Democrats Snag Their Top Senate Recruit

Plus: The Pentagon is about to have no reporters.

Good morning all and happy Wednesday! I’m about to head to the Supreme Court (see below for why!), but before I do, I wanted to give you a quick roundup of news stories I’m tracking this morning.

This can also serve as an opportunity to send in questions for our next mailbag column! You can ask questions by 1) clicking “reply” to this email, 2) emailing me at gabe@wakeuptopolitics.com, or 3) clicking below to leave a comment!

Let me know what you’re curious about in the world of politics, government, media and more. See you tomorrow with a SCOTUS dispatch!

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Mills enters Maine race

Gov. Janet Mills (D-ME) launched her long-awaited campaign Tuesday against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), setting up what could be one of the marquee matchups of the 2026 midterms.

Collins, the last remaining congressional Republican from New England, is widely seen as the most vulnerable Senate Republican up for re-election next year. Democrats have been thwarted in their attempts to defeat her in the past — including in 2020, when the final polling average showed Democrat Sara Gideon winning by 5.5 percentage points, only for Collins to end up triumphing by 8.6.

Mills was heavily pushed to run by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY); she joins Sherrod Brown (Ohio) and Roy Cooper (North Carolina) as Schumer’s three prime recruits for this cycle.

However, before facing Collins, Mills will first have to face a more-competitive-than-expected primary: Graham Platner, a previously-little-known oyster farmer, has raised more than $4 million — and attracted support from progressive leaders like Bernie Sanders — since entering the race in August. “Janet Mills again? She was a good governor, but I think it’s time for change,” one woman says in a new ad that Platner released yesterday.

Janet Mills in her Senate announcement video.

The Senate Democrats’ campaign arm has already formed a joint fundraising committee with Mills. Platner has previously said he would not support Schumer as leader. A third candidate in the race, Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban, withdrew on Tuesday and endorsed Mills.

Mills, 77, would be the oldest freshman senator in history if elected; she said Tuesday that she would only serve a single term. Collins is 72; Platner is 40.

Another primary to watch: Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) is set to announce plans this morning to challenge Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). Moulton is 47; Markey is 79, setting up yet another generational clash within the Democratic Party. Another young Democrat challenged Markey in 2020 — a Kennedy, no less — but came up short against the incumbent. Will the party’s intervening experience with Joe Biden lead to a different outcome this time?

Pentagon restricts press

Yesterday, more than 100 reporters were credentialed to cover the Defense Department. But today, that number is expected to drop down to only a handful, after nearly every mainstream media organization declined to sign a Pentagon agreement setting new restrictions on accredited journalists.

The agreement stated that journalists’ credentials could be revoked if they “solicit the disclosure” of “non-public information” from Defense Department employees, including by sharing their Signal or WhatsApp address to ask for tips. (An earlier version would have required journalists to agree that Defense Department information be “approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released.” The Pentagon later revised the language.)

“The policy is without precedent and threatens core journalistic protections,” ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, and NBC said in a rare joint statement announcing their decision not to sign, adding that the requirements “would restrict journalists’ ability to keep the nation and the world informed of important national security issues.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in April.

The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Reuters, and a slew of other news outlets — including conservative platforms like Newsmax, the Washington Times, the Daily Caller, and the Washington Examiner — also declined to sign.

“We will continue to cover the U.S. military as each of our organizations has done for many decades, upholding the principles of a free and independent press,” the TV networks said.

One America News Network, a Trump-friendly channel, is the only news outlet known to have signed the agreement. The revocation of other outlets’ credentials follows other moves by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to clamp down on media access, including removing certain’ outlets workspaces and restricting reporters from traversing Pentagon hallways without an escort.

This will be the first time since the Pentagon opened in 1943 that the Defense Department — America’s largest employer, with a nearly $1 trillion taxpayer-funded budget and the power to send men and women into battle — will have no reporters from mainstream media outlets credentialed to cover the agency.

Recommended read: NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman on why he refused to sign.

Happening today

• President Trump will hold a press conference with FBI Director Kash Patel at 3 p.m. ET.

• The Senate will hold another procedural vote related to the Republican government funding bill. The House is out of session.

• The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 10 a.m. ET in Louisiana v. Callais, a case on majority-minority districts in Louisiana that could end with the unraveling of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. I’ll be in the press section during oral arguments — stay tuned for a full report on the case tomorrow.

More news

• Democrats filibustered the Republican government funding bill for the eighth time, sending the government shutdown into its third week. (The Hill)

  • Senate Majority Leader John Thune plans to start holding votes on standalone spending bills, starting with the House-passed Defense appropriations bill later this week. (Politico)

  • President Trump said he plans to lay off more government workers on Friday. (Reuters)

• The U.S. struck a fifth boat accused of carrying drugs from Venezuela, killing six people. (AP)

• Hamas released the remains of four more deceased Israeli hostages on Tuesday, after Israel moved to restrict humanitarian aid into Gaza until more bodies were turned over. (NBC)

• A Trump-appointed federal prosecutor in Virginia was forced to resign in August after he refused an order to open a grand jury investigation into the mishandling of classified documents related to the Trump/Russia probe, believing there wasn’t enough evidence to justify the potential prosecution. (NYT)

• Six foreigners had their visas revoked by the State Department over comments they made about Charlie Kirk. (Reuters)

• Leaders of Young Republican groups throughout the country participated in a Telegram group chat that referred to Black people as monkeys, praised Adolf Hitler, and joked about gas chambers, slavery and rape. (Politico)

• House Republicans want former Special Counsel Jack Smith to testify. (Axios)

Before I go…

A palette cleanser as you start your morning: 5-year-old Ryan Ramos is Jimmy Carter’s No. 1 fun, WSB-TV in Atlanta reports.

The New Jerseyan first learned about Carter last year when his preschool class celebrated Presidents Day. He became fascinated with the 39th president and dedicated himself to learning everything he could about the peanut-farmer-turned-commander-in-chief.

Last week, when he turned five, his family threw him a Carter-themed birthday party, complete with campaign buttons and wooden hammers to symbolize Habitat for Humanity.

Ryan Ramos with his Carter-themed birthday cake.

“One day he goes, ‘is there a Jimmy Carter World?’” his mom recounted. “I said, ‘Well there’s a Carter Center in Atlanta.’ He said, ‘I want to go! I want to go!’” The trip is on the works.

There’s only one thing left to do, Ryan: start a Jimmy Carter-themed Substack. I’ll be the first in line to subscribe.