Congress

House Republicans to huddle with CBO chief amid reconciliation talks

Published

8 hours ago

July 13, 2026

A large group of House Republicans will meet this week with Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel as the GOP races to advance another party-line policy bill — and overcome disagreements over how to pay for it.

Swagel leads Capitol Hill’s nonpartisan budget scorekeeper, which calculates the official price tags and economic impacts of legislation. He will address the conservative Republican Study Committee at its weekly lunch Wednesday, according to an invite obtained by Blue Light News.

The huddle comes as Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow GOP leaders are gathering with House Budget Committee Republicans at Camp David to plot a strategy for convincing skeptical deficit hawks to greenlight a filibuster-skirting reconciliation bill paid for largely with cuts to so-called fraud across Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs.

Even if rank-and-file Republicans go along with the plan, however, those cuts to “fraud” that leaders are envisioning won’t be enough to offset the entire price tag under under CBO’s current scoring methods. Fiscal conservatives are demanding every dollar spent is immediately offset with corresponding spending cuts — including the Trump administration’s request that Congress approve at least tens of billions of funding for the Iran war.

Republicans in recent weeks have tried to explore whether Swagel would consider a taking different approach to scoring the fraud cuts expected in the package, to little avail. They could try again at the meeting Wednesday.

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.