Congress

Capitol agenda: Dems want Schumer silent on Maine

Published

3 months ago

July 8, 2026

Nobody understands the stakes of finding a replacement for Graham Platner quite like Chuck Schumer.

But nobody in his party is suggesting he should have anything to do with it.

The anti-establishment fervor energizing Democrats’ voter base is putting Schumer and other party leaders in a delicate spot. They are aching to ensure whomever may take Platner’s place on the ballot is better vetted after POLITICO’s exclusive reporting on allegations of sexual assault against him, which Platner denies.

Still, even the appearance of the Senate minority leader controlling voters’ choice is stoking fears of deflated turnout and internal fighting that could risk the chance to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins and snatch the chamber’s majority.

“The opposite of maximally participatory is any version of events where Chuck Schumer and out-of-step party leaders in D.C. are calling the shots for Maine Democratic Party leaders,” Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green said in an interview. Green’s group had backed Platner before pulling their support Monday and pushing for another progressive pick.

“This can’t happen as a party insider backroom deal,” Sen. Chris Murphy posted on X. “Voters are sick of the status quo and they need to have a say here – or our party will squander whatever credibility we have left.”

To be clear: Platner has not dropped out of the race, despite the vast majority of Democratic senators Schumer leads calling for him to step aside. He has until July 13 to make a decision, and the Maine Democratic Party would need to name his replacement by July 27.

Meanwhile, that group Tuesday night accused Platner’s team itself of attempting to “put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like,” according to a press release. The organization tried to assure voters it was committed to an “open, inclusive, transparent, and fair,” path forward.

Platner’s campaign responded to the claim by saying it had reached out to the state party to discuss the possible process of replacing him.

“While Graham wouldn’t want to be a part of the process, he would want to make sure the voters and volunteers make this decision — not the political establishment,” a spokesperson said.

Lauren French, a spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC, a group aligned with Schumer, said “this should be a Maine-centric decision.”

But as high as the stakes are for the party, the stakes are similarly high for Schumer, whose leadership has been challenged across the Democratic Senate map, including in Maine as his handpicked candidate Gov. Janet Mills struggled mightily before suspending her campaign in April.

“[Schumer] knows it’s important in their calculus to win the Senate so I don’t see him turning a blind eye to this,” said one veteran Democratic strategist, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “But yes if people think he’s tipping the scales or something there’s going to be more fighting.”

Spokespeople for Schumer and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee did not respond to a request for comment.

In another sign of the toxicity of showing establishment ties at this moment, one potential Maine candidate expressed doubt about supporting Schumer as leader if elected.

“I think that’s a question to be determined,” Nirav Shah, who said he is “evaluating” jumping in the race, told Alec Hernandez in an interview. “I’ve got concerns, as do many, with his leadership, but that’s not a question I want to go to right now.”

What else we’re watching:

— MCCONNELL’S ABSENCE COMPLICATES PENTAGON BUDGET BOOST PLANS: Sen. Mitch McConnell’s uncertain health status threatens to upend Trump’s defense budget plans at a critical moment for the Iran war and midterms. The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican was admitted to a Washington hospital June 14 for undisclosed medical issues, and his staff has not offered any information on when he will return to Capitol Hill. McConnell — who chairs the Senate Appropriations panel that controls Pentagon spending — will be key in moving any of the multiple funding plans forward that Trump is pushing.

— FIRST IN INSIDE CONGRESS: JOHNSON EYES PREGNANT TOURIST MEASURE: Speaker Mike Johnson is exploring whether to put legislation on the House floor that would end the ability of pregnant women to enter the United States legally to gain citizenship for their children. The possible vote, described by four people granted anonymity to share details of private conversations, would be a way for Johnson to appease hard-liners who are demanding action on birthright citizenship after the Supreme Court ruled against Trump administration efforts to undermine it.

Leo Shane III, Connor O’Brien, Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

No one wants to be on the Senate Ethics Committee

Published

6 hours ago

October 16, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate could soon be in the market for a new internal cop. Nobody wants the job.

The top two lawmakers on the Senate Ethics Committee are poised to take over other panels next year, depending on the outcome of the midterms. Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma, the current chair, is in line to potentially lead the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, while the current senior Democrat, Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, would chair the Foreign Relations Committee if his party flips the chamber.

Asked if he’d want to stay on as Ethics chair, Lankford laughed.

“No one asks to be on the Ethics Committee. No one — you can ask Chris Coons the same thing — no one asks to be on the Ethics Committee,” he said. “You’re asked to be on it and it’s a way of serving your conference.”

Coons was more diplomatic when asked if he wanted to serve on the panel again in any capacity, patting Lankford and himself on the back for their ability to “reach effective, swift, reasonable bipartisan resolutions to complex issues.”

“I enjoy the members of the committee,” he added.

Serving as chair of the Ethics Committee is an unenviable role — requiring lawmakers to lead investigations into allegations of misconduct against their coworkers and, in many cases, their friends.

There are also few rewards for the assignment: Unlike other committee leadership posts, sitting atop Ethics doesn’t provide a fundraising foothold or generate campaign ad-worthy headlines. It leaves little incentive for any lawmaker to take on the task.

“Nobody wants to be chair of the Ethics Committee. Period,” said Sen. Jim Risch of Idaho, the second-most-senior member of the panel who is also expected to continue leading Foreign Relations Republicans. “It’s very difficult when you have matters you have to deal with concerning your friends and colleagues.”

The third-ranking Ethics Committee Republican, Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska, noted she’s on tap to become Rules Committee chair next year.

As for whether she’d be willing to lead Ethics, too, she replied, “Deb Fischer is not going to do that.”

Unlike the House Ethics Committee, which has picked up the pace in recent months in holding members accountable, the Senate Ethics Committee has gone through long stretches of public inaction. It has issued just two public rebukes in the past decade: a letter of admonition to former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) in 2018, and one to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in 2023. Aside from those instances, one would have to go all the way back to 2012 to find the next most recent public disciplinary action.

When Menendez was found by the panel to have improperly received gifts from a friend — then used his position of power to advance that person’s interests following a mistrial in his federal bribery case — the committee wrote him a letter of admonition requiring him to repay the gifts.

Menendez went on to be convicted in a subsequent federal corruption case on charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent, resulting in an 11-year prison sentence.

The Senate Ethics Committee slapped Graham with an admonishment in 2023 for “impermissibly conducted campaign activity in a federal building.”

Neither Senate Majority Leader John Thune nor Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — who are both focused on the Nov. 3 midterms — have spoken publicly about who they might put atop the Ethics panel if they find themselves needing a new chair.

There are also some unknowns. For Lankford to take over Homeland Security, for instance, current Chair Rand Paul of Kentucky would need to first decide whether to decamp for the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy’s retirement will leave an opening.

Given the Ethics Committee’s distinction as a “select” panel, Senate leaders have more leeway over who they tap for a chair position, especially if they run into hurdles finding someone willing to take it.

It’s rare, but not unheard of, for a senator to lead both the Ethics Committee and a “standing” committee simultaneously. It’s happened on three occasions since the committee was given its name in 1977, according to data compiled by the Congressional Research Service and the Senate Historical Office.

That means Lankford or Coons could end up being asked to continue in their roles, even if they are also chairing another panel. If not, Senate leaders could struggle to find a replacement further down the committee rosterr, which would force them to bring in a senator not currently on the panel.

Democrats already need to recruit at least one new member to the panel: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire is not returning for the next Congress, and Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii is expected to succeed outgoing Sen. Dick Durbin in the caucus’s No. 2 leadership spot.

As for Republicans, Risch said he’ll pass.

He burst into laughter and said he was confused why someone would ask if he wanted to serve as chair.

Congress

Bernie Moreno says GOP needs to prep for ‘Last Supper’ reconciliation bill

Published

22 hours ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bernie Moreno said Thursday he expects the Senate to move a party-line legislative package after the midterm elections — especially if Democrats flip one or both chambers.

“We will do a reconciliation bill — one way or the other we will,” the Ohio Republican told reporters at the Capitol, referring to the simple-majority budget process. “Obviously, if we lose control of Congress, it’ll be the Last Supper.”

Such a bill, he added, would be “giant” and would include “all the Republican priorities that we can get done.”

The House approved a framework for a party-line bill over the summer that includes war funding, farm aid and election integrity incentives. But the push has so far run aground in the Senate

Moreno said the threat of imminent Democratic control of either the House or Senate would jumpstart matters — and potentially push Republicans to include a debt-ceiling increase as well.

The borrowing limit is set to be reached sometime next year, and a Democratic majority could have significant leverage to demand concessions as part of any deal — something the GOP could forestall by acting in the lame-duck session.

“I mean, nobody wants to see a debt default,” Moreno said. “That would be 1929 on steroids.”

Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) also told reporters on Capitol Hill that a new reconciliation bill “has to happen” after the election but warned against expanding the scope of the House framework.

“I think you have to go with the one that we’ve got,” he told reporters. “The Senate needs to act and get the job done.”

A senior member of the Armed Services Committee, Wittman said the legislation is “key to restock our weapons magazine” and “should be the main focus when [members] get back.”

Moreno said if Democrats win control of both chambers, Republicans should stay in session nonstop to pass GOP legislation — which could be a tall order given worries about poor post-election attendance.

“If we lose the House and the Senate, we should be here from Nov. 9 until Dec. 31 with no break at all,” Moreno said. “Like, we’ll have turkeys here for Thanksgiving because we have to get this done.”

Congress

Authorities investigate ‘suspicious substances’ mailed to congressional offices

Published

23 hours ago

October 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Authorities are investigating letters containing “suspicious substances” sent to multiple Capitol Hill offices, according to a notice sent to senior congressional staff.

“Law enforcement officials are working to intercept any additional letters before they are delivered, however, it is possible that some letters may reach their destinations,” says a memo from the Senate Sergeant at Arms and obtained by Blue Light News.

The Capitol Police, FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are involved in the probe, according to the notice, which said additional letters have been mailed to other addresses across the U.S., including lawmakers’ state and district offices.

It is unclear if any of the suspicious letters reached Capitol Hill. Letters and packages sent to congressional offices are subject to off-site screening under a system established after the 2001 anthrax attacks.

The memo includes a photo of one of the suspicious envelopes and warns staff to keep an eye out for warning signs, such as messy handwriting or postmarks that do not match the return address. The memo was first reported by Bloomberg Government.

Suspicious letters were also sent to state election offices and election officials, according to a joint statement Wednesday from the National Association of Secretaries of State and National Association of State Election Directors.

They said they are working with law enforcement to protect “personnel and facilities” and that contingency plans and security measures are in place to respond to threats “while maintaining essential election operations.”

House and Senate mail is processed in two separate Maryland facilities where materials are screened, irradiated and tested for a variety of substances before they are sent to the Capitol complex — a process that can add as much as two weeks to delivery.

The process has proved effective in the past, catching a string of suspected explosive devices sent to prominent Democrats in 2018 and a ricin-laced envelope sent to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) in 2013.

Members’ district and state offices have the option to send mail for screening before it is delivered or to contract with a similar mail security system.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.