Congress
Capitol agenda: Budget resolutions moving, DOGE hearing
Conservatives are squeezing Mike Johnson as he scrambles to rescue his one-bill plan to pass Donald Trump’s border, energy and tax priorities. The speaker is about to make another big move to get back on track.
Where things stand: Majority Whip Steve Scalise says House GOP leaders plan to release text for their budget blueprint this morning, just as Senate Republicans are moving ahead with their own budget markup at 10 a.m. House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington is under immense pressure to get the House plan through his committee on Thursday. The Texan is “at risk of being outmaneuvered by fellow chairs, senior leaders and the Senate.”
Johnson’s problem on the right: Conservatives want deeper spending cuts than leaders want to promise and a lower cap on how much tax cuts can raise the deficit. Without a solution, it’s making it harder for Johnson to cram all of the GOP’s priorities into a single bill.
Just as House GOP leaders started to float a plan Tuesday, House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris threatened to roll out his own tax proposal in the coming days. Hard-liners have been back-channeling with Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham for weeks, as he pursues a two-track plan they favor. And some House Budget Committee conservatives are remaining noncommittal and hinting they want to see deeper spending cuts in the final bill.
“Those of us who are fully in favor of tax cuts, we also want to see the cut to the inflation tax that is represented by runaway spending in this town,” said Rep. Chip Roy, a member of the Budget panel and the Freedom Caucus. However, he noted talks are “in a better place.”
Asked if he supports Johnson’s current blueprint, Rep. Ralph Norman, another dual member, said with a smile: “I’m on board with what the Freedom Caucus proposed.” He added he hopes GOP leaders will stick with a $2 trillion baseline for cuts.
There’s still some hope among House GOP leaders that Trump might get rebellious members in line. Roy declined to say whether he has talked to the president recently.
The Senate isn’t waiting: Republicans in the chamber hope to approve their budget resolution on the border and energy priorities in committee today. They now believe that they have Trump’s blessing to pursue their two-bill strategy, after his border czar Tom Homan and OMB Director Russ Vought asked GOP senators in a closed-door lunch Tuesday to send them $175 billion for border security, and fast.
Ahead of the Senate Budget markup, members have filed more than 150 amendments.
What else we’re watching:
- Democrats fight DOGE: As Democrats decide how to fight back against Trump’s sweeping actions against the federal government, GOP leaders indicate they want to codify Department of Government Efficiency cuts through their party-line bill. The DOGE subcommittee of Oversight also has its first hearing today.
- Nomination news: The Senate will vote to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence today at 11 a.m. They will also vote to end debate on Robert F. Kennedy as HHS secretary, teeing him up for a vote on Thursday, if Democrats don’t agree to speed things along.
Meredith Lee Hill and Rachael Bade contributed to this report.
Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday she will vote against Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general.
The Maine Republican, who is facing a difficult race for reelection, said in a statement she would oppose Blanche, citing “several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence.” She specifically mentioned his role in a controversial IRS settlement with President Donald Trump and over having “promised an anti-abortion organization that he would seek to prohibit the mailing of abortion medication to women nationwide.”
Two other Republicans — Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — are known to still be undecided; Blanche needs one of their votes to secure confirmation.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) has once again broken ranks with House Democratic leadership over endorsements, this time to support former Missouri Rep. Cori Bush over incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell.
In a post to social media Tuesday, Pressley called on voters to elect “champions” like Bush, who is in a heated primary rematch Tuesday in a contest that lays bare the party’s divide over Israel.
“Whether in Massachusetts, Michigan or Missouri, we all need politicians who fight for us, not corporations,” Pressley said. Her endorsement comes as voters head to the polls for primaries in both Michigan and Missouri, where progressive challengers are taking on moderate incumbents.
It marks the second time this primary cycle Pressley has endorsed against candidates backed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Last month, she joined a handful of other Congressional Black Caucus members to support Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney in his bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar.
A spokesperson for Jeffries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pressley’s endorsement also sets her squarely against the establishment wing of the party: both Bush and McKinney have been endorsed by their local Democratic Socialists of America chapters.
But the endorsement is unsurprising: she and Bush served as members of the progressive “Squad” in the last Congress and often worked together on legislation. In a previous interview with POLITICO, Bush said she and Pressley continued to talk regularly, even after Bell unseated her in 2024.
Todd Blanche picked up an important GOP vote Tuesday for his nomination as attorney general — Sen. John Curtis of Utah — likely leaving him just one vote shy of securing confirmation.
Curtis said in a statement he plans to “support” Blanche and was pleased with the nominee’s “receptivity and understanding” of issues raised, including ending the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” created under a May settlement Blanche brokered between the IRS and President Donald Trump.
The announcement came moments after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on party lines to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate.
Crucial to that vote was Blanche agreeing in writing that the $1.8 billion payout fund was nullified and that another aspect of the settlement — an IRS audit immunity agreement — was scaled back. That gave GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina enough comfort to vote for Blanche.
The remaining undecided Republican senators are Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. All three said Tuesday they are still grappling with their decisions.
“I’m still considering everything,” Collins said. “I watched part of the markup this morning to hear some of the statements, but I don’t have any decision to share with you right now.”
Murkowski declined to say how she would vote, and Cassidy told reporters that he had “nothing about Todd Blanche” to say.
Cornyn said he has already spoken with Collins and Murkowski and that additional conversations are expected.
“Senator Collins, she’s one of the most diligent individuals I know, certainly here in the United States Senate, and we had a good conversation.” Cornyn said. “She’ll have to speak for herself as to her ultimate conclusion. And I’ve also been exchanging messages with Senator Murkowski, and I know we’ll have further conversations about this.”
Jordain Carney and Calen Razor contributed to this report.
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