Dear friends,

When I started this job in November 2022, I had never been to Las Vegas, had scant knowledge of things such as “Yucca Mountain” and “the Culinary Union” and had never heard a single line of Home Means Nevada.

Over two and a half years later, I’m proud to say that I’ve stuffed my face at Tacos El Gordo, run the Tahoe East Shore Trail, lost moderate sums of money at roulette in casinos across the state and can definitively say that the state anthem slaps.

And oh yeah, I’ve learned a lot about its fascinating politics and its passionate, hard-working people.

I’m using this newsletter to take a trip down memory lane, because this will be my final edition of D.C. Download. (Stay subscribed! My successor will still give you all the essential D.C. news and make the newsletter all their own.)

My very first edition was about Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) successfully petitioning for the creation of a battleground representative among House Democratic leadership — a position she now holds, which I covered this past November.

My first few weeks at The Indy were incredibly busy and a great crash course into the things I would be covering. We had South Carolina leapfrogging Nevada to be Democrats’ first-in-the-nation presidential primary — an ongoing plotline that will come up again next year. 

For the first time in more than a decade, the Nevada delegation successfully passed a lands bill, and then-President Joe Biden declared Avi Kwa Ame a national monument. Years later, public lands are again a huge point of discussion as Republicans — including Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) — are trying to include land sales in their reconciliation bill. 

And in my first month on the job, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations bill. It was the last time there was a relatively “normal” appropriations bill not governed by stopgaps — something I’ve covered in countless newsletters over the years, with a plethora of headlines noting that a shutdown was approaching (and then averted in the nick of time).

From the threat of fiscal crises to the deployment of Biden-era policies to the rapid changes made by the Trump administration, it’s always been my goal in D.C. Download to explain how what happens here in D.C. affects you in Nevada. I’ve tried to be your eyes and ears in the Capitol, asking Nevada’s elected officials for their opinions and explaining their legislation and votes. 

Washington, D.C., almost certainly has the most journalists per capita in the country, and there’s no shortage of reporters lurking in the Capitol to cover leadership, the news of the day and developments in key policy arenas. But when people have to rely on national news to learn what’s going on, I think our overall level of civic engagement and ability to hold elected officials accountable falters. 

There were hundreds of stories about the speakership drama of 2023, trend stories about Democratic moving to the right on border policy and high-level coverage of Republicans’ mega-bill. But I’ve tried, over the years, to put those episodes in context for Nevadans — covering how Amodei felt about the speaker fight, what Nevada Democrats have said about the border and what exactly SNAP and Medicaid cuts would look like in the Silver State.

And when Nevada finds itself in the national discourse, such as in last week’s proposal to sell public lands across the West, I hope I’ve kept you informed on the dynamics underpinning the news and what it actually means for you. 

The job has often meant policy deep dives and getting the delegation on the record on the issues driving politics, but I’ve used the newsletter to have a lot of fun too — from the special Super Bowl edition comparing Harry Reid to Andy Reid, to interviewing Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young at the White House during the Las Vegas Aces’ championship visit. 

It’s been my immense privilege to learn the ins and outs of this state, its politics and its people. I’m leaving The Indy with an incredible sense of professional accomplishment and gratitude for all the people who have shared their ideas, concerns and Nevada pride with me over the years.

Thank you for your years of readership and for letting me be an honorary Nevadan. I hope you’ll continue to support The Indy and pepper my successor with ideas and questions you have about what’s going on in Washington.

And please stay in touch! While I’m heading to a new job, I know I’ll cover Nevada again at some point — after all, We Matter, as a wise man I know likes to say, and I’m sure I’m one spin away from my big roulette hit.

Around the Capitol

📬USPS battle, Round Two? — Last year, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Amodei successfully led an effort to end U.S. Postal Service plans to shutter Reno’s mail processing center and move operations to Sacramento.

But in a Tuesday letter to the acting postmaster general, Nevada’s senators said they’ve heard reports that local, first-class letter processing operations may be moving to California, reigniting the issue.

🏗️Apex corrections headed to president’s desk — The Senate passed a bill, sponsored by Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), that makes technical corrections to expedite the process by which North Las Vegas can conduct development activities on federal land at the Apex Industrial Park where it already has operations.

Having already passed the House, it now heads to the White House.

What I’m Reading

KSNV: Rep. Steven Horsford talks Latino men’s health, recent protests and Iran

A wide-ranging interview with Horsford.

The Nevada Independent: How the Senate’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ will affect Nevada

The Medicaid cuts could be deeper, while the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program cuts are less harsh.

KVVU: As Nevada workers face extreme heat, new regulations guarantee more protections

An example of the kind of thing that happens in Washington (the writing of new regulations) that have an impact in the state!

Notable and Quotable

“The proposal to cut the staff by over 25 percent ... I don't know how you get rid of that backlog without the staffing. Can you tell me how you plan on doing that?

— Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, on how the Bureau of Land Management can address backlogs after the Trump administration has cut its staffing levels