Congress
Capitol agenda: Trump turns to Massie after Cassidy revenge
President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican party will be tested again in Kentucky’s primary Tuesday where he’s trying to oust longtime nemesis Rep. Thomas Massie.
In what’s been deemed Trump’s monthlong “revenge tour,” the president has successfully sunk the reelection campaigns of members of his own party who have refused his demands, including several Indiana state lawmakers and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.
Massie would be the ultimate trophy in Trump’s payback crusade. The House member has been a growing thorn in Trump’s side for years, opposing the Iran war, aid to Israel and pressing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump endorsed Massie’s opponent and former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein as both sides poured tens of millions of dollars into what has been billed the most expensive House primary in history.
A Massie loss could essentially quash any internal GOP dissension as he moves into the lame-duck phase of his presidency. A win, however, could embolden Massie and other internal critics, further deepening intraparty fractures as Trump’s approval ratings slumps.
Although Trump got his revenge on Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican said he isn’t planning on striking back — yet.
Cassidy — facing his own lame-duck future after a stunning loss Saturday — seemed to set himself up as a potential White House adversary during his concession speech, hitting Trump with veiled criticisms. The two-term senator chairs the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel and sits on the Senate Finance panel, putting him in a position of veto power over key nominees.
And in interviews with reporters Monday, Cassidy declined to say how he’d handle tricky upcoming votes on the Iran war or an immigration enforcement bill.
Still, Cassidy batted down any suggestion he is now liberated to challenge Trump head-on, and he largely avoided addressing Trump directly.
“Am I going to deliberately push back on things? No, I’m going to do what’s good for my country and my state,” he said.
Cassidy also made a general pitch for Washington to be more bipartisan.
“I’m trying to give a better vision of how we should do things. Do you realize that it’s hard to get anything done now?” Cassidy replied when asked if he’s frustrated with Trump.
“We need to have leadership supporting unity,” he said.
What else we’re watching:
— DEM CAUCUSES BLOW UP BIPARTISAN BILLS: Key Democratic caucuses announced their opposition to two formerly “bipartisan” bills on Monday evening, effectively killing the prospects for SCORE Act passage this week and narrowing the path for another measure. The Congressional Black Caucus yesterday stated its members would unanimously reject the SCORE ACT, a college athletics regulation bill. Republican leaders later Monday night told members they’d have to pull the SCORE Act from the floor schedule as support from across their own conference was also soft.
— BLANCHE TESTIFIES AS ‘SLUSH’ FUND, EPSTEIN ROILS DEMS — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s testimony Tuesday could be a watershed moment for his chances of leading the agency on a more permanent basis. Blanche may use a Senate appropriations subpanel hearing to defend his more controversial moves while leading the Justice Department. The DOJ Monday unveiled a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to pay claims to people Blanche called “victims of lawfare and weaponization.” Democrats pounced on what they called a “slush fund,” arguing Trump may reward his own allies and defendants convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Alex Gangitano, Riley Rogerson, Meredith Lee Hill and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
Multiple Senate Republicans joined Sen. Bernie Moreno in calling for Rep. Max Miller to step down from office Monday amid domestic abuse allegations from the Ohio senator’s daughter.
Bernie Moreno — father of Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno — said in a statement Sunday that Miller should not serve in the House soon after the House Republican did a livestream video attempting to defend himself from abuse accusations.
Many of Bernie Moreno’s GOP colleagues were quick to back him following the statement.
“I don’t know [Miller]. I haven’t read a whole lot about him, but if [Moreno] thinks he ought to resign, I’m supportive of that,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said in an interview.
Miller has denied the allegations, which include pouring hot water on his ex-wife and holding a gun to her head. He has also denied accusations from his ex-wife that he broke his daughter’s collarbone.
Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas condemned Miller, adding, “He should resign. He should quit.”
“I don’t know Mr. Miller’s story, but I trust Bernie so much as a good friend, and his family has such high values,” Marshall said in an interview. “I couldn’t imagine them wanting this out in public. So to go through with this, it makes me think that they’re telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
The surge of support from Bernie Moreno’s Senate colleagues marks the first significant crack in a wall of GOP silence regarding the allegations against Miller. The skepticism from Miller’s own party will almost certainly weigh down the congressman’s already floundering campaign as he battles Democratic candidate Brian Poindexter to keep his Cleveland-area House seat.
Miller has until Wednesday to withdraw from the ballot and allow a crash primary to select a replacement.
Some Republican lawmakers stopped short of calling on Miller to withdraw or resign while expressing grave concern about the allegations.
“The accusations are very serious, and if there is truth to them, I am one who says that our elected officials need to be held to high standards,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said. “And certainly, when it comes to allegations of domestic abuse, child abuse, that’s not what we want in our lawmakers.”
A spokesperson for Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In response to Moreno’s statement, Miller said on Sunday, “If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable.”
“You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus,” he added in the post on X.
Notably still silent was GOP Sen. Jon Husted, Ohio’s other senator, who while leaving the Capitol Monday did not respond to reporters’ questions about whether Miller should resign.
Other Republicans in the Ohio House delegation are also staying quiet for now. Almost every House Republican from the state either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment on Moreno’s statement.
The exception was Rep. Jim Jordan, who brushed off questions in a Thursday CNN interview about Miller but noted he was “a good man” and was recently campaigning for him.
Asked Monday if Miller should still serve in Congress following Bernie Moreno’s statement, spokesperson for Jordan Stefanie Farrell said, “As Mr. Jordan has said, it’s up to the voters of Ohio’s 7th District.”
Back in the Senate, other Republicans who were unaware of the situation declined to weigh in on the incident.
“I am not aware of the situation, so I don’t have a comment right now,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has been a leading GOP voice on domestic violence issues within the military.
But a steady drip of Republican senators said Monday evening they trusted Bernie Moreno.“It would surprise me if Bernie were being untruthful,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming said. “I guess I was surprised that it bubbled up to the public sphere, but I suspect that Bernie has got a beat on the situation.”
Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia said he was unaware of the details of the allegations but that “Bernie’s a pretty level-headed guy.”
“I don’t know enough about the allegations, but like Bernie said, it sounds like he thinks he needs psychological help,” Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said, adding, “I trust Bernie.”
Chris Marquette contributed to this report.
Senate Budget Committee Republicans will meet Tuesday morning to talk about advancing a fiscal blueprint for a new party-line spending bill.
Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) declined to say , in an interview Monday if he plans to introduce a resolution this week, noting that he was “working with leadership” and that the “first priority” is to pass a stopgap spending bill. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a panel member, said he didn’t expect the Senate to take up a budget resolution this week because “I don’t think my leadership wants to do it.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t ruled out taking up a budget resolution but has been frank about the challenges it faces among GOP senators.
The Senate’s stopgap funding bill to avert a shutdown on Oct. 1 has cleared the first procedural hurdle, putting it on track for passage before lawmakers leave for the August recess.
Senators voted 89-4 to advance the measure, which would fund federal agencies through Dec. 11 at current levels, with some exceptions.
In order for a passage vote to happen ahead of the summer break, Senate leaders will need to strike a bipartisan time agreement to fast-track the measure to a final vote.
“It is a strong bipartisan piece of legislation, and I hope it will receive overwhelming support from both parties in the Senate,” Majority Leader John Thune said in a Monday floor speech.
Senate passage would up a potential battle with the House, because the stopgap measure the House passed two weeks ago has key differences from the Senate version. Identical versions must be passed to actually avert a shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.
The Senate measure includes language to bar the Trump administration from putting into action a plan to make political appointees in charge of approving grants, a prohibition that would last for the length of the stopgap. It also has language sought by Democrats to ensure Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement don’t get any new funding under the patch.
“The bill allows us to continue negotiating a budget that won’t leave working families behind,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday.
The White House did not respond to multiple requests for comment about if President Donald Trump supports the Senate measure. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), an appropriator and administration ally, said Monday he had spoken to Trump earlier in the day and believed the president is “comfortable” with the Senate bill.
Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
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