Tom Udall

First son-in-law Jared Kushner is scheduled to speak to interns on Capitol Hill today at 3 p.m. as part of the House Administration Committee and Senate Committee on Rules and Administration’s Intern Lecture Series.

It was originally scheduled for July 28 and then moved to today. The White House senior adviser’s lecture will take place in the Capitol Visitor Center’s Congressional Auditorium.

With re-election rates often hovering above 90 percent, open seats represent a critical factor in the Democrats’ quest for a House majority. New Mexico’s 2nd District has been an elusive target for years, as long as Rep. Steve Pearce has been on the ballot.

But the Republican congressman’s decision to run for governor opens up a majority-Hispanic district that could be vulnerable if an anti-GOP wave develops.

A fourth Democrat has entered the race for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District as Rep. Steve Pearce considers a run for governor.

Tony Martinez was senior vice president of the drug manufacturing company Endo and served in both on active duty and in the reserves in the U.S. Army, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. 

No matter what their political affiliation, members of Congress have this in common: They don’t like releasing their tax returns. Only 37 of the 532 members of the House and Senate responded when Roll Call asked for copies of their tax returns over several weeks, starting in April. Most of them declined to release their tax returns.

Here are some of their responses.

A new staff association hopes to help Native Americans feel at home in D.C.

“A lot of us are away from home, and so there’s a community element to it. It’s harder to feel Indian sometimes in D.C. because you’re disconnected from ceremonies, cultural events,” said Kim Moxley, co-founder of Natives on the Hill. “It’s like a ‘battling homesickness’ mechanism.”

The Federal Communications Commission has responded to a Senate query about an altercation between a CQ Roll Call reporter and the agency’s security, but lawmakers are not satisfied with the explanation.

Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire had questions about an incident in which reporter John M. Donnelly reported being pinned by a security officer when trying to question Commissioner Michael O’Rielly at the conclusion of an open meeting.

Senators, including Judiciary Chairman Charles E. Grassley, are warning the Federal Communications Commission about its treatment of reporters after a CQ Roll Call reporter was manhandled Thursday.

“The Federal Communications Commission needs to take a hard look at why this happened and make sure it doesn’t happen again. As The Washington Post pointed out, it’s standard operating procedure for reporters to ask questions of public officials after meetings and news conferences,” the Iowa Republican said. “It happens all day, every day. There’s no good reason to put hands on a reporter who’s doing his or her job.”  

Staffers can learn about the positive effects of self-esteem on performance today.

As part of the Employee Assistance Program’s webinar series, this class will “outline ways to rewire our brains in order to be more optimistic and increase self-confidence,” the invitation reads. Staffers can also “discuss ways to build self-esteem and control negative thoughts.”

One Democratic senator says Congress should require the White House to release its visitor records, after the administration announced Friday the logs would be kept secret.

The Trump administration cited security and privacy concerns in its decision to not publicly release its visitor logs. The decision, first reported by Time magazine, differs from the Obama administration, which publicly released its visitor records — though those logs were subject to redaction.

Just when you thought the American public was the hardest on politicians, country singer Wynonna Judd took the cake.

“Loosen up your ties,” the singer said. “Come on, big babies.”