The generational brawl inside the Democratic Party

IN THIS EDITION

The slow evolution of House Democrats

Cotton to Hegseth: Ban foreigners’ access to Pentagon systems

Tech: Group urges chips-smuggling hearings

Hundreds of GAO employees eligible for buyouts

THE TOP

The slow evolution of House Democrats

Happy Thursday morning.

If you speak to Democratic voters, all they want to focus on is finding someone who can take on President Donald Trump. They complain that Democratic leaders and rank-and-file members are too old, too timid and too deferential, and they’re desperately seeking a new group of pols to take over.

Yet the truth is that Democrats are getting their generational change — through retirements, deaths and intraparty brawls.

The problem is that it’s not happening fast enough for the party base. And that could make for a particularly intense Democratic primary season come 2026.

“People across the board were like, ‘Yeah, he’s got to go,’” said Everton Blair, a former Gwinnett County Board of Education chair, speaking of the 80-year-old Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who he’s challenging in Georgia’s 13th District.

“‘He used to be strong, and now he’s just really depleted and vulnerable and diminished.’ And I took it upon myself to try to just really do something about it.” Blair is only 33.

The slow shift. The three octogenarian leaders of House Democrats stepped aside in 2022 in a peaceful transfer of power, though Reps. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Steny Hoyer (Md.) and Jim Clyburn (S.C.) are all still in office. Pelosi, 85, remains a force in the party — just ask former President Joe Biden — while 86-year-old Hoyer is leading a Democratic CODEL to Israel. Clyburn, 85, is a sought-after campaign endorsement.

But in the last few years, some of the most senior Democrats have left the House, part of the slow evolution from the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers to younger members.

Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) retired in 2024 at age 88. This cycle, Reps. Danny Davis (D-Ill.), 83, Dwight Evans (D-Pa.), 71, and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), 81, opted not to run again. All three were likely to face primary challengers.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) died in office last year at age 87. Longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) died in office in July 2024 at 74. Her successor, Rep. Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), 70, died in office this past March. Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), 77, and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), 75, died this year following long illnesses.

At the committee level, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) dethroned Scott for the top Democratic post on the House Agriculture Committee in the wake of the November elections. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), 78, stepped down from the ranking member post on the Judiciary Committee in favor of Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), 62. Both Scott and Nadler are running for reelection, however.

Connolly’s death created a vacancy for the ranking member position on the Oversight Committee. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), a 47-year-old sophomore lawmaker, easily beat out two far more senior members for the slot.

Primary minefield. The list of veteran Democratic incumbents facing a primary challenger grows longer by the day. Many of their opponents are demanding generational change.

Among the targeted: Pelosi, Hoyer, Nadler, Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), John Larson (D-Conn.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.), Andre Carson (D-Ind.) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.).

“We need leaders, not just more Democratic leaders, but stronger Democratic leaders that are ready to build what comes next,” said George Hornedo, who is challenging the 50-year-old Carson. Carson succeeded his grandmother, the late Democratic Rep. Julia Carson (D-Ind.), who held the same seat from 1996 until her death in 2007.

Kat Abughazaleh, who launched a primary against Schakowsky even before the longtime lawmaker announced her retirement, was an early model for other Democratic challengers.

“If there are any candidates that were inspired by my campaign and felt like they could do it, that’s the greatest compliment I could receive,” Abughazaleh said. “We need more options in our democracy.”

Texas’ mid-decade redistricting may force a particularly poignant example of a generational fight. Under the new proposed map from Texas Republicans, Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a 78-year-old elected in 1994, was drawn into the same district as Rep. Greg Casar, 36, a rising star in the Democratic Party.

They’re not done yet. Despite the turnover, the Democratic Caucus still remains top-heavy with veteran lawmakers.

Eight of the 10 longest-serving House members are Democrats. Fifteen out of the top 20, 24 out of the top 30 are Democrats. Seniority is power, and these Democrats aren’t ready to give it up.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) says she’s running for reelection at age 88, despite widespread doubts about her fitness for office. Scott faces similar questions. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who turns 87 next week, has been in office since 1991.

“Experience still matters,” said the 77-year-old Larson. Larson — who is seeking a 15th term — faces multiple primary challengers, including former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

“It’s great to be anti-Trump. That appeals to a lot of people, especially our base,” Larson added. “But if you’re not specific to the American people about what you’re going to change and what you’re going to do, they remain skeptical.”

We’ll note that here House Republicans have their share of older members, too. Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), the dean of the House, is 87. Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) is 83, while House Rules Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) is 82.

But Republicans also have seen huge turnover in the Tea Party and Donald Trump eras, so their conference is younger overall. One big reason: Republicans have term limits for committee chairs.

Remember: Vice President JD Vance will visit Indiana today to talk to GOP Gov. Mike Braun and Republican legislative leaders about redrawing the Hoosier State’s congressional map. We scooped this in Tuesday morning’s AM edition.

— Ally Mutnick, John Bresnahan and Mica Soellner

THE SENATE

Cotton to Hegseth: Ban foreigners’ access to Pentagon systems

News: Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to immediately change Pentagon policies that allow non-U.S. citizens to access the department’s computer systems.

In a letter to Hegseth, Cotton demanded that foreigners be immediately barred from accessing DoD systems. It’s the latest development amid the fallout from a stunning ProPublica investigation in July about Microsoft’s use of China-based engineers to maintain those systems.

Hegseth vowed in response that foreign engineers “should NEVER be allowed to maintain or access DoD systems.”

Cotton is now pushing for an immediate policy change, and we’re told that the Arkansas Republican plans to file an amendment to the annual defense authorization bill – a must-pass measure – that would codify a ban on foreigners’ access to those systems. Cotton also plans to introduce this as a standalone bill next month.

Here’s an excerpt from Cotton’s letter:

The backstory. Cotton has been pushing Hegseth in recent weeks to take steps to mitigate the resulting cybersecurity risks. Hegseth responded by declaring that China “will no longer have any involvement in our cloud services, effective immediately.”

But Cotton has continued to sound the alarm over China’s potential access to Pentagon systems, including through other long-term contracts. As we reported last week, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, is making a similar push.

In his letter, Cotton also asked Hegseth to brief him about “any vulnerabilities that have been discovered in the department’s cloud contracts and software services and any mitigating actions.”

The staunch China hawk. Cotton, who also serves as the No. 3 Senate Republican leader, sent a separate letter Wednesday to the Intel Corporation over CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s alleged ownership stakes in Chinese semiconductor and advanced-manufacturing firms.

The Senate is scheduled to begin consideration of the NDAA on the Senate floor in September when lawmakers return to Washington from the summer recess.

— Andrew Desiderio

Tech: Group urges chips-smuggling hearings

First in Punchbowl News: An influential tech nonprofit is pushing three congressional committees to hold hearings on “large-scale smuggling” into China of advanced computer chips that power artificial intelligence, especially those from Nvidia.

The group, Americans for Responsible Innovation, which has pushed for more restrictions around Nvidia’s exports, said the panels should also look at whether the company did enough to stop smuggling.

“A public hearing would help clarify the facts, identify regulatory gaps, and signal that national security cannot be compromised for short-term commercial gain,” the nonprofit said in its letter, dated Thursday.

Questions about the scale and response to potential smuggling of Nvidia’s cutting-edge chips have prompted big swings on policy in the last year, and are crucial to bills that lawmakers could soon take up.

ARI urged hearings at the panels overseeing the Commerce Department’s export controls program — the Senate Banking Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee — plus the House China Committee.

Chips and flips. As with other policy issues around Nvidia, the viewpoints on smuggling are diverse. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has insisted “diversion” of state-of-the-art chips essentially doesn’t happen, in part because his company’s two-ton assemblies are just too massive to sneak away.

A July investigation by the Financial Times estimated the smuggled chips are worth $1 billion. On Tuesday, the Justice Department also announced it had charged two Chinese nationals with smuggling “tens of millions of dollars’ worth of sensitive microchips.”

Nvidia spokesperson Sarah Weinstein said in a statement that the DOJ’s “case demonstrates that smuggling is a nonstarter.”

“Even relatively small exporters and shipments are subject to thorough review and scrutiny, and any diverted products would have no service, support, or updates,” Weinstein said.

China hawks worry Beijing is poised to beat the United States in the AI race by stealing shipments of advanced chips, or by hiding the fact that Chinese firms are the ultimate buyers. President Joe Biden’s administration had sought to control Nvidia sales to other countries in response to this concern.

President Donald Trump, whom Huang has courted, has leaned toward the view that America’s victory means strengthening U.S. chip-makers that want to sell worldwide.

The Trump administration reversed the Biden-era effort and opened up sales to China of earlier-generation Nvidia chips.

Tariffs. Speaking of the White House and chips, Trump said Wednesday night that he’s ready to put 100% tariffs on semiconductors. The idea’s really been scaring tech lately, though Trump said there’d be no levy on firms that pledge to build their chips in the U.S.

— Ben Brody

BUDGET WATCH

Hundreds of GAO employees eligible for buyouts

News: The GAO is offering hundreds of employees voluntary buyouts ahead of the uncertainty over how much funding the agency will receive from Congress.

The watchdog has been under fire from the Trump administration and House Republicans, who proposed halving the agency’s budget. In the face of a precarious budget situation, the GAO has offered employees Voluntary Early Retirement Authority and Voluntary Separation Incentive Payment programs, spokesperson Sarah Kaczmarek said.

Up to 300 employees may be approved for the buyout programs, though that number could change, according to the GAO.

The agency previously warned that it could lose more than 2,200 of its roughly 3,500 employees under the House GOP spending proposal. Senate Republicans haven’t called for such cuts. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would keep the agency’s funds steady.

“GAO remains focused on our mission of providing Congress with fact-based recommendations on how to save money and make the government work better for the American people,” Kaczmarek said in a statement.

The GAO has also been in the midst of more than two dozen impoundment investigations into the Trump administration. The latest ruling came Tuesday when the watchdog found the administration violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding NIH grant funding.

Democratic response: House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) noted that it’s the GAO that roots out waste, fraud and abuse and protects Congress’ power of the purse.

“Now, that success is under threat,” DeLauro said. “Republicans and an out of control and unaccountable [OMB Director] Russ Vought are no doubt celebrating that GAO is faced with offering buyouts, which risk weakening its oversight capacity and creating space for fraudsters and grifters to thrive.”

— Samantha Handler

THE CAMPAIGN

New: EMILYs List is endorsing Christina Hines in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s 10th District. The competitive district will be an open race given that incumbent GOP Rep. John James is running for governor.

Hines, a former prosecutor, is facing off against Tim Greimel, the former mayor of Pontiac, Mich., and former Commerce Department official Eric Chung in the primary.

— Max Cohen

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