Congress

Capitol agenda: Mitch McConnell returns to the Senate Appropriations table to cement his legacy

Published

12 months ago

July 10, 2025

Former GOP leader Mitch McConnell is back at the Senate Appropriations table for the first time in roughly two decades Thursday as the full panel begins marking up three key spending bills.

McConnell’s already proving he’s ready to make a mark on one of his final appropriations cycles. The Kentucky Republican is behind a key provision dealing with industrial hemp — a home-state industry — in the Agriculture-FDA bill. The provision would close a regulatory loophole that has led to a growing market for intoxicating hemp products.

It’s one of many ways McConnell could cement his legacy in the appropriations process before his retirement. As chair of the Defense subcommittee, McConnell is expected to push for a strong American presence on the global stage in a possible markup later this month.

Consistent with his career-long approach, McConnell laid out his vision for American power in a budget hearing last month with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In a hearing this month with White House Budget Director Russ Vought, McConnell argued to maintain “soft power” alongside guns and bombs, arguing that targeted investments in foreign aid “prevent conflict, preserve American influence and save countless lives at the same time.”

He reaffirmed that belief on the Senate floor a few weeks ago, in a speech after the Trump administration’s strike on Iran.

“Like Ukraine, Israel needed precious time, space to maneuver, and material support to defeat a shared enemy,” McConnell said. “And yet, as in Ukraine, America’s commitment has indeed wavered. Our support has not been ironclad.”

Soon McConnell will be in position to act on his words — working in tandem with Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine), who shares his desire to increase Pentagon spending.

Watch in particular what McConnell does on Ukraine. Given the sensitivities in MAGA circles, House appropriators did not include new Ukraine funding in their recently marked-up Defense bill. And McConnell could find it hard to make the case in the Senate.

But McConnell is likely to shepherd several related initiatives through, including increasing missile production to both supply Ukraine and prepare for a potential China-Taiwan war.

You can also expect the former leader to call for continued funding to arm and train the Ukrainians. It won’t be anything like the tens of billions of dollars in funding McConnell shepherded through the Senate under President Joe Biden. But even a few select provisions would be a reminder that McConnell is still a force on Capitol Hill.

What else we’re watching:

Russia sanctions bill: Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune said they’re both ready to move forward on a bipartisan bill to impose additional sanctions on Russia — but the president wants even more control in the bill. While Trump has an “openness” to the bill from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a senior administration official granted anonymity to discuss the president’s view said the legislation needs to reflect what the White House sees as the president’s supreme authority to oversee foreign policy.

Michigan primary heats up: Democrat Josh Cowen, an education policy professor at Michigan State University, has thrown his name into an already crowded primary for Michigan’s 7th Congressional District. Cowen is highlighting education and affordability issues in his campaign, citing school choice and voucher programs pushed by Michigan Republicans, including former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, as part of his inspiration to run.

Grace Yarrow, Connor O’Brien, Katherine Tully-McManus, Jordain Carney, Rachael Bade, Eli Stokols and Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

Congress

Mamdani-backed socialist ousts Espaillat in NY-13

Published

25 minutes ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

NEW YORK — Darializa Avila Chevalier has ousted five-term House member Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, in a massive victory for the Democratic Socialists of America.

Her win marks another rebuke of the Democratic establishment in New York following Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral election last year, cementing the DSA as one of the city’s most potent political forces. The upset reflects a political climate in which voters have become increasingly willing to cast aside longtime incumbents in favor of outsiders promising change.

Avila Chevalier focused much of her campaign on attacking Espaillat for accepting donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and real estate interests during his career.

“I really feel that this is a fight to make sure that we are representing working-class New Yorkers who have been left behind by a politics that only serves the interests of corporations, of corporate landlords, of special interest groups that are making life in New York deeply unaffordable for so many,” Avila Chevalier said last month, during an appearance with Mamdani on MS NOW where the mayor endorsed her campaign.

Espaillat, who is the first formerly undocumented person to serve in Congress, came up short despite having the support of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin.

Avila Chevalier, 32, was a leading organizer in the pro-Palestinian encampment at Columbia University in 2024 and is a sociology Ph.D. student at the CUNY Graduate Center. She has served as an investigator for a public defender’s office and is originally from South Florida.

For most of the race, Espaillat was widely viewed as the favorite, but Mamdani’s late May endorsement of Avila Chevalier jolted a contest that began to show signs it was tightening. An April poll from Avila Chevalier’s campaign showed her down 14 points.

Her victory came despite intense outside spending in support of Espaillat, including from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm.

Avila Chevalier’s election to New York’s 13th district also shows a changing of the guard in Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx. Espaillat has served at the helm of a political alliance, known as the “Squadriano,” that has ruled over those areas of the city, home to large Dominican American and African American populations.

At times during the race, Espaillat and his supporters sought to frame the primary battle as a contest between gentrifiers and long-term residents.

“Those that choose or want to parachute in, after the men and women of this city, the working men and women of the city, have built our neighborhood, we’re gonna send them back home packing wherever they came from,” the 71-year-old member of Congress said last month.

The story of his political ascendance and reign in Upper Manhattan has also been characterized by an intense rivalry with Manhattan Democratic Party Chair Keith Wright, an ally of the late Rep. Charles Rangel, whom Espaillat challenged for Congress in 2012 and 2014.

But this year’s primary seems to have calmed the bitter rivalry between Espaillat and Wright amid the encroachment of the Democratic Socialists of America on disputed turf. Earlier this month, Espaillat endorsed Wright’s son , state Assemblymember Jordan Wright, who was also facing a DSA-backed challenger.

The peace pact wasn’t enough to fend off the challenge from Avila Chevalier, who seized on a progressive swing in the district ever since Mamdani handily beat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary there.

“We have come a long way from where we used to be as a party,” Mamdani said in the interview where he announced his endorsement of Avila Chevalier. “It’s time we have a new generation that not only takes us back to that ambition, but takes us forward to the tomorrow that so many New Yorkers are waiting for.”

Congress

Former Utah Rep. Ben McAdams is on track to return to Congress

Published

40 minutes ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Rep. Ben McAdams won his primary Tuesday, paving the way for his return to Congress.

McAdams, a moderate, staved off a roster of progressive challengers in Utah’s newly redrawn 1st District, a rare deep-blue Salt Lake City district in a deep-red state that came as a result of a messy, decadelong redistricting saga.

McAdams will enter November as the heavy favorite in a district former Vice President Kamala Harris won by nearly 24 points in 2024.

McAdams won a GOP-leaning seat in the 2018 Democratic wave and governed as a centrist, Blue Dog Democrat who pushed for a balanced budget amendment — but he lost his reelection bid in 2020. He was one of the first Democrats to signal interest in running in the new 1st District and quickly garnered support from Utah elected officials and national centrist Democrats.

His progressive opponents attempted to paint him as too conservative, pointing to his previous mixed record on abortion. One opponent, state Sen. Nate Blouin, called on the other candidates to consolidate their support behind one person to avoid splitting the progressive vote. None agreed, and McAdams — who raised more money than the three other Democrats combined — prevailed.

Congress

Trump’s preferred candidate wins primary to succeed Elise Stefanik

Published

40 minutes ago

June 24, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

ALBANY, New York — President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate to succeed Rep. Elise Stefanik cruised to victory in his Republican primary Tuesday evening.

Anthony Constantino, the CEO of custom sticker company Sticker Mule, defeated Assemblymember Robert Smullen, a retired Marine colonel, for the nomination in a deep red upstate New York House district.

Trump, along with MAGA figures Roger Stone and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, backed Constantino’s bid, casting aside Smullen’s endorsement from the New York Republican Committee.

Constantino’s victory underscores the power of Trump’s endorsement in a district he has won during each of his three presidential campaigns. His win also highlights how a candidate who’s fashioned himself in a MAGA mold can continue to resonate in a largely rural and predominantly white district that has struggled economically for decades.

A former boxer, Constantino has dabbled in music, producing songs that praise Trump. He initially drew Stone’s attention after erecting a large “Vote for Trump” sign on a building in Amsterdam, N.Y., a city less than an hour west of Albany. Constantino also gifted Trump a bronze statue in the president’s likeness.

The circus-like primary became a bruising battle between a first-time candidate who channeled Trump-style promotion and attacks against an establishment favorite with a long, accomplished resume.

Constantino referred to Smullen as “Slime Bob” and called him “evil” in a text message to his rival. Smullen, in turn, called Constantino “unfit” and knocked his prior enrollment as a Democrat.

The race became so bitter that Smullen refused to shake Constantino’s hand at the conclusion of their only televised debate.

Constantino poured $10 million of his own money into the race and spent more than $3.8 million on TV ads, saturating upstate media market airwaves. Smullen’s campaign spent a fraction of that amount, more than $500,000 in ad spending, according to the tracking firm AdImpact.

The sticker impresario also displayed a marketing flare, printing t-shirts that touted his Trump endorsement.

Smullen leaned heavily on his biography and background as a combat Marine. But he often found himself responding — sometimes angrily — to Constantino’s barrage of attacks.

Constantino will now have to make peace with some New York power brokers as he pivots to the general election. Smullen is set to remain on the November ballot with the backing of the state Conservative Party’s ballot line. Constantino is being sued for defamation by that party’s leader, Jerry Kassar.

The House seat opened after Stefanik, who has represented the area for more than a decade, announced she would leave Congress after scuttling her gubernatorial campaign. Stefanik was previously Trump’s nominee for United Nations ambassador, but that was yanked amid concerns her vacancy would complicate the House Republicans’ narrow majority.

Stefanik did not endorse in the race to replace her.