Congress

Capitol agenda: Make-or-break markup day

Published

1 year ago

May 13, 2025

House Republicans are gearing up for their most consequential megabill markups Tuesday with massive, unresolved policy fights that could unravel President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

WAYS AND MEANS — At least one blue-state Republican is threatening to torpedo the GOP’s tax package over Chair Jason Smith’s proposal to triple the cap on the state and local tax deduction to $30,000 and limit it to people who make $400,000 or less.

“The bill is dead effectively on the floor,” Rep. Nick LaLota, one of a quartet of so-called SALT Republicans advocating for a higher cap, told POLITICO Monday night. Smith “insulted us with fake numbers” and “demonstrated bad faith in presenting a bill that … doesn’t even come close to earning our vote,” said LaLota, who is not on Ways and Means, but whose support will be necessary when the bill comes to the House floor.

But the SALT plan isn’t final. Ways and Means will use the placeholder language when it marks up its portion of the megabill at 2:30 p.m., with the expectation that negotiations will continue until the floor vote on the full legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson huddled with SALT Republicans and other top GOP lawmakers on Monday, and many Republicans involved in the talks believe they’ll end up compromising on slightly higher numbers, according to people familiar with the discussions.

ENERGY AND COMMERCE — The panel is poised for an epic, Medicaid-focused markup starting Tuesday at 2 p.m. that could continue overnight and late into Wednesday. Committee Democrats say it could run longer than the marathon 27-hour markup during Republicans’ unsuccessful attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act in 2017.

Expect Democrats to offer a host of amendments to try and force Republicans into difficult votes over Medicaid. So far, it looks like Chair Brett Guthrie has gotten moderates on board with a plan that would force states to make some difficult decisions. One centrist panel member, Nick Langworthy, said he’s been won over, calling Guthrie’s gambit a “bold” proposal that protects Medicaid “for those who genuinely need it.” The bigger test may come after the markup, however, when it hits the floor and goes up against conservatives angling for deeper spending cuts.

Required reading ahead of E&C’s markup: How Guthrie, who has long wanted to overhaul Medicaid, is selling a compromise.

AGRICULTURE — The most contentious plan for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is officially on tap Tuesday: Forcing states to pay for part of the program using a sliding scale based on their payment error rates, beginning fiscal year 2028. Some Republicans fear this cost-share plan would disproportionately impact rural and red states including Alaska and South Carolina.

Agriculture Committee lawmakers will begin their markup at 7:30 p.m. and break at midnight, then reconvene for amendment debate at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

What Democrats are doing amid these megabill markups: Staying on message. The DNC is sending a mobile billboard around Blue Light News this morning criticizing Republicans for cutting Medicaid and SNAP, according to plans shared first with Blue Light News. And the Democratic Women’s Caucus is urging Republicans across these three committees not to cut safety-net programs, according to a letter sent Tuesday that Blue Light News obtained first.

“We have heard from women and families from across the country, and the message is clear — do not cut programs and services that deliver basic necessities like food and health care for women and families,” the caucus wrote.

Across the Capitol: Many GOP senators are bristling over some of the policies their House counterparts are pursuing. Sen. Ron Johnson said Monday he’d oppose the current House megabill for not going far enough to reduce the deficit, in a preview of problems to come for the party-line bill.

What else we’re watching:

— It’s not just Medicaid: Lawmakers are also proposing a dramatic concession to the tech industry as part of the Energy and Commerce contribution to the GOP megabill. When the committee meets later Tuesday, members will consider a 10-year moratorium on state and local regulation of AI models, amid growing tensions between federal lawmakers and state regulators. (Though it’s not likely to survive the Senate’s Byrd Rule.)

— Library of Congress fallout: Add Senate Majority Leader John Thune to the list of congressional leaders pushing back against Trump’s decision to fire top officials at the Library of Congress. Thune said on Monday that lawmakers “want to make sure we’re following precedent and procedure” in naming a replacement for ousted Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. He added: “We want to make sure congressional equities are respected and protected in this process.”

— Dem Oversight race: Rep. Jasmine Crockett is planning to run for her party’s top slot on House Oversight after wavering last week when Rep. Kweisi Mfume, one of the most senior Democrats on the panel and a fellow Congressional Black Caucus member, started making moves toward a bid. In a text message sent to colleagues, Crockett said the current times “call for an extraordinary response” which is why she is seeking the position.

Anthony Adragna, Jordain Carney, Mohar Chatterjee, Hailey Fuchs, Benjamin Guggenheim, Meredith Lee Hill, Nicholas Wu and Grace Yarrow contributed to this report.

Congress

Capital agenda: Cue shutdown watch after Republicans go it alone on ICE funding

Published

18 minutes ago

June 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Republicans solved an immediate crisis Tuesday, clearing for President Donald Trump’s signature a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies into 2029. But that hardly improves the chances of avoiding a shutdown for the rest of the government.

Members of both parties say the odds of another federal funding lapse are unimproved, if not heightened, by the GOP’s choice to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years without buy-in from Democrats — even though they no longer have to fight about one of the thorniest policy issues confronting Congress.

As Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) put it, the GOP’s move to fund immigration agencies for three years “takes care” of the threat of a shutdown “in that area … But how many other accounts do we have that we could have another kerfuffle?”

“It’s not helpful for sure,” Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, told reporters of the GOP’s use of the budget reconciliation process for funding DHS immigration activities. “It makes it very difficult for us moving forward.”

Republicans’ circumvention of the normal appropriations process comes less than four months from the next government shutdown deadline Sept. 30, which will hit just weeks before the midterms determine which party controls the House and Senate next year.

It’s widely accepted on Capitol Hill that Congress will need to pass a stopgap funding bill to keep cash flowing for the agencies past the November elections. Yet some are predicting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will go further, directing his members to oppose a funding patch — though Democrats have not committed to threatening a shutdown.

“They do not want appropriation bills. They do want to shut down the government,” Sen. John Kennedy told reporters of Democrats. “And they think they’re going to take the House and maybe the Senate and can get a better deal then.”

Many appropriators are holding out hope that collegiality on the House and Senate funding panels will ultimately prevail — if for no other reason than the margins of the GOP majorities in both chambers depend on it. Others are concerned Republicans have opened the door to funding more conservative priorities through reconciliation measures rather than the annual government funding bills.

After House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris of Maryland floated the idea this week of putting more controversial spending proposals into party-line packages, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) immediately rejected it.

“We’re not doing that. I will just tell you flat out, that will not happen,” Cole told reporters Tuesday morning. “I don’t think [the GOP-only reconciliation bill] is a precedent. But if it became a regular practice, I certainly wouldn’t be supporting it.”

What else we’re watching:

—TRUMP REJECTS A PULTE OFF-RAMP TO SAVE FISA: Trump indicated in a private meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson Tuesday he’s not inclined to appease Democrats and pave the way for an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act by quickly nominating a permanent director of national intelligence to replace the controversial acting director, Bill Pulte. The deadline to avoid a program lapse is Friday.

Trump doubled down on his pick Tuesday evening, announcing on Truth Social that Pulte would officially take the reins on June 19 — even earlier than what many had expected.

Most Democrats are still refusing to move forward with a reauthorization of Section 702 authority — or approve another short-term extension — so long as Pulte, a Trump ally with no intelligence experience, remains in the post.

“People were already getting grumpy about continued short-term extensions, and the naming of Bill Pulte just made them more grumpy,” said Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

— HOUSE OVERSIGHT TO PRESS BILL GATES ON EPSTEIN: Bill Gates has gotten used to hitting softballs from lawmakers about his philanthropy. But the billionaire Microsoft founder and global health activist will face a very different audience Wednesday when he’s due to answer questions behind closed doors about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Gates is set to testify before House Oversight and Government Reform as part of the panel’s ongoing Epstein investigation, and members, in interviews over the past week, say they aren’t going to take it easy on him. It will be a test of whether the world’s richest man can continue to avoid the reputational damage others have incurred by virtue of their ties to the late, convicted sex offender, as people who rely on Gates’ philanthropic foundation have not yet cut ties.

“It’s obviously really, really troubling, and I’m somebody who believes that Bill Gates has done extraordinary philanthropic work around the world and truly life-saving work,” said Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.), a member of the panel. “But we obviously have to separate our feelings about that from this investigation, and those two things co-exist.”

Meredith Lee Hill, Carmen Paun, Hailey Fuchs and Calen Razor contributed to this report.

Congress

Republicans just took ICE spending fights off the table. It won’t end shutdown threats.

Published

4 hours ago

June 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Republicans just solved an immediate crisis with a party-line vote to fund immigration enforcement agencies into 2029. But that hardly improves the chances of avoiding a shutdown for the rest of the government.

Lawmakers in both parties say the odds of another federal funding lapse are unimproved, if not heightened, by the GOP’s move to fund President Donald Trump’s immigration and border security efforts for three years through the party-line budget reconciliation process.

The Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline, less than four months away, hits just weeks before the November elections that will determine which party controls the House and Senate next year. This electoral uncertainty was already complicating cross-party negotiations to fund federal agencies.

“It’s not helpful for sure,” Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, told reporters this week of the GOP’s party-line gambit. “It makes it very difficult for us moving forward.”

The Senate’s top appropriators, who are typically chummy, are at loggerheads over totals for the military and nondefense programs — prompting the cancellation this week of committee markups for the second week in a row.

Republicans’ move to stiff-arm Democrats has further soured negotiations to fund the government and raised concerns of more my-way-or-the-highway ultimatums from members on both sides.

“Does it mean that we avoid a shutdown in that area? Takes care of that,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a senior appropriator, said about removing the need to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol past the end of President Donald Trump’s term.

“But how many other accounts do we have that we could have another kerfuffle?” she continued. “And all of a sudden we now have leverage, because we tried it once — and we pulled the trigger.”

Murkowski voted against the reconciliation bill last week — the only Senate Republican to do so.

It’s widely accepted on Capitol Hill that Congress will pass a stopgap funding bill to keep cash flowing for federal agencies past the midterms.

Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who oversees annual transportation and housing spending, predicted this week that Congress will be crafting a funding patch come September. “I just hope we’re not seriously talking about a potential shutdown again,” he added. “We touched that stove once. It was pretty hot.”

Yet some are predicting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will direct his members to band together to oppose a funding patch, as Democrats did last September in triggering a 43-day government shutdown.

“They do not want appropriation bills. They do want to shut down government,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters about Democrats. “And they think they’re going to take the House and maybe the Senate and can get a better deal then.”

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins said Democrats “have made clear they are not willing to work with us” to pass government funding bills. But the Maine Republican also said she doesn’t think her party’s move to fund immigration enforcement through reconciliation “has an effect one way or another” on funding the rest of the government beyond September.

Though ICE and Border Patrol are now funded through September 2029, some Democrats say they are planning to use the dozen annual government funding bills as leverage to demand policy changes and funding cuts at those two agencies.

“I can tell you this: We’re going to try every which way to unfund these agencies,” Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), a member of the Appropriations Committee. “We have 12 bills that we have to pass. We have so many battles — this piece is one of them.”

Democrats had for months been demanding guardrails on Trump’s immigration enforcement activities as a condition of supporting enforcement funding after federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minnesota in January. When talks broke down, Republicans made the decision to act alone.

It’s not just ICE and Border Patrol that control immigration enforcement policy, though. Congress still has to fund the broader operations of DHS each year, including the office of Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who recently told lawmakers he couldn’t commit to following court orders.

“You still have to ultimately deal with the Homeland Security bills, and they’ve refused to rein in a lawless ICE operation,” Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a top Democratic appropriator, said in an interview. “That’s not changed.”

Some appropriators are holding out hope that collegiality on the House and Senate funding panels will ultimately prevail, if for no other reason than the margins of the Republican majorities in both chambers depend on it.

“You don’t have to have a master’s in logic to figure out that, at the end of the process, the bills in today’s Congress are going to have a bipartisan flavor,” Womack said, “because the numbers dictate that anybody that thinks otherwise is just simply not being intellectually honest about the situation that we happen to be in.”

After Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) proposed the idea this week of funding other controversial agencies through party-line reconciliation bills, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole immediately rejected the idea floated by one of his subcommittee chairs.

“We’re not doing that. I will just tell you flat out, that will not happen,” the Oklahoma Republican told reporters.

He also refuted the idea that the $70 billion party-line immigration enforcement package could be attractive for his colleagues to replicate going forward.

“I don’t think it’s a precedent,” Cole said. “But if it became a regular practice, I certainly wouldn’t be supporting it.”

Congress

Trump-backed Marty O’Donnell wins primary for battleground Nevada House seat

Published

8 hours ago

June 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Trump-endorsed Marty O’Donnell won the GOP primary Tuesday to take on Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in Nevada’s battleground 3rd District.

The seat, which touches parts of Las Vegas, is one of Republicans’ targeted pickups this November since President Donald Trump carried it by less than 1 percentage point in 2024 after losing it by nearly seven points in 2020.

But O’Donnell — who also has the backing of the National Republican Congressional Committee — will face an uphill battle. He recently came under fire for hosting a neo-Nazi influencer on his podcast. Trump’s tariffs have hit the district hard, with Canadian tourism to Sin City down by 17 percent, leaving Democrats confident they can hold the seat.

O’Donnell is best known for his role as the audio composer for the “Halo” video game series. It’s his second run in the district after placing fourth in the 2024 Republican primary.

O’Donnell bested several candidates Tuesday, with businessperson Tera Anderson and former Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter — who ran for Senate in 2024 — putting up the most significant challenges.