Congress
Capitol agenda: Movement on a health plan, but not Trump’s
Lawmakers are eyeing a health care deal this week, but it’s far from the “Great Healthcare Plan” that President Donald Trump outlined last Thursday.
Here’s a rundown of the latest developments and why Trump’s grander ambitions are looking DOA on Capitol Hill:
— The deal Republicans could get: After weeks of committee-level negotiations, congressional leadership and top appropriators on both sides of the aisle have clinched a deal on a smaller and far less contentious health care proposal that could hitch a ride on the next government funding package. Most ideas in the plan had a shot at becoming law in December 2024, but were torpedoed by Elon Musk and Trump.
The deal released early Tuesday morning as part of the $1.2 trillion funding package includes a crackdown on drug intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers, renewals of several public health programs and $4.6 billion in funding this fiscal year for community health centers.
The inclusion of the health agreement has swelled the bill to over 1,000 pages, so keep an eye on House conservatives who have balked in the past over being asked to vote within days on such jam-packed legislation.
— The deal they probably can’t clinch: Trump’s broader health care affordability pitch from last week appears to be largely doomed on the Hill, underscoring the extreme difficulty around uniting Republicans around any health plan.
Among the reasons: Democrats are in no mood to help after a series of health care fights with Republicans this past year, and key parts of Trump’s proposal likely wouldn’t meet the strict Senate rules for party-line legislation that could skirt a Democratic filibuster. Republicans also face major divisions over whether to even pursue more health initiatives using the budget reconciliation process in the first place.
One House Republican granted anonymity to speak candidly about conference dynamics described the appetite among GOP moderates for another major party-line bill — especially a health-focused one — as “not good.”
“You’re going to need 218 votes, which means you’re going to need to build consensus across the conference on what it is we’re pursuing,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).
Another big complication: Many senior Republicans oppose a key part of Trump’s plan — codifying “most favored nation” deals to link some U.S. drug payments to the lower prices paid abroad. Speaker Mike Johnson said last year he was “not a big fan” of the policy when White House officials attempted to squeeze it into the first GOP megabill.
What else we’re watching:
— Funding bill finalized: Blue Light News reporters will continue to scrub the freshly released bipartisan, bicameral text for the Defense, Transportation-HUD, Labor-HHS-Education and Homeland Security bills through the day. The House aims to pass the shutdown-averting bill by Friday, with the Senate acting next week — just ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline.
— Voter registration action: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is eyeing a vote on revamped legislation that would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, potentially putting pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to follow suit.
The House passed the so-called SAVE Act in April with the help of a few Democrats, but it died in the Senate. Scalise in a Fox News Sunday interview this weekend talked up a new version of the bill, which would add a photo ID requirement.
— Expanding the CRA’s reach: Republicans are attempting to use the Congressional Review Act this week to overturn mining protections on public lands for the first time. The House Rules Committee will consider a resolution related to Minnesota’s Boundary Waters wilderness at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Benjamin Guggenheim, Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Calen Razor and James Bikales contributed to this report.
House Speaker Mike Johsnon said he plans to send President Donald Trump a bipartisan housing bill Monday, just days after the president abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the legislation after Congress failed to pass his elections security act.
Speaking with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Johnson said the 21st Century ROAD To Housing Act is a Republican priority for lowering costs for Americans.
“I’m going to send the bill over to him on Monday, and it will become law,” the Louisiana Republican told host Maria Bartiromo. “I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly on that legislation because we’re delivering for the people, and that’s what he wants to do.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Johnson’s remarks.
The bill is the product of almost a year of back-and-forth between all four congressional corners and aims to increase affordability by boosting housing supply and home ownership. It passed both chambers of Congress with wide bipartisan support.
Trump was scheduled to sign the bill into law last week but canceled the ceremony “until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency.”
Trump’s SAVE America Act would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end mail-in voting. Trump has also said he would like the bill to include prohibitions on transgender athletes competing. But Republican leaders have repeatedly indicated the legislation does not have enough votes to pass.
Congressional leaders appeared taken aback by Trump’s signing cancellation, but Johnson on Sunday said he and the president have since met in the Oval Office to discuss the housing bill “in great detail.”
“We made a lot of promises to the voters, and we’re fulfilling those every single day of this Congress,” Johnson said. “This is a big part of that because this will increase the availability, the access to more housing, bring down cost, cut regulations, do the things we know are very important for that market. The president and I talked about that at length. Of course he wants to do those things.”
But if Trump does not sign the housing bill into law within the next few days, it would still become law unless he were to veto it. Congress also has the power to override a presidential veto.
Sen. Thom Tillis on Sunday expressed frustration with President Donald Trump’s continued fixation on passing the SAVE America Act.
In an interview with BLN’s “Face the Nation,” the retiring North Carolina Republican lamented “the impossible task” of implementing the requirements of the legislation ahead of November’s crucial midterms.
“Why are we doing more things to undermine our confidence in elections, rather than getting the strong message out that will win for Republicans this year?” Tillis said.
Rather than promoting the bill — which would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end widespread mail-in voting — Tillis said Republicans should tell voters about “the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America” while accepting the current voting laws.
“Win by the good results that Republicans have produced and stop undermining the confidence in the elections,” said Tillis. “This is a bedrock of our 250-year history of success as the democracy that changed the world. Let’s not mess with that between now and November.”
Trump has said the SAVE America Act is his “No. 1 priority” ahead of midterms, going so far as to abruptly cancel a bill signing for major bipartisan legislation on housing affordability until Congress passes his elections bill. But many Democrats are staunchly against the bill, arguing it could disenfranchise millions of voters, and Republican leaders in Congress have repeatedly indicated it does not have the votes to pass.
Tillis co-sponsored the original SAVE America Act but has objected to Trump’s version of the legislation, which would also bar transgender athletes from women’s sports.
It’s not the first time Tillis has clashed with Trump.
Earlier this year, Tillis blocked Trump’s Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, until the Justice Department dropped an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He has also spoken out against the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” calling it a “payout for punks.” And he has emerged as a fierce critic of Bill Pulte, Trump’s interim director of national intelligence.
“Let’s try and figure out a way to completely and finally end these distractions so that we can focus on the damage Democrats could do if they take the House, if they beat incumbent Republicans in the Senate. That’s what Republicans need to be talking about between now and November,” Tillis said Sunday.
Sen. Bill Cassidy appeared to question President Donald Trump’s view of Congress, saying in an interview that he is not sure Trump grasps that Congress “is a separate body, separate from the presidency.”
“Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage, and, frankly, sometimes Congress acts like it’s an appendage,” the Louisiana Republican said in a pre-taped interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday.
The latest criticism in a public clash between the two leaders, Cassidy also told host Margaret Brennan that he would be focused on affordability, including the cost of health care and groceries, if he were president.
“If I were president, I would be focused on those people that they have, my people, our people, us at the kitchen table. How do you make their life better? And that’s what I think the president should be focused on,” Cassidy said.
The relationship between Cassidy and Trump has been rocky for some time. Cassidy was one of only a handful of Republican leaders who voted to convict Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.
Trump and Cassidy recently clashed in a closed-door meeting between GOP leaders, with Cassidy admitting he raised his voice to “match” the president’s.
“The president said something negative about me. I received it as attempting to bully me from asking a question that I think the American people need to know, and I’m not going to be bullied,” Cassidy said at the time.
However, after receiving a special briefing from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff, Cassidy changed his vote on a resolution designed to rein in Trump’s power to wage war against Iran.
“They said right now the negotiations are delicate, and they could collapse if they’re not nursed along in the appropriate way. I can accept that,” Cassidy said.
“That’s the reason they said for their kind of lack of being forthcoming. I can accept that, but my goal was to be briefed, to have the truth in order to make a decision for the benefit of my country, and that was satisfied.”
Still, Cassidy’s stance against Trump has cost him: After serving more than a decade in the Senate, Cassidy lost his campaign for renomination after Trump endorsed against him. Rep. Julia Letlow will be the Louisiana Republican Senate candidate this fall.
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