Emily Kennard
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emilykennard.bsky.social
Emily Kennard
@emilykennard.bsky.social
660 followers 61 following 12 posts
NOTUS reporter, AJI fellow

I forget I have this sometimes
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Reposted by Emily Kennard
notus.com
Former North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn is attempting a political comeback — this time in an open House seat in Florida — but he shouldn’t expect any help from those in President Donald Trump’s orbit.
www.notus.org/2026-electio...
‘No Way’: Trumpworld Won’t Help Madison Cawthorn Attempt a Political Comeback
The scandal-ridden former North Carolina lawmaker has launched a run for a House seat in Florida.
www.notus.org
October 3, 2025 at 3:20 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
Former national security officials and constitutional law experts warn that President Donald Trump’s directive on “domestic terrorism and organized political violence” could lead to government surveillance of people who simply disagree with him
www.notus.org/policy/trump...
Trump’s Directive on ‘Organized Political Violence’ Could Lead to Increased Surveillance of His Critics
The president issued a directive that could make dissent riskier for people and nonprofits.
www.notus.org
October 3, 2025 at 3:08 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
To town hall or not at all is the question for Republicans this recess. As strategists urge caution, some are going ahead.

Rep. Rich McCormick told me that since his earlier this year "got ambushed," his future ones will have "strict rules" and ID checks.
www.notus.org/republicans/...
Republicans Try Work-Arounds to In-Person Town Halls
Back home, many of their constituents are eager to look lawmakers “in the face, eye to eye.”
www.notus.org
August 1, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
bgrueskin.bsky.social
The 2 reporters did a short Q&A on their RFK/MAHA story, and it’s great!

(Via a @notusreports.bsky.social email, h/t @ddiamond.bsky.social)
We talked to Emily and Margaret about how it came together. How did you get the idea to look through citations in the first place? Margaret Manto: I got a tip over the weekend that there was some fishy stuff in the MAHA report citations. I started checking that they were real but figured out pretty quickly that l'd have to look at all 522 citations to know for sure. 522 citations! How long did it take, and what did you find? Margaret: Emily and I took about five days to go through all of the citations. Emily Kennard: We didn't have full access to every article, so we were mostly confirming that the bibliographic information was correct. But we pretty quickly found a handful of articles that we couldn't find anywhere through search engines or in the listed journals, so we decided to go through and check each one. It took a few full workdays to pore over a spreadsheet and to reach out to cited researchers. How did researchers respond? Have you heard from HHS or MAHA world? Emily: Researchers are usually excited to have their work cited, but the ones we reached out to were surprised - probably because a few of them hadn't actually done the research that the report cited them for. Margaret: HHS hasn't gotten back to our request for comment yet.
May 29, 2025 at 4:21 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
Some Republican lawmakers don't agree with Health Secretary RFK Jr.'s calls for states to stop fluoridating water.

I talked to GOP former medical professionals in Congress — including four dentists, all of whom are House Republicans — about fluoride.

www.notus.org/congress/con...
Three Out of Four of Congress’ Dentists Agree: Fluoride Should Stay in Drinking Water
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called for states to remove fluoride from their water, claiming it’s dangerous despite evidence that it improves oral health outcomes. Some Republican medica...
www.notus.org
April 11, 2025 at 4:09 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
margaretmanto.bsky.social
CDC officials “have been told very clearly to curtail some of their communications,” one state epidemiologist told me. “But in the meantime, us states aren’t going to just sit back and be at the mercy of this. We’re going to take it into our own hands.”
www.notus.org/policy/bird-...
The Fight Against Bird Flu Is Bumping Up Against the Hazy Reality of the New CDC
State health departments are giving mixed signals on what they’ve heard from the Trump administration on H5N1, with some officials and experts concerned about a lack of communication.
www.notus.org
February 19, 2025 at 2:31 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
GOP leadership has repeatedly shot down proposals to let new parents in Congress vote remotely, but multiple House Republicans told us they see lawmakers vote on one another's behalf — which is, according to the House rules, still proxy voting
w/ @byrdinator.bsky.social www.notus.org/house/republ...
House Republicans' Big Open Secret: They're Voting by 'Proxy' All the Time
GOP lawmakers told NOTUS it’s common for colleagues to hand each other their voting cards for convenience. "That's voting by proxy," Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said.
www.notus.org
February 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
Republican lawmakers are excited about Trump's prospects in his war against the "deep state," and they told me he's already making significant headway by firing career public servants. www.notus.org/house/house-...
House Republicans Celebrate Trump Firing Public Servants as a Win Against the ‘Deep State’
GOP lawmakers told NOTUS the president faces opposition within his own branch. But they are cheering on his success in forcing public servants out.
www.notus.org
February 3, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
claireheddles.bsky.social
WH press secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed in new campaign filings she hasn’t refunded business donations she wasn’t supposed to accept during her failed 2022 congressional campaign.

The FEC has questioned the campaign at least 8 times about illegal donations.

www.notus.org/whitehouse/w...
White House Press Secretary’s Campaign Took Illegal Donations From Businesses — And Hasn’t Returned the Money
“This stuff is campaign finance 101. You don’t take freebies,” one campaign finance expert told NOTUS.
www.notus.org
January 30, 2025 at 1:04 AM
emilykennard.bsky.social
The Trump administration's OMB just said never mind about that Monday night memo, which could have frozen an unclear amount of federal fund disbursements and was temporarily blocked by a federal judge just minutes before taking effect Tuesday. www.notus.org/whitehouse/t...
Trump Administration Rescinds Freeze on Federal Aid
The temporary pause on federal grants and loans, which was halted by a federal judge before going into effect on Tuesday, caused widespread confusion across the country.
www.notus.org
January 29, 2025 at 6:29 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
As the White House spent Tuesday trying to walk back the scope of its memo freezing federal aid, many Republican senators said the panic was overblown — even ones representing states with budgets heavily reliant on federal funds. www.notus.org/policy/repub...
Republicans From States Reliant on Federal Funding Are Lining Up Behind Trump Aid Freeze
As states struggled to figure out the scale of the anticipated federal aid freeze, Republicans in Congress supported the Trump administration’s efforts to review federal aid disbursements.
www.notus.org
January 29, 2025 at 3:21 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
Yes, headlights are brighter. No, Congress isn’t doing anything about it. www.notus.org/congress/hea...
Yes, Headlights Are Brighter. No, Congress Isn’t Doing Anything About It.
An online organizing effort has raised overly bright headlights to members of Congress. But their advocacy hasn’t gained much momentum on Capitol Hill.
www.notus.org
January 17, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
oriana.bsky.social
NEW: Trump says he doesn’t want to sign a national abortion ban into law, but his cabinet picks are expected to get rid of several federal policies aimed at protecting abortion rights.

Here is how the Trump administration will be restricting access:
www.notus.org/trump-transi...
Trump Says He Won’t Sign a Federal Abortion Ban. His Administration Has Ways to Restrict Abortion Anyway.
Cabinet secretaries at practically every agency can change rules and policies that will have broad implications for abortion access.
www.notus.org
January 3, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
oriana.bsky.social
NEW: Republicans say they found their winning electoral issue: Anti-trans attacks.

And the attacks have left Democrats flat-footed.

“It just simply could be the case that it’s a losing issue for Democrats,” one House Democrat said.

w/ @alexroarty.bsky.social
www.notus.org/2026-electio...
Republicans’ Anti-Trans Attacks Have Left Democrats Flat-Footed
“It’s like when Republicans were on abortion in 2022, they don’t want to talk about it because they look at it as a losing issue," one conservative advocate said.
www.notus.org
December 23, 2024 at 5:38 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
What might hold back USPS privatization? Some Republicans’ rural constituencies, which rely on the Postal Service.
www.notus.org/congress/rep...
Republicans Are Skeptical of Trump’s Idea to Privatize the Postal Service
Trump said last week that privatizing the U.S. Postal Service is “not the worst idea” he’s heard, but some Republican lawmakers told NOTUS that it’s not that simple for their rural constituents.
www.notus.org
December 23, 2024 at 2:39 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
Exclusive: Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee are seeking information from the Department of the Health and Human Services about its efforts to engage agricultural workers in containing and monitoring the bird flu outbreak.
www.notus.org/house/democr...
Democrats Want HHS to ‘Double Down’ on Preventing the Spread of Bird Flu in Ag Workers
A letter from Democratic lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee signals a more aggressive posture from Capitol Hill in stopping the spread of bird flu, especially among undocumented agricultural w...
www.notus.org
December 13, 2024 at 5:24 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
alexroarty.bsky.social
Some Democratic strategists "grumble that the party has only recruited candidates who neatly align with the views of the party’s socially liberal college-educated voter bloc."

with @evanmcs.bsky.social, on Ds re-examining what kind of candidates they recruit www.notus.org/democrats/fu...
Democrats’ Next Debate: What Makes a Good Democrat Now?
Arguments about the future of the party will eventually result in money being thrown at real human beings who Democrats will need to actually win elections.
www.notus.org
December 2, 2024 at 4:05 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
“If we can’t protect those people, we’re all fucked,” Elizabeth Strater, a United Farm Workers spokesperson, said about dairy workers. “If they get tested, they are gambling. And because they are afraid to get tested, the rest of us are gambling right now.” www.notus.org/policy/trump...
Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Could Make It Harder to Contain the Bird Flu Outbreak
Threats of mass deportation might further discourage farmworkers from seeking testing and care for the current bird flu outbreak.
www.notus.org
December 2, 2024 at 2:39 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
taragolshan.bsky.social
NEW from @caseyrmurray.bsky.social on what Trump's "mass deportation" actually looks like if Republicans don't agree on who should be targeted, have very little to say on how they would fund it, and local law enforcement says it can't do more than it's already doing.

www.notus.org/trump-transi...
One Major Obstacle to Trump’s Mass Deportation Promise: Local Law Enforcement
“I’m not gonna let the government tell me what to do in my job,” one Trump-supporting sheriff told NOTUS.
www.notus.org
November 26, 2024 at 6:11 PM
Reposted by Emily Kennard
notus.com
“We have a lot of constitutional responsibilities. This is one of them. And we need to take it seriously,” Rep. Andrew Clyde told NOTUS.

House Republicans might try to strip power from D.C.’s government.
www.notus.org/house/trump-...
Trump Vowed to Take Over D.C., House Republicans Might Try to Make It a Reality
Rep. Andrew Clyde told NOTUS he’s introducing a bill next Congress to change the Home Rule Act. It wouldn’t be the city’s first power struggle with federal lawmakers.
www.notus.org
November 22, 2024 at 9:56 PM
emilykennard.bsky.social
I asked 19 lawmakers about the nation's worst-ever bird flu outbreak. Few said they've been keeping up with it.
But increasing human cases and egg shortages might bring it to Congress' attention soon:
www.notus.org/congress/con...
Congress Is Behind on the Bird Flu Outbreak
Public health experts’ warnings have gone almost completely unnoticed in the Capitol. “Is there a big one?” one senator said about the rise in cases.
www.notus.org
November 25, 2024 at 6:53 PM