National
The assembly of President Donald Trump’s (R-FL) historic second Cabinet is almost complete, but a few nominees are still yet to be confirmed.
Trump’s pick for his Labor Secretary is former Congresswoman Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR). She flipped Oregon’s Fifth Congressional District in 2022 but was defeated for re-election in 2024. The suburban Portland district is one of the most competitive at the national level, but has a slight Democratic lean.
Chavez-DeRemer has not been seen as controversial as some of Trump’s other nominees, but some Republicans remain concerned about her labor relations background.
Chavez-DeRemer cleared the committee vote of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee to the tune of a 14-9 vote. Three Democratic Senators defected to advance her nomination to the full Senate – Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO). Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), however, voted against her nomination advancement due to her sponsorship of the PRO Act.
The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is a law that was proposed last Congress. The measure would prevent employers from holding mandatory meetings for the purposes of counteracting labor organizations and would bolster employees’ rights to join unions. The bill would also permit unions to encourage secondary strikes, an action by one union in support of a strike initiated by another union, but often in the same group of companies or trade. Additionally, the bill would weaken “right-to-work” laws, which gives employees the option to join a union and pay dues. Such laws are on the books in twenty-seven states.
Neither a Senate cloture vote nor a full Senate vote have been scheduled.
Finally, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R, NY-21) is up for Ambassador to the United Nations (UN). She cleared her Foreign Relations Committee vote with ease by a 19-3 margin at the end of January. No further votes have been scheduled. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) were the only holdouts.
Stefanik was the first Cabinet or Cabinet-level official to be announced by Trump in the wake of his election, but Republicans have intentionally slow-walked her nomination so as to not lose her membership in the House.
Republicans currently have the bare-minimum majority of 218 seats, Stefanik inclusive. Without her, Speaker Mike Johnson (R, LA-04) and company will have a significantly more difficult time in passing Trump’s agenda, which, in the current state of affairs, remains mostly partisan.
“We’re kind of taking our direction from the White House in terms of who they want to move and when,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told NBC News. “But my assumption is it probably has to do with the majority, the margin they have in the House right now.”
The timing is also complicated by Albany Democrats’ efforts to delay the special election until November, possibly leaving the North Country seat vacant for months. The proposed law’s intention was to hold the special concurrently with the next general election to reduce “voter fatigue,” increase election administration logistics, and increase turnout. While Democrats have tabled the bill, speculation swirls they’ll pick it back up.
Republicans have already lost two other members since the start of the first Congress. Former Congressman Matt Gaetz (R, FL-01) resigned his Florida Panhandle seat after Trump announced him as his Attorney General nominee. After allegations of sexual misconduct, Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis (R), a Trump endorsee, easily won the January primary, but will have to wait until April 1 until the special election. The deeply-Republican district is not expected to be close, as Gaetz was re-elected in 2024 with 68% of the vote. Patronis faces 2024 nominee Gay Valimont (D).
Republicans also lost former Congressman Michael Waltz (R, FL-06) as he became Trump’s National Security Advisor. State Senator Randy Fine (R), also endorsed by Trump, easily won his January primary. The April 1 special election coincides with the FL-01 special. Republicans are expected to maintain control of the Saint Augustine-South Daytona-based seat. Fine faces teacher Joshua Weil (D).
While these special elections are likely to remain in Republican hands, margins will be key, and they could offer a glimpse of the 2026 midterm moods. Special elections are often seen by analysts as one of the foremost barometers going into a midterm election.
However, Democrats have lost a seat of their own in the Wednesday passing of Congressman Sylvester Turner (D, TX-18).
Turner was just elected in 2024, filling in the seat vacated after the death of then-Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D). Turner was 70. Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) will announce a special election date for this deep-blue, Houston-based seat. Turner succeeded Erica Lee Carter (D), Jackson Lee’s daughter, who represented the district for just two months after her mother’s death.
The passing of Turner brings the House total to a 218-214 Republican majority.
Finally, Congressman Byron Donalds (R-FL-19) (pictured above left) has announced he is running for Governor of Florida in 2026. Governor Ron DeSantis (R) is term-limited. The firebrand conservative has been a staunch supporter of Donald Trump since he was elected in 2020. He was re-elected in 2024 with 66% of the vote, a landslide. Donalds was a registered Democrat until 2010.
State
Governor Kathy Hochul (D) (pictured above right) has told New York prison guards to quit their strike or risk losing their jobs.
While the strike has ended in most downstate prisons, it persists in Upstate and Western New York prisons. Thousands of correction workers may face fines or termination if they do not return to work. Prosecution is even on the table for some workers.
“They are in violation of the law. We have laws in our books that are supposed to protect us in these situations. Therefore they are violating New York state law at this moment,” Hochul said Tuesday morning, while also calling herself “sympathetic” to the cause.
The strikes have started mostly regarding staffing concerns and abhorrent working conditions and living conditions for the prisoners, with some former service members saying the situation is “worse than Iraq.”
As of Tuesday, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (NYDOCCS) has said that roughly 8,000 correction officers and sergeants are still striking, while 2,000 have returned to work.
“They’ve created very unsafe circumstances. There are serious consequences. We have warned them day after day after day,” said Hochul. “A lot of warnings, that you could lose your healthcare, the healthcare is gone, people are going to be arrested, you could be going to jail. You’ve lost your job, you’ve lost your income, you’ve lost everything,” she added, although less than ten officers have been fired, according to officials.
Hochul has brought in the National Guard to help alleviate the situation, while prison visitations have been cancelled statewide.
Last Thursday, Hochul said a tentative agreement had been reached to end the strike, but concessions have been insufficient in bringing the strike to an end.
Local
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has put out a statement of advice, which has been disseminated by the office of County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), regarding the ongoing avian flu pandemic that has claimed hundreds of thousands of poultry and has ceased operations at Crescent Duck Farm in Aquebogue, Long Island’s last duck farm.
In cases where DEC field staff cannot collect samples or carcasses from the sites, DEC asks the public to limit direct contact with dead wildlife and to keep children and pets away.
To dispose of a dead bird properly, DEC instructs:
- Wear disposable gloves, a mask, and eye protection, such as safety glasses or goggles;
- Avoid direct contact with the carcass or carcass fluids by using a shovel or garbage bag to pick up the bird;
- Triple-bag carcasses and place in an outdoor trash receptacle;
- Remove and discard gloves and wash hands with soap and water immediately after;
- Change your clothes and wash them after disposing of the bird;
- Clean the shovel, if used, with hot, soapy water and disinfect it with diluted bleach (one-third cup of bleach to a gallon of water).
For more information or to submit a report, call the DEC at 844-332-3267.
