Congress
Capitol agenda: Graham’s legacy faces uncertain future
Allies to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham will be trying to cement his legacy Tuesday — in public ceremonies, closed-door meetings and with a Senate vote.
Two days of memorial services for Graham begin with a 10 a.m. Capitol Rotunda ceremony, followed by 2 p.m. services at the Washington National Cathedral. Bipartisan senators will attend along with President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Services continue Wednesday at South Carolina’s First Baptist Church of Columbia where Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn will speak, according to his spokesperson, Jami LaRue.
Graham was known as an outspoken defense hawk and a champion of overseas alliances in a Republican party with a growing anti-interventionist wing. His allies will use this week to make an argument his assertive approach to American foreign policy should continue to influence the GOP.
Zelenskyy and Netanyahu — who lost in Graham a powerful Washington ally — will, for example, press officials in closed-door meetings for continued support of their respective military operations.
Zelenskyy is likely to lobby lawmakers to pass one of Graham’s biggest legislative goals: a sanctions measure aiming to pressure Russia’s oil and gas industry. He’ll address a meeting of the full Senate on Capitol Hill today and separately meet with Trump.
Senators later tonight will then take their first vote on the bipartisan legislation, formally named the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is hoping for “a very big, bipartisan vote,” and to fast-track the bill for final passage this week.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democratic co-sponsor of the bill, told reporters Monday there would be a “strong coalition of bipartisan support” for the legislation despite some Democrats’ fears about a provision allowing Trump to impose tariffs up to 100 percent on countries purchasing significant amounts of Russian oil.
Sen. Ron Wyden, meanwhile, told reporters the only way to fix the bill is getting rid of the tariffs, although he declined to say if he would oppose to fast-tracking the legislation.
The Ukrainian leader also has work to do in courting the anti-interventionalist members of the Republican Party, who have long pressed GOP leadership to cut off U.S. military and economic assistance.
Netanyahu will also meet with Trump and officials Tuesday, and he’ll be eager to remind them of Graham’s outspoken support of Israel amid growing tension between the longtime allies.
The America First wing of the GOP — a foil to Graham’s foreign policy inclinations — are concerned Netanyahu during his visit will push the president into a new, more aggressive phase of the countries’ war with Iran, Megan and Myah Ward report.
What else we’re watching:
— THUNE DEFENDS SUMMER RECESS FROM TRUMP’S DEMANDS: Thune is trying to keep Trump from ruining summer recess. Fixated on the GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act, Trump is ramping up pressure on Thune and GOP senators and going after one of the most sacrosanct elements of the congressional calendar — the August recess — to try to force Republicans’ hands.
— CORNYN DETAILS LATEST DEMAND FOR BLANCHE VOTE: Sen. John Cornyn Monday said he won’t support Trump’s attorney general pick without a written modification to the tax settlement agreement Trump entered into with his own administration. Opposition from the Texas Republican could sink Todd Blanche’s nomination in a highly anticipated Judiciary vote scheduled for Thursday.
Jordain Carney and Chris Marquette contributed to this report.
The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight committee is demanding the White House answer questions related to President Donald Trump’s decision to ban BLN, MS NOW and Blue Light News from the White House, calling it the president’s “most blatant, assault on press freedom.”
In a letter sent Monday to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) requested that Cheung provide by Oct. 5 a detailed account of when and how he was informed of the ban, how he responded, who was consulted before the decision, the legal justification for it, the facts the White House relied on and whether the outlets had any opportunity to respond.
“The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, not freedom from criticism,” wrote Garcia. “The American people need to understand what consideration—if any—the White House gave to this serious and unprecedented decision to protect the President’s ego.”
Garcia also asked for all White House staff documents and communications about the ban and for any other relevant materials to be preserved.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump on Friday announced that he was seeking to block journalists from Blue Light News, MS NOW and BLN from the White House, complaining about “constant ‘reporting’” of what he called “FICTION and LIES.” The Trump administration first denied the media outlets entry into the White House grounds on Saturday morning.
The three news organizations are now jointly suing Trump, Cheung and two other top advisers in a bid to immediately restore access for their reporters, calling the ban a “direct assault on the First Amendment.”
Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said Monday that the war with Iran “needs to end” to bring prices down, making him the second Republican to break with the White House on the issue that day.
“The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly,” Rogers said in a video published Monday to social media.
“Michigan families can’t afford to wait,” he added. “Here’s what we can do now: place a temporary embargo on Diesel exports. American energy should provide relief to American families first.”
Earlier Monday, Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican Senate candidate in Iowa, expressed similar frustrations about the war’s impact on Iowans’ pocketbooks. Both Rogers and Hinson called for a suspension of the state and federal gas tax in their statements.
Ahead of the midterms, GOP candidates have expressed concern about the war in the Middle East, saying it has made it difficult for them to run on affordability. The war with Iran, which began in February, has led to marked increases in gas and diesel prices. On Monday, regular gas was just over $4.45 per gallon, according to AAA; diesel prices hit a record of $6.50 per gallon.
Rogers, a former representative, is facing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the race for a Senate seat in battleground Michigan.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins warned Monday that President Donald Trump would be defying Congress if he moves forward with empowering top political appointees to decide who gets grant funding for health research.
“Any attempt to politicize grantmaking … is contrary to congressional intent,” the Maine Republican said in a statement.
Trump wants to issue an executive order to seat White House budget director Russ Vought and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya on a board that would decide which grants the NIH should fund, according to two administration officials granted anonymity to describe a private meeting in the Oval Office last Friday.
Following reports of that meeting, Collins noted Monday that the stopgap funding patch Congress cleared this summer bars the White House from finalizing a separate proposed rule to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, or “any substantially similar” plan.
The Office of Management and Budget “should not be involved in agency decisions on the awards of grants,” Collins said, adding that “imposing a political review … undermines the long-standing principle that the government funds awards based on scientific need and merit, rather than political ideology.”
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, called the White House’s latest idea an attempt to “take control over federal funding, so they can use it to punish their perceived enemies and reward their friends.”
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, warned that the move would mean “a single political appointee could kill a cancer study or an Alzheimer’s trial with no scientific reason at all.”
A spokesperson for House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole did not return a request for comment regarding the Oklahoma Republican’s position.
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