Congress

Capitol agenda: It’s crypto crunch time for the House

Published

12 months ago

July 8, 2025

Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing to jam the House again. This time, it’s all about crypto.

The brewing clash — not unlike the megabill saga — is over how big and how quickly Hill Republicans should deliver on one of Trump’s most notable campaign pledges. In this case, it’s about Trump’s promise to make the U.S. “the crypto capital of the world.”

The Senate last month passed a bipartisan bill to boost a specific slice of the crypto universe — so-called stablecoins — but the House GOP is now wrestling with a desire to go bigger. It’s gearing up for a full-blown “crypto week” to make the case when House members return next Monday.

House Republicans, who spent years incubating crypto legislation that Senate Democrats were unwilling to touch, plan to vote on the Senate stablecoin bill and a wider-ranging “market structure” plan to overhaul securities and commodities rules impacting crypto trading.

The big hurdle for House Republicans is that Trump and Senate Republicans aren’t on board with tweaking the stablecoin bill or using it as a vehicle to take a bigger swing on crypto policy. Trump says he wants a “clean” version of the bill “lightning fast” and key GOP senators say they won’t take up a market structure overhaul until September.

Senate Republicans say it would be near-impossible to muster Democrats to pass a revised stablecoin bill.

“For me to get eight or nine Democrats to vote for something here is extraordinarily difficult to do,” said Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), the lead sponsor of the Senate stablecoin bill, known as the GENIUS Act.

House GOP leaders signaled last week they won’t seek to combine that legislation with their broader revamp, but they haven’t yet said whether they will make changes to the measure.

House Financial Services Chair French Hill’s sweeping market structure bill, which is the crown jewel of the House GOP’s crypto push, is also the subject of eleventh-hour negotiating among House lawmakers ahead of next week’s floor vote.

The Arkansas Republican is working to secure wide bipartisan backing that would signal its political viability to the Senate. But some Democrats who have been on board in the past are withholding support unless the bill imposes restrictions on the Trump family’s entanglements in the crypto industry.

“For me, and I suspect for some other Democrats, if we can satisfy this question of conflict of interest — meaning there’s a prohibition on the president being an issuer — a lot of us can get to ‘yes,’” said Rep. Jim Himes, a senior Connecticut Democrat on House Financial Services. “They’re working in good faith to try to get us to ‘yes.’”

What else we’re watching:

— Netanyahu on Blue Light News: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be on Capitol Hill Tuesday and meet with Speaker Mike Johnson at 11:45 a.m. Netanyahu will then have a bipartisan Senate meeting with leaders John Thune and Chuck Schumer at 4 p.m., per two people granted anonymity to discuss the plans. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries didn’t comment when we asked whether he plans to meet with Netanyahu.

— NDAA markups begin: Senate Armed Services will begin subcommittee markups of the National Defense Authorization Act at 4:30 p.m. The full panel will debate and vote on the whole package starting Wednesday at 9:45 a.m. (reminder: this could take several days).

— Rescissions updates: Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) is gearing up to offer amendments to Trump’s request to claw back $9.4 billion in already-approved funds ahead of the Senate’s July 18 deadline, and the contours of her desired tweaks are starting to take shape. Collins has already said she is strongly against the White House’s proposed cuts to foreign aid, and told Maine Public Radio that she would like to prevent drastic funding reductions to public media, too.

Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

Congress

Cait Conley wins Democratic primary to face Rep. Mike Lawler

Published

18 minutes ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — Army veteran Cait Conley has emerged victorious in the bitter Democratic primary for New York’s 17th Congressional District, setting up a general election fight between a past national security staffer for former President Joe Biden and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler.

Conley, who served six tours overseas before becoming the National Security Council’s director for counterterrorism, leaned on her military service during her campaign, casting herself as a tough-as-nails political outsider who could cut through the noise and find pragmatic solutions.

Congress

Democratic socialist Valdez wins open Brooklyn-Queens primary

Published

33 minutes ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — State Assemblymember Claire Valdez prevailed in the tumultuous primary to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, notching the Democratic Socialists of America a win in one of the left’s most high-profile proxy wars.

Valdez, who has served in the Assembly representing Queens since last year, was boosted by the city chapter of the DSA and Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Her major competitor was Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who had the backing of the state Working Families Party and Velázquez.

The dynamics of those competing interests loomed over the campaign, exposing tensions among progressive Democrats.

The 7th District, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens, has been dubbed the “Commie Corridor.” That’s a nod to the DSA’s electoral power there — which it flexed during last year’s June mayoral primary when Mamdani enjoyed some of his strongest results in that district.

While the candidates agreed on most policy positions, Valdez and Reynoso spent months sparring over who had the most ironclad progressive values. Complicating matters further for them was New York City Council member Julie Won, who had the support of notable Asian American organizations and elected officials but struggled to gain enough traction to emerge as a real threat. Public defender Vichal Kumar was also on the ballot.

Even though the contenders all referred to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “genocide,” Valdez repeatedly criticized Reynoso for how long it took him to use that label. She also attacked him for accepting campaign donations from people affiliated with the real estate industry.

In the waning days of the campaign, Valdez sought to tie Reynoso to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee — a tactic progressive candidates have long employed to mobilize their base, especially as the public’s view of Israel has grown increasingly negative. AIPAC said it was not involved in this race, and its independent expenditure arm did not appear to spend money on the contest.

Reynoso, meanwhile, tried to use Mamdani’s endorsement against Valdez, accusing her of being “beholden” to the mayor — a strategy that evidently did not land with an electorate that views Mamdani so positively. One significant flashpoint unfolded when the NYPD faced accusations of collaborating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a chaotic incident in Brooklyn, a charge Mamdani has denied. Reynoso said that when things “get complicated with the NYPD,” he doesn’t have “any bosses telling me to slow down and wait and work on messaging.”

A super PAC supporting Reynoso also attacked Valdez for not having as much political experience as Reynoso, who served in the City Council and as a community organizer prior to becoming borough president.

Valdez’s win is a boon for Mamdani, who put his political capital on the line in a handful of races this cycle — and angered Democratic power brokers in the process. Velázquez, a 16-term incumbent known as “La Luchadora” who’s served as a mentor for younger progressives in the city, was an early supporter of Mamdani in the mayoral election. But the two ended up on opposite sides in races up and down the ballot this year, stress-testing how the new mayor navigates relations with powerful, well-respected party figures.

Reynoso emphasized his “underdog” status in the race, despite his backing from Velázquez, the Working Families Party and major unions, pointing to Mamdani’s involvement and the district becoming more gentrified. Like Velázquez, Reynoso also endorsed Mamdani in the mayoral primary. But during the campaign, he accused the mayor of being “disloyal” to the veteran lawmaker.

Super PACs emerged as a major point of contention in the race as well. Reynoso and Won both criticized Valdez for putting public messaging on her campaign site — a common tactic viewed as a cue to PACs known as “redboxing” — where she presented talking points contrasting herself with Reynoso. Reynoso posted a redbox on his site too, but said he “had to do it” after Valdez put one up. After super PACs began supporting both candidates, Won touted herself as the only contender keeping their promise not to accept super PAC spending.

Throughout the campaign, Valdez leaned on her background as a union organizer. Originally from Texas, she moved to New York over a decade ago to be an artist. She is all but certain to win in the fall, when she will face Republican Melvin Rivera. Reynoso has not said if he will decline the Working Families Party ballot line for the general election.

Congress

Brad Lander trounces New York Rep. Dan Goldman in election upset

Published

48 minutes ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — Former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander defeated Rep. Dan Goldman in Tuesday’s Democratic congressional primary, ousting the two-term lawmaker after a bruising campaign that focused heavily on their differences over Israel.

On the campaign trail, Lander concentrated much of his attention on immigration and his opposition to U.S. military aid for Israel — and he was buoyed by an early endorsement from Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Goldman became a household name after helping lead the first impeachment of President Donald Trump in 2019. A former federal prosecutor and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, he was first elected to Congress in 2022 by a razor-thin margin, making his seat a target for progressives seeking to expand their footprint in the city’s congressional delegation.

The result wasn’t unexpected, as a recent poll showed Lander holding a commanding lead. With the primary in the bag, Lander is expected to coast in November’s general election, since there’s no competitive Republican candidate on the ballot.

Goldman’s district is safely Democratic, so Lander’s victory will not impact the party’s broader push to reclaim control of the House in November’s midterm elections.

Lander’s win is, however, a boon for the Democratic Party’s ascendant left wing — and a feather in the cap for Mamdani, who endorsed Lander the same day he launched his campaign in mid-December. In Lander, Mamdani has an ally who is more likely to push his priorities on Capitol Hill, a sharp contrast with Goldman, who never offered support for Mamdani during last year’s New York City mayoral race.

In many ways, Lander and Goldman, who are both Jewish, do not differ that much from each other politically. They are both ardent critics of the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration agenda and agree millionaires should be taxed at higher rates.

Lander found an edge, though, by making the race about Israel.

Fashioning himself a “liberal Zionist,” Lander attacked Goldman relentlessly on the campaign trail over the perception that the incumbent hasn’t been forceful enough in speaking out against Israel’s war in Gaza, which has left more than 75,000 Palestinians dead after being launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack. Lander has blasted Goldman for not supporting legislation to block more U.S. military aid for Israel and accused him of kow-towing to pro-Israel lobbying groups by not calling the country’s war a “genocide.”

Supportive super PACs, including one funded by prominent business owners who also backed Mamdani’s mayoral run, piled on, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on ads knocking Goldman and lauding Lander in the leadup to the election.

The talking points resonated with voters in Goldman’s district, which voted overwhelmingly for Mamdani, a longtime critic of Israel’s government, in last year’s mayoral election.

Lander was also able to capitalize on his deep ties to the district, especially in the Brooklyn portion, which he represented for 11 years while serving as a member of the New York City Council.

Goldman tried to fend off Lander’s challenge by committing to spend as much as $1 million of his own money on the race. Ultimately, the money didn’t move the needle enough for Goldman, who serves on the House Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees.

Lander mounted his challenge after placing third in the city’s Democratic mayoral primary last June. Initially, he angled for a top job in Mamdani’s administration after the mayoral race, but he switched gears to run for Congress after the mayor reportedly informed him there would be no position available for him at City Hall.