Congress

Maryland Dems kick off latest redistricting effort after a year of infighting

Published

54 minutes ago

August 3, 2026

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Democrats kicked off a special session on redistricting Monday, with the battle to redraw House districts around the country showing no signs of stopping at the November midterm elections.

Democrats are gearing up for a process to ultimately draw out the state’s only Republican member of Congress, Rep. Andy Harris. But any new map wouldn’t kick in until 2028.

Instead, the state Legislature is in town this week to vote on a constitutional amendment that some party leaders believe would insulate future redistricting efforts from legal scrutiny. This, after a Maryland state court blocked a proposed 8-0 Democratic district map in 2022, charging that it ran afoul of the state Constitution.

While Democrats around the state, including Gov. Wes Moore, had called for the Legislature to enact redistricting in time for this year’s midterms, Senate President Bill Ferguson — also a Democrat — has long argued that any map redraw coming before an amendment wouldn’t pass legal muster, and that the downside risks were “catastrophic.”

“We’ve known from the beginning what is at stake, and most importantly, we have known that in this moment of American history, it is insufficient to act with haste when the consequences of missteps are so impactful,” Ferguson said at a Monday press conference. “What those consequences could have looked like: a map rejected by Maryland’s Supreme Court. A map drawn by the court that sends us backwards when we could least afford it.”

The new language aims to make clear that certain requirements around compactness and respecting natural and political boundaries apply only to legislative districts and not congressional ones, which could clear a path for the state to gerrymander.

Should lawmakers pass it, Maryland voters would still need to approve the proposed amendment in November.

Republicans have taken a major lead in the interparty redistricting war for this year’s election, particularly after redrawing maps in a handful of Southern states after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in April.

“A legal earthquake changed the landscape this spring,” Ferguson said. “Even worse, we saw states like Tennessee, Louisiana, and South Carolina act with haste to attempt to eliminate majority-minority congressional districts. These acts changed the calculus, and that’s why we’re here.”

(Tennessee and Louisiana changed their lines for 2026, but South Carolina ultimately did not.)

The amendment, Ferguson said, “ensures that Maryland has the ability to respond if the Trump administration or any future federal administration seeks to further erode the basic standards of democracy.”

Congress

Cornyn, Tillis confirm they will vote for Blanche

Published

9 minutes ago

August 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has a clear path to the Senate Judiciary Committee advancing his nomination to the permanent job after two GOP holdouts confirmed Monday they would vote for him.

The statement from Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) comes after the late-night announcement Sunday of a Justice Department agreement to clarify a controversial May settlement agreement between President Donald Trump and the IRS.

A successful Judiciary vote Tuesday would set Blanche up for confirmation on the Senate floor later this week, before the chamber breaks for August recess.

“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” Cornyn and Tillis said in a joint statement.

The senators suggested their agreement with Blanche also satisfies the concerns of several other Republican senators off the Judiciary Committee who have raised concerns about the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” created in the original settlement, as well as provisions immunizing Trump and his family from some tax audits.

“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund. Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share,” Cornyn and Tillis said.

Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, John Curtis of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are among the other Republicans who have expressed concerns about the payout fund. Blanche recently visited Alaska and announced a flurry of settlements benefiting Alaska as he courts Murkowski’s vote.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Senate stopgap sets up fall clash with House

Published

3 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senators Monday will take up a bipartisan funding patch measure that sets them up for a clash with House lawmakers in September.

Senate appropriators released stopgap bill text Sunday that would fund federal agencies through Dec. 11 at current levels, with some exceptions. Leaders set an initial procedural vote tonight with hopes of passing the measure before the Senate breaks for recess.

But the bill includes several rebukes of President Donald Trump, and House lawmakers will need to decide when they return in the fall whether to take up the Senate’s version or try to muscle their own version forward.

Senators are also facing an immediate deadline crunch: Leaders will need bipartisan time agreements to fast-track legislation in order to accomplish their ambitious schedule this week, including for the funding patch. The chamber’s Republicans are preparing to potentially stay in session through the weekend, two people granted anonymity to disclose private scheduling told Blue Light News.

As for differences with the House: Senate Democrats with the backing of key Republicans like Appropriations Chair Susan Collins pushed for language to block Trump from finalizing a plan to put political appointees in charge of approving grants. The prohibition would last for the duration of the funding patch.

There’s also language Democrats have demanded ensuring no new funding goes to immigration enforcement agencies, since Republicans funded those programs through a party-line package this spring.

And while it incorporates some of the funding increases and authorizations the White House sought for specific programs, the Senate bill does not contain major military boosts the administration requested, including an extra $1 billion for a “Trump-class” battleship.

The differences stem from weeks of bipartisan negotiations between Collins and top Democratic appropriator Patty Murray — unlike the House-passed funding extension which Republicans advanced without consulting Democrats.

“This measure gives Congress the time we need to continue our work on bipartisan appropriations bills, which are always my strong preference for handling annual government funding,” Collins said in a statement.

The funding legislation is GOP leaders’ top priority in a busy sprint to recess, which is expected to include votes on Russia sanctions legislation, nominations, a cryptocurrency bill and potential initial votes on a college athletics bill.

And still up in the air: Whether Majority Leader John Thune brings a budget resolution for a third party-line bill to the floor or if his right flank insists on forcing their colleagues take a vote to allow the recess to start.

What else we’re watching:

— HOUSE GOP LEADERS SILENT AMID MILLER MESS: House Republican leaders aren’t yet publicly responding to domestic and child abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller, including weighing in on whether Miller should continue to serve or run for his seat again. Spokespeople for Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team didn’t respond to a request for comment Sunday after the allegations against Miller were complicated by a statement from his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, who denounced the Ohio congressman for the first time. Moreno called for him to exit the House. Moreno’s statement is the first from the senator directly weighing in on Miller ahead of the Aug. 5 deadline to put someone else on the ballot.

— BLANCHE NOMINATION BACK FROM THE DEAD: Todd Blanche is suddenly back on track to be confirmed as attorney general later this week after a late-night deal Sunday. A spokesperson for Sen. John Cornyn said just before midnight he had come to terms with the Justice Department on a deal to rein in the controversial settlement agreement Trump reached with the IRS in April. With fellow holdout Sen. Thom Tillis indicating he plans to follow Cornyn’s lead, the deal appears to pave the way for a successful Senate Judiciary vote Tuesday. That could allow for Blanche’s confirmation before the summer recess begins later in the week.

Jennifer Scholtes, Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy, Chris Marquette and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

Congress

Todd Blanche on track for confirmation after Cornyn strikes Trump settlement deal

Published

12 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Todd Blanche took a crucial step towards confirmation as attorney general late Sunday, after Sen. John Cornyn said he had reached a deal with the Justice Department to rein in a controversial settlement agreement President Donald Trump reached with the IRS earlier this year.

The pact was announced Sunday by a Cornyn spokesperson and by Blanche in a X post. Documents posted by Blanche appear to meet the Texas Republican’s demands to nullify a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and to limit the scope of an IRS audit immunity deal applying to the president and his family.

The announcement appears to clear the way for Cornyn to approve Blanche at a scheduled Tuesday meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee. With Democrats entirely opposed, any Republican defection could be fatal to the nomination.

Senate GOP leaders are hoping to confirm Blanche, who has been serving as acting attorney general since predecessor Pam Bondi resigned in April, before the end of the week.

“Sen. Cornyn has reached an agreement with the Department of Justice, which will be issuing a formal order permanently terminating the anti-weaponization fund and making clear in a binding written document that the scope of the audit settlement is limited to only the plaintiffs, including the President, and the IRS,” said Natalie Yezbick, the Cornyn spokesperson.

Blanche said in the X post that he and his team “addressed any concerns or outstanding questions” senators had and issued an order that said the payout fund “is rescinded and shall have no force or effect.” It also stated that the “DOJ’s interpretation” of the settlement is that the audit deal applies only to “the named parties in the lawsuit.”

The deal emerged after a 72-hour period where Trump repeatedly attacked Cornyn and said publicly that he regretted that the fund, intended to pay out settlements to Trump political allies, had been withdrawn. He suggested Friday that he would simply withdraw Blanche’s nomination and resubmit it next year — after Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another critic of the settlement, leave Congress.

Tills, another swing vote on the Judiciary Committee, has said he plans to follow Cornyn’s lead. He said in an X post Saturday that “President Trump clearly intends to resurrect the payout pot for punks” and that “it’s unfortunate that Todd Blanche, who I consider qualified for the job, will not be confirmed because of this reversal. Hopefully, we can resolve this by Tuesday.”