How Ken Martin is holding on as DNC chair — for now: From the Politics Desk

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In today’s edition, Natasha Korecki digs into Ken Martin’s woes at the Democratic National Committee. Plus, Scott Wong and Frank Thorp V file a report from Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral in Washington.

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— Adam Wollner

How Ken Martin is holding on as DNC chair — for now

Analysis by Natasha Korecki

Calls for Ken Martin to be replaced as Democratic National Committee chair are intensifying in certain corners of the party — except from the people who have the final say.

Since Martin won the chairmanship a year ago, he’s been enmeshed in a new firestorm seemingly every few months, from lagging fundraising to flip-flopping on the party’s autopsy of the 2024 election.

Over the weekend, the latest raft of negative news accounts surfaced, including a report from The New York Times that Martin threw a phone at an aide’s desk.

The resulting cycle was predictable: the consultant class erupted into a tizzy. They called for his resignation and even fought over who should replace him. This week, veteran Democratic strategist James Carville went as far as to suggest that David Hogg — the ousted DNC vice chair whom Carville last year labeled a “contemptible little twerp” — take the reins of the national party committee.

But as was the case in past episodes, that’s as far as it has gone. Martin is again digging in, his allies are circling the wagons and powerful Democrats are either standing by his side or staying out of it. On Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Martin “has my full support.” Potential 2028 presidential candidates could also apply pressure, but none has called for his ouster.

That leaves the DNC members themselves holding the most consequential power over Martin’s future. It would take a majority of DNC members to remove a national chair, according to committee rules. But even as they prepare to convene in Austin next month, some of Martin’s biggest detractors tell us there’s no groundswell to remove him — though some acknowledge they’re exploring their options, including a potential no-confidence vote.

Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist who works with numerous DNC members and state party chairs, said he’s not seeing immediate evidence of a call for change from within.

“Based on my conversations that I had with chairs and DNC leaders, there’s no indication whatsoever that there is some mass mobilization to oust Ken,” Ceraso said.

But that may not hold. For party leaders, there’s little incentive to shake things up now, with the midterm elections just a few months away. Post-November may be a different story.

“All of that happens after the midterms,” said one DNC official who wasn’t authorized to speak on the record. While that person was rooting for Martin to “pull it together,” they added, “I wouldn’t be shocked if it were an end-of-the-year thing. Unless something truly horrific comes out, I don’t think a change happens before the midterms.”

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Washington says goodbye to Sen. Lindsey Graham, a ‘true American original’

By Scott Wong and Frank Thorp V

President Donald Trump, congressional colleagues and world leaders said their final goodbyes to Sen. Lindsey Graham, the influential and colorful foreign policy hawk whose sudden death this month at age 71 stunned Washington and reverberated in capitals around the globe.

Eulogizing Graham at his funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral, Trump called him “a respected statesman, a giant of the United States Senate, and a true American original who left us much too soon.”

“Lindsey rose from a small town in rural South Carolina, a place he loved so much, to become a constant fixture of American politics at the highest level, and a force to be reckoned with all over the world,” Trump told those gathered. “For more than 30 years, nothing of consequence happened in this capital without Lindsey Graham knowing about it. Nothing of significance happened anywhere in the world without Lindsey Graham having a view on it, and no bill became law in the most exceptional republic in human history without Lindsey Graham having a say in it.”

Graham had been a vocal critic of Trump’s when the two men ran against each other in the 2016 presidential race. But Graham became one of the president’s closest and most trusted allies on Capitol Hill and a frequent golf partner.

Senate colleagues, past and present, Cabinet members and Graham’s family and staffers packed the Capitol rotunda. Among those paying tribute were former Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, both Tennessee Republicans; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; Jeff Flake, R-Ariz.; Pat Toomey, R-Pa.; and Kelly Ayotte, now New Hampshire’s GOP governor.

“It’s such a loss in terms of his voice on foreign policy and America’s role in the world,” Ayotte, who traveled regularly with Graham on Senate trips around the world, told NBC News, adding: “He loved life, he had so much fun, and no one could make you laugh more than Lindsey Graham.”

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🤝 High-stakes meetings: Prior to Graham’s funeral, Trump held separate meetings at the White House with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Monica Alba, Megan Brand and Dareh Gregorian report. Trump’s meeting with Netanyahu was their first in-person encounter since the Iran war began five months ago.

That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Annelise Hanson.

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