The Archive

IN THIS EDITION

The Conference is around the corner

What Trump asked Congress to do during his speech

Salazar’s lonely push for a bipartisan solution to immigration

A brewing GOP showdown in Louisiana

THE TOP

The Conference is around the corner

Welcome to The Readback, our weekend digest featuring the best of Punchbowl News this week – a quick roundup of all our scoops, analysis and Capitol Hill insight you won’t find anywhere else. We’ve also included a few of our favorite outside reads from the week.

The Punchbowl News team has never shied away from doing ambitious things. And now, we’re hard at work putting together our first ever all-day conference. Of course we’re calling it The Conference and it can’t come fast enough.

The Conference will take place on Tuesday, March 11, with an impressive line up of speakers and panelists from both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, and other movers and shakers in Washington.

We’ll be interviewing:

– Speaker Mike Johnson

– House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries

– The White House’s James Blair and James Braid

– Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.)

– Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)

– Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.)

– Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.)

– Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.)

– NCAA President Charlie Baker

– NASDAQ CEO Adena Friedman

– United CEO Scott Kirby

– Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins

– McKinsey and Co.’s Bob Sternfels

– AMD CEO Lisa Su

– Miller Strategies CEO Jeff Miller and Ballard Partners CEO Brian Ballard

– Plus a live Daily Punch recording with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins

We’ll also be unveiling our Power List, which you will absolutely, certainly want to bookmark if your life and work revolves around the people, power and politics of Washington. Or if you just want to stay in the know of who is helping make things happen behind the scenes.

Additionally, we’ll share key insights into Washington’s thinking from our special conference edition of The Canvass survey as the new-ish Congress and Trump administration reshape the way the government operates.

Come for the insightful on-stage conversations, stay for the food, the cocktails and networking opportunities. We’ve been pulling all stops to make this a memorable event and we can’t wait to see you there. Be sure to look out for members of the Punchbowl News team and say hello.

What I’m watching: I just finished the first season of Paradise where Sterling K. Brown is as incredible as always. It’s intense but captivating.

– Elvina Nawaguna

You can find The Readback in your inbox every Saturday at 8 a.m. And don’t hesitate to reach out to readback@punchbowl.news with feedback. Enjoy The Readback.

What Trump asked Congress to do during his speech

We made the case earlier this week that the State of the Union isn’t what it used to be. In a particularly inspired turn of phrase, Bres called Tuesday night’s joint address to Congress by President Donald Trump an example that we are in the Golden Age of Pettiness.

Trump was dumping on people from the rostrum. And Democrats were a complete mess. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) stood up during the speech and berated Trump, earning himself the 29th censure in the history of this republic and the fifth since 2021. Democrats held signs and heckled Trump from the seats in the chamber.

What didn’t get that much attention is what Trump asked Congress to pass.

Trump asked Congress to “pass tax cuts for everybody.” He asked Congress to pass money to secure the border. He asked Congress to institute the death penalty for anyone who kills a police officer.

The president also asked Congress to pass a bill “permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children.”

And Trump asked Congress to pass a bill to “fund a state-of-the-art golden dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland, all made in the USA.”

Let’s take this piece by piece.

Congress is almost certain to extend the 2017 tax rates, and Republicans are working on it now. They will pass money to secure the border, which will likely come — at least in part — in the reconciliation bill.

We don’t think Congress is going to mandate the death penalty for anyone who kills a police officer. That isn’t on anyone’s radar.

And there seems to be very little chance that Congress would be able to pass a law barring sex changes on children. Just a guess, but we don’t think that could get 60 votes.

Here’s the truth: Next week, Congress has to fund the government. After that, the Hill is likely to spend months figuring out how to pass a reconciliation package. That’s the immediate business at hand.

What I’m watching: It’s March. So there’s really one thing to watch: March Madness. The GW Revolutionaries will be in the Atlantic 10 Tournament here in D.C. Go G-Dub.

– Jake Sherman

Salazar’s lonely push for a bipartisan solution to immigration

This week I sat down with Rep. Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) on her rare push to bring bipartisan immigration bills to the floor, as well as how she views the Trump administration’s hardline border policies.

The Florida Republican has a more nuanced view of the issue than a lot of her colleagues. She also represents a nearly 80% Hispanic district in Miami-Dade County, which swung significantly for President Donald Trump.

But Salazar said she has concerns with the idea of mass deportations, especially for those who have been in the country before the Biden administration took power. Trump made mass deportations a central promise of his 2024 campaign.

“We know that we have to deport Tren de Aragua but we don’t want to deport the lady who’s been here for 22 years cleaning the toilets in Manhattan,” Salazar told us.

Salazar has co-sponsored several bills in the past with Democrats when it comes to offering legal status for Dreamers and undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children.

She was the only Republican who signed onto the American Dream and Promise Act led by Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas).

Last Congress, she also spearheaded the Dignity Act with Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), which would impose stricter border security measures while also looking at a pathway to citizenship or legal status for undocumented residents.

Salazar said she is planning to reintroduce a new version of the Dignity Act and is in talks with Escobar about working on it together.

It’s no secret immigration is one of the most divisive issues in this Congress, so Salazar’s perspective is unique. She said she wants to share her view of the issue with her colleagues and leadership when appropriate.

We will note, however, that Salazar is on board with all of Trump’s border security measures to crack down on illegal entries at the southern border. She also has condemned the Biden administration’s handling of the border, calling it “egregiously irresponsible.”

What I’m watching: I recently rewatched the 2007 movie “Zodiac” about the infamous killer and the unsuccessful chase to catch them.

– Mica Soellner

A brewing GOP showdown in Louisiana

It’s March 2025 and it feels like we just went through the 2024 election cycle. But in the 24/7 world of modern campaign politics, we’re already moving onto the 2026 midterms.

In recent weeks, we’ve been reporting on the spicy Louisiana Senate race. The state is almost certain to send a Republican senator back to D.C. But what goes down in the GOP primary is anyone’s guess.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is facing a primary challenge from former Rep. John Fleming (R-La.). The race will be a fascinating test of whether a lawmaker who is proud of working with Democrats and voted to convict President Donald Trump in 2021 can survive in today’s Republican Party.

We interviewed Fleming this week and heard him slam Cassidy as a “Republican in name only,” accusing Cassidy of advancing Democratic goals despite representing a deep-red state.

The two candidates have vastly different theories of the case. Cassidy told us in an interview last month that “good policy is good politics” and cited direct benefits of the bipartisan infrastructure law he negotiated.

“I’ve been working really hard for my state, really hard and people can look at tangible things,” Cassidy said. “Oh, we have money for this bridge… We now have flood mitigation projects taking place because of the infrastructure bill. You put all that together, and I think I got a pretty nice record to run on.”

Fleming, on the other hand, couldn’t disagree more. He sees the infrastructure bill as a way to secretly advance Democratic “woke” policies.

“We’re not seeing any broad transition of our infrastructure at all,” Fleming said. “It was sold as one thing and turned out to be something else as a bait-and-switch type of thing.”

And then there’s Trump. Cassidy’s vote to convict the president following the Jan. 6 attack forms the majority of Fleming’s messaging. Trump trashed Cassidy in 2024, calling him “very disloyal,” “TOTAL FLAKE,” “lightweight” and “one of the worst Senators in the United States Senate” in a Truth Social post. Ouch.

Can a Republican senator come back from that? Cassidy dodged when we wondered if he’s seeking a Trump endorsement. But far from becoming a never-Trumper or a voice of the GOP resistance, Cassidy has fallen in line behind Trump’s second term policies. He’s voted for all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite clear skepticism of Kennedy’s vaccine beliefs.

Although Cassidy has some apparent vulnerabilities, the incumbent employs a massive financial advantage over Fleming. And a recent state poll found that the vast majority of Louisiana Republicans view Cassidy favorably.

It’s going to be a wild ride up until the spring 2026 Republican primary and we’ll be there every step of the way to keep you posted.

What I’m watching: The third season of White Lotus. Is anything actually going to happen during Sunday’s episode? Or will it just be more buildup — again?

– Max Cohen