Congress
Capitol agenda: Johnson’s next battles
Speaker Mike Johnson muscled his budget blueprint through committee. That will likely be the easy part.
Late Thursday the House Budget Committee approved a resolution in a party-line vote that will allow Republicans in the chamber to move forward on their one-bill strategy to pass President Donald Trump’s agenda on the border, energy and tax cuts. Conservatives had threatened a potential revolt over demands for more spending cuts but came around after leaders offered an amendment that would shrink the amount of tax cuts Republicans can pursue if they don’t cut $2 trillion in spending.
While that change appeased hard-liners for now, other serious fault lines remain. The most politically vulnerable Republicans are concerned the cuts will have to come out of Medicaid, food assistance and other programs for low-income Americans — a prospect they fear could cost them their seats. And other GOP members from high-tax blue states are worried there’s no room to adjust the SALT deduction.
Johnson’s razor-thin majority means he has almost no margin for error when he plans to bring the budget outlining broad parameters on President Donald Trump’s agenda to the floor later this month. Senate Republicans are throwing the speaker a lifeline by waiting to confirm Rep. Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador. But they’re still squeezing him by moving forward on their two-bill plan versus Johnson’s one.
The Senate could take a first procedural step on its budget blueprint as soon as Tuesday night — a timeline Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t set in stone but hasn’t ruled out, either.
Meanwhile, Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries are fanning the flames of the looming government funding fight. Johnson has accused Democrats of sending counter-offers they know are “not deliverable.” Jeffries, the minority leader, fired back in a Thursday press conference that Democrats are “engaging in good faith” and “House Republicans have chosen to walk away.”
The people actually at the negotiating table see it differently. Top Senate appropriator Susan Collins told reporters Thursday “that’s not true,” adding that “there are definitely talks going on.” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, House Democrats’ top appropriator, said Thursday that “we are close on a number of things.”
But time is running short. It’s a month before the shutdown deadline, and it typically takes lawmakers that long to close out negotiations on the dozen appropriations bills once they agree on “topline” spending levels.
GOP leaders are now privately considering a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels through the end of the fiscal year, along with wildfire aid and other provisions, according to a person familiar with the matter who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said Thursday morning he’d yet to talk to the speaker about a stopgap bill, and Collins told reporters that she was “hopeful” it wouldn’t come to that.
House Republicans would likely need some Democratic support if it does, given conservatives’ disdain for short-term spending measures. But DeLauro doesn’t seem keen to help there: “They’ll have to pass it,” DeLauro said of Republicans. “That’s the job of the majority.”
What else we’re watching next week:
- Nominations: The Senate will continue churning through Trump’s nominees, planning votes to confirm Howard Lutnick as Commerce secretary and advance Kash Patel as FBI director on Tuesday night. The Senate is also expected to vote to confirm Kelly Loeffler as SBA administrator next week, while Linda McMahon is set to get a committee vote on Thursday.
- Chavez-DeRemer: Former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s committee hearing is scheduled for Wednesday after it was postponed this week. The Labor secretary nominee will likely need some Democratic votes to make it through the HELP Committee. But Democrats who initially supported her for her pro-labor positions may be less inclined as they continue to vote against most of Trump’s nominees in protest of federal spending cuts.
- Tax talks: Senate Republican leaders told Trump in a letter that they will oppose a short-term extension of tax cuts on Thursday, as the House discusses that option as a way to drive down costs. The senators said any extension of the tax cuts that lapse at the end of the year “must” be permanent — a potential headache as the two chambers battle over their one- vs. two-track plans.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) expressed disappointment Sunday morning that Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost his primary last week.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Khanna said of his reaction: “Sadness, disappointment. Thomas is a real friend. He’s a good man.”
Khanna and Massie are very much on opposite ends of the classic left-right ideological spectrum, but they came together to introduce the Epstein Files Transparency Act, requiring the release of files in the case of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They also joined together to attempt, unsuccessfully, to block U.S. involvement in Iran.
Those efforts, as well as other votes, led President Donald Trump to repeatedly denounce Massie and campaign on behalf of Ed Gallrein, Massie’s challenger in their Kentucky congressional district. Gallrein won the primary last week with approximately 55 percent of the vote.
Speaking to host Kristen Welker, Khanna offered his analysis of Massie’s defeat.
“He was taken out for two reasons,” Khanna said. “One: He had the courage to go after some very powerful people in working with me to get the Epstein Transparency Act passed. As you mentioned, that’s historic bipartisan legislation that finally got justice for the survivors. And he had people spend millions of dollars and had the president of the United States after him.
“And second, he worked with me to stop this war in Iran. So for taking on the Epstein class and taking on war, he basically lost his state. And I admire his courage in taking those positions.”
With talk this weekend of a possible deal with Iran, Khanna said it is time for the war to come to an end.
“The answer to your question is yes. I do believe we need a negotiated deal,” he told Welker.
Rep. Tom Kean Jr., whose two-and-a-half month disappearance has stoked speculation about his health and political future, has begun more actively communicating over the phone.
On Thursday, Kean began calling Republican county chairs in his 7th Congressional District, one of the most competitive in the country in this year’s midterms. The two-term Republican also gave a “lengthy” interview to New Jersey Globe on Thursday afternoon, the first he has granted since he last voted on March 5.
Kean did not respond to a text message from Blue Light News and his voicemail was full Thursday night.
But Kean, 57, gave no details to the Globe on his undisclosed illness, which has kept him out of public view since early March. He said he’s expecting to make a full recovery, that it would not affect his cognitive health, that he plans to run for reelection and that he will publicly discuss his health at an unspecified later date.
“My doctors are confident that I’m on the road to a full recovery,” Kean told New Jersey Globe. “I understand the need for public transparency, and I appreciate the support of my constituents.”
Kean added that he plans to return to voting and campaigning in the next couple weeks. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm, told reporters Thursday he spoke to Kean and he will be back voting in June.
Kean’s lengthy absence has drawn national media attention, with reporters staking out his home in the wealthy 7th Congressional District, where he faces an extremely competitive reelection, with four Democrats competing in the June 2 primary to take him on in November. His campaign and office staff had repeatedly said that he expects to make a full recovery and would return to work “soon.”
But few people — even Kean’s two fellow New Jersey House Republicans — had recently reported speaking to him. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that he spoke to Kean last month.
Kean called Republican chairs in his district on Thursday.
“He sounded good to me. Sounded just as normal as always,” said Carlos Santos, the Republican chair of Union County, where Kean lives.
Santos said that he did not ask Kean about his ailment, and that Kean did not disclose it. But he said Kean confirmed he’s running for reelection and that he has his support.
Tracy DiFrancesco, the GOP chair of Somerset County, also spoke with Kean.
“It was just a simple conversation. He sounded just like Tom always sounds. He sounded perfectly fine. He’s basically back. Hopefully we’re going to see him very soon,” she said. “I think he’s doing well and we’re excited to get back on his campaign.”
Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the House GOP’s campaign arm, told reporters Thursday he spoke to Rep. Tom Kean Jr. and he will be back voting in June.
Kean, a New Jersey Republican, has been missing from Capitol Hill since March 5 without explanation. Hudson, of North Carolina, said in an interview just a few days ago he hadn’t spoken to Kean in a while and only heard from Kean’s team that he could run for reelection.
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