Congress

State Department funding could get caught in House GOP’s elections-bill pickle

Published

9 hours ago

July 13, 2026

House GOP leaders continue to struggle with conservative hard-liners’ demands for action on the SAVE America Act and are exploring whether to seek to attach the partisan elections bill to spending legislation scheduled for floor consideration this week.

Speaker Mike Johnson used a similar maneuver last month to attach the SAVE America Act to the annual defense policy bill, but Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) rejected the gambit — leading Johnson to send the House home for its July 4 recess early.

Now he and fellow leaders are considering doing the same this for the fiscal 2027 funding bill for the State Department and overseas programs, according to three people granted anonymity to describe internal deliberations.

It’s not clear whether the move would appease Luna and other hard-liners who want the stalled elections bill attached to every piece of legislation coming across the House floor in an effort to ramp up pressure on the Senate, which has not acted on the SAVE America Act.

House GOP leaders are also trying to entice Luna to allow the rule to clear this week by calling up a bill that make would daylight saving time permanent — a key priority for Luna and other Florida lawmakers. They are also seeking to appease a separate group of conservative holdouts who are threatening to block action on other bills unless they secure a vote on immigration legislation that has been bogged down in internal GOP fights.

Congress

Ron Johnson is full speed ahead on Reconciliation 3.0

Published

1 hour ago

July 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Ron Johnson doesn’t know when he will officially take over as chair of the Senate Budget Committee, a post left vacant by the sudden death Saturday of Sen. Lindsey Graham.

But the Wisconsin Republican is wasting no time getting ready.

“I’ve already met with Lindsey’s staff this afternoon,” Johnson said soon after arriving at the Capitol on Monday.

He acknowledged the gravity of his longtime colleague’s loss and said he understood the need to “take one step at a time.” But he also said he is hoping to quickly pick up where Graham left off on a new party-line budget reconciliation bill — something Johnson has advocated for more than a year and is now getting a fresh push from President Donald Trump.

The president wants the legislation to send $350 billion to the Pentagon and enact a litany of other GOP priorities ahead of the midterm elections.

While Graham was keen on delivering the defense funding by hook or by crook, Johnson is a veteran deficit hawk who told reporters Monday evening that identifying the maximum number of spending offsets “would certainly be one of my objectives” for the developing legislation.

Johnson said he is already in ongoing talks with House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), who is planning to advance a fiscal blueprint for the GOP-only bill as soon as this week. Some Republicans are eyeing billions of dollars in savings from targeting purported fraud in Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs to offset any new spending.

Johnson said he hasn’t seen a draft of the House budget blueprint, which must be adopted in both chambers to unlock the party-line reconciliation process, but expects to be in touch with Arrington and White House officials as the process progresses.

“It’s a team sport,” he said. “I just want to do everything I can to organize the effort so we can succeed.”

Johnson said he is also vetting a House proposal related to voter-ID legislation from Rep. Bryan Steil, the fellow Wisconsin Republican who leads the House panel overseeing election matters. If found to comply with strict reconciliation rules, it could serve to partially sidestep the Democratic filibuster of the SAVE America Act — the GOP elections bill that Trump has repeatedly pushed Congress to pass.

“I’ve already given that to Budget Committee staff to kind of get their opinion on it,” Johnson said of Steil’s proposal. “I mean, in the end, it’s going to be the parliamentarian that rules.”

Congress

Darline Graham Nordone’s swearing-in

Published

2 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Darline Graham Nordone, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sister, will take the oath of office to fill her brother’s seat at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss unannounced scheduling.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her Monday to fill the vacancy for the rest of the year. She is not expected to seek the Republican nomination for the subsequent term.

Congress

Senate Judiciary Dems call Epstein victim to testify against Todd Blanche for attorney general

Published

2 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Judiciary Democrats have invited Danielle Bensky, a survivor of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to testify against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in his quest to lead the Justice Department permanently.

Bensky will sit on a panel of outside witnesses to be convened Thursday, the day after Blanche sits for his confirmation hearing before the panel.

Democrats decision to include her underscores their intent to make Blanche’s confirmation process about his handling of the release of the so-called Epstein files, which were rolled out late and with botched redactions.

“Dani Bensky is a brave survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s horrific crimes. Her name has been included in multiple batches of released Epstein Files, due to Todd Blanche’s failures,” Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

“She’s attempted multiple times to redact her information without success,” Durbin added.

A group of Epstein survivors separately released a video Monday evening urging senators to oppose Blanche for his role in overseeing the haphazard release of Epstein materials in DOJ’s possession.

The minority witness list will also include Liz Oyer, a former DOJ pardon attorney, according to Durbin, saying in his statement she was “fired by Blanche for refusing to rubberstamp gun ownership rights to Mel Gibson, a convicted domestic violence abuser and friend of Donald Trump.”

“They will offer compelling testimony about the dangers of Todd Blanche weaponizing the Justice Department in service of Donald Trump, rather than the American people,” Durbin said of both Oyer and Bensky.

Republicans have not yet announced who they will invite to testify in support of Blanche, who is also currently serving as the deputy attorney general.