Congress
What we’re watching: Upheaval in Syria puts Gabbard in the spotlight
Here’s what we’re watching in transition world today:
🗓️ What we’re watching
- Following the rebel victory in Syria over the Assad regime, President-elect Donald Trump told Russian President Vladimir Putin that “this is his time” to start making cease-fire deals with Ukraine.
- After a few weeks under the radar as other nominees were on the hot seat, Tulsi Gabbard is facing renewed scrutiny over her past sympathies for Assad.
- Democratic governors got together on Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles to discuss how they plan to “Trump-proof” their states going into the second Trump administration.
- Trump said on “Meet the Press” that he plans to end birthright citizenship in the United States on day one of his presidency “through executive action,” though he did not go into specific details. In the same interview, he also said he “can’t guarantee” that Americans won’t pay more if tariffs are enacted.
🚨What’s up with the nominees?
- Defense Secretary designate Pete Hegseth has 21 Hill meetings set for this week, Joe Gould reports for POLITICOPro’s Morning Defense. On Monday, he’ll meet with Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
- Ernst, who holds an important swing vote in Hegseth’s path to being confirmed as defense secretary, has spoken out about her concerns over the president-elect’s pick. As a survivor of sexual assault herself, she noted in an address to the Reagan National Defense Forum that she would like to hear more about the allegations against Hegseth.
- Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, is getting some help from Chad Mizelle, formerly acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security under the first Trump administration, to prepare for her confirmation.
📝ICYMI: Here are the latest Cabinet picks
- Alina Habba is joining the White House as counselor to the president, Trump announced Sunday.
- Trump announced a few hires who will serve in the State Department with Marco Rubio if he’s confirmed. Christopher Landau is Trump’s pick for deputy secretary of state, Michael Needham was tapped as counselor and Michael Anton is the prospective director of policy planning.
The House Oversight Committee requested that Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer who once represented Jeffery Epstein, testify as part of its investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Epstein files.
The interview is tentatively slated for 10 a.m. on July 9, with a video and transcript of the testimony being released “as expeditiously as practical,” Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a letter to Dershowitz on Friday.
“Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, documents obtained by the Committee, and your former role as Mr. Epstein’s attorney, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation,” Comer wrote.
Comer told reporters on Wednesday that he wanted to hear from Dershowitz, who helped Epstein secure a controversial plea deal in his 2008 sex abuse case.
“I’m looking forward to testifying,” Dershowitz wrote in a text message to Blue Light News on Friday, adding that he is “trying to adjust my schedule” for July 9.
Sen. John Cornyn isn’t a card-carrying member of the Senate GOP’s growing YOLO caucus. But with less than seven months left in office after losing his primary, the Texas Republican appears to be feeling newly free to speak his mind.
The latest clap-back came Thursday night and the early hours of Friday morning, when Cornyn called a conservative influencer a “grifter” and told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on social media to stop publicly blaming fellow Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune — for the fact that the GOP elections bill doesn’t have support to pass inside the party.
“You don’t have the votes” for the SAVE America Act, Cornyn posted on X. “@LeaderJohnThune can’t change that. It is math.”
He was directing his comments at Lee, who had just penned a post telling Thune, “let’s do this!”
Cornyn continued, “Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November.”
Lee responded to ask, “on what planet is this an attack on Republicans?” and appeared to suggest a staffer was tweeting on Cornyn’s behalf: “Once my friend John Cornyn realizes that you’re saying this in his name—whoever you are—I don’t think he’ll be happy with you.”
Cornyn, however, is known for posting himself on his social media accounts in a chamber where many Senate accounts are run solely by staff. And he’s been making it clear all week that he will push back on Trump and his party when he thinks it’s needed.
In multiple conversations with reporters in the Capitol, Cornyn said that Republicans need to “stop the circular firing squad.” And he added that he won’t intentionally be “a thorn in [Trump’s] side,” but he’s also “not going to go out of my way to try to appease him.”
“I want him to succeed, I want the Republican Party to succeed, I want the country to succeed,” Cornyn said this week. “But on a case-by-case basis, when I think there’s been overreach or just a bad idea, I’m not going to hesitate to weigh in.”
The four-term senator’s comments come after he lost his primary last month to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who Trump endorsed in the final days of the runoff.
Cornyn said in an interview with The New York Times that he was not a “wounded bear” but that he believed Trump’s insistence on “slavish adherence” was going to backfire for Republicans in the midterms and result in “the most miserable two years of his life” if Democrats flip the House or Senate.
“I think it is going to be a pretty bumpy ride for the next seven months,” Cornyn said.
Chuck Schumer wants Congress to pass AI legislation. But he’s casting doubt on it happening this year.
“In this Congress, it’s hard,” the Senate minority leader said in an interview Thursday.
Schumer’s reality check isn’t a complete door-slam. But it underscores the steep climb lawmakers face to bridge a slew of intra-party and inter-chamber divides about what Washington’s approach should be toward the emerging opportunities and risks from the rapidly developing technology.
The problems are multi-pronged.
The White House, whose posture toward AI has shifted dramatically in recent weeks, is angling to enact legislation that would preempt state laws in favor of a national standard. Most recently, administration officials have been exploring a plan to attach preemption legislation to bills designed to shore up kids’ safety online. But there are issues — House Republicans aren’t in love with the Senate GOP’s kid safety bills and Senate Majority Leader John Thune has warned that many senators have concerns “about not trampling states’ rights in the process.”
Democrats aren’t unified on what to do next, with the public broadly skeptical about AI.
Some House and Senate Democrats are leery of state preemption and want to wait until next year to tackle AI, when they might be in power. Opposition from key Democrats is a major factor derailing an attempt by Reps. Lori Trahan and Jay Obernolte to strike a deal on legislation that would set nationwide safety and transparency rules while restricting state action. And Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed a moratorium on AI data centers pending stricter government oversight.
Schumer is striking a balanced tone on how to proceed, arguing that there are “tremendous benefits” from AI but that “we also have to have guardrails.”
“We should get something done on AI, and it’s … got to be balanced — keep innovation strong, but have guardrails to prevent the dangers,” he said. “That’s a hard needle to thread, but I would very much like to see that get done the sooner the better.”
What else we’re watching:
— FISA LAPSE, CLAYTON NOMINATION: Thune is vowing to move “fairly quickly” to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, with the FISA Section 702 spy authority set to lapse at midnight thanks to a stalemate between Democrats and the White House over the position.
— GOP ADVANCES BIG DEFENSE BOOST — Republicans have taken the first steps toward granting President Donald Trump’s request for the largest budget ever for the Pentagon. Senate Armed Services members on Thursday approved a draft of their annual defense authorization bill outlining priorities for $1.14 trillion in defense spending next year. The House Appropriations defense subcommittee advanced $1.1 trillion in fiscal 2027 funding for the Defense Department in a closed-door markup.
Calen Razor and Connor O’Brien contributed reporting.
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