Cortez Masto, Rosen face progressive backlash over shutdown votes. Will it matter?
In today’s edition: Nevada’s senators face blowback for ending the shutdown. Plus: Amodei talks Trump, Epstein and 50-year mortgages at IndyFest and Lombardo welcomes the president’s backing.
I traveled to Las Vegas last week for IndyFest, which included underdog gubernatorial candidate Alexis Hill (D) and elections forecaster Nate Silver. But it was electorally secure Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) who broke the biggest news. When I asked how he’d grade President Donald Trump’s second term, the congressman gave Trump a “B.”
“There are some days where it’s like, ‘I wish you’d practice your golf game today instead of the other stuff that’s going on,’” Amodei said. “Now, nobody leave the room and say I was anything other than nice and respectful.”
Amodei said he wanted the president to support Nevada lands bills, which he will also advocate for in a meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) this week. But Amodei hasn’t raised the issue with Trump.
“I want to see what his reaction is next week if we end up voting on this Epstein stuff,” he explained.
The congressman did not say how he would vote, but did say he likes to think of himself as “a transparency guy.” He promised to call The Indy if he finds a good reason to vote against releasing the files.
He also bluntly commented on Trump’s recent 50-year-mortgage proposal. “You gotta be shitting me,” the congressman said.
Asked how much the administration keeps in touch after he criticized its communication culture, Amodei said, “Not much.” However, he is scheduled to meet with Energy Secretary Chris Wright this week. He called the relationship with Energy “a work-in-progress.”
Despite their dustup this year about his last-minute lands bill, Amodei spoke well of his fellow delegation members. “There were some opportunities where [Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV)] might have been low-hanging fruit,” Amodei said. “So I’d get a call from somebody going, ‘Hey, what do you got to say about that?’ And I go, ‘I’m not saying anything about it.’”
“You’re endorsing all of them for re-election?” Indy CEO Jon Ralston pressed.
“As soon as they send my endorsement in,” Amodei replied.
This newsletter is published every other week. We want to hear from you! Email your newsletter editor Mini Racker at [email protected].
Critics slam Nevada senators for shutdown votes
Sen. Jacky Rosen’s (D-NV) decision to join Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in voting to end the shutdown last week enraged much of the Democratic base — including in their home state.
“I was angry and frustrated that they negotiated against themselves,” said former Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani (D). “When you have both Catherine and then Jacky collapsed on the issue, I don’t think they did right by Nevadans.”
Giunchigliani said the senators’ decision merited primary challenges: “We should entertain that and at least not close them off from having a proper public debate.”
Her comments exemplify the anger many feel after the pair helped reopen the government in exchange for the promise of a vote on expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.
In an interview with The Indy, Rosen said she changed her vote after hearing from constituents who had missed paychecks, went hungry and were beginning to be affected by the impact on Nevada’s tourism industry. Both senators say they remain committed to extending the ACA tax credits — and that Republicans will pay a political price if they block them.
“Trump used the American people’s pain as collateral,” the pair wrote in a Sunday op-ed. “There was no breaking point that would have made him or Congressional Republicans more interested in working across the aisle on health care. We know because we were in the negotiating room.”
Asked about the senators’ contention, Giunchigliani replied, “Bullcrap. Nice excuse.”
At IndyFest, even anti-Trump Republican strategist Sarah Longwell said she wished Democrats had shown more spine. Indy readers largely wrote in calling the senators “spineless” and saying that they’re eager to fund future primary opponents.
There’s plenty of time before they get that opportunity. Cortez Masto is not up for re-election until 2028, and Rosen isn’t up until 2030. In fact, none of the Democrats who backed the funding deal will face voters for years. Talk in the Capitol suggests that the eight who voted for it took the heat for a larger group.
Some insiders, including Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), said they were surprised about Rosen changing her vote. The congresswoman told KRXI that she didn’t agree with the senators, but they had their reasons. She, Horsford and Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) all voted against the deal. They acknowledged what the senators did not.
“A promised vote in the Senate on health care will likely fail — that’s why congressional Republicans agreed to it,” Lee wrote in a statement.
One congressional Democratic staffer, granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive issue, said the politics in the House and Senate were completely different, given House Republicans didn’t need the Nevada Democrats’ votes. The staffer pointed out the political reality that the left’s power in Nevada has waned, although that could change if progressives embrace working class, populist messaging.
The senators also have plenty of working class support. Federal contractors were hit especially hard by the shutdown and groups such as the Teamsters Local 631 spoke out against it.
Still, some are wistful for tougher leadership. The day the funding deal was announced, Rebecca Katz, a one-time Harry Reid staffer who has worked for several prominent left-leaning candidates, posted a portrait of her old boss with a two-word caption: “Miss him.”
— Mini Racker
What We’re Reading and Writing
The Nevada Democratic Party pounced on Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) for this one. Titus called for public hearings.
Wright has said that Nevadans don’t need to worry about mushroom clouds. But according to the White House, “nothing has been eliminated from consideration.”
D.C. Download
- After Trump flirted with restarting nuclear testing, Titus introduced the RESTRAIN Act, which would ban explosive tests. A week later, Horsford and Lee reintroduced their own bill, the No Nuclear Testing Without Approval Act. The senators reintroduced companion legislation.
- Titus then said her colleagues’ bill “puts the health and safety of Nevadans at risk” because it would let Trump conduct tests if other countries do first. She added, “this Congress will give Trump permission to test in a heartbeat.”
— Mini Racker
Indy Ad Watch
AD-NALYSIS OF THE WEEK: Latino groups slam Lombardo for rising housing costs
Immigrant advocacy group Make the Road Action Nevada and Valiente Action Fund, a national progressive donor group, have launched a $200,000 campaign against Lombardo targeting his housing policies.
The 30-second advertisement calls out the GOP governor’s vetoes of bills that would cap the number of homes corporate landlords can purchase as well as measures to extend tenant protections.
The ad is part of a $1.4 million campaign launched in five other competitive states, including Arizona and Georgia. It is backed by the progressive group Way to Win.
— Isabella Aldrete
Mini Series
🎺A Trump hug — When Trump endorsed Lombardo this month, the governor embraced it. Asked if Trump’s backing might hurt Lombardo’s moderate image, Republican strategist Jeremy Hughes told The Indy it wouldn’t. “President Trump won the state of Nevada,” Hughes said. “People understand who Joe Lombardo is. … Just because someone else likes him, that doesn't mean they're going to view his record through that lens. I mean, within a week's time frame, he got the endorsement of the teachers’ union.” Hughes also predicted Democratic attacks on Lombardo’s recent D.C. trip won’t land, in part, because his likely opponent, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford (D), has been slammed for his own out-of-state trips.
💰Ad-fordability — A new digital/streaming ad slams Lombardo for flying to a high-dollar fundraiser in Washington while “kids are going to school hungry and families can’t afford health care.” New Engagement Fund, a 501(c)4 co-founded by Rosen’s 2018 campaign manager Danny Kazin, was behind the ad, which ran in English and Spanish statewide during the special session.
👮Mack talk — Several law enforcement officials have backed Republican Albert Mack in his run for Clark County Commission District F. Steve Grammas, longtime president of the Las Vegas Police Protection Association, and Sheriff Kevin McMahill endorsed him last week.
- Mack recently announced he had given his campaign $500,000 in donations to bring his fundraising total to $1 million. His opponent, Assm. Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas), had raised $450,000 as of Sept. 10.
👎 Anthony rejects remedies — Republican Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony has rejected corrective actions proposed by the Nevada Commission on Ethics related to his use of state resources for a task force designed to keep transgender students out of girls’ sports.
- Anthony’s rejection of the remedies means the case will proceed to the broader Ethics Commission next year. Motions are set to be heard in March, while an adjudicatory hearing is set for May. Anthony is facing an electoral challenge from Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas).
— Mini Racker, Oona Milliken and Eric Neugeboren
A post that caught our eye:
From Saudi Arabia to Summerlin.
We’ll see you in two weeks.
Interested in more newsletters from The Nevada Independent? Find all of them here.