Congress

Capitol agenda: New hope and pain as shutdown nears record

Published

11 months ago

November 3, 2025

Fresh hints of progress toward ending the shutdown are surfacing in the Senate, as pressure points pile up and the federal funding lapse is set to become the longest ever come Tuesday night.

Here’s what we’re watching as the Senate returns for Week 6 of the shutdown:

A RAY OF HOPE — Bipartisan talks among rank-and-file senators appear to be headed in the right direction, according to four people granted anonymity to discuss the talks. The White House has warned it will not meet with Democrats until they open the government but Trump officials are in touch with the Republican senators involved in the talks, according to two of the people.

Several senators are having across-the-aisle conversations, including Sens. Angus King, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, Susan Collins, Katie Britt and Lisa Murkowski.

PAIN POINTS — Millions of low-income Americans are losing access to food aid after SNAP funding lapsed this weekend. A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration to restore funding this week.

Fallout from the looming expiration of Obamacare subsidies is also beginning to land across the country. Open enrollment on most Affordable Care Act state marketplaces and the federal exchange began Saturday, greeting consumers with sticker shock. Some enrollees in New Jersey will see out-of-pocket premiums rise more than 175 percent, while some in Colorado will see a 101 percent increase.

TRUMP NEEDLES — Trump is continuing to prod Republicans into getting rid of the filibuster, even after GOP leaders gently pushed back.

Trump pressured Republicans in Truth Social posts Saturday and Sunday night, warning that they, “will rue the day that you didn’t TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!!!” On Sunday he said they should “TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.”

In a “60 Minutes” interview recorded Friday and airing Sunday, he addressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s resistance to the idea: “I like John Thune, I think he’s terrific but I disagree with him on that point.”

ELECTION DAY — Both parties are watching the outcomes in Virginia and New Jersey’s gubernatorial elections on Tuesday night, as well as the New York City mayor’s race and California’s redistricting referendum. Some Republicans including Thune see a potential inflection point for Democrats after Tuesday.

“They’re going to wait till after the election on Tuesday,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin. “And then they’re looking for an exit ramp.”

What else we’re watching:

— War powers resolution: Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) could force a vote as soon as this week on a war powers resolution, amid concerns that the Trump administration may ramp up its strikes around Venezuela and possibly within the country.

— Gamblers tax relief: A bipartisan group of senators is looking to give gamblers some tax relief, after Republicans curtailed a key deduction in the megabill Trump signed this summer. Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, said that the “Finance Committee has been working on it” as well as members off the panel.

Jordain Carney, Katherine Tully-McManus, Nicholas Wu, Benjamin Guggenheim and Calen Razor contributed reporting.

Congress

House votes to hold Leon Black in contempt of Congress

Published

2 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House voted Wednesday by unanimous consent to hold billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with two congressional subpoenas sought by the Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein.

The matter is now in the hands of the Justice Department, which will determine whether to ultimately bring charges against Black. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It marks the first time a witness has been held in contempt over the course of the Oversight panel’s yearlong probe into Epstein and the web of powerful people who enabled his abuse for years before his conviction on sex trafficking charges.

“This vote is an important step towards justice and accountability,” said the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California. “Leon Black has continued to defy two congressional subpoenas and we need to know why he gave Jeffrey Epstein $180 million dollars. We will continue to center the survivors in our fight to hold those responsible for these horrific crimes. We are just getting started.”

Black, according to the Oversight Committee, had a close personal relationship with Epstein for years as well as financial connections, with Black paying Epstein over $158 million. He was brought in for a transcribed interview with the panel members in June but refused to turn over certain nondisclosure agreements he entered into with women tied back to Epstein, resulting in subpoenas to compel their release.

Black has refused to comply with the demand, instead choosing to sue the Oversight Committee on allegations the leaders overstepped their authority in making their demands. It did not stop the committee from moving forward with contempt proceedings, voting Tuesday to recommend the full House take action.

“As a result of his extensive dealings with Epstein, Mr. Black possesses firsthand information regarding the activities of Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell and their efforts to establish relationships and curry favor with influential individuals while engaged in sex trafficking,” the panel said in its contempt resolution.

Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler, Black’s attorneys, in a statement called the action against Black “politically motivated and completely retaliatory by a Chairman who is focused solely on himself and his own political ambitions without any regard for the truth and the law.”

“We intend to pursue our litigation challenging this action and will hold the Committee and Chairman [James] Comer [R-Ky.] accountable in the courts,” the lawyers added.

Comer, in a statement, said, “no one is above the law. Leon Black defied two subpoenas, and the U.S. House of Representatives acted swiftly to find him in contempt of Congress. We will continue to seek transparency for the American people and justice for survivors in our investigation of the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein and [co-conspirator] Ghislaine Maxwell criminal cases.”

Congress

Bonamici ‘exploring’ bid for Scott’s education leadership

Published

2 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The top Democrat on the House education committee is potentially facing a second challenge to his leadership amid broader frustrations over the caucus’ longstanding deference to seniority.

Rep. Bobby Scott already set out to defend his record on the House Education and Workforce Committee last week after Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) launched a formal bid for his spot on the panel. Now, one of the Virginia Democrat’s allies, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), says she is “not ruling anything out” about making her own run.

“I want the best leadership for the committee. I’ve been on the committee for a long time and [am] just exploring all the options,” Bonamici, who has served on the panel since 2013, said in an interview. “It’s a really important committee. I care about it a lot. It’s important for our future.”

The race for Scott’s position — and potentially the committee gavel, if Democrats flip the chamber in the midterms — is the latest example of the angst within the caucus about leadership opportunities. It also reflects the interest Democrats have in ramping up oversight of the Trump administration and its efforts to dismantle the Education Department, scrutiny that sparked Hayes’ run against Scott, who is 26 years older.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Monday that he has spoken with both Scott and Hayes but declined to say more.

Scott, who is 79 and has served as the House education committee’s top Democrat since 2015, often delegates the more attention-grabbing aspects of ranking member to others, particularly former teachers serving on the panel.

When House Democrats marched to Education Department headquarters demanding to meet with agency leaders early last year, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) took the lead. And Bonamici led a resolution to impeach Education Secretary Linda McMahon earlier this year with the support of other committee members and House lawmakers — a resolution where Scott isn’t a co-sponsor.

“Ranking member Scott has his role as the ranking member, but I think it’s up to Congresswoman Bonamici, myself and others to build support,” Takano said in an interview earlier this summer, when asked if Scott should support the effort to impeach McMahon.

Scott doesn’t seem worried and repeatedly said he would let his work speak for itself. He also used a Dear Colleague letter to dissuade any concerns about his leadership style and demeanor.

“While I have no qualms about sharing the spotlight with my colleagues, I want to be clear that my colleagues should not confuse my humility with an inability to deliver results,” Scottwrote in a letter to colleagues declaring his candidacy to continue leading Democrats on the committee.

Congress

Ted Cruz: ‘It’s still my hope’ to have an AI markup this month

Published

3 hours ago

September 16, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz is still optimistic that his twice-delayed markup on artificial intelligence legislation will happen before the midterms — and that the centerpiece bill will be a yet-to-be-finalized bipartisan measure to stave off catastrophic risks posed by the evolving technology.

“It’s still my hope to have an AI markup this session,” the Texas Republican told reporters Wednesday.

Cruz added that senators are “actively negotiating through provisions” in a proposal from Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota to establish guardrails for the most powerful models.

“My hope is that we will get bipartisan agreement and be able to move the bill,” he continued. “We’re not there yet, but we’re making progress.”

He declined to elaborate on sticking points.

Cruz had been eyeing July for an AI markup but he postponed it by a week, only to then postpone it again and proceed with consideration of only bills related to kids’ online safety. But Cruz is facing new pressure after AI safety researchers and CEOs from the leading labs have over the past week warned that humans are at risk of extinction if the technological advancements remain unchecked.

The Senate is due to recess at the end of the month until after the November elections, however, so time is running out for action. One Senate Commerce Committee Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, expressed doubt on the panel holding a markup before the break, noting that the Thune-Klobuchar bill isn’t yet finalized.

Earlier in the day Wednesday, Thune told reporters that he was unsure that the Commerce Committee markup would happen this month, noting other committee activity is possible.

“Well, I don’t know if the markup does, but I think there are going to be a number of formats where folks are going to sit down and sort of hack out what our role ought to be and what the real threat looks like, how serious it is and all that,” he said of the ongoing debate over how involved Congress should be in regulating the AI industry.

Thune also said it “remains to be seen” if senators would receive an AI briefing of some kind in the coming days. “I think there are going to be a number of things done at the committee level.”

Sens. John Curtis (R-Utah) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), both members of the Commerce Committee, on Wednesday issued a statement calling for “immediate public hearings” on AI.

Senators are discussing avenues for action on AI the same day House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he was sending lawmakers home a day early for the pre-midterms recess — after already canceling the last scheduled two weeks of session.

A key House Republican working on AI legislation, Rep. Jay Obernolte of California, is now looking to November for a hearing and markup on his bipartisan AI safety bill with Rep. Lori Trahan(D-Mass.), as House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) seemed to throw cold water on the idea the bill could move this year during the Blue Light News Decoded summit earlier in the day.

“Yeah, we’ll see,” Obernolte said in response. “[Guthrie] was noncommittal, as he ought to be, but he certainly didn’t say that it wasn’t going to be this year.”

Jordain Carney and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.