Congress

House members stare down a grueling summer on the campaign trail

Published

52 minutes ago

July 24, 2026

The Iran war’s increasing unpopularity, including inside the MAGA base, is weighing on House Republicans as they head back to their districts for a five-week recess to face voters ahead of the looming midterms.

They know they need to ease Americans’ worries about what many of them fear is beginning to look like an endless war yielding higher gas prices and other major affordability concerns.

“All of these issues will come up. I mean, Iran will absolutely come up,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise acknowledged Thursday. “Cost of living comes up. Safety and security, border security comes up. All of them come up, you know, and that’s why it’s important to remind people that we’re addressing those issues.”

It didn’t help that GOP lawmakers left Washington after four of their own broke ranks Thursday morning to help advance a Democrat-led war powers resolution rebuking President Donald Trump’s military operation in Iran.

The timing of the war powers vote right as members were leaving town — where among the four Republicans defecting was Rep. Tom Barrett, a vulnerable incumbent fighting to hold onto his competitive Michigan seat — had an unsettling effect among some House GOP lawmakers already spooked by poll numbers appearing to favor Democrats for a takeover in 2027.

“We have a hell of a lot of work to do, that’s clear,” one House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said as the chamber headed out this week.

Amid the political pressure around the war, National Republican Congressional Committee Chair Richard Hudson and other party leaders are trying to draw a contrast between the GOP and a Democratic Party facing down an rising insurgent left flank.

“We’ve passed some really good policies that are actually working. And so we’ve got a great story to tell to the voters,” the North Carolina Republican told reporters Thursday. “This election’s a choice between Donald Trump’s vision and Mamdani’s vision, and the voters are going to be with us.”

He was referencing Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist mayor of New York City who has become a GOP stand-in for the party following a string of progressive Democrats’ primary wins.

Some House Republicans tried to paint a rosy picture of their own achievements, having spent the past few days successfully pushing through major pieces of legislation that were seen as being in risk of failure at several points. Those anxieties were compounded by recent internal party meltdowns that forced Speaker Mike Johnson to lose control of the House floor for weeks.

Johnson’s wins this week include an annual defense policy bill, a measure to fund the government through Dec. 4 and a budget blueprint for a $95 billion party-line package. That package includes a massive cash infusion for the Iran war, plus farm aid and funding for the voter ID and citizenship components of the GOP election overhaul bill known as the SAVE America Act — Trump’s top legislative priority.

“If you would have told me on Sunday we could get all that done with low drama, I would have never believed you,” Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) said in an interview. “We’ve got a plan going into the fall. We are committed to making sure the government continues to operate.”

But each of those House bills now head to the Senate, where they are expected to hit several hurdles — assuming any of them can move at all. Senators’ own version of the National Defense Authorization Act has stalled, while Senate appropriators are hoping to negotiate their own stopgap funding plan.

And Senate Majority Leader John Thune won’t commit to a timeline for moving the budget resolution, underscoring Thursday it does not have the votes at this point. It’s more likely than not that even if GOP leadership does decide to take up the fiscal blueprint, it won’t be before the Senate starts its own August recess, complicating the message for House Republicans during theirs.

Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) said he believed there was a “50/50” chance that Senate Republicans will adopt the budget resolution in the coming weeks, “and I’m not optimistic.”

House GOP leaders also keep pressing their members to highlight some of the benefits of Republicans’ “One, Big Beautiful Bill,” over the upcoming recess. But that message has largely fallen flat among Americans.

It has Democrats projecting confidence in their own midterm message and seizing on what they see as a series of political blunders by the GOP — including that the House Republican budget plan would greenlight billions in funding to cover the Trump administration’s exploits in Iran, which has driven up inflation.

“Donald Trump and Republicans have failed the American people, which is why they clearly are on the run and are on the verge of losing control of the House of Representatives,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Thursday.

Democrats are also feeling good about affordability and accountability-oriented legislative efforts they say are translating to promising polls and fundraising hauls. And while they have yet to fully outline how they would attempt to lower costs legislatively if they take the majority, Jeffries teased he will launch a new affordability “effort” on Sunday to mark 100 days until the midterm elections.

The party is also touting polling that shows mounting voter frustration with the Iran war — including among Republicans. A Wednesday Fox News poll shows voters saying Democrats can better handle income inequality by 22 percentage points, health care by 21 points, inflation by 10 points and immigration — Republicans’ top 2024 campaign issue — by one point.

On a generic ballot, Democrats are up by 11 points, according to an Emerson College poll.

“The cost of living goes up under Donald Trump and his war of choice,” the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, Greg Meeks of New York, said in an interview. “And so that’s the messaging that we will continue to have to pour out to the American people, along with some of the crazy ethical problems that this administration has.”

Republicans have downplayed the polling so far. While Hudson acknowledged that midterm elections often benefit the party not in power in the White House, he believes this time around “that’s not the case,” pointing out that Republicans are trying to flip many House seats that Trump won.

“I’m polling in about 35 districts, and that’s going to decide the election,” Hudson said. “And in those polls, we’re leading in most, and we’re in the fight in the rest because we have better candidates. We actually have solutions to make people’s lives better, and thankfully we’ve got more resources, so we can tell that story.”

A handful of Democratic incumbents are also facing primary challenges that threaten to distract from the party’s salespitch of unity to contrast with their narrative about Republican disarray; Democrat-on-Democrat infighting is taking place in contests involving Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Florida, Ed Case in Hawaii, Shri Thanedar in Michigan and John Larson in Connecticut.

“I have to confess, I’m a little more worried about some of the folks that have primaries,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said. “I just hate the idea of replacing people we know can win easily in November with people who could lose.”

Democrats aren’t taking anything for granted: “There’s only two ways to run: scared or unopposed,” Rep. Tom Suozzi, a vulnerable Democrat from New York, said in an interview. “You just got to keep on fighting.”

Calen Razor contributed to this report.

Congress

‘A circular firing squad’: Senate GOP pushes back on Trump’s tiff with Thune

Published

10 hours ago

July 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump is escalating his war of words against Senate Majority Leader John Thune. He’s still not likely to get what he wants.

Trump on Wednesday told rally-goers in Georgia to “call John Thune” over the Senate GOP’s inability to pass a partisan election bill, known as the SAVE America Act, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday said the president’s patience with the South Dakota Republican is “running out.”

But if Trump’s rhetoric is meant to drive Republican voters to the polls this fall -– and some allies believe it will only increase ahead of November — it does little to change the reality in the Senate, where the SAVE America Act still doesn’t have the votes to pass. Instead, many Republicans on Thursday came to their leader’s defense, acknowledging an unwinnable standoff between the president and their 53-seat majority.

“This idea that he can just command members of the Republican conference to get in line is just a fantasy. So I think it’s unfair,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who ran against Thune for majority leader in 2024 and then lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed challenger earlier this year. “I don’t know who it was that sold the president on this idea, that this was obtainable, but it’s creating a circular firing squad for Republicans.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) added: “John can’t put a gun to people’s head and make them vote a particular way.”

It marks the latest turbulent moment between the president and Senate Republicans, after Trump last month ranted at GOP senators in a closed-door lunch. They, in turn, have fumed several times this year about a lack of coordination from the White House.

For months, Thune and other Republicans have privately tried to tell Trump, and allies in the White House, that the votes aren’t there to pass the SAVE America Act — whether with the 60-vote threshold required for most legislation to advance or even if senators did away with the filibuster, which doesn’t have the votes, either.

Senate Republicans have also stewed for months that Trump remains fixated on attacking Republicans over the election bill rather than training his fury on Democrats who won’t allow movement on other items in the president’s legislative agenda.

That message, however, appears to have fallen on deaf ears inside the Oval Office.

“The Senate is a place you send things when you want them to die,” Trump said at the Georgia rally. “We’re not going to take this any longer, we’re not going to take it. I’m trying to be nice.”

A normally even-keeled Thune immediately pushed back when asked about Leavitt’s comments, suggesting that the White House should “get on the phone” to lock in the needed votes instead of pointing fingers.

“It’s 50 around here, and so instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats. And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone,” Thune said.

But Thune and Trump also need each other. Losing the Senate majority would be a catastrophic blow for Trump, with the House majority already in grave peril. At the same time, if Trump were to go nuclear on Thune, it would be a huge political headache for GOP senators, who would face pressure to pick sides and risk only further alienating base voters who they need.

Shortly after his initial comments, Thune moved to lower the tension, saying he did not “read a lot” into Leavitt’s comment.

“I think it was a question she got, and she was responding to it,” he said, adding that he and Trump have a “fairly regular conversation” but acknowledged it’s “more on an as-needed basis.”

The White House referred to Leavitt’s and the president’s latest comments in response to senators’ saying they don’t have the votes on SAVE America, despite Trump’s pressure.

But the volleys traded between the two ends of Pennsylvania Avenue this week underscore how much of a sore point the election bill has become between the two men.

Privately, some Senate Republicans believe Trump is lashing out at Thune because, unlike in the House where the president is able to muscle through just about anything with enough pressure, he is unable to get the Senate Republican Conference to bend to his every whim.

That posture has been most prominent when it comes to protecting institutional norms against Trump’s wrath, like the legislative filibuster and the blue slip precedent that allows the minority to block a lower-court judicial nominee from their home states.

“How often has the House called in Trump to twist arms on votes? When he does it, he takes credit. The fact that Trump can’t do it in the Senate is why they’re blaming Thune,” said one Senate GOP aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly.

A second Senate GOP aide, also granted anonymity to discuss party dynamics, said Trump’s pressure on Thune about the SAVE America Act is “just exhausting” for Republicans.

“What leverage does he have over the Senate? He’s not spending the war chest because he’s saving it for when the House impeaches him. Trump doesn’t care about Congress at all,” the aide said, referring to the $400 million sitting unspent in the MAGA Inc. super PAC.

Behind-the-scenes, Trump is enraged, with some allies believing he will only ramp up the pressure on Thune after the August recess. How far he goes, however, could depend on the outcome of the midterms.

Thune is intending to run for GOP leader again in November and no Senate Republican has backed a challenge to him. Many Senate Republicans believe Thune is secure in his position, but some have questioned if the president could go after him after the November elections — especially if Republicans lose the majority, according to two people granted anonymity to speak candidly.

“Trump is legitimately pissed at Thune over the SAVE America Act. And the president hates the war powers votes, which just add insult to injury,” said a person close to the White House granted anonymity to speak freely.

Kennedy, however, acknowledged that “when you’re the majority leader you take a lot of spears and arrows,” but “to my knowledge, there’s no effort to replace anybody.”

White House aides have long argued that the president was elected on the promise of election integrity, and that Senate Republicans should carry out the will of the voters by advancing the bill. Some people close to the White House have even suggested that failure to pass the SAVE America Act could depress turnout among core elements of the MAGA base who are more responsive to red-meat issues at the ballot box, though GOP senators believe it’s the months of infighting that would come back to bite them, not the failure to pass the bill.

A second person close to the White House said the president is “growing tired of the excuses and lack of effort” when it comes to Thune.

Thune and his allies, however, say it’s not a lack of effort. The Senate spent weeks debating the SAVE America Act and held votes related to it as part of debate around an immigration enforcement bill as well.

Even some of Thune’s right flank declined to pile on the White House’s remarks Thursday.

“I don’t know what else I can add to it,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), while Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who some GOP senators suspect might like to mount another leadership bid against Thune, acknowledged that the current majority leader has a “hard job.”

Sen. Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), said he agreed with Trump on the SAVE America Act but returned to Thune’s concern about the votes.

Congress

Jes Staley tells House Oversight he spoke with JPMorgan CEO about Epstein’s crimes

Published

13 hours ago

July 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Jes Staley — a former top executive at JPMorgan who fought to keep Jeffrey Epstein as a client at the bank after Epstein became a convicted sex offender — told the House Oversight Committee Thursday that he spoke to JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon at least twice about Epstein’s criminal exposure.

According to a transcript of his closed-door remarks, obtained by Blue Light News, Staley said he spoke to Diamond about Epstein on two occasions: once in 2006, when Epstein was first indicted, and another in 2008, when Epstein was in jail.

Staley’s recollection, which he has shared versions of in previous depositions over the years, deviates from what Dimon previously said under oath in a deposition before federal prosecutors, namely that he and Staleynever discussed the matter of whether to retain Epstein as a client.

It also increases the possibility that the House Oversight Committee could at some point call Dimon in for questioning about how JPMorgan was allegedly complicit in allowing Epstein to withdraw huge sums of money he used to traffick young girls and women for years.

It also reinforces the reality that the year-long congressional Epstein investigation could have no end in sight, as more witnesses give reason for lawmakers to continue the inquiry.

“No such conversation ever occurred, and Staley lacks credibility,” Patricia Wexler, a spokesperson for JPMorgan, said in a statement Thursday. “A UK tribunal found Staley to be evasive and unreliable.”

The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority banned Staley, also the former CEO of Barclays, from holding senior management roles in the British financial services industry after finding that Staley misrepresented his relationship with Epstein; a U.K. tribunal said that Staley “lacked credibility” and “has shown no remorse for his conduct.”

A spokesperson for Staley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats were already on the warpath for Staley Thursday, emerging mid-interview to complain their witness was being evasive and pledging to bring him back to testify under oath if the party retakes the majority in the midterms.

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, lamented that the interview was not done in public view and under the terms of a deposition, and suggested he would recall Staley to testify again under more restrictive arrangements if he becomes chair next year.

“What’s happening right now is a good reason why all of these interviews need to be under oath, and we need honest questions. So Staley is clearly, in our opinion, just not being truthful and flat out lying,” Garcia told reporters. “The reality is, he’s claiming first that he had no real friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. I mean, that is just ridiculous.”

He added, “This is someone that chose to work with a person that he knew had been convicted already of sex crimes.”

House Oversight Chair James Comer of Kentucky told reporters that Staley was “very close friends with Mr. Epstein” and “defended Epstein time and time again in front of JP Morgan, regardless of all the red flags to keep him as a client.”

At one point, according to a portion of the transcript transcribed by Blue Light News, Democratic investigators asked Staley whether the cash withdrawals had to do with sexual abuse or paying women for sexual abuse.

Staley replied no, adding that it was shocking to him that Epstein would continue to abuse minors after doing a stint in jail for it.

Epstein was ultimately convicted years later for sex trafficking and died by suicide behind bars in 2019.

Congress

Ted Cruz eyes bill to address ‘catastrophic risk’ caused by AI

Published

15 hours ago

July 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz said in an interview Thursday he is looking to take up legislation to address the “catastrophic risk” posed by artificial intelligence — increasingly top of mind after a major OpenAI security incident this week.

It’s a first glimpse at the types of bills that could be on the agenda for a big markup of AI and kids’ online safety measures the Texas Republican plans to hold the first week of August, and about which he has been largely secretive.

“Look, it’s deeply concerning, and there are undoubted risks and catastrophic risks that that AI potentially brings, and how the government deals with those risks and minimizes the chance of harm is a difficult policy question that Congress is wrestling with,” Cruz said.

OpenAI earlier this week disclosed that its most powerful model available to the public, and another that has yet to be released, were both able to break free of a controlled laboratory test and hack into another AI developer platform — the first documented caseof a fully autonomous AI cyberattack.

Cruz said Thursday that legislation confronting this scenario is “among the topics we are looking at for the markup,” but declined to say whether he was writing a bill to address it — or if he was working across the aisle on a bipartisan proposal.

“More to come,” he said. “We are negotiating with the Democrats and deciding — trying to find the bills that have the best maximum positive impact and also best chance of bipartisan support and passing law.”

Cruz’s aides, granted anonymity to speak freely, have previously said that the Commerce Committee chair believes in very targeted federal action to address issues like catastrophic risk or deepfakes — rather than a massive regulatory framework for AI.

The Senate Commerce markup on AI legislation was supposed to happen the last week of July but was pushed back amid continued jockeying over which bills would be included on the docket.

There has, in particular, been confusion over the fate of a forthcoming package from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), who has been working with the White House to pair a kids’ online safety measure with provisions to preempt state AI laws.

That effort suffered a blow this week when President Donald Trump declined to back the effort. Cruz, on his podcast Thursday, took credit for that decision, saying he announced during a White House meeting with Trump and Blackburn that Blackburn’s emerging framework would not have the votes to pass the Senate.

Trump was ready to hit “send” on a Truth Social post endorsing the Blackburn proposal before Cruz interjected, the Texas senator said.

Blackburn’s office did not return a request for comment about Cruz’s version of events, and Cruz said Thursday in an interview he has not spoken to Blackburn since their visit to the Oval Office.

Cruz could also include in his markup a new bill he introduced Thursday with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) that would create a commission to study AI developments — focusing on bioethics — and report the findings to Congress.