'A Freaking Disaster Is Coming': What GOP Lawmakers Are Secretly Saying

61 percent of Americans are cutting back on groceries; A MAGA candidate's secret swinger lifestyle; and regulators approve Trump's imperial arch

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! I’m John Byrne.

Republican lawmakers are openly telling reporters they expect to lose both chambers of Congress if the midterms were held today, with one calling the coming election “a freaking disaster.” A new round of polling shows 61 percent of Americans have cut back on groceries to make ends meet. Federal regulators have officially approved Trump’s 250-foot golden arch near the National Mall. And a Trump-endorsed MAGA candidate running on “family values” in Arizona has been accused of destroying his best friend’s marriage by introducing him to a swinger lifestyle.

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GOP Lawmakers Tell Reporters They Expect to Get Wiped Out in November

This is the story Republican leadership desperately doesn’t want you to be reading on Memorial Day weekend.

A growing number of GOP lawmakers — speaking anonymously to MS NOW — are now openly saying out loud what their internal polling has been telling them for months. “A freaking disaster is coming,” one House Republican said. A former Trump administration official went further: “If the election were held today, we’d lose the Senate and the House.”

In just the last week, House Republicans have stripped $1 billion in security upgrades from their reconciliation package, including the $220 million Trump wanted for his ballroom. They’ve inched closer to backing a War Powers resolution that would force Trump to end the Iran war. And they abruptly canceled a vote on additional ICE funding, the centerpiece of Trump’s deportation agenda.

The breaking point, by all accounts, is the $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” slush fund that would funnel taxpayer money to January 6 rioters and other MAGA loyalists. One former Trump administration official told MS NOW: “Republicans have realized they are being scammed. I can’t imagine any Republican ever allowing money to be paid to anyone who harmed law enforcement.”

The most revealing quote of all came from a source close to the White House: “In many ways I don’t think they fear the president anymore. Many have realized you can outlive Trump, politically speaking.”

That sentence is the entire ballgame. The fear is gone. And once the fear is gone, the deals fall apart.

61 Percent of Americans Are Cutting Back on Groceries

A new CNN poll, published as Americans sit down to Memorial Day cookouts, found that 61 percent of Americans have changed their grocery purchases in the last several months to stay within budget. Another 59 percent have cut back on entertainment. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents all say they’re feeling it.

More than three-quarters of Americans, including 55 percent of Republicans, say Trump’s policies have increased the cost of living in their communities. A new Fox News poll, published the same week, found 80 percent of voters say the Trump administration is responsible for the spike in gas prices.

The latest New York Times/Siena poll showed nearly half of all voters rating the economy as “poor” — up 11 points since January. Gas prices are above $4.50 a gallon nationally, and topped $5 in seven states.

Trump’s response, when asked about it: he doesn’t care “even a little bit.”

This is the data point underneath every panicked Republican quote in the story above. Voters with cracked grocery budgets don’t reward politicians who tell them their pain doesn’t matter.

Federal Regulators Just Approved Trump’s 250-Foot Golden Arch

While Americans are skipping meat to afford their grocery bills, Trump’s Federal Commission of Fine Arts has officially signed off on the president’s plan to build a 250-foot triumphal arch near the National Mall. The chairman called it a “very elegant building.”

The design features four golden lions at the base, a giant winged Lady Liberty perched on top, and a golden inscription that reads “One Nation Under God.” Columbia architecture historian Reinhold Martin described it to Talking Points Memo as “Napoleonic” and part of an “imperial tradition.” His blunter assessment: “The classical architecture stuff is a dog whistle for white nationalists.”

When CBS asked Trump who the arch would commemorate, his answer was one word: “Me.”

The White House originally claimed the arch would be funded by private donations. Politico now reports the National Endowment for the Humanities is setting aside $15 million for it. TPM reports Trump could also tap his new DOJ slush fund — yes, the same one paying out January 6 rioters — to pay for it.

A group of Vietnam War veterans has sued to stop the project, arguing it will block views of Arlington National Cemetery. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has ordered the government to give her 14 days’ notice before any bulldozers move in.

MAGA “Family Values” Candidate Accused of Wrecking Friend’s Marriage in Swinger Affair

This story has everything.

Mark Lamb, the Trump-endorsed Republican favorite to represent Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, is the subject of a blistering new investigation by the Arizona Republic. Lamb, 53, is a former sheriff and is running on a “family values” platform.

The Republic alleges Lamb roped his best friend Matt Hilsabeck into a years-long affair with Lamb’s wife — without permission from Hilsabeck’s spouse, Jillian Stannard. The affair reportedly destroyed her marriage and triggered an internal investigation by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When Stannard reportedly sent sexual material to church officials as part of their probe, Stannard says Lamb “got in her face” and “threatened her, telling her there would be consequences.”

Lamb is also accused of sending unsolicited explicit images to multiple women, then using his sheriff’s office to threaten them with criminal investigations if they shared the messages.

A second woman, Tammy Peacock, allegedly had a years-long affair with Lamb and tattooed a “Sheriff Lamb” badge on her body. “I love that tattoo,” Lamb allegedly wrote her in 2016, with a wink emoji. “Nobody can top my favorite supporter!”

Peacock died in a car crash in 2021. A week before her death, she reportedly called Lamb a “f---ing joke” and a womanizer.

In response to the investigation, Lamb’s campaign brushed it off as a political hit job. Lamb told the Phoenix New Times: “I’ve been with one woman in my life, and that was my wife.”

The Republic’s reporting suggests otherwise. The pattern is the same one we’ve seen across the MAGA movement for a decade now. Run on family values. Sell the brand. Hope nobody looks too closely. Mark Lamb did, and now everyone is looking.

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