🍻 In This Week's Hill Spill Newsletter: Texas Gets Weird, Massie's Wake and a Progressive Candidate's Nose-Job Problem

Welcome to this week's Hill Spill, your favorite Thirsty Thursday political newsletter! Congress vanished for recess this week, briefly making the whole chamber as elusive as Rep. Tom Kean Jr. But before everyone dipped, they left us plenty to work with: a Texas congressional candidate — asex therapist by day, professional astrologer by night — who pre-butted us so hard she answered questions we hadn't written yet, a Senate lunch that went so sideways everyone fled for the airport empty-handed, Trump world dancing on Thomas Massie's political grave, and a progressive plastic surgeon with a marketing problem. So grab a drink and buckle up, friends!

When a congressional candidate is getting torched by her own party for vowing to throw "American Zionists" into an ICE detention center, and happens to be a sex therapist and self-proclaimed professional astrologer, you know we over here at Sources Say are going to reach out for an interview to get to the bottom of the crazy. So we did.

What we got back from Maureen Galindo was not a yes or a no, but an unprompted email answering questions we had not yet gotten the chance to ask yet. It opened with this line.

"I never said I want Jews in internment camps."

To bring all of you up to speed in case you haven’t been following this wild saga, Galindo is a Democratic candidate in the runoff for Texas' newly redrawn 35th Congressional District. She led the March primary with roughly 29 percent of the vote and faces former Bexar County public information officer Johnny Garcia in the May 26 runoff.

She became a national story after pledging on Instagram to convert the Karnes ICE detention center into "a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers," adding, and we wish we were paraphrasing, that it would double as a "castration processing center for pedophiles, which will probably be most of the Zionists." She's also pushed conspiracy theories about a cabal of "billionaire Zionist Jews" running the world and trafficking through South Texas, including, she claims, her own opponent.

The backlash has been bipartisan and loud. The New York Times editorial board urged voters not to let her win the runoff. Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) called for national Democratic leaders to denounce her. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote on X that she should never be allowed to hold public office.

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) called it "absolutely disgusting" and "bigoted garbage" that "should be nowhere near our politics," and pointed her followers toward Garcia. ActBlue has since stopped processing her donations entirely.

Which brings us back to the email we received. Galindo attempted to walk her controversial comments back, writing that she wants to close ICE detention centers and put "billionaire American Zionists [who fund the genocidal prison systems] involved in trafficking into prison." A clarification, we will gently note, that did not so much clarify as escalate.

She went on to allege the "internment camps" framing was invented by a local journalist who "literally wants me dead." She accused the DCCC of coordinating the whole storyline to prop up what she called a "billionaire Zionist backed cop candidate" in her race. And she closed by assuring us she "literally know[s] nothing about the PAC" currently active in said race and is, quote, “just out here doing grassroots.”

On that last point, a small wrinkle. The Times reported that a mystery super PAC with ties to Republicans, Lead Left PAC, has been promoting Galindo in mailers that play up her support for dismantling ICE and impeaching Trump. In other words, the candidate who wants to jail "billionaire Zionists" is being boosted, at least in part, by people who would very much like her to win this Democratic runoff.

As of publication, Galindo hasn't gotten back to us on our follow-up request for comment on whether she regrets her remarks, on being cut off from Democratic fundraising platforms, or on what her background as a sex therapist might bring to Congress. We promise to keep you posted if we hear anything.

The Senate skipped town for Memorial Day recess Thursday afternoon after some drama, and we had sources texting us during and after the spicier-than-usual Senate lunch!

It started with a nearly two-hour closed-door lunch with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who came to the Hill to talk skeptical members into the Justice Department's $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. It did not go well.

Leadership wanted to pass its reconciliation bill — roughly $72 billion to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the rest of Trump's term — and hand it to the House, which was ready to clear it and bolt on Friday night. Instead, Republicans punted the whole thing and headed for the airport empty-handed.

One GOP senator texted us that “Half the room is afraid of the optics," adding that “Tillis was shouting.” Lindsey Graham, once source told us, thinks it's a bad look heading into the midterms.

"The technical part of it is the vote a Rama risk of everyone taking bad votes and Dems seizing opportunity it gives them,” they added.

Our Senate sources seemed extremely frustrated by the reconciliation bill being stalled.

“Apparently U.S. senators only care about compensating themselves for January 6, but not regular people," a senior Senate staffer familiar with the lunch told us, a nod to the DOJ fact sheet pointing out that senators themselves could apply for the money.

Another senior aide aimed squarely across Pennsylvania Avenue.

"For weeks we've been trying to deliver on the president's key priorities — funding immigration enforcement and Border Patrol — only to have that effort thwarted by a set of compounding issues that the administration set into motion. This is their problem to fix. Until they do, we're stuck,” they told us.

Former Majority Leader Mitch. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) bluntly slammed the anti-weaponization fund.

"So the nation's top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick,” he said in a statement.

The fund wasn't the only Trump priority that ran into trouble. The $1 billion in Secret Service money tied to the president's East Wing ballroom project didn't make the cut either. The parliamentarian ruled it out of the bill, and by midweek Republicans said it was out of the package. Trump has since said he doesn’t need taxpayer funding for it.

The package now waits until June, the June 1 deadline is looking more like a vibe since everyone went home for the long weekend.

The body wasn't even cold before Trump world started doing a jig. After Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost his Kentucky primary to Trump-backed Ed Gallrein on Tuesday, his colleagues skipped the eulogy and went straight to spiking the football.

And what a way to go out. The race was the most expensive House primary on record, with $32.6 million in ad spending — but the money was almost the tasteful part.

The final stretch served up leaked texts, hush-money allegations from an ex-girlfriend, Laura Loomer dropping receipts Massie denied were real, and a certain horticultural nickname trending above the candidate himself. (If you know, you know. If you don't, count your blessings, but we are going to link to this lore anyway.) Mercifully, we can all stop thinking about it now.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) kept it short and unsentimental, telling reporters he "wasn't surprised."

Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) told us she had the honor of breaking the news to the President himself.

"I had the privilege of sharing with President Trump the breaking news that Congressman Thomas Massie was defeated in his primary election. Mr. Massie has repeatedly opposed key parts of President Trump's agenda, while still branding himself as America First. Most notably, Congressman Massie voted against the Working Families Tax Cuts Act that delivered historic tax relief for American families and workers,” she told us in a statement.

“With such a slim Republican majority, we need members willing to work alongside President Trump to deliver on the agenda voters elected us to implement, not stand in the way of it. But it's not my opinion that matters, it is the decision of the voters of the 4th District of Kentucky, where Republican primary voters spoke loud and clear in support of Ed Gallrein on Tuesday." The boss himself kept it pithier. Asked about the result at the White House Congressional Picnic, Trump told reporters: "He was a bad guy. He deserves to lose,” she added.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) — fresh off getting accosted by Rand Paul's son — didn't bother with a full sentence. With pro-Israel groups having dumped millions into sinking Massie, a vocal opponent of aid to Israel, Lawler's one-word obituary said it all. He texted us: "Shalom."

Not everyone was popping bottles, though. Massie's actual friends in the conference were a little misty. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), one of his closest allies, didn't hide the sting: "I hate losing friends up here, because I don't have very many," he said. "But politics is a blood sport and you better put your cup on if you want to come up here in this league, because it is rough."

Even further out, Tucker Carlson called the loss "obviously the death of MAGA," a sentiment the America First wing has been nursing all week. And Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) — who campaigned for him over the weekend, sparking a threat from Trumpto dig up a primary challenger despite the filing deadline having already passed praised her friend while staying loyal to the president.

"My friend & Co-Chair gave his all in Kentucky! Trump is my President! Jesus is Lord!" she posted, alongside a photo of her son's graduation.

As for the guest of honor, don't tell Massie he's dead. The 14-year incumbent gave what supporters swear was a victory speech disguised as a concession, casting his loss as a launchpad rather than a tombstone.

"What started out as an election turned into a movement," he told the crowd. "We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for someone who will vote for principles over party." The crowd, for what it's worth, started chanting "2028!"

A word of caution for the victory lap, though. We don't have a dog in this fight here at the Hill Spill — but Massie is just the latest name on Trump's revenge tour: five Indiana state senators got bounced this month, Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy failed to make his runoff, and Sen. John Cornyn lost his endorsement to Ken Paxton in Texas.

Ousting incumbents sends a message… it's less great for the math. With a razor-thin House majority and a growing pile of bruised colleagues, the President may find that an agenda still has to pass through the very people he just spent millions humiliating. Revenge is sweet. Whip counts are not.

Congressman Don Bacon (R-Neb.) is heading out the door after this term — and he's got thoughts! The self-described Reagan Republican stopped by to talk about where he thinks the GOP is going wrong, what he really thinks about MTG, Matt Gaetz and JD Vance and what it's like to be a moderate in today’s climate. Plus his legendary Nebraska Nice Twitter clapbacks, the redistricting mess and what he wants to do next. This one is a good one!

FIRST ON SOURCES SAY: Grab a glass for this one. A New Jersey plastic surgeon now running for office as a progressive is facing questions over his practice's old marketing, including pages aimed at teens, blog posts framing surgery as a mood-booster, and a high-interest card to finance it all. Meet Dr. Adam Hamawy. The material, we're told, has been making the rounds with New Jersey reporters courtesy of a primary rival's team.

Let's start with the teens. Hamawy's website hosts a page on "adolescent rhinoplasty" telling parents that a "teenager's physical appearance plays a huge role in feelings of self-confidence," and that a nose job "can be the difference between feeling insecure and self-conscious or happy and confident." His stated threshold: girls as young as 15, boys as young as 16. On a 2019 episode of The Plastic Surgery Channel, he said there are "good reasons for teenagers to have plastic surgery," while adding that doctors should weigh a patient's maturity and motivations. His practice's Facebook has also shared articles about bullied teens who turned to surgery.

Supporters argue there's context here. They say adolescent rhinoplasty is often about breathing and function rather than looks, that no minor is operated on without full parental consent, and that the bulk of Hamawy's work is reconstructive, treating burns, trauma, and overnight ER calls. All of which may be true, though it's a notable distance from the page actually under scrutiny, which sells the procedure on confidence and self-esteem, not airflow.

Then there's the framing of cosmetic work as a mental-health fix. An archived blog post titled "Can plastic surgery be used to treat depression?" claimed surgery can "greatly enhance self-esteem (up to 98% in some studies)" and cut antidepressant use, though it also acknowledged surgery can cause temporary post-op depression. Another post argued there's "no amount of money in the world that can be compared to feeling good about yourself." Several of these pages have since come down. Supporters say that was part of a broad archiving of old blog content, not a campaign-season scrub.

The breast-augmentation copy is where critics noted the tone slips. One post warned women off celebrities "who walk around looking like they have some kind of ball sewn into their chests." Another referred to Hollywood women as "dolls." Critics say the language sits awkwardly with the values of a progressive campaign.

Critics also pointed to the financing. Hamawy's site steers patients toward CareCredit, a 32.99% APR healthcare card from Synchrony Bank, which the CFPB ordered to provide an estimated $225 million in relief over illegal and discriminatory credit practices. The campaign called the attack ironic, noting Hamawy backs the Sanders-Warren-Markey push to cap surging medical-card rates, treats the card as a last resort after insurance and aid are exhausted, and sees it as exactly the for-profit-healthcare trap that fuels his support for Medicare for All.

The campaign also wants Hamawy's record front and center.

"When the US Army had a gap in our troops' wartime medical care, a lack of reconstructive plastic surgeons, Dr. Adam Hamawy answered the call to be trained. After training, he deployed in combat. He has saved countless lives: in Iraq, on humanitarian missions to war and disaster zones across the world, and right here in New Jersey in our emergency rooms. His track record of putting his own life on the line to deliver medical care to the most vulnerable speaks for itself,” a campaign spokesman told us.

As for the broader attack, the spox added: "Dr. Hamawy has centered his campaign around winning Medicare for All and getting rid of our convoluted for-profit health care system. He is all too aware of the pitfalls of that system, having worked within it and saved lives within it for years. He is the front-runner in this race, and so it's unsurprising to see his opponents scraping the bottom of the barrel to try to tear him down, but it's not going to work."

🍹 THIS WEEK'S COCKTAIL: The Skinny Paloma

It may only be 59 degrees out, but summer is here, so that means bikini season is upon us. While we over here at Sources Say may slowly be bankrupting ourselves with egregiously priced Solidcore classes in an attempt to be beach-body ready, we are also looking to be conscientious of our caloric intake in our bevs these days. Therefore, this week we are having a skinny paloma.

Stay hot everyone! 👙