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Top Johnson aide arrested for DUI

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Speaker Mike Johnson’s top staffer, Hayden Haynes, was arrested for driving under the influence shortly after Tuesday’s joint session of Congress, the speaker’s office and Capitol Police said.

“A driver backed into a parked vehicle last night around 11:40 p.m. We responded and arrested them for DUI,” a police statement said. The incident took place about 45 minutes after President Donald Trump completed his congressional address, with Johnson sitting directly behind him.

Haynes has served as an aide to Johnson since 2016 and has served as his chief of staff since the Louisiana Republican became speaker in October 2023. Johnson spokesperson Taylor Haulsee pointed to a statement backing Haynes that was given to NBC News, which first reported the arrest.

Johnson is “aware of the encounter that occurred last night involving his Chief of Staff and the Capitol Police,” the statement said, adding that Johnson “has known and worked closely with Hayden for nearly a decade and trusted him to serve as his Chief of Staff for his entire tenure in Congress.

“Because of this and Hayden’s esteemed reputation among Members and staff alike, the Speaker has full faith and confidence in Hayden’s ability to lead the Speaker’s office,” the statement concluded.

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Congress

Jeffries stays silent on Schumer’s future as Senate leader

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sidestepped a question about the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — a stunning demonstration of the breach that has emerged between the two New York Democrats over a looming government shutdown.

“Next question,” Jeffries told reporters when asked if there should be new leadership in the Senate. He also declined to answer a question on whether he had confidence in Schumer and said that while he’d been in touch with his fellow leader, their conversations would “remain private.”

Schumer said Thursday he planned to vote to advance a GOP-written funding patch to avert a shutdown, which is said was the better of two bad options.

“It is a false choice that Donald Trump, Elon Musk and House Republicans have been presenting, between their reckless and partisan spending bill and a government shutdown,” Jeffries responded Friday. “We do not support a bill that is designed to hurt the American people.”

When asked whether Schumer had acquiesced to Trump, Jeffries said there was still time — the vote had not taken place yet, and some senators were still undeclared, he added.

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Congress

Mark Kelly ditches his Tesla

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Amid the Friday chaos on Capitol Hill, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) took to X to announce … he’s getting rid of his Tesla.

“This is going to be my last trip in this car,” Kelly said in a video posted to his social media.

The Arizona Democrat wrote the car felt like “a rolling billboard” advertising Elon Musk. The chainsaw-wielding special adviser to the president has spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency’s shuttering of agencies and mass firings across the government. He’s also Tesla’s CEO.

Kelly said he couldn’t drive the car without thinking about the damage DOGE has brought on the government, including the firing of veterans.

“Elon Musk kind of turned out to be an asshole, and I don’t want to drive a car built and designed by an asshole,” Kelly said.

Earlier this week, President Donald Trump decided to buy his own Tesla, setting up a collection of the electric cars for his selection at the White House after protests broke out across the country at Tesla dealerships.

Following the car show, Senate Democrats sent a letter to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics asking the office to open an investigation, saying Musk and Trump used their roles to promote Musk’s company with their “temporary Tesla showroom.”

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Pelosi slams ‘false choice’ on shutdown, indirectly criticizing Schumer

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Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered some sidelong criticism of her colleagues in the other chamber Friday after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would vote to allow passage of a GOP spending patch.

“America has experienced a Trump shutdown before — but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse. Democrats must not buy into this false choice. We must fight back for a better way. Listen to the women, For The People,” she said in a statement, endorsing an alternative bill from top Democratic appropriators Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).

Pelosi also said she backed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ decision to oppose the bill. All House Democrats but one voted against it.

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