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On Politics

Thu Aug 6 2026

Zachary Schermele | Congressional Correspondent

@zachschermele

Hello, readers. Welcome back to On Politics. Zach Schermele here, USA TODAY's congressional correspondent. It's Thursday, and Vice President JD Vance is here on Capitol Hill today to meet with Senate Republicans before they leave for a month. Several GOP lawmakers emerged from a lunch saying they talked mostly about Iran.

Major Head Start changes in store

After days of rumors, the Trump administration today made its overhaul of the Head Start preschool program official. Among the changes:

•	scrapping certain class-size ratios and school bus monitor requirements,
•	making English the official language of instruction,
•	introducing new exercise rules (30 minutes for every 3.5 hours of instruction), and more…

The proposed reforms, which could impact hundreds of thousands of low-income families, are even making some Senate Republicans skeptical. "We can make it better," West Virginia Sen. Jim Justice told me yesterday. But he stressed that Head Start already helps "a lot, a lot, a lot of kids." "There are ways we can make it worse, too," he warned. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski told me today she's "been hearing from our Head Start folks back home that are concerned about what they're seeing."

This morning I talked to Khari Garvin, who oversaw the Office of Head Start in the Biden era. His advice to concerned parents and providers? This is just the start of the regulatory process, so "no one should surrender and feel like well, all is done." "There still is an opportunity for their voices to be heard," he said.

Classroom aide April Fisher works with 3-to 5-year-old students during a Head Start preschool class on Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Wisconsin.

Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK

A politics rundown

•	Government watchdog: DOGE overstated billions in savings
•	Mitch McConnell discharged from rehab facility
•	El-Sayed won. Now a complicated path awaits Democrats in the ever-crucial Michigan Senate race

Daily photo gallery: Rep. Max Miler's political career, in photos

Moreno's Senate GOP shield

The Max Miller-Bernie Moreno saga isn't going anywhere. For those just catching up on the controversy: Miller, an Ohio GOP congressman, is being accused by his ex-wife, Emily, the daughter of Ohio senator Bernie Moreno, of domestic violence (allegations he has denied). As the back-and-forth plays out between the former couple, Senate Republicans are increasingly picking a side. Today, Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy called Miller "clearly a degenerate sociopath." Others, including Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, have said he needs to go, too.

Also breaking his silence is Sen. Jon Husted, Ohio's other Republican senator who's facing a competitive battleground race this November. He wasn't initially commenting on the controversy but said in a new statement today: "I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter. Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her."

A DOJ headache for Fauci

This morning, a Republican-led Senate committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions during a hearing last week. Sen. Rand Paul, the leader of the panel, then delivered the recommendation straight to the Justice Department. The contempt vote marked the start of what could become a long, drawn-out legal battle for one of the nation's most recognizable pandemic-era figures. Potentially hefty fines, and even the prospect of jail time, are at stake. Democrats warned the "immensely historic step" would erode the legislative branch's oversight powers.

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Zachary Schermele is the congressional correspondent for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com.