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We're going into the 80s, possibly as high as 90, this week in NYC. Remember spring? It was a wonderful season that used to unfurl over three languorous months. Now it's a week in April sandwiched between brutal cold and oppressive heat. That said, I'll take 90 over 20 any day.

We got something of a proverbial bloodletting in Congress last night, with Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales resigning/retiring in rapid succession. Swalwell went from being the frontrunner for California guv to disgraced former congressman in the span of four days, which has to be some kind of record for these things. Not since Eliot "Client 9" Spitzer has an ambitious politician imploded so epically. Maybe Anthony Weiner? Or Sarah Palin. Or Rudy Guiliani. Or Andrew Cuomo. I guess there have been many, come to think of it.

Presumably Hakeem Jeffries made a deal with Mike Johnson that he would tell Swalwell he had to go if Johnson offered a scalp from the other side of the aisle, so as not to upset the delicate balance of power in the House. There's no reporting I've seen to suggest that is how it went down, just a gut feeling.

Gonzales, you may recall, is/was a three-term Republican from a Texas border district best known for having an affair with a staffer who then committed suicide by lighting herself on fire. He was already on his way out after declaring he wouldn't run for reelection, so his surprise retirement just speeds that up. But it gets interesting because Greg Abbott will now be pressured to call a special election to fill Gonzales' seat, at a time when even deep-red Texas districts have a chance of flipping. My bet is the GOP would just assume keep the seat empty until November rather than risk such an embarrassment ahead of the coming midterm bloodbath.

I gotta admit, it's refreshing to see the House kick out two of its most contemptible members in a bout of spring cleaning. But I would suggest they keep it going. Next up should be Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat from Florida who is under federal indictment for allegedly stealing $5M in FEMA disaster funds meant for her district. After that, to maintain the symmetry, they could expel Cory Mills, a Republican from (where else) Florida under an ethics investigation over allegations of steering federal contracts to the weapons company he owns, plus not one but two girlfriends accusing him of varying degrees of sexual misconduct. Cherfilus-McCormick and Mills have both denied any wrongdoing.

One could argue that these lawmakers are all deserving of due process before losing their jobs. But if we want to try and get some sense of decorum back to the People's House, I think it's appropriate that you be expected to turn in your badge at the first shred of credible evidence against you. This is Congress, after all. We can expect higher standards and lower thresholds of wrongdoing for these people. Of the 435 sitting members, I'm sure we could do away with at least a couple dozen more. It wouldn't even have to be for serious crimes like fraud and sexual misconduct. It could just be for the crime of getting nothing done or otherwise sucking at your taxpayer-funded job.

This cascade started with the assault allegations against Swalwell that came out via a well-timed hit piece on Friday, with others to follow. But as I wrote yesterday, putting the seriousness of the allegations aside, it was a great window into how both parties operate. Democrats will say it shows they immediately moved to denounce Swalwell and called for him to suspend his gubernatorial campaign. And then they kicked him out of Congress on Monday. That suggests a party that is accountable to the public, whereas Republicans keep a guy like Gonzales around in spite of the horrific nature of his scandal, and can't even call out the leader of their party when he does something like... say.... attack the pope and compare himself to Jesus.

Whereas a cynic (me) might counter that, Trump sycophancy aside, Republicans actually voted to expel their last scandal-plagued member (RIP George Santos), and Dems only knifed Swalwell because the whisper campaign against him finally hit critical mass and they couldn't claim plausible deniability any longer.

There's just something about how Democrats — and liberals more broadly — will pat you on the back in the morning and then curb stomp you in the evening if they sense the political winds changing in the afternoon. Republicans — and conservatives more broadly — are generally more loyal to their people, for better or worse. Often worse, but at least it feels more genuine.

Look at how Adam Schiff was talking to Swalwell, his longtime friend and colleague in the CA delegation, just two months ago. They were riffing about how Swalwell wasn't "fundamentally indecent" like the president. Now Schiff is out there pretending like he never knew the guy. Or Ruben Gallego saying yesterday that he was "shocked" — SHOCKED — about the "double life" being led by a man he considered his "best friend" in Congress. It's all so gross. Either stand by your friend or cut him loose before it becomes politically expedient.

Why does politics attract the absolute worst people in America? A question for another day.

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Carlo Versano is Newsweek's Director of Politics and Culture. He has in-depth knowledge and experience covering a range of topics and stories over a 20-year career in the news business. Carlo joined Newsweek in 2024 after a stint at The Messenger. Before that, he was an Emmy-winning producer at NBC News. He is a graduate of the University of Richmond and the New School. You can get in touch with Carlo by emailing [email protected].

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By Meredith Wolf Schizer

First elected to Congress in 2014, Rep. Elise Stefanik made history as the youngest woman ever to win a House seat. She later rose to chair the House Republican Conference, becoming the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress. Serving on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, she gained widespread attention when she pressed university presidents with a question that went viral.

President Donald Trump nominated her to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but the nomination was later withdrawn. In conjunction with the release of her new book, Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities, Stefanik spoke to Newsweek about that hearing, her views of New York City’s mayor, funding cuts to universities as a lever to combat antisemitism and what comes next.

Pete Hegseth hosted a rare honor cordon for the Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin on Monday at the Pentagon, and I was there to cover it.

Keep in mind, the Pentagon rarely holds press events, and if they do, it’s usually early morning briefings. I even asked the media liaison how often they host these, and he said they have not held one in months. 

As expected, Hegseth did not take any questions from the media. The entire ceremony was quick, and it consisted of a band playing both the Indonesian and US national anthems. 

I’d say we were max about 15 journalists covering the event. 

In terms of news, the Pentagon announced that they are elevating the bilateral defense relationship between the United States and Indonesia. 

Yesterday I spoke with Christopher Hale, writer of the popular Substack Letters from Leo and one of the reporters who broke the story of the tense encounter between the Trump administration and the Vatican.

Trump's assault on Pope Leo XIV was a direct attack on the voters who delivered him the presidency: the Hispanic Catholics who swung heavily for Trump in 2024. They broke with historical Democratic patterns, took a political risk, and now they're watching their president mock their pope.

The numbers are stark. Leo commands +34 approval. Trump sits at -12. Trump has collapsed twenty-four points with Catholic voters since taking office—the very coalition that included the Hispanic swing voters who flipped crucial states.

In what could be one of his most erratic days, Trump attacked the pope on Truth Social and posted an image depicting him as Jesus. MAGA supporters went wild, and he deleted the meme—but the attack on Pope Leo stood. For Hale, that choice was telling: Catholics rank below Christian nationalists in MAGA's hierarchy.

And for the Hispanic Catholics who swung for Trump, who believed they were joining a movement that respected their faith, the message is now unmistakable. They're watching their pope being ridiculed by the man they helped elect.

“I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor.”

—President Trump on the AI-generated image of him as Christ, which he then deleted after an uproar.

Carlo speaks with Lincoln Project co-founder, Never-Trump Republican and Latino GOP consultant Mike Madrid about how Donald Trump blew it with the coalition that brought him back to power -- and what the Democrats need to do (or stop doing) to win them over.

Watch the latest episode here. ⬅

Newsweek is part of the Trust Project, which focuses on honesty, accuracy and fairness in journalism. Read more about our best practices. To get in touch with our newsroom with suggestions on how to point out possible errors, please contact us at [email protected].