Congress

Capitol agenda: The GOP’s biggest shutdown hurdles

Published

11 months ago

July 21, 2025

It’s a pivotal week for the appropriations process as Congress looks to pass twelve spending bills before the Sept. 30 shutdown cliff.

Expect the Senate to work on passing its first batch of bills over the next few days, with full committee markups continuing in both chambers. In the House, appropriators plan to have a subcommittee markup of the bill funding the Treasury Department, the Judiciary and IRS Monday evening. No funding measures are currently on the House floor schedule.

Here’s what to watch as Republicans navigate the hurdles that could force them toward another stopgap funding bill.

DEM WATCH — All eyes are going to be on Democrats as they discuss whether to use the one point of leverage they have: the 60 votes needed to pass appropriations bills in the Senate. But Democrats don’t appear to have a solidified plan yet.

White House Budget Director Russ Vought last week said point-blank he was satisfied to see a less bipartisan appropriations process than in years past, a comment that could embolden congressional Republicans who want to put their conservative mark on the appropriations process.

Democrats have voiced their disapproval with the trajectory of government funding negotiations, specifically with Trump officials and their Hill allies for freezing, canceling and now clawing back funding Congress already approved. So far, however, they have stopped short of threatening a government shutdown on Oct.1 if Republicans don’t change course.

It was a dilemma Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer faced back in March. He ultimately faced significant heat from his base over his decision that the consequences of a shutdown would be worse than letting the Trump administration continue to run roughshod over Congress’ “power of the purse.”

“To be blunt, I don’t think there’s one tactic or approach that is going to solve this from any individual Democrat,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), a top appropriator, said in an interview. “The Republicans have to decide whether they want to be totally lobotomized or not.”

AUGUST RECESS — Senate Majority Leader John Thune was already considering making a dent in the government funding process before the month-long August break. Now, President Donald Trump is calling on the Senate to stay through the recess to continue confirming his nominees, which would give Thune an opportunity to get more work done on appropriations, too.

Not everyone wants that. Many Republican lawmakers are eager to get back to their districts for the state work period to highlight wins from the GOP megabill — and provide counterprogramming to Democratic messaging about the deep Medicaid cuts in the new law. That summer sales pitch is a top priority for many senators.

FREEDOM CAUCUS — Then, there’s the Freedom Caucus, which has been known to swoop in at the eleventh hour to undermine carefully-constructed legislative dealmaking with hard-line demands. Reps. French Hill (R-Ark.) and G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) — chairs of the Financial Services and Agriculture panels, respectively — got a strong taste of that tactic while attempting to pass cryptocurrency bills last week.

“It is an operational change from how Congress has historically operated, where, if the Chairman and the committee blessed it, everybody just said, ‘okay,’” said Freedom Caucus member and Florida Rep. Byron Donalds to reporters in the middle of last week’s crypto drama. “That’s just not the way Congress is working anymore.”

The group has notoriously forced House Republicans to rely on Democrats to shore up the necessary votes to pass government funding bills. If the faction’s hard-liners once again insist on lowering spending levels or inserting conservative policy riders in this year’s appropriations bills, that could prove to be a problem for Republicans — and put even more pressure on House Democrats to decide if they’re going to bail out the GOP or force a shutdown.

What else we’re watching:

— DHS gavel race: Members of the House GOP Steering panel will make their recommendation for a new Homeland Security chair Monday evening to fill the vacancy to be left by Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) once he retires from Congress. Up for consideration: GOP Reps. Carlos Giménez of Florida, Michael Guest of Mississippi, Andrew Garbarino of New York and Clay Higgins of Louisiana.

— More immigration bills: Now that they’ve passed their sweeping domestic policy bill that would turbocharge border enforcement activities, House Republicans are turning to legislation that would further crack down on illegal immigration. The House is set to take up legislation this week sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) that would increase penalties on immigrants who illegally enter the country and then reenter the U.S. after being removed.

Jennifer Scholtes, Nicholas Wu and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

Congress

Mamdani-backed socialist ousts Espaillat in NY-13

Published

7 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — Darializa Avila Chevalier has ousted five-term House member Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in a massive victory for the Democratic Socialists of America.

Her win marks another rebuke of the Democratic establishment in New York following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral election last year, cementing the DSA as one of the city’s most potent political forces. The upset reflects a political climate in which voters have become increasingly willing to cast aside longtime incumbents in favor of outsiders promising change.

Avila Chevalier focused much of her campaign on attacking Espaillat for accepting donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and real estate interests during his career.

“I really feel that this is a fight to make sure that we are representing working-class New Yorkers who have been left behind by a politics that only serves the interests of corporations, of corporate landlords, of special interest groups that are making life in New York deeply unaffordable for so many,” Avila Chevalier said last month, during an appearance with Mamdani on MS NOW where the mayor endorsed her campaign.

Espaillat, who is the first formerly undocumented person to serve in Congress, came up short despite having the support of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin.

Avila Chevalier, 32, was a leading organizer in the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University in 2024 and is a sociology Ph.D. student at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has served as an investigator for a public defender’s office and is originally from South Florida.

For most of the race, Espaillat was widely viewed as the favorite, but Mamdani’s late May endorsement of Avila Chevalier jolted a contest that began to show signs it was tightening. An April poll from Avila Chevalier’s campaign showed her down 14 points.

Her victory came despite intense outside spending in support of Espaillat, including from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm.

Avila Chevalier’s election to New York’s 13th district also shows a changing of the guard in Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx. Espaillat has served at the helm of a political alliance, known as the “Squadriano,” that has ruled over those areas of the city, home to large Dominican American and African American populations.

At times during the race, Espaillat and his supporters sought to frame the primary battle as a contest between gentrifiers and long-term residents.

“Those that choose or want to parachute in, after the men and women of this city, the working men and women of the city, have built our neighborhood, we’re gonna send them back home packing wherever they came from,” the 71-year-old member of Congress said last month.

The story of his political ascendance and reign in Upper Manhattan has also been characterized by an intense rivalry with Manhattan Democratic Party Chair Keith Wright, an ally of the late Rep. Charles Rangel, whom Espaillat challenged for Congress in 2012 and 2014.

But this year’s primary seems to have calmed the bitter rivalry between Espaillat and Wright amid the encroachment of the Democratic Socialists of America on disputed turf. Earlier this month, Espaillat endorsed Wright’s son , state Assemblymember Jordan Wright, who was also facing a DSA-backed challenger.

The peace pact wasn’t enough to fend off the challenge from Avila Chevalier, who seized on a progressive swing in the district ever since Mamdani handily beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary there.

“We have come a long way from where we used to be as a party,” Mamdani said in the interview where he announced his endorsement of Avila Chevalier. “It’s time we have a new generation that not only takes us back to that ambition, but takes us forward to the tomorrow that so many New Yorkers are waiting for.”

Congress

Former Utah Rep. Ben McAdams is on track to return to Congress

Published

7 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Rep. Ben McAdams won his primary Tuesday, paving the way for his return to Congress.

McAdams, a moderate, staved off a roster of progressive challengers in Utah’s newly redrawn 1st District, a rare deep-blue Salt Lake City district in a deep-red state that came as a result of a messy, decadelong redistricting saga.

McAdams will enter November as the heavy favorite in a district former Vice President Kamala Harris won by nearly 24 points in 2024.

McAdams won a GOP-leaning seat in the 2018 Democratic wave and governed as a centrist, Blue Dog Democrat who pushed for a balanced budget amendment — but he lost his reelection bid in 2020. He was one of the first Democrats to signal interest in running in the new 1st District and quickly garnered support from Utah elected officials and national centrist Democrats.

His progressive opponents attempted to paint him as too conservative, pointing to his previous mixed record on abortion. One opponent, state Sen. Nate Blouin, called on the other candidates to consolidate their support behind one person to avoid splitting the progressive vote. None agreed, and McAdams — who raised more money than the three other Democrats combined — prevailed.

Congress

Trump’s preferred candidate wins primary to succeed Elise Stefanik

Published

7 hours ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ALBANY, New York — President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate to succeed Rep. Elise Stefanik cruised to victory in his Republican primary Tuesday evening.

Anthony Constantino, the CEO of custom sticker company Sticker Mule, defeated Assemblymember Robert Smullen, a retired Marine colonel, for the nomination in a deep red upstate New York House district.

Trump, along with MAGA figures Roger Stone and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, backed Constantino’s bid, casting aside Smullen’s endorsement from the New York Republican Committee.

Constantino’s victory underscores the power of Trump’s endorsement in a district he has won during each of his three presidential campaigns. His win also highlights how a candidate who’s fashioned himself in a MAGA mold can continue to resonate in a largely rural and predominantly white district that has struggled economically for decades.

A former boxer, Constantino has dabbled in music, producing songs that praise Trump. He initially drew Stone’s attention after erecting a large “Vote for Trump” sign on a building in Amsterdam, N.Y., a city less than an hour west of Albany. Constantino also gifted Trump a bronze statue in the president’s likeness.

The circus-like primary became a bruising battle between a first-time candidate who channeled Trump-style promotion and attacks against an establishment favorite with a long, accomplished resume.

Constantino referred to Smullen as “Slime Bob” and called him “evil” in a text message to his rival. Smullen, in turn, called Constantino “unfit” and knocked his prior enrollment as a Democrat.

The race became so bitter that Smullen refused to shake Constantino’s hand at the conclusion of their only televised debate.

Constantino poured $10 million of his own money into the race and spent more than $3.8 million on TV ads, saturating upstate media market airwaves. Smullen’s campaign spent a fraction of that amount, more than $500,000 in ad spending, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

The sticker impresario also displayed a marketing flare, printing t-shirts that touted his Trump endorsement.

Smullen leaned heavily on his biography and background as a combat Marine. But he often found himself responding — sometimes angrily — to Constantino’s barrage of attacks.

Constantino will now have to make peace with some New York power brokers as he pivots to the general election. Smullen is set to remain on the November ballot with the backing of the state Conservative Party’s ballot line. Constantino is being sued for defamation by that party’s leader, Jerry Kassar.

The House seat opened after Stefanik, who has represented the area for more than a decade, announced she would leave Congress after scuttling her gubernatorial campaign. Stefanik was previously Trump’s nominee for United Nations ambassador, but that was yanked amid concerns her vacancy would complicate the House Republicans’ narrow majority.

Stefanik did not endorse in the race to replace her.