Congress

Jeffries calls on Biden to pardon more Americans

Published

2 years ago

December 3, 2024

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on President Joe Biden to pardon more people convicted of nonviolent offenses amid controversy over the president’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.

“During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,” Jeffries said in a statement.

Jeffries’ comments echo the calls from some other Democrats who in recent days have asked Biden to use his clemency powers for more Americans in federal custody besides Hunter and to address sentencing disparities. But it did not pass judgment on the pardon of Hunter Biden itself. Some in the caucus have openly criticized the president since the pardon was issued and said it could tarnish his legacy and open a lane for Donald Trump to issue similar sweeping pardons.

Congress

House GOP leaders release budget framework for $95B party-line package

Published

12 minutes ago

July 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Republicans released a fiscal blueprint Wednesday morning for the $95 billion party-line funding package GOP leaders hope to pass later this summer.

Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) has scheduled a Thursday morning markup of the measure, which would unlock the reconciliation process to skirt the Senate filibuster and enact a bill that delivers $73 billion for the military and intelligence, $12 billion for farm assistance, plus $10 billion more for election grants to states and other efforts aimed at encouraging strict voter-ID laws.

Even clearing the framework through committee — the first step in an arduous legislative process — is not guaranteed. The panel’s fiscal hawks want offsets to reduce the deficit impact of at least some of the new spending. But that’s unlikely to happen, meaning the package won’t be paid for, which is riling fiscal hawks. So, House GOP leaders are expected to spend the day trying to quell the concerns of Republicans on the budget panel while balancing conflicting demands among the broader conference.

The $73 billion for military and intelligence comes in far below President Donald Trump’s demand for $350 billion in Pentagon funding. Lawmakers are directing some of that to the ongoing war in Iran and another portion to servicemember pay, which DOD officials have warned will run short in August.

If Arrington succeeds in advancing the budget resolution, the House and Senate would both need to adopt the measure in order to embark on a third reconciliation bill this Congress, following enactment of the “big, beautiful bill” a year ago and an immigration enforcement funding package last month.

House GOP leaders want to hold a floor vote on the measure next week before lawmakers leave for a six-week recess. Action on the blueprint would then move to the Senate, which is scheduled to be in session into early August.

Republicans in both chambers then would need to clear the funding package itself during the small window of session days scheduled for the leadup to Election Day.

Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Vance, Johnson try to rally House GOP

Published

2 hours ago

July 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Republicans finally have a rough outline of what they’ll include in their third reconciliation bill.

And plenty of members are not happy about it.

Part of members’ frustration stems from a lack of details colliding with a staggeringly fast timeline: GOP leaders are aiming to adopt the framework for a party-line package on the floor by the end of next week.

More details should be coming soon: Budget Republicans will release the text of their framework at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning as their committee plans to mark up the measure Thursday. So far we expect the budget resolution to include $67 billion for defense spending, $11 billion in farm aid and pieces of the SAVE America Act.

But House GOP leaders and senior White House officials have a raft of other issues to resolve to get party factions on board. Vice President JD Vance Wednesday will meet with House Republicans at 3 p.m. at the Capitol and is all but certain to press members to find a path forward:

— THE FISCAL HAWKS: Fiscal hawks are frustrated the bill’s plan doesn’t include immediate and bold cuts to offset new spending.

Rep. Josh Brecheen, one fiscal hawk on the Budget panel, said he is “sympathetic” to the defense portion not having pay-fors — but declined to give his support for the $11 billion in farm aid that doesn’t not include offsets.

“They’ve got to get the votes in Budget Committee for that,” he said.

— THE MODS: Moderate Republicans, meanwhile, are more likely to support the package without any pay-fors, especially after facing political blowback for the spending cuts in last summer’s reconciliation package.

If cuts are “off the table, then we’re in a much better place,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick said.

— OTHER REQUESTS: Some Republicans are frustrated the package doesn’t go far enough in tackling issues like affordability and health care — which have become key issues in midterm elections. Others are criticizing it falls well short of the $350 billion military infusion President Donald Trump called for.

Senior Republicans believe the White House has declined to provide more specifics about the $67 billion defense portion because it will include Iran war funding that may stir opposition.

“I need to see: are they funding something that I don’t back, right?” Fitzpatrick added: “I support the military. I’m against the war.”

Opposing the war “doesn’t mean we take it out on the troops,” Fitzpatrick added.

Meanwhile, Rep. Don Bacon — while generally supportive of the supplemental funding for the military — said he is still demanding American troops return to Poland.

“If he wants my vote, he’s got to answer,” on Poland, Bacon said in an interview.

What else we’re watching:

— DEMS SHIFT STRATEGY TO CURB IRAN WAR: Democrats are turning their focus away from forcing votes on war powers resolutions and toward other levers of power to rein in the war in Iran. A prime target: the annual must-pass $1.15 trillion defense policy bill. The bill is tentatively scheduled for a House floor vote next week, while Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer unanimously sunk that chamber’s version Tuesday. In Democrats’ view, a vote against the National Defense Authorization Act amounts to a vote against authorizing the war, said a Senate Democratic aide granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.

— DEMS SHIFT STRATEGY TO CURB IRAN WAR: The fate of the Senate majority could lie in the hands of 600 yet-to-be-chosen Maine Democrats next week, and Schumer — an inveterate campaign meddler — is staying on the sidelines. Schumer told Blue Light News he is not endorsing a candidate in the primary. Instead, he’s keeping his focus on the general election in November — and on defeating Republican Sen. Susan Collins — ahead of the party’s nominating convention July 25 to replace Graham Platner on the ballot.

Jordain Carney, Nick Reisman and Chris Sommerfeldt contributed to this report.

Congress

Questions about spy agency loom over Jay Clayton hearing

Published

5 hours ago

July 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

At Jay Clayton’s confirmation hearing to be director of national intelligence on Wednesday, senators are likely to grill the office as much as the man.

Democrats, Republicans and former intelligence officials have in recent weeks floated a range of options to cut, curb or even eliminate the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Regardless of whether the proposals come to fruition, they underscore a stark reality: Trust in an agency that technically stands astride a hulking U.S. spy community has cratered since the rocky tenure of former DNI Tulsi Gabbard and her interim replacement, Bill Pulte.

“The consensus among many members is the ODNI was a colossal mistake, and it just gets in the way of real intelligence and national security work,” said one senior GOP congressional aide, granted anonymity, like others, to share details of private conversations among staff and lawmakers.

The crisis of confidence in ODNI is a mixed bag for Clayton, the former SEC chair and current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

There is little doubt the Senate will eventually confirm Clayton, as Democrats are eager to replace Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no prior national security experience. Republicans hope doing so will unlock Democratic votes for a powerful spy law that expired last month, when Trump forced a delay in Clayton’s prior nomination hearing. At the time, Trump said Pulte deserved more time atop ODNI, and urged the Senate to confirm Clayton’s replacement at the Manhattan prosecutors’ office first.

But Clayton’s hearing could still bring up uncomfortable issues for a man known for trying to stay above the fray politically. Gabbard and Pulte’s turns atop the intel coordination hub have left Democrats more worried than ever that the spy czar post can be abused to target the president’s political opponents, buttress legally dubious executive branch policies and sow doubt in elections.

Clayton is likely to get questions from Democrats on subpoenas the Justice Department issued last Friday to New York Times journalists who reported on security concerns with Trump’s new, Qatari-donated Air Force One. Clayton’s name appeared on the subpoenas, alarming Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the Senate spy panel.

In an interview last month, Clayton also questioned whether California’s voting procedures left open “the opportunity for fraud” in the state’s June primaries — another issue Democrats could key in on.

Rachel Cohen, a spokesperson for Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Democratic support for Clayton hinges on his performance Wednesday. Clayton must show he can be an “independent voice” and “won’t assist Trump in weaponizing the intelligence community or manipulating elections,” she said.

While Democrats don’t have the votes to block Clayton’s confirmation, they can throw up some short-term hurdles, such as blocking the committee from quickly advancing his nomination to the Senate floor and then slowing it down once it gets there. But that’d likely only amount to a few weeks delay.

And, it would mean retaining Pulte, which Democrats also don’t want.

Both Democrats and Republicans who spoke with Blue Light News said the pressure to get Pulte out and renew the now-expired spy law means the scrutiny Clayton will face at the hearing could be less intense than it was for his predecessors. The office has also fallen into such low esteem that many do not expect Clayton to act as the “principal intelligence adviser to the president” — the key statutory responsibility for the DNI. Many say that role is already filled by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

“Ratcliffe is now the principal intelligence adviser to the president,” said Fred Fleitz, National Security Council chief of staff in Trump’s first term and vice chair of the America First Policy Institute. “That’s the way the president wants it. That’s the way it should be.”

Most of the concern in Congress about Clayton has not been about whether he can be confirmed, but how quickly.

After Trump announced he intended to replace Gabbard with Pulte on an acting basis last month, Democrats were so livid they threatened to withhold support for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a key spy law. Trump then nominated Clayton, and Warner and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, quickly struck a deal to fast-track his nomination in exchange for Democratic support for Section 702.

But Trump derailed that plan with an eleventh-hour social media post, in which he defended Pulte as “very fair” and “talented” and said he had told Clayton not to show up for the scheduled hearing.

Trump also said Clayton’s nomination should not move forward until the Senate confirmed James McDonald, his pick to succeed Clayton at SDNY, and threatened to withhold support for Section 702 unless Congress first passed a partisan voter ID bill, the SAVE Act.

It is not clear what convinced Trump to let Clayton appear before the Senate now, though the Justice Department announced last week McDonald was joining SDNY as Clayton’s deputy. The delay also guaranteed Pulte would have some time atop ODNI.

Since taking over in mid-June, Pulte has ousted several Gabbard holdovers and reassigned roughly 45 career intelligence officials, including many in the agency’s intelligence coordination hub.

While Pulte has not implemented as many changes as critics feared, Trump said this month he wants Pulte — who touted mortgage fraud investigations into Trump’s political enemies while serving as the head of the government’s housing finance regulator — to “declassify almost everything” before he leaves ODNI.

That’s one reason why there is such urgency among Democrats to see him replaced.

Though Clayton does not have direct experience in the intelligence community, he is held in far higher regard by both Democrats and Republicans, several of whom were lukewarm or quietly opposed to Pulte.

Clayton built trust with some Democrats during his time at the SEC, and has earned praise inside and outside the administration for his work at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office, one of the most prestigious in the country. While there, he handled several high-profile national security cases, including the criminal case against deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

A GOP congressional aide also noted that Clayton is reported to have a close relationship with the president, an asset that could end up making him a more effective DNI than anyone now anticipates.

“Is he a career intel official? No,” the aide said. “But he is someone who has a good rapport with the president.” The aide noted that other influential Trump aides, like peace envoy Steve Witkoff, do not have traditional national security backgrounds.

Congress crafted the legislation creating ODNI in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks and the intelligence failures leading to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The hope was that the office could improve the flow of information between powerful spy bureaucracies while providing a more balanced assessment of intelligence matters than could any single member of the U.S. spy community.

But the office never got off to a strong start, and for years lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and former intelligence officials have alleged it is a bloated bureaucracy that needlessly slows down or dilutes intelligence analysis.

For Democrats, Gabbard’s tenure added a troubling new dimension to those gripes, demonstrating how some of the unheralded authorities of the office could be misused for political purposes.

Gabbard ousted intelligence community personnel who helped craft an assessment that undercut Trump’s immigration agenda. She used her perch to declassify spy material she used to accuse former President Barack Obama and his intelligence chiefs of “treason.” Most troubling for Democrats, she stretched her office’s legal authorities beyond their seeming limit by attending an FBI raid of an elections facility in Georgia, and seizing voting machines in Puerto Rico.

Republicans took a different lesson from Gabbard’s time as DNI.

Trump repeatedly sidelined Gabbard on high-stakes military decision-making, instead relying on Ratcliffe to be his intel aide and conduit to the U.S. intelligence community.

The apparent success of that model has given fresh ammunition to ODNI skeptics like Cotton who feel Gabbard did not go far enough in reforming the intel coordination hub. Cotton last year introduced legislation to cap the office at 650 people — roughly half its current size — and move some of its functions elsewhere in the intelligence community.

For Republicans on Wednesday, the focus will be “how do you wind this [ODNI] down and get the bureaucracy out of the way,” said the senior GOP congressional aide.

The hearing may not be the only hurdle Clayton has to clear this week. A speech Trump has planned for Thursday night could also affect how quickly Clayton is confirmed. In the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said the primetime address involves a “very big announcement” and pertains to “free and fair elections.” Democrats fear Trump, who has long alleged the 2020 election was rigged, plans to release new intelligence that falsely buttresses those claims.

“Trump has been laying the groundwork to justify massive interference in our midterms,” Warner tweeted Tuesday. “It’s coming on Thursday. Don’t let him fool you.”