It was Donald Trump who, in December 2016, tapped Ronna Romney McDaniel to run the Republican National Committee. Trump and the party were ascendant, holding majorities in both chambers of Congress and nearly two-thirds of state governorships. McDaniel (who, The Washington Post reported, dropped the “Romney” at Trump’s behest) would be the party’s shepherd.
Washington
Analysis | Ronna McDaniel’s wobbly tenure is largely her tormentor’s fault
Her tenure will probably come to an end in the coming months, thanks to a reversal of confidence from the now-former president. Since she took over, the party has lost the presidency, lost control of the Senate, barely held the House and lost almost a fifth of its governors.
Blame for those federal losses, though, doesn’t lie with McDaniel as much as it does with Trump.
Running a national party is a strange task. It’s a lot of fundraising overlaid onto significantly less steering the party toward ideal candidates and electoral matchups. In the modern era, success generally means securing a slightly bigger share of the vote to effect a thin legislative majority. Success is often a game of inches.
The GOP has held the White House for 12 of the past 25 years. Their caucuses in the House and Senate have wavered above and below the midpoint in each chamber, rarely at significant distances. They’ve done better in state houses and state capitols, thanks to the preponderance of rural, red states.
Really, the pattern over the past 25 years has been one of feast or famine: The GOP was crushed in 2006 and 2008, ascendant in 2010 and 2014 and wobbly in 2018. The past four RNC chairs have steered the party in that period, overseeing a spectrum of political influence.
If we compare the start and end of the most recent chairpeople, though, you can see why Republicans might be frustrated with McDaniel. Under Michael Steele — in position during the 2010 red wave — the party gained in state capitals and on Capitol Hill. Reince Priebus, at the RNC from 2011 to 2017, oversaw additional gains — including the White House, to which he headed when Trump took office.
Even setting aside the Trump issue, McDaniel was in a tough position. A party that holds the White House and both chambers of Congress has nowhere to go but down, as Democrats who were active in their party in 2009 can tell you. But it is nonetheless the case that, during her tenure, the party gave up all of those majorities. The GOP regained the House in early 2023, but even that was an underperformance: Historic trends suggested that a first-term president’s party should lose far more seats than President Biden’s Democrats did.
But again, the blame here isn’t solely — or even primarily — on McDaniel.
Trump’s victory in 2016 cemented him as the party’s leader, and he has refused to relinquish that title since, despite losing in 2020. The 2018 midterms, in which the Democrats romped, were a referendum on Trump more than anything. So were most of the special elections that occurred during Trump’s presidency: Voters came out in droves to vote against Trump’s party. In 2020, most Biden voters informed pollsters that their votes were meant as a ballot against Trump rather than for the Democrat.
Recent polling shows that’s once again the case, that anticipated 2024 votes are about Trump rather than Biden. In 2022, the Republican underperformance was heavily influenced by abortion politics, something that Trump effected by virtue of his Supreme Court appointments. But 2022 was also in part about Trumpism, particularly in Senate races where he anointed Republican nominees who went on to lose seemingly winnable races.
None of this absolves McDaniel of culpability, of course. She retained her position over the years in part by bending over backward to accommodate Trump’s whims. Deploying a stronger guiding hand might have shifted some electoral outcomes but also meant she was more rapidly shunted off to new employment. Nor can we say that Trump is responsible for the party’s recent fundraising issues.
But it is certainly not fair to suggest that the Republican Party lost political power since 2017 primarily because of McDaniel. The decline was in keeping with historic patterns. It was also significantly exacerbated by the party’s real leader, the one who picked McDaniel to run the Republican National Committee in the first place.
Washington
19-Year-Old Transgender University of Washington Student Fatally Stabbed
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This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender person.
The Seattle Police Department are searching for a suspect after a 19-year-old University of Washington student was stabbed to death in an off-campus student apartment complex on May 10.
Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz told NBC News that the victim is “believed to be a 19-year-old transgender female” who was enrolled at the university. The victim has not yet been publicly identified by name. She was found in the housing complex laundry room shortly after 10 p.m. on Sunday night.
The housing complex, Nordheim Court, is privately managed but affiliated with the university, located near an upscale shopping center in Seattle’s U-Village neighborhood. According to NBC News, residents received an official alert from UW to stay inside their homes and lock all windows and doors — an alert that was lifted around 1 a.m. with the acknowledgment that “a death investigation remains ongoing.”
According to SPD detective Eric Muñoz, police and the fire department attempted lifesaving measures but ultimately “pronounced the victim deceased at the scene.”
“Officers are actively searching for the suspect, believed to be a black male with a beard, 5’6-8” tall, wearing a vest with button up shirt, and blue jeans,” Muñoz wrote in a blotter report.
Muñoz noted that the victim would be identified by the medical examiner’s office in “the coming days.” The SPD did not immediately respond to Them’s request for comment.
This is the seventh known trans person to be violently killed in 2026. In mid-April, 39-year-old transmasculine farmer Luca RedBeard was fatally shot in rural New Mexico. Last week, police in Marion County, Florida opened a homicide investigation into the shooting death of a 29-year-old who went by multiple names and referred to “transitioning” on social media. In Kentucky, an investigation into the disappearance of 22-year-old trans college student Murry Foust remains ongoing.
Police are asking anyone with information about the University of Washington case to call the Violent Crimes Tip Line at 206-233-5000, emphasizing that anonymous tips are accepted.
This is a developing story.
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Washington
How the Sea Mar Museum Is Preserving Latino History in Washington
On a quiet stretch of Des Moines Memorial Drive in South Seattle, the Sea Mar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture rises like a long‑overdue acknowledgment. Its brick exterior doesn’t shout; it invites. Inside, the rooms hum with the stories of families who crossed borders, harvested fields, organized classrooms, and built communities across Washington state—often without seeing their histories reflected anywhere on a museum wall.
For Rogelio Riojas, founder and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers, the museum is a promise kept. “We wanted to make sure the contributions of Latinos in Washington state are recognized and preserved for future generations,” he told The Seattle Times when the museum opened in 2019. It was a simple statement, but one that captured decades of work—both visible and invisible—by the region’s Latino communities.
Walking through the galleries feels like stepping into a living archive. One of the most arresting sights is a pair of original farmworker cabins, transported from Eastern Washington. Their narrow wooden frames and sparse interiors speak volumes about the migrant families who once slept inside after long days in the fields. The cabins are not replicas or artistic interpretations; they are the real thing, weathered by sun, dust, and time. They anchor the museum’s narrative in the physical realities of labor that shaped the state’s agricultural economy.
Sea Mar describes the museum as “dedicated to sharing the history, struggles, and successes of the Latino community in Washington state,” a mission that plays out in photographs, letters, student newspapers, and oral histories contributed by community members themselves. These aren’t artifacts chosen from afar—they’re family treasures, personal archives, and memories entrusted to the museum so they can live beyond the kitchen tables and shoeboxes where they were once kept.
The story extends beyond the museum walls. Just steps away is the Sea Mar Community Center, a sweeping, light‑filled gathering space designed for celebrations, performances, workshops, and community events. With room for nearly 500 people, a full stage, a movie‑theater‑sized screen, and a catering kitchen, the center was built with one purpose: to give the community a place to see itself, gather, and grow. Sea Mar describes it as “a welcoming space for families, organizations, and community groups to gather, celebrate, and learn,” and on any given weekend, it lives up to that promise.
Together, the museum and community center form a cultural campus—part historical archive, part living room for the region’s Latino communities. Students come to learn about the Chicano activists who reshaped the University of Washington in the late 1960s. Families come to see their own histories reflected in the exhibits. Visitors come to understand a story that has long been present in Washington, even if it wasn’t always visible.
The Sea Mar Museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., offering free admission to anyone who walks through its doors. For many, it’s more than a museum—it’s a recognition, a gathering place, and a testament to the people who helped shape the Pacific Northwest.
Preserving Latino History and Community Life in Washington was first published on Washington Latino News (WALN) and republished with permission.
Washington
Mother’s Day Bunch at Lady Madison | Washington DC
Celebrate Mothers Day with à la carte brunch at Lady Madison featuring seafood, entrées, desserts, and premium beverage options.
Celebrate Mothers Day in sophisticated style at Lady Madison, located inside Le Méridien Washington, DC, The Madison. Join us on Sunday, May 10, 2026, from 12:003:00 PM for an elevated à la carte brunch experience in downtown Washington, DC.
Enjoy a refined selection of chef-driven brunch classics, fresh seafood, seasonal salads, and elegant entrées. Highlights include a Build Your Own Omelette, Crab Benedict with lime hollandaise, Chilled Seafood Trio, and signature mains such as Roasted Rack of Lamb, Cedar Plank Sea Bass, and Marinated New York Strip Loin.
End on a sweet note with classic desserts including Crème Brûlée Cheesecake, Fruit Tart, Strawberry Shortcake, and Passion Fruit Cake.
Enhance your experience with beverage offerings, including bottomless Mimosas and Bloody Marys for $30 with house selections. Piper-Heidsieck Champagne is also available by the glass for $16 or by the bottle for $49.
Reserve on OpenTable:
https://www.opentable.com/booking/experiences-availability?rid=1426987&restref=1426987&experienceId=695240&utm_source=external&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=shared
À La Carte Menu
Les ufs & Brunch
Egg White Frittata $24
spinach, tomato, mushrooms, green onion
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Build Your Own Omelette $24
ham, smoked salmon, vegetables, cheeses (choose up to 3)
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Crab Benedict $24
lime hollandaise, salsa cruda
Served with pommes de terre rissolées or seasonal fruit
Brioche French Toast $17
berry compote, whipped butter, maple syrup
Les Froids & Salades
Chilled Seafood Trio $28
Jonah crab claws, shrimp, cocktail sauce
Spring Berry Salad $17
brie, berries, champagne vinaigrette
Golden & Crimson Beet Salad $18
red wine vinaigrette
Add protein: shrimp, salmon, skirt steak +18 | chicken +16
Les Plats Principaux
Roasted Rack of Lamb $42
mint sauce, huckleberry reduction, sweet potato purée, asparagus
Cedar Plank Sea Bass $49
saffron rice, spring vegetables
New York Strip Loin $42
mushroom sauce, truffle croquette potatoes, haricots verts
Les Desserts $14
Crème Brûlée Cheesecake
Fruit Tart
Strawberry Shortcake
Passion Fruit Cake
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