Congress
Capitol agenda: Democrats’ H.R. 1 problem
Hakeem Jeffries wants “affordability” to be House Democrats’ primary legislative pitch heading into the midterms. But not all his members agree it should be “H.R. 1” if they win back the majority.
Other top Democrats interviewed this week said they hoped the party would prioritize other issues in a signature bill to kick off their return to power, including voting rights, anti-corruption measures and rolling back Trump initiatives.
“We must secure and guarantee the right to vote and to have free and fair elections because that is the basic premise of democratic society,” Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Judiciary Committee Democrat, said in an interview.
Rep. Yvette Clarke, the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said the group would like to see the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act revived in any new H.R. 1. Clarke said that she personally would prefer Democrats rally around “comprehensive immigration reform” as their first bill.
Even Democrats who want to prioritize cost-of-living issues have different perspectives on how to do it. Jeffries this week announced five affordability working groups, each led by moderates and progressives, to attempt to hash out the differences.
New Democrat Coalition Chair Brad Schneider told reporters last week that he wants the party to target President Donald Trump’s tariffs as their first action in the majority. The Congressional Progressive Caucus’ plan to lower costs would not touch tariffs at all.
What’s the priority for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is convening a health care working group with Rep. Terri Sewell?
“If I could wave my magic wand, we’d all have guaranteed health care,” she said in an interview.
What else we’re watching:
— TRUMP TRIES TO KICK-START RECON 3.0: The president is laying out twin demands for new party-line Republican legislation, directing lawmakers to deliver a $350 billion Pentagon cash infusion and to push through the stalled SAVE America Act election overhaul.
— DOOMED FISA VOTE: Republicans expect a House vote Thursday on a three-week extension of FISA Section 702 to fail, risking the surveillance program’s first-ever lapse after a Friday deadline. With the House and the Senate lacking a path forward, and the House leaving at the end of the day for recess until June 23, the spy authority is set to be in limbo until at least the end of the month.
— WHITE HOUSE AI STRATEGY: The White House is exploring a plan to block state-level AI laws by trying to attach preemption legislation to bills designed to shore up kids’ safety online. White House officials met separately this week with tech companies and kids’ safety groups to try to shore up support for the approach.
Mike DeBonis, Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Brendan Bordelon, Cheyenne Haslett and Gabby Miller contributed to this report.
Rep. Max Miller issued a subpoena to his former father-in-law and fellow Ohio Republican, Sen. Bernie Moreno, in the latest escalation of a long-running family legal drama.
Pamela MacAdams, an attorney for Miller, reported to the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Monday that three subpoenas were served in Miller’s divorce case, according to court records. A person with knowledge of the subpoenas granted anonymity to comment on them said that two were sent to Moreno and his wife, Bridget.
Their daughter, Emily Moreno, was married to Miller, and the two remain embroiled in a nasty legal battle.
Spokespeople for Miller, Emily Moreno and Bernie Moreno did not immediately return requests for comment. TMZ first reported on the subpoenas.
Miller is seeking reelection in a competitive district, and his campaign has been marred by accusations of domestic abuse against Emily Moreno and their daughter. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations and chose to remain in the race despite other Republican lawmakers pressuring him to withdraw his campaign.
The House Ethics Committee, which began an inquiry into Miller after Miller asked to be investigated, is currently in a preelection blackout period. During that period, which will continue through the midterms, the Ethics Committee doesn’t take any action against sitting members who could return next Congress.
Congress
Trump declares $1B canceled in ‘pocket rescission’ in another affront to Congress’ funding power
President Donald Trump informed congressional leaders Friday that he has unilaterally canceled almost $1 billion without Congress’ consent — employing a budget maneuver many lawmakers consider illegal.
In a move that will almost certainly set up an ugly government funding battle after the midterms, Trump has again claimed the power to execute a so-called “pocket rescission” to nix money Congress has already enacted. The money his administration will claw back is for for immigration services, support to foreign countries, education programs, health research efforts and assistance for businesses owned by minorities.
By law, the president is allowed to send Congress a request to rescind federal funding, then withhold that money for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore it. Trump administration officials also argue they have the power to cancel funding without any congressional action by sending Congress a rescission request with less than 45 days left in the fiscal year. The argument is that the money automatically gets canceled on Sept. 30, when funding lapses at the end of the fiscal year.
Last year, Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
The Senate’s top Republican appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, immediately blasted the move as illegal, saying in a statement Friday night that “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
“This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law,” Collins added, pledging to work with other lawmakers “to address these illegal actions.”
Collins and other appropriators have already been on high alert in recent days, pressing multiple agencies about funding officials have yet to spend ahead of the expiration date.
Democrats are finally catching on to how to talk to young male voters in the lead-up to the midterms, but the party can still up its game, one battleground senator and potential 2028er said Friday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has been one of his party’s most outspoken critics on its handling of outreach to young men, who swung right and helped deliver the White House and both chambers of Congress to Republicans in 2024.
The party is now “definitely moving in the right direction,” Gallego said Friday.
“Like back in the day, I was like the only one,” putting out positions on men, Gallego said at a Washington event on young American men. “Now, like, it seems like everyone every week is coming out with a new position, new idea, which is great.”
Gallego has criticized Democrat’s failure to highlight mens’ struggles and their tendency to over-police mens’ ideas. But there are signs the political winds have shifted in his party’s favor.
A new Cygnal poll released with the event of men ages 18-30 who say they’re the most determined to vote revealed Democrats’ generic ballot lead over Republicans at 57%-40%, Blue Light News reported. The poll also said nearly 40 percent of respondents said they feel their lives are off track.
“We need to take the opportunity to invest in that portion of this country, to say that we care about them and actually try to change the trajectory of what’s happening with men in this country,” Gallego said at the symposium.
Still, the path for specific legislation targeting the needs of this demographic faces an incredibly tight calendar this Congress and is uncertain in the political landscape of next year.
A proposal from Gallego and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to establish a men’s health office within the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, has not advanced. Nor has bipartisan legislation from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who also spoke at the event, targeting education outcomes, college investment transparency and dyslexic student support.
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