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 (7News) — The Catholic archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy, on Wednesday removed a well-known priest as an exorcist of the archdiocese after he made public comments suggesting that UFO sightings were the work of demons.
McElroy said the archdiocese also was cutting ties with the St. Michael Center for Spiritual Renewal, a Washington-based nonprofit headed by the priest, Monsignor Stephen Rossetti.
The archbishop said Rossetti’s statements “linking UFOs to demonic presence and the Center’s recent use of social media gravely undermine the Church’s very precise teaching on the devil, demons and exorcism.”
“There’s a danger here,” Rossetti said in a May 29 video posted on his Facebook page addressing UFO sightings and the existence of aliens. “As an exorcist I wanted to raise that danger. And that is that demons like to hide. … They don’t want us to know what they’re doing because they’re more effective when we don’t realize it.”
“They can kind of get into your head, you know, and manipulate things in the world to influence us to do evil.”
“It’s my personal belief that probably many if not most of these UFO sightings are in fact demons,” Rossetti added.
Rossetti also said that people can be good Catholics and believe there’s life on other planets, though he does not personally believe life exists elsewhere.
In a statement posted on the St. Michael Center website, Rossetti said he was saddened by the action of the archdiocese.
“I ask forgiveness for any ways that I have not been faithful to the teachings of the Church’s Magisterium, particularly in the cited video on ‘aliens and the demonic,’” he said. “I believe it is of the utmost importance to be obedient to the Church and I will continue to endeavor to subject all that I do and the Center to be thus obedient.”
Rossetti, who has over 148,000 followers on Instagram, is a prominent psychologist as well as an exorcist. His center has specialized in offering spiritual healing for priests troubled by various difficulties.
In 2023, he told The Associated Press there was increasing and renewed appetite for information about demonic possession and exorcism.
Washington, D.C
Nurses at Washington D.C.’s largest hospital call on leadership to reverse planned cuts to maternal health
RNs at MedStar Washington Hospital Center say closure of postpartum unit will disproportionately harm marginalized and underserved communities
Union nurses at MedStar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) in Washington, D.C. are demanding that management stop the planned closure of an entire postpartum unit, announced National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United (NNOC/NNU). The hospital notified the union on May 26, 2026 of its intention to eliminate 11 maternal health beds and displace eight nurses by July 26, 2026, leaving MWHC with one postpartum unit.
In a follow-up town hall with staff nurses, Chief Nursing Officer Ariam Yitbarek confirmed the closure. Other leaders have additionally informed staff that the hospital will strictly limit scheduled C-sections and inductions for patients from numerous D.C. maternal health organizations. The list of organizations includes many that primarily serve low-income patients, immigrants, and patients of color, all communities with significantly higher risks of maternal mortality. Additionally, staff were informed that Kaiser Permanente, which notably insures a large number of DC city employees and even many of MWHC’s own workers, will see a strict limit on scheduling inductions and C-sections for their patients as well.
“Closing postpartum unit 5F will gravely impact those most affected by health disparities,” said Stephanie Sims-Coates, RN in the neonatal intensive care unit. “Our low-income families and families of color will be most affected by this closure. Families trust the medical staff at MWHC and plan to come to us for their care. In a city where Black women make up 90 percent of pregnancy-related deaths despite being only half the population, the hospital’s decision to close this unit is a significant mistake.”
Community leaders and healthcare workers are joining the call for MedStar to put patients before profits and keep the unit open. This past weekend, nurses met with D.C. mayoral candidate and Ward 4 councilwoman Janeese Lewis George about the planned closure and the impact it would have on DC’s most vulnerable residents.
“Maternal mortality is a crisis for Washington, DC, and our healthcare system needs to address the crisis immediately, rather than exacerbate the challenges that birthing parents face,” said Councilwoman Janeese Lewis George. “Now is the time to invest in health care, rather than make cuts. I want to work with the hospital to identify solutions that work for patients and the provider.”
“In my time at Washington Hospital Center, I’ve seen the hospital tout its Safe Moms, Safe Babies program and host a community baby shower specifically designed to call attention to the maternal mortality crisis,” said Marcqueata “Tiya” Butler, RN in the Mother/Baby unit. “Their current plan to shut down 11 postpartum beds betrays the hospital’s stated commitments. They are aware of persistent inequities in access to care. We are calling on the hospital to consider the impacts on the community, safeguard the mothers and infants of DC and commit to addressing the maternal mortality rate.”
In 2024, MedStar Health, a registered non-profit, reported $9 billion in operating revenue.
NNOC/NNU represents more than 2,200 registered nurses at Washington Hospital Center.
National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.
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