Washington, D.C
Green Proposes a Federal Affairs Office To Make Hawaiʻi’s Case In DC
Gov. Josh Green is asking for state money to open a new federal affairs office with staff in Hawaiʻi and Washington, D.C., citing dramatic shifts in federal policy that have already unfolded under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Green seeks a new $1.3 million appropriation over the next two fiscal years to finance the five-person office.
“The federal landscape has changed drastically within the past few months, with more changes likely on the horizon,” the governor’s office said in written testimony on the state budget measure, House Bill 300. “Given the speed with which changes occur and the highly fluid nature of these changes, keeping abreast of federal affairs requires more time and resources than in years prior.”
Three members of the staff would work in Washington and two in Hawaiʻi, according to testimony submitted to the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday.
The state Department of Transportation already retains a Washington lobbyist under a $14,000-per-month contract to work on transportation, biosecurity and climate change issues, but the new state team would have a more expansive mandate.
“These positions will establish and cultivate strong working relationships with federal agencies in D.C. and regionally, opening up direct lines of communication to advocate for the State’s priorities and needs,” the governor’s office testimony states.
“As the State continues to navigate these uncertain times, these federal affairs positions will provide a crucial lifeline through which to facilitate quick responses to and advocacy around federal funding and resources.”
Andy Winer, a former chief of staff for U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, said Green’s plan is prompted partly by the upheaval in the early weeks of the Trump administration. But Winer said the governor also talked about opening such an office during his 2022 election campaign.
Green had long conversations with members of the congressional delegation because he believes Hawaiʻi can do a better job of advocating for its needs in Washington, Winer said, “and this is one of the approaches that he’s looked at to address some of those shortcomings.”
Winer is executive vice president of the public affairs and communications firm Strategies 360, a Seattle-based company with Hawaiʻi connections, and works in its Washington, D.C., office. He worked for Schatz during the first two years of Trump’s previous administration and has been a close adviser to Green in recent years.
“We certainly didn’t see eye-to-eye with them on everything, but we were able to forge relationships with that administration,” Winer said. “We did pass legislation, we were able to secure funding for Hawaiʻi, and so I think the idea here is to have a presence that could build bridges not only with Congress but with the Trump administration.”
“Once an election is over and if you’re working for government, one of the things that you need to be able to do is to understand how to make that situation work for the benefit of whoever you’re representing,” Winer said.
He added: “If you are a skilled negotiator, if you’re skilled at doing the advocacy that is meaningful back home, you find ways to work together with people even if you don’t always agree with them.”
Green declined a request for an interview, but his senior advisor Will Kane said in a written statement the administration would look for office space for the D.C. portion of its federal affairs staff in the Hall of the States, where many other states already have Washington-based employees.
“The Federal Affairs team will engage federal agencies at a range of levels to cultivate connections and advocate for Hawaiʻi’s interests,” Kane said in the statement. “The rapid policy changes at the federal government have increased the demand for these positions as they are crucial for interpreting these policy changes and developing state guidance.”
The state already has at least one professional lobbying firm in Washington.
Ed Sniffen, director of the state Department of Transportation, said his department has contracted with the lobbying firm Williams & Jensen since 2021. DOT is represented by Denis Dwyer of that firm, a longtime advocate for Hawaiʻi transportation projects.
Sniffen said Hawaiʻi’s congressional delegation is well connected on the Democratic side, but “we also knew that we needed some kind of in on the Republican side, just to make their job easier.”
He said Dwyer has helped the state to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in discretionary grant funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
DOT pays $14,000 a month on the Williams & Jensen contract, and Sniffen said the department has made the firm’s services available to other agencies in Hawaiʻi, including the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.
If state lawmakers fund the federal affairs positions that Green is requesting, Winer said the new hires will need a thorough understanding of Hawaiʻi, but don’t need to be professional lobbyists.
“People who work in D.C. in government are all the time working together to get things done, and that’s really what you’re looking for in this role — people who can build bridges, work together with Republicans and Democrats, and find ways to do things that will be helpful for back home,” he said. “That’s the skill set you’re looking for.”
“Having seen what other states are doing, it just seems like best practices at this point,” he said.
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Washington, D.C
What’s that noise? What you need to know about D.C. flyovers Friday and Saturday – WTOP News
Reagan National Airport will close for America 250 flyover rehearsals Friday and celebrations Saturday featuring the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels and more.
Reagan National Airport will close from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday for rehearsals ahead of this weekend’s America 250 celebrations, meaning people around D.C., Arlington and Alexandria may hear and see low-flying military aircraft.
According to Freedom 250 event organizers, Friday’s “Wings of Freedom” demonstrations over the National Mall will feature parachute teams, helicopters and military aircraft, including the U.S. Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey and F-35B, the Navy’s F-18F and F-35C, the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor, the Thunderbirds and a tri-bomber formation.
On Saturday, the FAA will close the airport from noon to midnight for the full celebration. All arrivals and departures at Reagan National are scheduled to end before noon.
Flyovers and demonstrations are scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening along the National Mall and Washington Monument grounds, including appearances by Air Force One, the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, military aircraft fleet reviews, parachute demonstrations and B-2 stealth bombers.
Highlights include an Air Force One flyover scheduled for 7:03 p.m., a Thunderbirds demonstration beginning at 6:25 p.m., a tri-bomber formation at 6:02 p.m. and a stealth aircraft flyover at 7:38 p.m.
Friday’s schedule of flyovers and demonstration rehearsals along the National Mall and Washington Monument
- 10 a.m.: Golden Knights, Leap Frogs
- 10:15 a.m.: Army Helo Flyover
- 10:20 a.m.: USMC V-22 Osprey Demo
- 10:35 a.m.: USMC F-35B STOVL Demo
- 10:50 a.m.: USN F-18F Demo
- 11:10 a.m.: USN F-35C Demo Team
- 11:30 a.m.: USAF F-22 Raptor Demo
- 11:50 a.m.: NASA F-5s
- 12 p.m.: HUGE (1) Formation
- 12:05 p.m.: USAF Thunderbirds
- 12:55 p.m.: USAF Tri-Bomber
Saturday’s schedule of flyovers and demonstration along the National Mall and Washington Monument
- 1:14 p.m.: – NASA F-5 Flyover
- 1:24 p.m.: -NASA Fleet Review
- 1:44 p.m.: USCG Helo Flyover
- 1:54 p.m.: USCG Fixed Wing Flyover
- 2:09 p.m.: Golden Knights, Leap Frogs
- 2:29 p.m.: Army Helo Flyover
- 2:44 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Wave 1 – Heavies
- 2:54 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Wave 2 – AFSOC
- 3:04 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Wave 3 – Fighters
- 3:29 p.m.: Executive Rotary Wing Airlift
- 3:39 p.m.: USMC Fleet Review – Wave 1 – Rotary
- 3:49 p.m.: USMC Fleet Review – Wave 2 – Fixed Wing
- 3:59 p.m.: USN Fleet Review – Wave 1 – Rotary
- 4:09 p.m.: USN Fleet Review – Wave 2 – Fixed Wing
- 4:19 p.m.: USN Fleet Review – Wave 3 – Fighters
- 4:21 p.m.: USN F-18F Demonstration
- 4:59 p.m.: USN Blue Angels
- 5:26 p.m.: USMC MV-22 Osprey Demonstration
- 5:44 p.m.: USAF Fleet Review – Fighters
- 6:02 p.m.: USAF Tri-Bomber Formation
- 6:05 p.m.: USN F-35C Demonstration
- 6:25 p.m.: USAF Thunderbirds Demonstration
- 7:03 p.m.: Air Force One Flyover
- 7:07 p.m.: USAF Thunderbirds Delta Break
- 7:17 p.m.: HUGE 1 Flyover Led by the Newly Renovated Air Force One
- 7:38 p.m.: U.S. Stealth Airpower Flyover
- 7:39 p.m.: F-22 Raptor Demo
- 7:53 p.m.: F-22 Raptor in Afterburner
- 7:59 p.m.: B-1 Flyover
- 8:07 p.m.: B-1’s in Afterburner
- 8:11 p.m.: HUGE ONE Fly Over Review
- 8:22 p.m.: Golden Knights Twilight Jump
- 10:36 p.m.: B-1 Afterburner Night Pass
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An Air Force major was arrested in uniform on the steps of the Capitol after he called for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
U.S. Capitol Police arrested Jason Watson, an active-duty service member, on Wednesday afternoon following remarks at a news conference where he said Trump and Vice President JD Vance should be removed from office.
The event was organized by the Removal Coalition, a group that lobbies members of Congress to impeach Trump, and attended by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who has repeatedly introduced articles of impeachment against Trump.
“I’m here with him because Rep. Green is the only member of Congress that has demonstrated the courage and conviction to … force a vote on articles of impeachment,” Watson said at the event. “If Congress followed his example, we could remove the entire Trump administration, but Congress remains unconvinced of the urgency and necessity for them to honor their oaths, so we must persuade them with our unrelenting, uncompromising civil resistance.”
Watson said he is not a Democrat and does not share policy positions with Green, who lost his re-election bid this year. Green’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Watson’s arrest.
Capitol Police said in a statement that it “is generally against the law for the public to demonstrate on the House Steps unless they are with a Member of Congress.”
“Yesterday afternoon, a man was escorted to the House Steps by a Member of Congress,” the statement said. “When the Member of Congress left the area, our officers gave the man lawful orders to stop the illegal demonstration or he would be arrested. The man refused our lawful orders.”
Capitol Police identified the man as Watson, adding that he was arrested on charges of “Crowding, Obstructing, and Incommoding” and that it is legal to protest in other spots on the Capitol grounds.
Service members are subject to stricter laws than the average citizen when it comes to protesting. The Uniform Code of Military Justice prohibits officers from “using contemptuous language towards the President, Vice president, the Secretaries of War and of a military department, Congress, and certain other officials,” according to an Air Force memo last year.
An Air Force spokesperson said in a statement Thursday: “Service members must comply with all laws, regulations and policies governing conduct and the wear of the uniform. All Department of the Air Force personnel are expected to uphold the highest standards of discipline and professionalism, both on and off duty.”
All service members, not just members of the Air Force, are prohibited from participating in “political activities” in uniform.
Watson’s criticism of Trump and Vance focused on the administration’s actions in Venezuela and Iran, calling them “an unconstitutional usurpation of Congress’ authority and a violation of the War Powers Clause.”
“These violations resulted in the deaths of 13 service members and injuries of hundreds more,” he said, referring to the number of U.S. military deaths tied to the Iran war. “For this, the president and vice president must be impeached, convicted and removed.”
Watson also called the administration’s immigration policies and tactics unconstitutional.
The Removal Coalition did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Watson could not be reached.
President Donald Trump responded to criticism of a financial disclosure that listed $1.4 billion in crypto earnings largely driven by meme coins.
Berk Kutay Gökmen
02 July 2026•Update: 02 July 2026
US Defense Secretary Hegseth on Thursday faced protesters while hosting the Trump administration’s DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force ceremony in Washington DC.
During the ceremony at Meridian Hill Park, which saw the gathering of National Guardsmen, dozens of demonstrators gathered near the park to protest Hegseth.
Footage shows the demonstrators chanting a short distance away from where Hegseth and roughly 200 members of the National Guard had gathered in the park
In social media posts, one protester was seen holding a Palestinian flag, while another person was holding a sign that reads “arrest Hegseth.” The protesters want a “Free DC,” according to social media posts.
In his address to the National Guard, Hegseth said that “this background noise is perfect,” referring to the protests.
“It’s the sound of ingrates, of ingratitude—of people who are so blinded by ideology they can’t see law and order and common sense in front of them,” he said.
Meridian Hill Park was repaired by the National Park Service and the Interior Department as part of a larger initiative to restore and enhance federal parks and public spaces throughout the nation’s capital in preparation for America’s 250th anniversary, which falls on this Saturday, July 4.
Though such beautification projects are typically popular with the public, the current initiative has been controversial both for its choice of projects and the use of no-bid contracts to hire firms to do the work, sometimes with disappointing results.
The work aligns with President Donald Trump’s DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force, established by a March 2025 executive order that directs federal agencies to coordinate public safety and beautification efforts across Washington.
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