10 Things in Politics: Trump alums are the new GOP establishment

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Here's what we're talking about:

• The MAGA diaspora: These are the 327 most important lobbyists, authors, and consultants in Trump's post-White House influence network
• 3:30 a.m. retail shifts, delivering takeout all weekend: How Capitol Hill workers resort to 2nd jobs to survive on low congressional pay
• The latest on Tropical Storm Elsa as it nears landfall in Florida

One thing to watch for: President Joe Biden travels to Crystal Lake, Illinois, to talk up his American Families Plan.

THE MAGA DIASPORA: Donald Trump's hold on the GOP can be seen in the halls of Congress. No, this isn't just about the 147 lawmakers who challenged his 2020 election defeat. The real result of the former president's hostile takeover of the Republican Party is evident behind closed doors, where many of his former loyalists now reside.

My colleagues' new four-part series shows how Trump's power has seeped into the nation's capital, home to the "swamp" and the "deep state" he so detested.

Here's where some of the 327 most prominent White House alumni ended up:

• Look through the searchable database here.

At least 99 have establishment ties: Former HUD Secretary Ben Carson, the former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and former Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia have ties to official Washington.

• Not everyone is so conspicuous: At least 85 people are laying low or in positions that are too difficult to track.

At least 42 are still serving in the federal government: Trump's former doctor Ronny Jackson is now a congressman, while Bill Hagerty, a Trump-era ambassador to Japan, brought at least 13 other administration staffers to join him after he was elected to represent Tennessee in the Senate.

This second chance is unlike the reception many George W. Bush alums encountered: "It was never my intention to work on Capitol Hill unless it was someone who believed in 'America First,'" said one former White House staffer, who told my colleagues she later took interviews only with Trump-supporting members of Congress.

• Trump aides who resigned amid scandal have found new homes: Ximena Barreto resigned from the administration after the publication of her past social-media posts that contained anti-Muslim comments and conspiracy theories about Democrats. She now works for GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Read how more Trump alums are expected to flock to Capitol Hill if the GOP retakes the majority next year.

2. Eric Adams is on track to be the next mayor of New York City: After multiple rounds of ranked-choice voting, numerous outlets on Tuesday projected Adams would win the Democratic nomination over former New York City Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. He currently holds an 8,400-vote lead, which could prompt other contenders to contest the results. Should his lead hold, Adams is expected to cruise to a general-election victory in a city heavily dominated by Democrats. Here's why results in the primary contest have taken weeks to emerge.

• Adams would be just the second Black mayor in the city's history: A former police captain and state lawmaker now serving as the Brooklyn borough president, Adams cast himself as a blue-collar candidate with a focus on stopping crime, The New York Times reports.

3. Elsa was downgraded to a tropical storm again: As of early Wednesday, Elsa was expected to make landfall over the northern Florida Gulf Coast later in the morning. Rescuers in Surfside planned to keep searching for survivors of the condo collapse as long as the weather permitted. States of emergency are in effect for parts of both Florida and Georgia. See the latest updates here.

4. Capitol Hill workers are taking second jobs to supplement meager salaries: Some staffers and interns go for gig-economy roles like Postmates, Uber, and DoorDash, while others work as baristas and bartenders. Some staffers said they even faced repercussions for trying to find additional income so they could afford to work their day job on the Hill. More on the 3:30 a.m. shifts and weekends of food deliveries here.

• Sen. Kyrsten Sinema's office told prospective fellows they "aren't working for Elizabeth Warren": Sinema's staff wanted to make sure that those applying for a Teach for America fellowship knew the Arizona Democrat was "very moderate, very centrist."

5. There's unlikely to be a fourth stimulus check anytime soon: No lawmaker in Congress has pitched a plan so far, and congressional Democrats are squarely focused on approving Biden's infrastructure plans this summer. Such a proposal could also crash into resistance among most Republicans and some Democrats in Congress.

6. Pentagon cancels $10 billion Microsoft contract: The Defense Department's reversal ends a yearslong legal battle. Amazon repeatedly argued that Trump's malice for the company affected its losing bid. Analysts say Microsoft and Amazon will now have to play nice, as a future deal could benefit both tech giants.

7. The missed warnings that led to the Capitol riot: What came as a surprise to those on the front line was in fact anything but: Analysts had been tracking the mass movement of Trump supporters to Washington and reading plans for a military-style operation. Though the warnings never reached the right place, the US Capitol Police was watching too. Here's what else we've learned in the six months after the insurrection.

8. A new book says Trump gave Pence 10 minutes to talk before turning on the TV: Trump's weekly lunches with his vice president at the White House followed a familiar routine, according to a forthcoming book by the journalist Michael Wolff. An excerpt of the book says Mike Pence used the gatherings as a chance "to tell the president exactly how hard he was working for him." But Trump apparently would quickly flip on the TV and vent about his latest frustrations. Trump was also said to trash Pence behind his back.

9. Sha'Carri Richardson won't be on the US Olympic team: Richardson will be left off the US sprint-relay team at the Tokyo Olympics. Richardson was handed a one-month suspension by USA Track & Field for marijuana use, which forced her to forgo her spot in the 100-meter individual race. Richardson had been expected to contend for a gold medal.

10. Trying to share a Coke across the Iron Curtain: A Soviet general's taste for a classic soft drink ran into the reality of worsening relations between East and West after World War II. So the Truman administration undertook a covert effort to quench the thirst of a big fan. Read all about the secret Coca-Cola order.

Today's trivia question: Today marks the anniversary of construction starting on the Hoover Dam. In which year did the dam officially gain its name? Email your guess and a suggested question to me at [email protected].

• Friday's answer: Future President John Adams was sure we would celebrate July 2 as our Independence Day. But Adams himself conceded our reverence for July 4. In fact, both he and Thomas Jefferson died on the 50th anniversary of America's independence, July 4, 1826.