This week, I look at how a group of Republicans might begin to make amends for the failure to defend democracy against the MAGA movement, pick the distinguished person of the week and share a new interest.
Washington
Opinion | Some Republicans can atone for their betrayal of U.S. democracy
He endorsed Trump in 2020, even after Trump ridiculed late Arizona senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), whom Gallagher apparently held in high regard. He voted against both Trump impeachments and against an independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection (though he did say he would not support Trump in 2024). Gallagher was not one to denounce Trump’s rabid racism, his association with antisemites or his denunciation of the justice system.
Worse, he joined in Trump’s attacks against the FBI. He declined to vote to hold Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon in contempt of Congress. He fanned the flames of the baseless assailing of critical race theory. For his weak-kneed approach, he earned a C-minus grade from the Republican Accountability Project.
That this guy should be lauded as a profile in courage says much about the state of the MAGA-intoxicated Republican Party. Gallagher was, as I have described, among those who chose to accommodate evil rather than resist it.
After a brief show of independence with his Mayorkas vote, he has joined a stampede of departing House Republicans — many outside the core MAGA group — including Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), Michael C. Burgess (Tex.), Larry Bucshon (Ind.), Jeff Duncan (S.C.), John Curtis (Utah), Greg Pence (Ind.), Patrick T. McHenry (N.C.), Kay Granger (Tex.) and Kelly Armstrong (N.D.).
Well, now that most of these Republicans have nothing to fear from a primary challenge, why not show some spine? They could, for example, join Gallagher and refuse to support Trump. Furthermore, they could vote to discharge any Ukraine aid bill to get it to the floor, defend judges and law enforcement from baseless MAGA attacks, and repudiate Trump’s betrayal of NATO and his unconstitutional vow to use the military to suppress dissent. Freed from the bounds of party loyalty — which never stopped former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney from putting country over party — they could belatedly join Cheney’s anti-Trump crusade to protect the United States from a fascist onslaught.
That might not erase their original sin in refusing to impeach Trump and ignoring his anti-democratic actions as president, but it would be a step in the right direction. Yet I sense that is a bridge too far for most of them. I hope I am wrong. I will be watching to see whether Gallagher and others find their decency and pro-democracy bona fides. It is not too late to do the right thing.
Distinguished person of the week
Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.), a former CIA agent first elected to Congress in 2018, is not running for reelection this year. Instead, she will run for governor in Virginia in 2025. Congress — and the country — will miss her deep knowledge of foreign policy and commitment to national security.
After a recent trip to Ukraine, where she met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Spanberger told me in a lengthy phone interview that the “clear-eyed and clear-voiced” Ukrainian leader emphasized that this is “a make or break” moment for Ukraine. Though Ukraine has recovered about half the territory Russia seized in 2022, it is nowhere near victory.
Spanberger is candid about the Biden administration refusing the initial request from Ukraine for critical equipment, waiting for Europeans to act and then, finally, acceding. “Initially, I was willing to concede they were being careful,” she said. The risk of elevating the war to a major-power war is not zero. However, “we have demonstrated that Ukraine is abiding by the parameters” we set, she argued. The rigmarole leaves us consistently at least “a few months behind” Ukraine’s urgent requests.
As for her GOP colleagues, she told me that key Republicans on her visit, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio), “promised” Zelensky the aid bill would “get done.” Spanberger stressed: “They are committed to getting it done.” The mechanism for accomplishing that, however, remains uncertain.
MAGA Republicans’ indifference to Ukraine — evidenced by their shrug at Trump’s recent invitation for Russia to invade Europe — incensed Spanberger. “What are they missing? We saved the world from fascism. We ended the Holocaust. We freed Europe. That was us,” she said, her voice rising with emotion. Now, these Republicans “want to remove America from the world,” she says. Russian President Vladimir Putin, she continued, “is on the precipice of destroying the world order we put in place through the deaths of thousands of Americans.” And, yet, it seems, they cannot be bothered to “explain this to their constituents or fend off a primary challenge” to defend our vital interests, she declared. Instead, they meekly follow their isolationist cult leader.
She recalled that the day after 9/11, our NATO allies invoked Article 5 for the first time. “They went to war for 2o years for us. For our war.” In a word, she said, she finds Republicans’ disregard of America’s vital interests “shameful.”
Her passion, clarity and knowledge on national security and democracy made Spanberger a standout in the House class of 2018. Congress badly needs members with these qualities. But Spanberger, just 44 years old, will continue her rise in the Democratic Party. Mark my words: She will be back on the national stage.
I can hardly believe I now love watching golf. Yeah, golf. I don’t play. I used to make cracks that any activity for which you could wear street clothes and need not run wasn’t a sport. Then, I watched “Full Swing,” the Netflix reality show that follows the lives of several professional golfers on the PGA and LIV tours. The characters are engaging, as is the interaction among players and between players and their families. Some grew up in country clubs, and some practiced in the family garage(!). The PGA-LIV battle provides insight into the issue of sportswashing, which we see in many professional athletic leagues.
But what’s intriguing about the show — and the sport — is how maddeningly difficult golf is. (If a Martian landed, it might exclaim: “You have to use that skinny stick to get the little ball in the tiny hole in a huge park?) These athletes are not physical freaks. They look like ordinary people. But the technique (to generate speed and power), the endurance and, most of all, the mental toughness over a tournament running four days and 72 holes — plus playoff holes — is hardly ordinary. In an instant, a front-runner can lose concentration and collapse; someone back in the pack can catch fire, stringing together a series of near-impossible shots. And aside from their caddies (phenomenal golfers and strategists in their own right), the players’ struggle is a solitary affair. The winner must defeat not a single opponent but everyone else playing that week. (No such thing as an “easy draw,” as in tennis.)
So, I have gotten hooked watching the variety of shots, the puzzle-solving (e.g., when to take a penalty, calculating whether the wind will send your ball flying into the water), the idiosyncratic personalities, the announcers’ patter, the sometimes hilariously hideous ensembles and the dignified camaraderie. And, sometimes, you can simply gaze at the gorgeous setting (the cliffs of Monterey in California, the spring flowers at Augusta in Georgia, etc.) to achieve zen-like serenity. The magnificent execution of a game that drives mere mortals mad might give soccer a run for its money as the “beautiful game.”
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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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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.
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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