Congress

Titanic-sinker or GOP ‘salesman’? A Senate fiscal hawk grabs a critical gavel

Published

1 day ago

July 20, 2026

Sen. Ron Johnson is jumping directly into a legislative train wreck.

The Wisconsin Republican cut his teeth as a fiscal hawk willing to irritate his own party in pursuit of his deficit-shrinking dreams. Now, following Lindsey Graham’s death, Johnson is poised to take over the Senate Budget Committee gavel — and assume an outsized role in helping shepherd the GOP’s current attempt to pass another party-line spending bill.

In theory, the ascension will give Johnson something he’s long wanted: a megaphone to promote the agenda of spending restraint he has struggled to make resonate in the rank-and-file.

“I wish Lindsey were alive,” Johnson said in an interview. “This is not the way you want to become chairman of the Budget. But set that aside — you know, this is a role that I think I’m pretty well suited for.”

His new reality is rocky, however, as he finds himself in the middle of a messy intra-party fight over how to advance a filibuster-skirting reconciliation bill to fund the Iran war and enact parts of the so-called SAVE America Act.

House Republicans want to adopt a budget blueprint for that bill this week, and it’s pitting fiscal conservatives, who want spending offsets, against defense hawks and lawmakers with ties to farm country, who say the framework wouldn’t spend enough on their priorities. Senate GOP leaders are bracing for an enormous headache.

And while just days ago Johnson likely would have locked arms with the deficit hawks to demand changes, things are different now. The soon-to-be Budget chair is instead having to reconcile his penchant for being a squeaky wheel from the sidelines with his new responsibility to help craft an agreement that leadership can then sell to skeptical colleagues as the midterms rapidly approach.

“It’s not going to be easy. My initial effort is going to be, try and get everybody on the same page,” Johnson said. “I was in the private sector for 30-some years, and I sold plastics, so my main skill set is, I’m a salesman. That’s what you’ve got to do, so — you have to convince people.”

Johnson as a dealmaker would be a U-turn from just last year, when the three-term Republican briefly threatened to help tank the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as he pushed for steeper spending cuts; he repeatedly compared the tax-and-spending megabill to the Titanic.

For many of his colleagues, those tactics were a flashback to 2017, when he vowed to oppose the GOP’s tax cuts package until he secured better treatment in the bill for “pass-through” businesses — which comprise most privately held companies — before cutting a deal.

Johnson has also long felt free to buck his own party, using posts at the helm of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and an investigative subcommittee to dig into pet issues that have been ignored by Senate leadership — namely conspiracies around the Biden family, the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine.

But Johnson told colleagues during a closed-door lunch last week that he would, as Budget chair, listen to the Senate GOP Conference and act in its best interest, according to Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), a fellow fiscal hawk.

“It’s not just one person talking. I’ve got a responsibility to my committee and to the conference as well,” Johnson said to reporters about how he’ll navigate his new role.

After all, Johnson recently witnessed what can happen when a chair of a key committee doesn’t go along with the party-line plans of GOP leaders: Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was cut out of negotiations on the border security portion of last year’s reconciliation package when he wanted to spend less than leadership’s mandate.

Johnson isn’t yet officially chair of the Budget Committee — that will happen in the coming days — but the seniority system guarantees he’ll land it. He has already met with House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the latter of whom outlined the challenges awaiting Johnson in efforts to pass the third reconciliation bill of the 119th Congress.

And Johnson noted how even before he had returned to Washington following Graham’s death, fellow Wisconsinite and House Administration Chair Bryan Steil used a shared flight back to D.C. to pitch the senator on the feasibility of getting some election security incentive measures through the Senate’s strict budget reconciliation rules.

“I think [Johnson’s] going to operate in what is in the best interest of the conference,” Thune said in an interview. “And I think he’ll consult a lot not only with our allies over here in the Senate and his members of the committee, but also with the House.”

That doesn’t mean Johnson is disavowing his fiscal-hawk ways. He spoke this past week with White House budget director Russ Vought, a vocal advocate for steamrolling Democrats in the regular congressional appropriations process as a way to slash funding to federal agencies that run domestic programs.

Johnson also met with other Senate conservatives and members of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, where they talked about ways to pay for the pending party-line bill.

Scott, in an interview, said Johnson understands he has to represent the entire conference but “that doesn’t mean he’ll stop being a fiscal conservative.” Arrington added that Johnson is a “real budget hawk” who “actually cares about the fiscal health of our country.”

Johnson brings a fundamentally different viewpoint to the top of the Budget Committee compared to Graham, who frequently quipped that he wasn’t sure why he had been made chair of the panel.

Graham was known more for his national security portfolio and likely would not have thought twice about greenlighting a pile of new money for the military without offsets. Johnson, on the other hand, is so committed to making the case for less spending across agencies he has more than a dozen charts related to the debt and deficit on his official website.

Bill Hoagland, a former longtime top Senate GOP budget aide, predicted the new chair will ultimately struggle to convert his colleagues into deficit-wary evangelists.

“All the stars are not aligned very well for what Johnson wants to achieve,” Hoagland said. “But bless his heart that he’s willing to make debt and deficits an issue.”

Johnson’s time atop the panel may also be relatively brief: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who outranks him in seniority, is expected to take over the committee in January if Republicans keep the majority after being term-limited out of chairing the Judiciary Committee.

But Johnson is already looking at how he can bring his stamp to the Budget Committee writ large, saying in an interview that he is in discussions with staff about holding a hearing in a matter of weeks to “lay out the reality of Medicaid” that could delve into allegations of fraud within the social safety net program.

And while he isn’t guaranteeing he’ll be able to deliver what his allies want for the third reconciliation package — that at least part of the $95 billion package be paid for — he did predict the Senate will make changes to the House budget resolution and that he believes some members of his panel will demand spending offsets.

“It’s something I always insisted on,” he said. “I know we have other members that will insist on pay-fors.”

Calen Razor contributed to this report.

Congress

Cornyn and Tillis in discussions with White House to get Blanche across the finish line

Published

9 hours ago

July 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn — both Republicans spurned by the Trump administration for not being adequately loyal — are now being actively courted by the White House to confirm a key Cabinet official.

The Trump administration is engaging directly with Tillis and Cornyn’s aides as the North Carolina and Texas lawmakers continue to withhold firm commitments to voting to confirm attorney general nominee Todd Blanche in the Judiciary Committee — where a single “no” vote on the GOP side of the aisle could tank his prospects.

Tillis and Cornyn both confirmed the back-and-forth in interviews on Capitol Hill Monday evening, and a White House official, granted anonymity to speak candidly, also said in a statement that “the Administration continues to have active conversations with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.”

It shows how the balance of power, at least in this high-stakes confirmation battle, has shifted for the two outgoing lawmakers — and how Cornyn and Tillis both know it.

“Well, does he want to get confirmed or not?” was Cornyn’s response when asked whether he would be able to extract concessions from Blanche given his previous reticence to amend a controversial settlement agreement he entered into on President Donald Trump’s behalf.

The senator is still coming off a bruising primary loss to Texas attorney general Ken Paxton, whom Trump propelled to victory with an endorsement during the run-off.

Cornyn said Monday he is currently discussing with the Trump administration two main components of that settlement Blanche, in his capacity as deputy attorney general, brokered with the IRS: one shielding Trump and his family from IRS audits, the other launching a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” critics believe could operate as a slush fund for the president’s allies.

“Those are the issues we’re continuing to discuss with the administration to see whether we can get a modification of the settlement agreement,” said Cornyn.

Blanche has said repeatedly the fund is now effectively dead amid bipartisan backlash at the time of its announcement. But Cornyn pushed Blanche to admit during his confirmation hearing last week that the program could still be revived through a breach of contract lawsuit brought in the future by Trump, absent a written change to the underlying settlement.

Tillis, who also said he needs the fund nullified in order to vote for Blanche, said Monday he’s been encouraged that the Justice Department has coordinated with his staff to ameliorate concerns.

“I know my staff have been in touch, almost, probably daily,” with the DOJ, said Tillis, “so they are acting. I mean, they’re following up in good faith.”

Neither Tillis nor Cornyn were specific about how, exactly, the Trump administration might cut a deal with Republican senators putting the prospects of the fund’s revival to rest — whether it would be something the Justice Department could facilitate internally or if Congress would have to take legislative action.

Cornyn said Monday that changing the settlement through legislation would be “much more problematic.” Tillis, however, has been talking about drafting legislation that could pass the Senate through a unanimous consent agreement; Blanche, during his confirmation hearing last Wednesday, didn’t shoot down the idea.

“I have to be convinced that there is no way that it could actually ever be resurrected again,” Tillis said, “which is exactly why I talked about the legislation … that [Blanche] offered to help write the technical language for.”

Blanche has already acquiesced to another one of Tillis’ demands: that he meet with victims of the late, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, after Blanche, as deputy attorney general, oversaw the haphazard release of the Epstein files resulting in victims’ identities being inadvertently exposed.

Tillis appeared largely satisfied that this meeting took place according to his wishes — even though at least one of the survivors of Epstein’s abuse called the sit down “insufficient” and alleged Blanche took no responsibility for the botched redaction process.

He did, however, say he would “like to understand what, if any, steps were taken for opening FBI investigations — whether it was a request or whether it was an acceptance to do it,” regarding what Blanche may or may not have committed to in that meeting in terms of continuing to bring Epstein’s co-conspirators to justice.

Ultimately, the general consensus is that Tillis will end up voting “yes” for Blanche and may already, privately, be decided: “Tillis, we think, is squared away,” said one person granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters regarding the nomination process.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) also indicated Monday he believed the North Carolina lawmaker was coming around, saying he had heard “favorable comments over the weekend from Tillis.”

He did not answer when asked what he thought of Cornyn, however, who has been less willing to offer praise.

Republicans hope the Judiciary Committee can vote to report Blanche’s nomination favorably to the Senate floor July 30, and subsequently confirm him the first week of August before the chamber leaves for a monthlong recess.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday he “think[s]” Grassley and his team are prepared to get Blanche out of committee “in time to process him in this work period.”

“At this point, I’m not certain,” Thune said. “I think they’re hopeful.”

Congress

White House sends Congress stopgap exception wishlist

Published

11 hours ago

July 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The White House sent Congress a list Monday of programs it wants lawmakers to fund at boosted levels under any stopgap funding patch enacted before the Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline.

The list of requests for special exceptions, referred to as “anomalies,” calls on Congress to increase funding for military health programs, certain national security systems, operations of national parks and more. It also asks lawmakers to extend special authority for certain agencies, including for FEMA to spend disaster relief at a faster clip during the span of the funding patch.

House Republican leaders are trying to pass a “clean” stopgap this week that would keep federal dollars flowing through Dec. 4. That measure does not include the dozens of special exceptions the White House is seeking.

In the Senate, top lawmakers want to instead pass a funding patch that includes at least some of the White House’s requests for exceptions, along with other potential additions.

“They’re missing critical things that we need to do,” Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, said in a brief interview Monday night. “So we’re working on our things.”

Congress

Senators explore separate stopgap spending bill as House moves ahead

Published

14 hours ago

July 20, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Republicans are looking at going their own way on government funding, as House Republicans try to move a stopgap spending bill this week to fund the government until after the midterm elections.

GOP lawmakers in the Senate have had conversations with Democrats on moving a stopgap spending bill while also talking with the White House about anomalies, according to a person granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.

Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democratic appropriator in the Senate, said she has had conversations with Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) about a Senate version of a stopgap spending bill along with potential “anomalies,” which are specific exceptions or exemptions to the flat funding of a continuing resolution usually noted to prevent disruptions to key services.

Murray wants to see if the House can get their legislation across the floor.

“Let’s see what happens in the House,” she said in an interview Monday.

Murray warned that chamber’s measure likely won’t have her support if it makes it through the House and over to the Senate.

“I understand there’s some real flaws with it. I am happy to look at a bipartisan CR, but I understand there’s some real problems on the House side,” she said.

GOP appropriators in the House say they are moving the lengthy stopgap spending package specifically because they have doubts that the stalled appropriations process in the Senate will yield government funding bills.

“Unfortunately, current circumstances in the Senate make clear that Congress, as a whole, is unlikely to complete the full appropriations process by the start of the fiscal year,” Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told the House Rules Committee on Monday.