Congress
Abigail Spanberger to address House Democrats at policy retreat
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will headline House Democrats’ annual policy retreat Wednesday, addressing her former colleagues just a day after delivering her party’s televised response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
Spanberger is expected to discuss her successful statewide campaign and what lessons House Democrats can take into the midterms from the party’s triumphs in Virginia last year, according to a Dear Colleague letter from Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar.
Democratic members will also hear from historians Ron Chernow and Heather Cox Richardson in a Thursday night session reflecting on America’s 250th birthday, moderated by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
The retreat will center on affordability in housing, utilities, groceries and other areas, according to a schedule shared with Blue Light News. Labor leaders are set to speak at a number of sessions, including Brent Booker of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Lee Saunders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and Leslie Frane of the Service Employees International Union.
Aguilar said in the letter that members “will spend the coming days discussing how we are ‘Fighting for an Affordable America’ and building our affirmative affordability agenda, which will guide our caucus as we work to take back the majority.”
Punchbowl News first reported on the event’s agenda.
Other speakers include members of former President Joe Biden’s administration, including former OMB Director Shalanda Young, former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra and former deputy secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small.
DCCC chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) will address Democrats Thursday night on taking back the House, with remarks from Lakshya Jain, co-founder and CEO of Split Ticket, and Stephanie Valencia, president and co-founder of Equis Research. Alexis McGill Johnson, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, will speak at a Friday morning session focused on fixing health care.
Congress
Tony Gonzales says he will not resign
GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales told reporters Tuesday he will not step down from his seat amid allegations he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
“I am not going to resign,” the Texas lawmaker said.
Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier Tuesday he planned to meet with Gonzales. Asked several times in a Capitol hallway if Gonzales should run for reelection under the circumstance, he replied, “I haven’t met with him yet.”
Gonzales faces a competitive GOP primary race on March 3. Five fellow House Republicans have called on him to resign, most recently Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Tim Burchett of Tennessee, with others saying he should end his reelection campaign.
Gonzales has previously denied having an affair with the late staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, but has not addressed the newly released text messages, which appear to show Gonzales asking for intimate photos and discussing sex acts.
“I work every day for the people of Texas,” he said Tuesday. “And there will be an opportunity for all the details and facts that come out. What you’ve seen is not all the facts.”
Congress
Capitol agenda: Trump faces a midterms reality check
President Donald Trump is heading into one of his most high-profile moments of the midterm year as he grapples with plunging public opinion and growing congressional dissent.
“It’s going to be a long one because we have so much to talk about,” Trump told reporters Monday.
Keep in mind: He already set the record last year with an hour-and-thirty-nine-minute SOTU address, so buckle in.
Here’s some of what to expect throughout the night:
— Tariff talk: Trump is likely to have words for the Supreme Court justices sitting right in front of him who last week ruled to overturn his sweeping tariff regime. The ruling represented a rare setback for Trump from the conservative high court.
It was especially significant as it becomes increasingly clear that Congress won’t be there to back up Trump, who could press for legislative action on tariffs Tuesday night. Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday it’s unlikely Congress will act to codify the president’s tariff agenda to comply with the ruling.
— DHS prognosis: The president could offer a hint at how long the partial government shutdown affecting Homeland Security agencies, now on Day 11, will last.
Democratic leaders, after a series of back-and-forth proposals with the White House, claim the administration isn’t serious about adopting stricter guardrails on federal immigration agents. The White House, meanwhile, signaled it was willing to play hardball by scaling back airport security operations in ways that could cause pain for travelers.
Watch to see if Trump provides more clarity on his negotiating position or simply takes aim at Democrats for challenging his immigration agenda.
— A midterm signal: Trump is facing abysmal approval ratings as he heads into midterm season, as voters increasingly disapprove of his handling of immigration, inflation and tariffs. But while the president walks into the House chamber Tuesday evening in a far weaker position than last year, he also has a huge opportunity to define his party’s campaign message.
Listen for Trump to define the direction of his final two years in the White House with an eye toward November. You can expect the embattled GOP lawmakers in the audience to be listening closely themselves as they grow more concerned about the public’s deteriorating view of his presidency.
“He is currently at his lowest point in the second term,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster in Washington. “The single most important variable in midterm elections is the president’s job approval.”
What else we’re watching:
— Dems split on SOTU attendance: Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries will be in their seats for Trump’s SOTU address, but dozens of their members will be absent, with some attending alternative programming.
Some Democrats are instead sending Trump a pointed message with their guests of choice. Schumer, Jeffries and other Democrats have invited victims of Jeffrey Epstein to the building.
Others are bringing small business owners and Americans grappling with costly health care premiums since Congress failed to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies last year.
— House takes up aviation safety: A House and Senate fight over how to address the deadly January 2025 DCA crash is coming to a head Tuesday as Johnson attempts to muscle through the House floor a Senate-passed bill that some of his key committee chairs oppose.
— New housing bills incoming: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is unveiling legislation Tuesday morning that would limit the ability of large Wall Street investors to buy up homes — a policy goal that Trump is also pushing to include in Warren’s bipartisan housing bill with Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
Meanwhile, Reps. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) are introducing legislation Tuesday that would allow federally-insured credit unions to access additional mortgage lending capacity through the Federal Home Loan Bank System.
Jordain Carney, Meredith Lee Hill, Eli Stokols, Hailey Fuchs, Robert King, Mia McCarthy, Sam Ogozalek, Oriana Pawlyk, Chris Marquette and Victoria Guida contributed to this report.
Congress
Neal Dunn says he’ll serve out term, quashing resignation rumors
Rep. Neal Dunn plans to serve out the rest of his term, a spokesperson said Monday, addressing rumors that the Florida Republican would resign early and potentially put the GOP House majority at risk.
The announcement comes after Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this month he’d urged Dunn to stay in Congress. Senior House Republicans believed at the time that Dunn, who is facing health issues and announced his retirement in January, could step down in the coming months and further narrow the GOP’s majority.
“As a dedicated public servant, he will remain in Congress to represent his constituents through the end of this term,” spokesperson Eleanor Allison said in response to inquiries first made on Feb. 11.
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