Congress
Capitol agenda: GOP fears what Tennessee means for 2026
Speaker Mike Johnson held onto a much-needed red seat in Tennessee Tuesday night — but fellow Republicans say this isn’t cause for celebration.
Johnson’s leadership’s team was bracing for a tighter-than-comfortable race in the special election to succeed former Rep. Mark Green.
But the single-digit margin of victory for Matt Van Epps was still a hard pill to swallow after national Republicans pulled out all the stops to rescue their candidate on the final days of the campaign, with the speaker himself traveling to the district to make a final pitch.
“It was too close,” said one House GOP leadership aide.
The surprisingly-tight race between Van Epps and Democrat Aftyn Behn “is a sign that 2026 is going to be a bitch of an election cycle,” one House Republican told Blue Light News. “Republicans can survive if we play team and the Trump administration officials play smart. Neither is certain.”
Retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) warned “the GOP should not ignore” how close it came to losing a district President Donald Trump won by 22 points in 2024 — not to mention the Democratic gubernatorial victories in Virginia and New Jersey last month.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) agreed it was a “dangerous” sign for his party. “In a year, it’s going to be a turnout election, and the left will show up,” Cruz said in an interview with Fox Tuesday night. “Hate is a powerful motivator. They hate President Trump.”
This close call in Tennessee adds to the ongoing headaches for Johnson back in Washington.
The speaker is facing a revolt led by a member of his own leadership team, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), over news that the National Defense Authorization Act likely won’t include her provision to require the FBI to notify Congress when it opens investigations into candidates running for federal office.
Stefanik, who is running for governor, accused Johnson Tuesday of blocking the provision and “lying” about it as she builds support from other Republicans to vote against the NDAA. But if Johnson adds the language back in, he risks losing Democratic support that could be crucial for getting the historically-bipartisan package over the finish line.
Johnson could also be on the verge of being undermined by his own members who want a vote on legislation that would ban congressional stock trading. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) officially moved Tuesday to lay the groundwork to circumvent leadership and force that vote, with Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) saying he and Luna were “tired” of waiting.
Also on Tuesday: Johnson faced a small rebellion on the House floor over a procedural move involving legislation to regulate name, image and likeness compensation in college sports. That could spell trouble around a final vote coming Wednesday afternoon.
And then there’s health care. Johnson is promising that House Republicans will come up with a health policy proposal. But there’s no sign he’ll be able to bring together moderates like Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), who wants to extend the enhanced Obamacare tax credits, and conservatives who are downplaying the effects of letting the subsidies lapse.
As retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Tuesday, midterm backlash for the GOP could be substantial if Republicans don’t do something to prevent premiums going up come January.
What else we’re watching:
— Venezuela fallout: Significant cracks in GOP unity are growing amid Trump’s campaign to kill alleged drug traffickers off the coast of Venezuela.
— Hawley’s health care pitch: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is rolling out a bill to allow all taxpayers to deduct up to $25,000 in medical expenses. The bill also allows out of pocket expenses on health care premiums to be deducted.
— NDAA latest: House and Senate leaders are engaged in last-minute talks over whether to include new restrictions on U.S. investments in China in the NDAA. It’s one of the last outstanding issues for lawmakers to resolve as they look to release compromise bill text Thursday.
Meredith Lee Hill, Hailey Fuchs, Jordain Carney, Robert King, Alice Miranda Ollstein, Calen Razor and Jasper Goodman 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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