📝 The Readback: Fly Out Day with Thune

IN THIS EDITION

Fly Out Day with Thune

Millsmentum builds in Maine

Is Talarico the answer for Texas Dems?

The hard work of vibing

THE TOP

Fly Out Day with Thune

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.

Thune Day: Senate Majority Leader John Thune was our guest this week on Fly Out Day. Our first two episodes have featured the top two men in Congress – Speaker Mike Johnson and Thune.

Our goal with FOD – our internal nickname for the show – is to find people who are in the middle of the news of the day and have them talk to us about their strategy and their thinking about what they are trying to accomplish.

Thune did exactly that. He told us there is no way he would accept health care policy changes on a seven-week continuing resolution. Thune also said he believes Democrats will shut down the government.

Thune also lightly criticized President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which could hit his home state of South Dakota especially hard. Thune said the independence of the Federal Reserve is of tantamount importance, although Trump has continually sought to influence its decisions.

Thune is a member of the Gang of Eight – congressional leaders and top members of the intelligence committees – so we asked him what keeps him up at night. He said the “evolving methods of warfare,” including drones and anti-drones.

“Allies,” Thune said, describing his geopolitical worldview. “I’m a big believer in allies. And I think that NATO, other allies around the world, people who share our view of freedom and democracy, we need to be working with them. Because I think alliances also are a deterrent of bad behavior.”

Got that?

Check out our great, freewheeling panel with NYT’s Annie Karni and Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio.

Two other things of note.

– As you can see here, Thune is tall. Much taller than Johnson. He may be the tallest person we’ll ever have on our set.

– We’re having every guest sign a picture. Who will sign next week? We’ll announce that next Wednesday.

What I’m listening to: Phish began its southern swing last night. So, of course, I am listening to the Live Phish app for the next few weeks to make sure I don’t miss a thing.

– Jake Sherman

You can find The Readback in your inbox every Saturday at 8 a.m. And don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected] with feedback. Enjoy The Readback.

Millsmentum builds in Maine

Senate Democratic leaders are closer than ever to landing Maine Gov. Janet Mills, their top recruit to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins in 2026.

We scooped this week that Mills is in the process of interviewing a short list of potential campaign managers as she prepares to run. This is a big deal for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is on a Senate recruitment roll.

And it wasn’t a given. Mills has given few indications throughout the year that she was leaning toward a bid. Mills still has not made a final decision, but you don’t interview managers if you’re not serious about running.

In many ways, Mills is a formidable candidate. She has won statewide twice and has solid approval ratings. She was born in the small town of Farmington, shedding the elitism that often dogs Portland-based Democrats. Her pedigree is bipartisan. Mills’ father, grandfather and older brother served in the state legislature as Republicans.

And in other ways, Mills is an awkward standard-bearer for the current Democratic zeitgeist.

At a time when the Democratic base is screaming for fresh blood, Mills would be 79 by the time she’s sworn in. That’s older than Collins, who would be 74. As Democratic activists are calling for a fire-and-brimstone approach, Mills does not spit venom. She actually praised Collins in an interview last week.

And Mills has at times faced criticism from the left for resisting tax increases and forging deals with Republicans on gun control.

This is a big contrast to Graham Platner, the oyster farmer whose populist progressive campaign launch quickly earned the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Mills would face Platner in a primary should she run.

But part of Platner’s allure is a perceived authenticity and his willingness to rail against the elites.

Mills clearly has some fight in her, memorably telling President Donald Trump she would see him in court during a White House confrontation earlier this year on transgender athletes. And she comes across as authentic, wearing L.L. Bean Boots (with the Maine seal embroidered onto them!) to her second inauguration.

Remember in 2020 when Collins’ Democratic challenger Sara Gideon wore Patagonia?

What I’m reading: I have made it to book 36 out of 50 with a little less than four months to go! I’m currently reading “Salt: A World History,” a book by Mark Kurlansky about how salt has shaped civilizations for millennia.

– Ally Mutnick

Is Talarico the answer for Texas Dems?

Have Democrats found their next rising star? That’s what many liberals wondered this week following Texas state Rep. James Talarico’s entrance into the Senate race.

Ever since winning election to the state legislature in 2018, Talarico has attracted attention for his invocation of Christian rhetoric to deliver a progressive message. His viral videos earned him a coveted invitation to Joe Rogan’s popular podcast. And now, Talarico is lining up to present himself as the answer to the most elusive of Democratic pursuits: winning statewide in the Lone Star State.

At a time when the Democratic base is angry at their leaders in Washington and eager for “fighters,” Talarico appears to meet the moment. He’s spoken frequently about how coastal Democrats from blue states are too comfortable with the way things are (hint, hint: Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries), while red-state Democrats are better suited to scrapping with the GOP.

When I spoke with Talarico before his launch, he said Democrats need to move away from business as usual when running campaigns. Talarico noted that he walked the entire length of his state house district during a competitive election, revealing how “non-traditional” tactics can pay off.

Talarico’s reference to shaking things up is clearly an attack on former Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), the party’s 2024 Senate candidate who lost to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). Allred received criticism from some in his party for adopting an overly cautious approach when campaigning.

Allred is running again this cycle, setting up a competitive primary with Talarico. Terry Virts, a former NASA astronaut, is also in the running.

For many Allred supporters, Talarico is an Austin-area liberal who will struggle to connect with voters of color in the state and will be easily painted as too extreme for Texas.

In the days following Talarico’s launch, we scooped how Allred rolled out a string of endorsements from Congressional Black Caucus leaders. The Democratic primary here will be fascinating.

What I’m reading: “The Midcoast,” a gripping novel from Adam White about a small Maine town and an upwardly mobile family who are hiding huge secrets.

– Max Cohen

The hard work of vibing

The fun thing about being a reporter is that I’m also a fan of the news business. I get to see how top-notch pros do this super cool thing every day.

That’s what made the launch event for our new Fly Out Day series on YouTube, complete with a studio tour, so fun.

I’ve been to my share of events at our townhouse, from staff meetings to breakfast briefings with our readers. Our guests are the best, and the bites are always tight.

I’ve also been on TV plenty of times and squeezed into radio booths often enough.

I hadn’t swung over to the townhouse since we built the Fly Out Day studio, however. What the Fly Out Day team — in particular, our director of editorial video strategy Haley Talbot — has built is like none of the sets or radio booths I’ve ever been to.

It’s more intimate, more lively, more modern. It’s a converted living space after all.

I’m no AV pro, but even I can see the studio is set up to make you feel like you’re just joining a hangout with the most powerful lawmakers in the United States. You almost want to make nachos before pulling up the videos.

No surprise to me, the first two guests — Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune — have been so newsy and engaging in that environment, though I can confirm it takes a lot of lights, cameras, mics and rigging to make the scene appear as chill as it does.

But that’s the magic of news: Reporters scrape and wrestle to get info, but we want to make it as easy and fun as possible to make use of what we discover.

Seeing my fellow journalists, especially my colleagues at Punchbowl News, pull that off for readers, listeners and viewers alike? Well, that’s exactly why I’m such a fan.

What I’m listening to: Dean Ball, who recently left the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, did a podcast on how policy actually gets made in this administration. I love hearing the idiosyncrasies of how groups work day-to-day, and Ball provides insights on the most high-level.

– Ben Brody