Congress
The Congress Issue
After nearly three decades on Capitol Hill, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) reached the apex of his career as the new Senate majority leader and head of the Republican caucus. But he’s also reached a personal crossroads — and how he navigates it will determine his legacy and the future of the American experiment.
There’s no question that Thune is a conservative who supports President Donald Trump’s agenda, despite his previous opposition to Trump becoming the GOP nominee. But temperamentally, he’d seem to be at odds with Trump’s aggressive, norm-breaking approach to the presidency.
“In a move-fast-and-break-things era of anti-government ardor, he’s virtually a public-sector lifer, an easy-does-it institutionalist,” writes Michael Kruse in this week’s Friday Read. “The subject of nary a scandal and scant few lengthy profiles for somebody of his stature, John Randolph Thune — by upbringing, experience and disposition — is the utter antithesis of Donald John Trump.”
The question for Thune is whether he wants to be remembered as the man who tolerated Trump’s worst excesses in service of his political project, or as the institutionalist who drew a line in the sand. And so far — to the delight of MAGA skeptics and the chagrin of Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans who respect Thune — he’s choosing the first path.
“I would hope there’s a little inner turmoil,” said longtime John McCain adviser Mark Salter. “You are watching the executive branch usurp all the power and authorities given Congress under Article I,” he continued. “Maybe he thinks, ‘I’ll preserve my influence, and down the road, when something worse comes along, I’ll be able to stop him from doing it’ — but it’s going to get harder to oppose him, not easier.”
“WTF? @SenSchumer please grow a spine. And quickly.”
Can you guess who tweeted this at Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.**
How the Media Missed the Missing Congresswoman … The first notable thing about the news that Texas Rep. Kay Granger had been living in an assisted-living facility with dementia for months was that a sitting member of Congress was unable to carry out her duties. The second notable thing was that no one had noticed. Washington probably has the highest journalist-to-everyone-else ratio of any city in the country, and yet it was a small conservative website called The Dallas Express that got the scoop. A Congresswoman vanished — and not one D.C. outlet reported it. Why? In this week’s Capital City column, Michael Schaffer digs into the story of how the media missed the story.
Wait, was something supposed to happen on Saturday? Why are all your Democratic friends mad at Chuck Schumer? No one needs to know that you missed one of the most dramatic government shutdown showdowns in history. Just use these talking points and everyone will think you were practically glued to C-SPAN this week. (From Associate Editor Dylon Jones)
- Share a bit of context to telegraph that you remember how shutdown negotiations typically go — and why this time was different: “When the majority party needs votes from the other side, they used to reach out to try and make a deal. Sometimes the president himself would get involved. But the GOP didn’t even try. As POLITICO put it, ‘the White House’s posture smacks of over-confidence bordering on arrogance.’”
- You won’t look like a keen White House observer unless you bring up just how ugly and personal the president got as the deadline for averting the shutdown loomed: “Trump was in a meeting with the Irish prime minister when he decided to say that Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the country, is ‘not Jewish anymore. He’s Palestinian.’ He’d previously said Schumer is a ‘proud member of Hamas.’ Something tells me Trump didn’t exactly consult a rabbi on that one. And yeesh, must have been awkward for the prime minister. ”
- Drop a detail that indicates you were refreshing Hill reporters’ Twitter pages as Democrats debated their position this week: “Did everyone see that reporters could hear Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand arguing against the shutdown through a closed door on Thursday? You’d think they’d have improved the sound-proofing at the Capitol over the last 231 years or so.”
- Everyone will be talking about progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders condemning Schumer’s decision to support the Republican spending bill to avoid a shutdown. But as a sharp political observer, you’ll be able to point out that the criticism isn’t just coming from the party’s leftmost flank: “Multiple Biden advisers threw stones at Schumer as well. More importantly, so did Rep. Nancy Pelosi, one of the most effective wielders of power the party has ever seen, albeit somewhat obliquely. ‘Let’s be clear: neither is a good option for the American people,’ she posted on X, referring to the choice between the bill and a shutdown. ‘But this false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable.’”
The 5 Most Stylish Men in Congress … Congress may be dysfunctional, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fashionable. There are a handful of members who know how to turn a look — if not how to turn a bill into law. Menswear critic Derek Guy highlights the five most stylish men in Congress, and what makes them stand out from their frumpy colleagues.
The Navy SEALs Take Congress … One group of Americans has recently achieved greater representation in Congress than ever before: Navy SEALs. There are seven Navy SEAL vets in Congress, and their ascension marks a notable shift both in the military and in politics. Compared to past veteran lawmakers, “the current generation of ex-SEALs, who mostly came of fighting age during the Gulf War and the war on terror, have eagerly embraced a more combative style of politics,” writes Ian Ward, “one that favors partisan warfare, legislative brinkmanship and an open embrace of Trump.”
D.C.’s Big-Dollar Dining Habits Exposed … When members of Congress use campaign or PAC funds to wine and dine, they have to report that spending. So Senior Data Reporter Jessica Piper crunched the numbers to find out where Democrats and Republicans like to crunch on grub — and found a feast of insights. Any guesses which party prefers steakhouses and which one likes European bistros? How about what representative spent $155,563.09 at The Capital Grille alone? Your smorgasbord of delicious D.C. dining details is served.
Congress Spills Secrets on Congress … Last week, we got 25 members of Congress to give us their unvarnished view of insider life on Blue Light News — and they did not hold back. We’re talking sex, drinking and dementia — which colleagues they can’t stand and how they’d change the institution if given a chance. Get ready to see Congress like you’ve never seen it before.
From the drafting table of editorial cartoonist Matt Wuerker.
Who Dissed? Answer: That would be one of former President Joe Biden’s old advisers, Susan Rice.
A lawyer for Rep. Max Miller took responsibility Tuesday for inadvertently releasing sensitive photos of the Ohio Republican’s daughter in a trove of material Miller published Sunday in a bid to defend himself against domestic abuse claims.
The attorney, Aaron Minc, took responsibility for the photo being released and called it “completely unintentional and a mistake” after a lawyer for Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, accused Miller of disseminating the daughter’s name and one image that “could be considered Child Sexual Abuse Material.”
“I am solely responsible for what happened,” Minc said in a statement. “I was the only person responsible for assembling, creating, reviewing, adding, deleting, redacting, or making any changes to the information and files that were in this folder.”
Minc apologized to Miller, Moreno and their families but also decried Moreno for creating “a media spectacle regarding this unfortunate mistake … as a means to try to gain leverage in court and distract from the underlying evidence that exonerates Mr. Miller from the false allegations he is accused of.”
Miller posted the documents online Sunday after delivering a livestreamed defense against the claims leveled by his former wife, Emily Moreno. He has declined all allegations of wrongdoing, which include pouring hot water on his ex-wife, holding a gun to her head and breaking his daughter’s collarbone.
Moreno’s lawyer Subodh Chandra claimed that the documents left the daughter’s name unredacted and contained “private images,” including one where “the daughter’s genitals appear to be visible,” according to a letter to Minc obtained by Blue Light News. Chandra noted that the photo was later removed.
“The post with the link to the folder — published under your name — garnered over 204,000 views from the time it was posted until this afternoon,” Chandra wrote.
The letter from Chandra asks Minc, “Whose idea was it to share this intimate image of the child?” among other questions, giving a Wednesday close-of-business deadline.
The letter marks the latest escalation in the legal battle between Miller and Moreno, who is the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno. After Miller delivered his livestreamed defense Sunday, the GOP senator denounced his former son-in-law, saying he should not serve in the House and needs to seek professional help.
Miller is running for reelection in a competitive Cleveland-area seat. He has until Wednesday to withdraw from the ballot and allow for a crash primary to replace him.
Senate Republicans are facing a put up or shut up moment to move ahead with a party-line bill this week.
Those who want to advance a budget blueprint now will use Tuesday’s GOP closed-door lunch as a last-ditch effort to rally their colleagues behind what’s guaranteed to be a politically heavy lift. But prospects are waning with each passing hour, as lawmakers face a slew of other priorities, including plotting the path for a stopgap funding patch.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday it’s possible members stay through the weekend or return next week to knock out lingering tasks, delaying the start of a five-week recess.
“It looks to me at least like there’s a good possibility that it’ll take us more than Thursday or Friday to get through the things we have to get through,” he told reporters.
Budget Republicans are meeting separately Tuesday morning to talk about advancing a framework in the Senate, but Chair Ron Johnson declined to say Monday whether he would release a budget resolution this week — a necessary step for the chamber to make any movement forward.
Johnson said he’s “working with leadership,” who he acknowledges has been prioritizing government funding.
Meanwhile, Sen. John Kennedy told reporters Monday he didn’t expect any budget resolutions on the floor this week because “I don’t think my leadership wants to do it.”
“As I’ve said before, you got to have the votes to get on it,” Thune said Monday, while stopping short of nixing the possibility of a vote this week.
Thune also may need to deal with GOP hard-liners demanding votes on the SAVE America Act as frustration percolates over whether the budget measure’s election provisions comply with Senate rules for the reconciliation process.
Sen. Roger Marshall joined Sen. Mike Lee Monday in saying the chamber shouldn’t depart without passing the elections bill, and Marshall said he’d be willing to object to adjourning the chamber over it.
What else we’re watching:
— BLANCHE HAS MORE REPUBLICANS TO CONVINCE: Todd Blanche’s prospects for confirmation as attorney general were much improved Monday — but he’s not in the clear yet. The acting attorney general secured votes from the previously reluctant Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis over the weekend, all but certainly giving him the votes he needs to advance out of Judiciary Tuesday morning. But he still needs to get through the full Senate, where he can only lose two Republican votes given likely unified opposition from Senate Democrats and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence.
— GOP SENATORS BREAK SILENCE ON MILLER: Multiple Senate Republicans are calling for Rep. Max Miller to step down from office amid domestic abuse allegations. The outcry comes after Sen. Bernie Moreno — father of Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno — said in a statement Sunday Miller should not serve in the House. Miller has denied the allegations. The surge of support from Moreno’s colleagues marks the first significant crack in a wall of GOP silence regarding the claims. Miller has until Wednesday to withdraw from the ballot and allow a crash primary to select a replacement.
Jordain Carney, Chris Marquette, Riley Rogerson and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
Senate Republicans are hopeful they will be able to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general by the end of the week. But he’s not in the clear yet, as several undecided GOP senators continue to mull it over.
Blanche’s prospects were nonetheless much improved Monday — less than 24 hours after some GOP senators were predicting he was unlikely to get confirmed as a war of words escalated between President Donald Trump and holdout Republicans.
But then Blanche cut a deal with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) late Sunday night to clarify a controversial settlement between Trump and the IRS, giving Blanche the votes he needed to get through the Judiciary Committee Tuesday.
He still needs to get through the full Senate, where he can only lose two Republican votes given likely unified opposition from Senate Democrats and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence.
Several GOP senators who raised alarms last week about Trump’s public threats to rekindle the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” Cornyn and Tillis worked to kill declined to say Monday how they’d vote on Blanche.But in a positive sign for the acting attorney general, several are looking to Tillis and Cornyn, who are now supporting him, as a lodestar for their own deliberations ahead of likely floor votes later this week.
“I think certainly the fact that he has signed this order, basically disbanding [the fund] — that’s a pretty good step,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), before adding that she would “like to find out a little bit more about the negotiations.”
Murkowski said she plans to speak with Tillis and Cornyn.
“I’m curious about what went on over the weekend,” she said.
Blanche has made efforts to ingratiate himself with Murkowski. In July, he trekked to Alaska, in part at Murkowski’s urging, to better understand public safety and tribal jurisdiction matters. He recently announced a nine-figure settlement benefiting Alaska natives’ health care that Murkowski was pleased with.
“I just appreciated the fact that he went to the state,” Murkowski said. “He was only there for two days, but I had asked him in my initial meeting to go up to the state.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who like Cornyn lost his primary earlier this year to a Trump-backed challenger, declined to discuss Blanche Monday. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added that she also wanted to talk to Tillis and Cornyn and read the agreement they struck with Blanche.
“Until I do that, I am not going to make a judgement,” Collins said.
Another Republican who hasn’t yet committed to supporting Blanche is Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah). He met with Blanche last week but hasn’t yet weighed in since Sunday night’s agreement. He had indicated before Sunday’s deal that he would be closely tracking Tillis and Cornyn during Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee meeting.
Getting Blanche’s nomination on a trajectory to pass the Senate this week would relieve some of the pressure on Senate Republicans, who are juggling a long to-do list and a shrinking runway to get it done. Trump, amid last week’s standoff, demanded that Senate Republicans confirm Blanche, including warning during a Cabinet meeting that they “will never get anybody like him.”
Tillis told reporters Monday that “the back-and-forth over the weekend was not helpful” but that the talks “ended up at an acceptable place.”
If Blanche gets out of the Judiciary Committee Tuesday as expected, the soonest the Senate could confirm him as attorney general is Saturday unless Democrats unanimously agree to help speed up a final vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that he’s hopeful the Senate will be able to confirm Blanche but didn’t give an ironclad guarantee as the remaining undecided members review the agreement and talk to Tillis and Cornyn.
“I’d like to figure out a way, a path forward to get him done,” Thune said.
Democrats are likely to use Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee meeting, and the days leading up to a full Senate vote, to hammer Republicans over the deal Cornyn and Tillis struck. Many predicted Monday that Trump wouldn’t stick by the agreement that limits the scope of the IRS settlement and nullifies the $1.8 billion payout fund.
“There are so many loopholes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the president went ahead with the program,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) warned the remaining undecided Republicans about the deal: “I don’t think that that commitment is worth what it’s written on.”
While Democrats can drag Blanche’s confirmation into the weekend, they aren’t able to prevent him from being confirmed if at least 50 GOP senators support him. But they are determined to use the debate to hit at one of their central midterm campaign messages — corruption — with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling Blanche the “architect of Trump’s grifts.”
Tillis suggested Monday he still has questions about who in Trump’s orbit played a role in the roller coaster negotiations over the past week. While the retiring senator is prepared to support Blanche, he said that he’s “not done analyzing the anatomy of this deal and who played a role in there.”
“I’m not going to speak for other members, but I think that it’ll be a solid vote,” he added about Blanche’s chances of being confirmed.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who appeared skeptical during a Sunday morning talk show interview that Blanche would get through the Senate, did a 180 Monday when asked whether he would get confirmed: “Yes, I do.”
Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
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