Congress

Capitol agenda: Democrats’ shutdown split screen

Published

11 months ago

November 4, 2025

The shutdown is barreling into a record-breaking sixth week and Senate Democrats are divided on their strategy for getting out of the morass.

On one side of the split screen, nearly a dozen Democrats are laying the groundwork for talks with Republicans that could bring an end to the partisan stalemate.

Bipartisan conversations so far have focused on passing a new funding patch to reopen federal agencies, reaching an understanding on moving full-year appropriations bills and guaranteeing a floor vote on soon-to-expire Affordable Care Act subsidies. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), as she left a meeting with fellow Democrats Monday night, said in an interview she hoped for a resolution in the coming days.

On the other side of that screen, many of Shaheen’s colleagues are still demanding Democrats dig in until Republicans promise to extend the ACA tax credits.

“We have the moral responsibility to stand up and fight for the 15 million people who are about to lose health care,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who caucuses with Democrats, said in an interview Monday. “What the polling tells me, and what I believe to be true, is that the vast majority of the American people are behind us not to give in to Trump or the Republicans.”

Fellow progressive Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) are also calling on Democrats not to wave a white flag.

The Democrats’ intraparty fissure comes as Republicans grow emboldened in their own shutdown posture, with some believing they might be able to flip enough Democrats as soon as this week to pass a stopgap the House can clear for President Donald Trump’s signature.

There are signs of bipartisan momentum in the House as well, where two Democrats and two Republicans teamed up Monday to unveil the first tangible compromise framework for extending the ACA subsidies since the shutdown began (more on that below).

It’s all likely coming as a relief for Senate Republicans amid Trump’s calls to get rid of the filibuster to end the shutdown without help from Democrats — a move that would carry enormous political risks and doesn’t have the support among Republicans, anyway.

“The votes aren’t there,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday.

Despite cautious optimism there are plenty of differences still to overcome, from internal strategy in both parties to the practical matter of how far out to push the end date for a new continuing resolution.

Senators are currently debating whether to craft a funding patch that would run through December, the preference of senior appropriators, or January, desired by most Republicans. Democratic leadership hasn’t endorsed a deadline yet.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she’s feeling hopeful about all of it, but “who knows — it could all fall apart.”

What else we’re watching:

— House eyes possible return: House Republicans will hold a virtual conference meeting Tuesday, where Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to talk his conference through the status of government shutdown negotiations with the Senate. If the Senate can pass an amended stopgap spending measure by the end of this week, the House would likely return to session next week following more than 45 days of recess.

— Mamdani endorsement watch: It’s Election Day in New York City — and the last day for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to endorse Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor. Schumer has given no indication he plans to do so, saying last week he was having conversations with the democratic socialist but declining to offer his public support.

Mia McCarthy, Calen Razor, Jordain Carney, Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

Congress

Congress in AI deadlock as public fear soars

Published

1 hour ago

September 16, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Nearly two thirds of Americans surveyed in a new Blue Light News poll out Wednesday see at least a moderate risk that artificial intelligence will destroy humanity, and nearly half favor pausing development of more advanced models.

The survey, conducted this week, magnifies the pressure some lawmakers say they’re facing from constituents to rein in the industry’s latest models. More than 100 House Democrats are urging House GOP leaders Wednesday to keep the chamber in session until they pass “meaningful, bipartisan AI safeguards,” Blue Light News scooped.

“I’ve just come back from Connecticut, and as I went around the state, a lot of people were talking about AI in a way they had not done before,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal said at a Washington event Tuesday.

But Capitol Hill has been slow to respond to the issue. House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, whose panel has yet to rally around any specific AI safety bill, will likely overview what he sees as lawmakers’ next steps during Blue Light News’s Decoded Summit Wednesday in an interview with Kelsey Brugger.

So will Rep. Greg Casar in an interview with Riley Rogerson. Casar is among the progressives in Congress calling for an immediate moratorium on the development of the most advanced AI models and just yesterday encouraged whistleblowers to speak more forcefully on the growing threat of the technology.

The Blue Light News survey also spotlights a growing partisan divide over whether and how to regulate the emerging technology.

Fifty percent of Donald Trump 2024 voters said the U.S. should not allow itself to fall behind other countries in AI, even if that means taking risks to stay ahead of them. That compares to just 34 percent of Kamala Harris voters who feel the same.

The lack of political consensus in Congress only grew more obvious Tuesday.

OpenAI on Tuesday threw its weight behind what could be considered political middle ground by backing proposals requiring AI developers embed independent watchdogs to ensure their products are safe.

That idea was spiked by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who co-chairs the Democrat-only House Commission on AI. Gottheimer said developers should instead submit their models for mandatory government vetting.

Third party evaluators are a key part of arguably the most-developed AI safety legislation in Congress right now, led by Reps. Jay Obernolte and Lori Trahan, and Obernolte said yesterday he’s in conversations with OpenAI about the “urgent need for action.” But the overall measure is struggling to gain momentum on Blue Light News.

Meanwhile, leaders in the GOP just landed on a new strategy to combat worries AI will soon spiral out of control: calling it Democratic hysteria.

Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday likened the intense focus on AI threats to Democrats’ warnings about climate change: “You’re not all going to be dead in 10 years.”

Still, plenty of Republicans remain staunch in their belief Congress needs to step up — including Sen. Bill Cassidy, who argued as much on The Conversation with Blue Light News Tuesday.

“Anything that is this transformative, the American people need to weigh in on, and the American people express their thoughts and anxieties and hopes and aspirations through representative government,” he said.

What else we’re watching:

—HUSTED’S DATA CENTER PROBLEM: Ohio Sen. Jon Husted is drowning in political attacks centered on his past support for data centers. But the chamber’s leaders aren’t sure he’ll secure a lifeline. The House is expected to vote Wednesday on legislation meant to curb data center energy costs. And Husted, who is facing a tough midterm race, is trying to get his fellow senators to quickly follow suit.

— COLLEGE SPORTS BILL DRIVES AHEAD — More than two dozen Senate Democrats on Tuesday voted to advance a sweeping college athletics bill, teeing up more floor debate and a final passage vote before lawmakers leave to campaign for the midterms. The chamber is expected to stay for the entirety of its planned three-week session now that senators opened a path to take up the bill, according to four Senate aides granted anonymity to discuss planning.

Owen Dahlkamp, Dasha Burns and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

Congress

Why the Senate might not solve Jon Husted’s data center problem

Published

4 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Ohio Sen. Jon Husted is drowning in political attacks centered on his past support for data centers. A potential life preserver could end up just out of reach.

The House is expected to vote Wednesday on legislation that aims to compel technology companies to cover utility costs associated with data center buildouts. And Husted, who is seeking election in November to complete the final two years of the term he was appointed to, is trying to get his fellow senators to quickly follow suit.

But getting the Senate to leap into action this month is far from straightforward. Assuming the House acts on the measure Wednesday as planned, putting it on President Donald Trump’s desk before senators leave town for a final campaign sprint would require Husted to convince all 99 of his colleagues to agree to a quick vote — or even to let it pass without one.

There are already signs it could be a big ask, especially from Democrats who are already skeptical of the House bill and aren’t eager to give Husted a leg up in his race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, either.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who has offered his own bill aimed at preventing data centers from shifting energy costs to consumers, called the bill Husted is backing a “fig leaf” in a Tuesday interview.

“I think it’s a very symbolic piece of legislation,” said Heinrich, the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “I would like to see something done that actually has some teeth to protect consumers.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was noncommittal Tuesday when asked at a news conference about artificial intelligence legislation and if Democrats could support an idea like Husted’s bill, known as the Ratepayer Protection Act. The New York Democrat said that there were “many different ways to approach AI” but they wouldn’t get done unless it was on a bipartisan basis.

While Husted’s bill has one cosponsor — a fellow Republican, Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama — the House bill has multiple Democratic cosponsors and passed unanimously out of the Energy and Commerce Committee in July. House Republican leaders are so confident of bipartisan approval that they’re bringing the bill to the floor under a fast-track process requiring a two-thirds-majority vote.

Husted insisted to reporters Tuesday that he was not connecting his push for data center legislation with the political headwinds he’s facing back in Ohio.

“I don’t look at it in those terms,” Husted said. “I just think that it’s something that is just the right thing to do. … They need to pay their own way, and not pass their cost on.”

But with Brown hammering him on the Ohio airwaves as the “face of data centers,” Husted is facing an acute need to reassure voters on the issue. The Senate GOP campaign arm warned in a memo last month that data centers are “the anchor hanging around Husted’s neck” and that if Husted loses it could have negative consequences for the industry.

Getting the Ratepayer Protection Act to Trump’s desk would give Husted and other Republicans a key talking point to raise in TV ads and debate appearances as many acknowledge that the growing backlash from voters over data centers is becoming a grave political liability.

If Husted can’t get an across-the-board agreement to hold a vote, he could go to the floor and try to pass his bill by unanimous consent, but any one senator would be able to block his attempt.

Asked whether he would object to such an effort, Heinrich said he hadn’t considered it yet, but added that “given the pressures consumers are under right now, they deserve something more real.”

Schumer helped recruit Brown into the race against Husted, and the former senator has been running ads against Husted for months over his support for data centers as lieutenant governor.

“He led the path to bring data centers to Ohio and gave billions of tax dollars to make it happen,” the narrator says in one Brown campaign ad from earlier this month.

A spokesperson for Husted’s Senate office said in a statement that Husted has “always believed that it should be up to the local communities whether or not they want new data centers.”

Husted joined Trump in March for the signing of a “ratepayer protection pledge” aimed at defusing the issue for Republicans. The Husted spokesperson said his bill “simply codifies this pledge, and what he has always firmly believed: tech companies should be held accountable, and local ratepayers should not have to pay for new data centers.”

Democrats view Ohio as one of their best pickup opportunities on the Senate map, with political prognosticators viewing the contest as a tossup. If Husted is able to keep his seat in a state Trump won by more than 11 points in 2024, it would be a boon for Republicans’ fight to hold onto the majority.

The data center bill is not the only way Republicans could use the Senate floor to boost Husted, who was appointed last year by Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the seat vacated by JD Vance when he became vice president.

Two GOP senators granted anonymity to speak candidly said they believed a Tuesday vote on cryptocurrency regulation, for instance, was designed to help Husted. Democrats blocked the bill from advancing, and Republicans are hoping the crypto industry spends heavily in Ohio to defeat Brown, a former Senate Banking chair — as they did in 2024.

Republicans are also discussing if they can bring up a House-passed bill cracking down on lawmaker stock trading that also has voter ID language attached to it. Husted has pushed voter ID legislation in the Senate.

Asked about the data center bill Tuesday, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said in an interview that “we’ll see how it goes there and get it over here.”

Unprompted, he added, “Since you mentioned Senator Husted, I would also like to do the stock trading ban, which also requires a mandatory showing of voter ID.”

Husted said that he believed his data center bill is “broadly supported” and that he’s hoping a strong House vote will “give us some good momentum to get it done in the Senate.”

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune cautioned that it would take buy-in from all 100 senators to move it quickly.

“We’ll see what the options are over here,” Thune said in an interview. “He obviously has the option to try and ask [for unanimous consent] to get it done.”

Anthony Cruz contributed to this report.

Congress

College sports bill moves forward in Senate with Democratic support

Published

15 hours ago

September 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A group of Senate Democrats on Tuesday voted with most Republicans after months of painstaking negotiations to help advance a sweeping college athletics bill.

An initial procedural vote on the measure led by Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and ranking member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) moved forward on a 74-24 vote, despite opposition on both sides of the aisle. The move tees up more floor debate and a final passage vote before lawmakers leave to campaign for the midterms.

Cantwell said that even though the bill wasn’t perfect, it would help ensure the name, image and likeness rights of student athletes, among other protections.

“I will not let the perfect be the enemy of the essential,” Cantwell said on the floor ahead of the vote. “This is the last best chance to save college sports and put HBCUs at the table where the future gets decided,” she said, referring to historically Black colleges and universities.

The chamber is expected to stay for the entirety of its planned three-week session now that senators opened a path to take up the bill, according to four Senate aides granted anonymity to discuss planning. Fast-tracking the legislation would depend on a deal between all 100 senators, which would require overcoming holdouts’ opposition.

Supporters of the bill behind the scenes have been fielding concerns from senators and a coalition of sports, civil rights and labor groups who’ve criticized the measure’s planned regulation of the multibillion-dollar industry.

Democrats like Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spent weeks trying to convince his colleagues to “step back and oppose” the bill in its current form, saying in a press conference with AFL-CIO this week it would “preserve a system of exploitation that is damaging our athletes.”

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who voted “no,” told reporters Tuesday the bill “falls way short.”

“It really jeopardizes college athletes’ health and safety. It gives broad-based antitrust exemption to the NCAA and gets very little back from it,” Booker added, referring to the National Collegiate Athletic Association. “It is a bill that really, unfortunately, as one of the handful of college football players in this place, it does not cure what are some of the biggest things that are really threatening college players.”

Some Democrats who supported the bill, including New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján, cited concerns from student athletes and coaches in their home states as the reason why.

“Student athletes and others wanted to make sure that the conferences that they were playing for were getting treated in a fair way,” he said. “Go talk to athletes from our schools and across the country and see what this means to them, not just athletes from the super conferences around America.”

The legislation has the backing of President Donald Trump, major sports conferences like the Big Ten and Southeastern, student sports organizations and HBCUs.

Several Republicans who were on the fence earlier about the bill, including Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), were convinced to support it after Cruz added language to clarify that it would not preempt state laws on transgender athletes’ participation on women’s sports teams.

Others Republicans like Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said he couldn’t support advancing the measure because “there’s too much government involvement in it.”