INSIDE D.C. WITH JOHN GIZZI NEWSMAX WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT
GOV. HOGAN COMEBACK • Although Republican Larry Hogan won two terms as governor of Maryland, he failed to win a Senate seat in his historically Democrat state in 2024 — despite declaring he had voted for a write-in candidate twice rather than Donald Trump and would probably do the same again. But Hogan is still well remembered as governor of the Free State and may make a run for his old job next year. Although there is some speculation Hogan might seek the position as an independent, sources close to him say that such a candidacy would only leave the Republican nomination to what one called “someone far out there on the right who would get about 10%-15% and ensure the reelection of [Wes] Moore,” the Democrat governor. Speculation about Hogan
running as an independent comes as several other “Never Trump” former officeholders have chosen to switch rather than fight within the GOP. Former Illinois Republican Rep. Joe Walsh and onetime Florida Rep. David Jolly have both joined the Democratic Party. Jolly is now expected to be the Democrat nominee for Florida governor next year. Former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger, while still officially a Republican, has increasingly aligned himself with Democrats, and says
50 NEWSMAX | AUGUST 2025
he’s “probably closer to a Democrat now” given the current state of the GOP.
HOYER’S LAST HURRAH? • At age 86 and no longer House Democrat leader, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer is nonetheless seeking a 24th term. Primary challenger Harry Jarin, a firefighter and onetime Jeopardy contestant, says he has no argument with Hoyer’s liberal philosophy but is opposed to a gerontocracy and argues that “tired politicians like Steny can’t put up a fight that we need.” Although the contest
is sure to be hard-fought and close, pundits will be keeping an eye on Hoyer’s top political adviser — his second wife, Elaine Kamarck Hoyer, a former Brookings Institution official with political ambitions of her own.
U.N. HEIR APPARENT • For months, it has been taken for granted that Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 2019, is the heir apparent to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres when his term expires in December 2026. The urbane Argentinian
and a past ambassador to Austria is well liked by nearly all fellow diplomats, and earned high marks for his TV performances
during the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities in June. U.N. sources say that any potential problems President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had with Grossi’s prospective election were dispelled when, amid a CNN report that the uranium had been moved, the IAEA chief called for inspections in Iran to resume “as soon as possible.” Grossi also sided with Vice President JD Vance’s opinion that if Iran has 60% enriched uranium but not the ability to enrich it to 90%, the embattled nation does not have the ability to convert the uranium into a nuclear weapon.
SEEKING YOUNG LEADERS • David Hogg, a former Democratic National Committee vice chair, is now head of Leaders We
Deserve, a group dedicated to electing younger people to Congress. Although the 25-year-old survivor of the 2018 high school shooting in Parkland, Florida, has yet to name the targets of his estimated $20 million independent expenditure, Hogg is expected to focus on the oldest Democrats in the House facing primary challengers from younger opponents. This list almost certainly will include 30-year Illinois Rep. Danny Davis, 83, and California Rep. Maxine Waters, 86. But surprisingly, the group will not oppose former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 85, of California; former House majority leader Steny Hoyer, 86, of Maryland; and former majority whip Jim Clyburn, 85, of South Carolina. Hogg thinks all three are effective critics of President Donald Trump and do not merit primary opposition.
Oregon Eyes GOP Senator
• The biggest political question in Oregon is whether liberal Democrat Ron Wyden, who will be 77 next year, will seek a fifth term in the Senate or retire. As speculation mounts he will do the
latter, so does betting that Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer will attempt to become Oregon’s first Republican senator in 25 years. Should the centrist Trump cabinet member and former congresswoman make the race, it is considered a foregone conclusion in Trumpworld her successor will be Trump loyalist and Deputy Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling.
SONDERLING
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