Congress
Vance to Senate GOP lunch
Vice President JD Vance is attending Thursday’s Senate Republican lunch.
The visit comes as senators try to make progress on several key priorities and leave Washington for a five-week recess. Among the unsettled issues is whether the GOP will advance a budget framework for a new party-line spending bill and take votes on the SAVE America elections bill.
The Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday voiced its opposition to the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act that’s currently under consideration in the Senate, urging Democrats to block the bill until it “reflects the interests of Black athletes.”
In a statement, CBC Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said that though the legislation has “evolved” from when Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) first introduced it, “fundamental concerns” remain.
The bill — which seeks to establish a single federal framework for name, image and likeness rights for athletes, limit conference expansions and grant collegiate sports a limited federal antitrust exemption — has already secured the backing of powerhouse conferences like the Big Ten and SEC.
But the stakes extend far beyond the playing field, Clarke said Thursday.
“Black athletes have transformed college athletics into one of the most successful enterprises in America. Yet the people most affected by this legislation have not been meaningfully included in shaping it,” Clarke said.
Most of the CBC are members of the House, but a handful of Black Democratic senators — Cory Booker (N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and Angela Alsobrooks (Md.) — are also in the caucus.
Clarke added that the legislation would offer sweeping federal protections to powerful institutions that have remained silent at “the very moment that Black political representation is under attack across the country.”
It’s an argument the CBC made earlier this year, when its members came out against the SCORE Act — a separate bipartisan effort aimed at providing the NCAA renewed authority to regulate the collegiate athletic system. The CBC’s opposition helped sink that bill in the House, where caucus members’ support was considered crucial getting it over the finish line.
The caucus, made entirely of Democratic members, also expressed support for the NAACP’s call urging Black student athletes to avoid committing to top public athletic programs in Southern states as the redistricting battles in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Callais ruling continues.
Both the CBC and NAACP have emphasized that Black athletes serve as major economic divers for some of the nation’s top collegiate sports programs. A 2026 report from NCAA found that Black athletes accounted for nearly 16 percent of all the organization’s athletes during the 2024-25 school year, and 20 percent of all Division I student-athletes are Black.
Clarke on Thursday said Senate Democrats have a “responsibility” to ensure the legislation reflects the concerns of Black Americans, who have “done their part in strengthening and advancing our democracy.”
“Congress should not determine the economic future of Black athletes,” Clarke said, “without ensuring they and the communities they come from have a meaningful voice throughout the process.”
Sen. Jon Husted said Thursday his fellow Ohio Republican, Rep. Max Miller, should “step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress” — breaking days of silence about the burgeoning controversy over domestic abuse claims that Miller denies.
Husted serves alongside Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), the father of Miller’s ex-wife. He remained quiet on the issue this week even after Bernie Moreno broke his own silence Sunday to denounce Miller as unfit for office and in need of “professional help.”
Husted said in his latest statement he does “not see how a campaign for Congress benefits” Miller, ex-wife Emily Moreno or their daughter.
“I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,” Husted added. “Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her.”
A spokesperson for Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations, which include drawing a gun on Emily Moreno and breaking their child’s collarbone, and called them “politically motivated” in a BLN interview this week.
Earlier in the week, Husted said he was “sad about the situation” and said he hoped President Donald Trump would “help move things along.” Miller spoke to Trump earlier this week but said afterward he had no plans to resign.
Husted’s statement came as several Senate Republicans spoke out in support of the Moreno family. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana said earlier on Thursday that Miller should “step aside and seek help,” calling him “a degenerate sociopath.”
Husted issued his statement as another prominent Ohio Republican, Vice President JD Vance, addressed Senate Republicans at a Capitol Hill lunch hosted by Bernie Moreno. Vance has not publicly commented on the matter.
The controversies around Miller have threatened what had been considered a safe Republican district, with Democratic nominee Brian Poindexter mounting a strong campaign to deny Miller a third term. The White House has privately pushed for Miller to drop out of the race before Monday — the deadline for Ohio Republicans to replace his name on the ballot.
The House Ethics Committee said earlier this week it is investigating the domestic abuse allegations as well as claims of illegal drug use by Miller — a probe the lawmaker asked for in a bid to clear his name. Speaker Mike Johnson subsequently told Blue Light News in an interview that he would allow that investigation to run its course and would not call on Miller to step down or end his candidacy.
Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats rejected a GOP-led farm bill Thursday in a vote that highlights deep partisan divisions over nutrition aid cuts and leaves Congress without a clear path toward reauthorizing the long-overdue bill.
Chair John Boozman recessed the panel indefinitely after the 10-11 vote, meaning that he can call members back to revisit the bill at any point, including in September after the chamber’s August break.
Democrats stood united against Boozman’s package, sticking to their demand for a two-year delay to Republicans’ requirement that states share the cost of providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
“I want us to get to a bipartisan agreement. I think people know that that is how I have operated in this place, and that’s what I want to get done,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the panel’s ranking member. “But first and foremost, that includes addressing this ridiculous [SNAP] situation.”
Boozman offered a one-year SNAP delay, language to authorize year-round E15 sales and increased funding for a program that distributes food through food banks in hopes of attracting bipartisan support. GOP senators resisted Democrats’ efforts to push for a longer delay.
Republicans needed at least one Democratic vote to advance the bill due to the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell on Thursday. Boozman accused Democrats of holding SNAP participants “hostage and holding our farmers hostage.”
“I want to be clear: A two-year delay does not have the support of the majority in Congress or of the White House. The offer before you is the best, and it’s the final offer,” Boozman said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) defended Boozman’s offer during the markup.
“The chairman fought as hard as he could,” said Thune, a longtime Agriculture Committee member. “The proposal in front of us … gives everybody another year to do this and saves some states in this room a whole lot of money.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said that “all of us knew before we walked in this room” that the bill would fail due to the SNAP stalemate.
“I want to get the bipartisan stuff done, and we’re not going to get a farm bill. That’s the game here today,” Booker said.
Senators adopted dozens of amendments to the original text, including those that would permanently transfer the Food for Peace program to USDA and make hot rotisserie chicken eligible under SNAP. They rejected several Democratic-led amendments to undo SNAP funding cuts and add other nutrition priorities to the bill along party lines.
Rachel Shin contributed to this report.
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