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Congress

Capitol agenda: CRs hit the floor

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1 year ago

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Congress is barreling toward votes on stopgap funding bills Friday before lawmakers leave for recess. Here’s what to watch:

IN THE HOUSE — The House will vote this morning on the GOP-led continuing resolution funding the government through Nov. 21. Expect nearly every Democrat to vote against it, though Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) have stayed quiet about their plans. (Golden was the sole House Democrat to break from his party in the March shutdown fight.)

In an extended interview with Blue Light News Thursday, Whip Tom Emmer said he’s confident Republicans can muscle their CR through the House — though he declined to say whether leaders will need to call in President Donald Trump for backup.

“I talk to the White House, I keep them advised as to where we are,” the Minnesota Republican said, when asked if they’re prepared to get Trump on the phone Friday if needed. “We’re going to pass this.”

While the hard-liners appear on board, a few rank-and-file Republicans could cause headaches for GOP leaders. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) told Blue Light News he’s “disappointed” there is no plan past the CR, but declined to say how he’ll vote Friday. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is a likely “no.” Republicans can only lose two of their members with full attendance for party-line passage.

If the funding patch passes, House GOP leaders are considering not coming back into session until after Oct. 1 — jamming Senate Democrats and daring them to vote against the CR right before the deadline.

IN THE SENATE — The Senate will vote Friday on competing CRs, one led by Republicans and one led by Democrats. Both are expected to fail, raising the chances of a shutdown in less than two weeks.

Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday it’s “unlikely” the Senate will come back next week. That means the next vote on the GOP’s stopgap bill would be the evening of Monday, Sept. 29 — less than 48 hours before a potential shutdown.

“I do not believe that Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are actually going to shut the government down,” Emmer told Blue Light News. “That would be one of the most foolish things you can do.”

Read more from our sitdown with Emmer on Blue Light News Pro.

What else we’re watching:   

— Schiff, Kaine to force war powers vote: Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Tim Kaine (Va.) will introduce a war powers resolution Friday blocking the use of U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities against certain non-state organizations. It follows U.S. strikes on boats allegedly trafficking drugs from Venezuela, which Democratic lawmakers said they were not briefed on.

— Senate tries again on NDAA: Senators failed to reach a deal Thursday to vote on amendments to the annual defense bill and ultimately pass the legislation. Thune said senators were optimistic they could wrap up the NDAA by Friday.

— RSC hosts anti-abortion group: The Republican Study Committee will host influential anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America at a briefing Friday morning on the looming expiration of Obamacare subsidies. The meeting is a sign that abortion opponents are ramping up lobbying against continuing the subsidies, which they argue effectively subsidize abortion.

— More en bloc nominees: Senate Republicans started the process Thursday night to confirm a second batch of nominees in a single vote. The new bloc has 108 nominees, including Herschel Walker to be U.S. ambassador to The Bahamas, Sergio Gor to be U.S. ambassador to India, Hung Cao to be under secretary of the Navy and Arch Capito to be U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia.

Jordain Carney, Jennifer Scholtes, Calen Razor, Connor O’Brien and Benjamin Guggenheim contributed to this report.

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Congress

Trump apparently shares Tom Cotton’s phone number in push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent

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6 hours ago

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October 3, 2026

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President Donald Trump appeared to share Sen. Tom Cotton’s phone number in a Saturday morning social media post imploring the Arkansas Republican to get behind a bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.

“Almost everybody wants “The Sunshine Protection Act” to pass, except for Tom Cotton,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “To the Great People of Arkansas, please let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself.”

The president has spent months personally pushing Senate Republicans to end the practice that sees Americans change their clocks twice a year, cementing more sunlight hours in the evening for all twelve months of the calendar. Cotton, whom Trump called “a friend of mine” in the Saturday post, has long argued that making daylight saving time permanent would leave children, farmers and other early risers in the dark for hours on winter mornings.

One of Trump’s key selling points on Saturday: the PGA tour.

“The PGA TOUR, as an example, needs more Daylight in the afternoon in order to finish their Tournaments,” he said, attaching a letter from PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp endorsing the bill. ”Likewise, regular Golfers, Tennis Players, Hunters and, perhaps most importantly, Farmers who want more Daylight to play or work.

A Blue Light News call to the cellphone number went to voicemail. A spokesperson for Cotton did not respond to a request for comment. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The current version of the bill was introduced in the House in January 2025 by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), with Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) leading the Senate version. The legislation would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the country, ending the twice-yearly clock changes. The legislation has been stalled in the Senate since July.

The president encouraged supporters of the bill, dubbed the “The Sunshine Protection Act,” to call Cotton to “let your Senator know it would be a GREAT Bipartisan WIN for the United States Senate, and for America, itself.”

During the 2016 Republican presidential primary, he publicly gave out the personal cellphone number of then-rival Sen. Lindsey Graham after the South Carolina Republican criticized him. Trump, who came to count on Graham as a reliable Senate ally after he won the presidency, revisited the moment during Graham’s funeral in July, acknowledging that sharing the number was something he “shouldn’t have done.”

Kelsey Brugger contributed to this report.

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Sanders to rally for Troy Jackson in Maine

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1 day ago

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October 2, 2026

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Sen. Bernie Sanders will hit the road for Troy Jackson in Maine starting Oct. 10, the first time the progressive leader will stump for the candidate this cycle.

The Vermont independent plans to hold three rallies with Jackson, according to an itinerary shared first with Blue Light News: first in Bangor on Oct. 10th followed by Lewiston and Biddeford on Oct. 11.

The Maine swing will kick off Sanders’ travel for the final stretch of the midterms, covering ground throughout October for House and Senate candidates, POLITICO reported.

“Bernie and Troy know that working people built this country and deserve a government that fights for them,” Jackson spokesperson Dan Gottlieb told Blue Light News. “Susan Collins has had nearly 30 years to deliver, and working Mainers are still getting squeezed while she serves the billionaires and corporate interests who bankroll her campaigns. Mainers don’t need another six years of excuses.”

Sanders campaigned ahead of major wins for progressives in the primary season, speaking at more than 60 rallies since last year’s Fight the Oligarchy tour and endorsing more than 90 candidates up and down the ballot.

He’s also opening his substantial $23 million campaign war chest, POLITICO reported, and contributing hundreds of thousands of dollars toMinnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s Senate campaign and others including Angie Nixon in Florida and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison,

Sanders will return to Maine after initially backing Graham Platner’s campaign for Senate. Allegations reported by POLITICO ultimately led him to call on the Democratic nominee to drop out of the race.

Sanders had not formally endorsed Jackson since he clinched the nomination from Platner, though he previously backed Jackson’s initial run for governor.

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Congress

Hill: Trump’s ‘lack of favorability’ creating challenging politics

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1 day ago

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October 2, 2026

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House Financial Services Chair French Hill said he has “no concerns” about winning back his Arkansas seat in the upcoming midterm elections, but the six-term House member acknowledged the political headwinds for his party.

“I consider the atmosphere a very tough political environment right now because of President [Donald] Trump’s lack of favorability at the top, and you know people are concerned about, as I say, what it’s like to live under an inflated economy the last four years,” Hill said in an interview.

Hill is in a solidly red district, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, and said he is up against a “weaker candidate this time than I’ve had in past races.” Polling in the district, however, has shown a tighter race. The two polls done this year placed Democratic challenger Chris Jones ahead of Hill by a few percentage points. Any perceived polling victory for Jones is still well within the margin of error, and one of the polls had a Democratic sponsor.

Stephannie Lane Baker, a spokesperson for Jones, said that “of all the Republicans in Congress, the chairman of the Financial Services Committee doesn’t get to dodge responsibility for this economy. He’s in trouble, and he knows it.”

Additionally, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s PAC, Ready for the Fight, committed more than $1 million in television ads through the next five weeks for Jones’ race in Arkansas’s 2nd District, Jordan Abudayyeh, a spokesperson for the PAC confirmed. Overall Democratic spending on advertising for the race was just over $1 million, primarily made up by contributions from the Ready for the Fight PAC, with Republicans spending almost $2.7 million on ad buys, according to AdImpact, an advertising tracking service.

Hill said he has addressed affordability concerns “head on” this Congress.

“My work on housing, my work on the Price Stability Act, my work to try to reduce waste, fraud, and abuse, and drop the federal budget deficit as a percentage of GDP,” Hill said. “All these things can contribute to a more affordable environment for people. So I’ve tried to make that a forefront of my campaign this year.”

Hill was a key architect of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing affordability bill that became law in July. The Price Stability Act, which is unlikely to become law this year, would narrow the Federal Reserve’s current dual mandate of pursuing maximum employment and price stability to focus exclusively on containing inflation.

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