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3 big moves for Trump’s agenda

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Three big developments are poised to give Republican lawmakers long-sought clarity on how they can get moving on President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda — and when they need to finish.

Time to punt: As they rush to settle on a budget framework before Easter recess, Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are signaling that they’ll move forward without resolving some major disputes over how to pay for Trump’s tax, border and energy policies — including controversial Medicaid cuts.

They’ll do that by approving a budget resolution that defers to each chamber’s respective committees for how much money they will need to trim from programs under their jurisdictions, and then try to merge the approaches later.

Tax clarity: The Senate parliamentarian is expected to decide in the coming days whether Republicans can use an accounting approach known as “current policy baseline” that would allow them to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts in a costless fashion.

Thune said in an interview that Republicans need to know if the parliamentarian will green-light their strategy before taking their budget resolution to the floor, which they want to do as soon as next week.

Separately on Wednesday, House GOP tax writers met in private with Joint Committee on Taxation chief Thomas Barthold to discuss next steps on their tax package. The non-partisan JCT will have to weigh in on the cost of extending tax cuts and Trump’s other tax pledges, including eliminating taxes on tips and overtime work.

X marks the deadline: CBO announced Wednesday that the U.S. will default on its debt around August or September if Congress doesn’t act — in effect setting a new deadline for Republicans to pass Trump’s mega-bill if they stick with a plan to include a debt ceiling increase.

House Republicans are hoping the updated “X-date” lights a fire under the Senate GOP to speed things up.

“We all know Congress needs a deadline to get anything done,” said a senior House GOP aide granted anonymity to speak freely. “This is the new deadline.”

What else we’re watching:

  • Schumer’s staying: Despite fury across the party over the shutdown fight, Democratic lawmakers and frustrated donors are making the calculation that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is here to stay. There’s no obvious alternative nor any appetite among most Senate Democrats for a messy leadership contest. Schumer is working to convince his members that he understands the need to ramp up their tactics, though it’s clear he still has some work to do.
  • What’s next for Signalgate: Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker says he and his Democratic counterpart Jack Reed are looking into an expedited probe of the Signal chat breach involving top Trump administration officials. They are requesting a Pentagon inspector general review and a classified briefing for their committee.
  • Trump’s SEC pick testifies: Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to lead the SEC, will tell Senate Banking Thursday that establishing a “firm regulatory foundation” for cryptocurrency would be a top priority of his chairmanship. The nomination hearing is poised to be the latest illustration of the crypto industry’s ascendance in the Trump era, after it faced a regulatory crackdown from the SEC under President Joe Biden. Atkins, a longtime financial industry consultant and former SEC commissioner, is expected to face scrutiny from Democrats over his Wall Street ties.
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Congress

Lawmakers’ prescription data at risk after data breach

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Lawmakers on Capitol Hill were informed this week of a data breach involving the congressional medical office that may have compromised personal information — including their prescription history.

The intrusions occurred March 1 and 3 and targeted RXNT, a medical software provider used by the Office of the Attending Physician to manage care for members of Congress, according to letters sent this week to affected individuals that were reviewed by Blue Light News.

Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, is making personal calls to staff and lawmakers whose data are affected, according to one person contacted by phone this week and alerted that their prescription history was among those breached.

RXNT’s software is intended to “securely transmit prescription information to pharmacies for fulfillment,” Monahan’s office explained in the letters to patients. Among the data accessed in the RXNT breach includes names, birthdays, addresses, prescription information, doctor information and pharmacy information.

Under federal law, the data breach has to be reported within 60 days of the intrusion being discovered. RXNT notified the attending physician’s office on the last possible day allowed under federal health privacy rules. That, in turn, might have delayed the OAP’s review of the impact of the breach on Capitol Hill patients, according to two people familiar with the timeline and granted anonymity to share private deliberations.

It is not clear what foreign or domestic entity conducted the breach and where the sensitive data on lawmakers’ health could end up.

Financial data, insurance information and Social Security numbers were not compromised, nor were any patient records maintained by the Office of the Attending Physician that were not shared with RXNT. Such records, which include extensive information on lawmakers’ health history and medical treatments, “remain secured within the walls of Congress” and are “not cloud based,” according to the notice shared with affected patients on Capitol Hill.

“The OAP only provides the minimum information required to process prescription services,” the letter reads.

The Office of the Attending Physician operates several small medical clinics on the Capitol campus where Navy medical personnel handle both emergencies and primary health care for lawmakers, while also providing vaccinations and minor medical services for congressional aides. Staff are able to procure prescriptions through the OAP in limited circumstances, including for official travel and follow-up care.

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Speaker calls allegations against Chuck Edwards ‘serious’

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Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday the allegations against Rep. Chuck Edwards are “serious” and that he has spoken to the North Carolina Republican — who reportedly denied them all.

Johnson also noted an ongoing House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct and harassment accusations against Edwards, who is alleged to have had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a staffer, among other things.

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Ballroom security can’t be privately funded, Mullin tells GOP lawmakers

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Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Republican lawmakers Wednesday that Congress needs to fund security aspects of President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project because the Secret Service is prohibited from using private funds for that purpose, according to four people who heard the remarks.

Mullin’s comments to a meeting of the Republican Governance Group came as the Trump administration is pressing GOP lawmakers to approve $1 billion in new Secret Service funding, as much as $220 million of which could fund parts of the controversial ballroom project.

His claim of a legal prohibition on private funding for security upgrades represents a new argument put forth by the administration. Trump has repeatedly insisted that the $400 million ballroom project will be financed by private donors.

Asked about the argument as he left the meeting Wednesday, Mullin declined to answer and replied, “I gotta go.” A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on the legal foundations for the claim.

Mullin’s visit to the group of centrist Republicans was aimed to quell GOP concerns about the $1 billion security request, which has threatened to derail a larger package of funding for immigration enforcement agencies. White House legislative affairs director James Braid also attended the meeting.

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) and other Republicans holding at-risk seats pressed Mullin for a breakdown of the $220 million that will be focused on White House security, including for the new ballroom, according to the four people in the room who were granted anonymity to describe the private meeting.

Mullin said he did not have a more finely grained breakdown but that lawmakers would get one soon, the people present said.

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