Flu in Ag Workers
A letter from Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee signals a more aggressive posture from Capitol Hill in stopping the spread of bird flu, especially among undocumented agricultural w...
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Alex Roarty @alexroarty.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Some Democratic strategists "grumble that the party has only recruited candidates who neatly align with the views of the party’s socially liberal college-educated voter bloc." with @evanmcs.bsky.social, on Ds re-examining what kind of candidates they recruit www.notus.org/democrats/fu...
notus.org
Democrats’ Next Debate: What Makes a Good Democrat Now?
Arguments about the future of the party will eventually result in money being thrown at real human beings who Democrats will need to actually win elections.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
“If we can’t protect those people, we’re all fucked,” Elizabeth Strater, a United Farm Workers spokesperson, said about dairy workers. “If they get tested, they are gambling. And because they are afraid to get tested, the rest of us are gambling right now.” www.notus.org/policy/trump...
notus.org
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Could Make It Harder to Contain the Bird Flu Outbreak
Threats of mass deportation might further discourage farmworkers from seeking testing and care for the current bird flu outbreak.
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Tara Golshan @taragolshan.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
NEW from @caseyrmurray.bsky.social on what Trump's "mass deportation" actually looks like if Republicans don't agree on who should be targeted, have very little to say on how they would fund it, and local law enforcement says it can't do more than it's already doing. www.notus.org/trump-transi...
notus.org
One Major Obstacle to Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise: Local Law Enforcement
“I’m not gonna let the government tell me what to do in my job,” one Trump-supporting sheriff told NOTUS.
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Haley Byrd Wilt @byrdinator.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
On the coming trade war: www.notus.org/trump-transi...
notus.org
Republicans Are All In on Trump’s New Trade War
Higher prices are just weakness leaving the economy, according to Trump and his allies.
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The Washington Sun @washingtonsun.com · 22/11/2024
“We have a lot of constitutional responsibilities. This is one of them. And we need to take it seriously,” Rep. Andrew Clyde told NOTUS. House Republicans might try to strip power from D.C.’s government. www.notus.org/house/trump-...
notus.org
Trump Vowed to Take Over D.C., House Republicans Might Try to Make It a Reality
Rep. Andrew Clyde told NOTUS he’s introducing a bill next Congress to change the Home Rule Act. It wouldn’t be the city’s first power struggle with federal lawmakers.
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Emily Kennard @emilykennard.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
I asked 19 lawmakers about the nation's worst-ever bird flu outbreak. Few said they've been keeping up with it. But increasing human cases and egg shortages might bring it to Congress' attention soon: www.notus.org/congress/con...
notus.org
Congress Is Behind on the Bird Flu Outbreak
Public health experts’ warnings have gone almost completely unnoticed in the Capitol. “Is there a big one?” one senator said about the rise in cases.
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