Congress
Capitol agenda: Parallel pushes for an 11th-hour health deal
Rank-and-file dealmakers in both chambers are making last-ditch attempts to extend key Obamacare subsidies this week, even as it becomes crystal clear the subsidies will expire first.
House GOP moderates are hashing out what sort of extension to offer as an amendment at Tuesday afternoon’s Rules meeting — even as they signal they will fall in line with Speaker Mike Johnson’s health care plan whether they get a vote or not. A bipartisan Senate group is working simultaneously toward an extension framework that they hope to announce by the end of the week, while acknowledging it won’t get a vote till next year.
Here’s where the mod movement in each chamber stands.
— In the House: Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Monday night there’s no “final decision” on putting a subsidy extension amendment on the floor. Tuesday morning’s GOP Conference meeting could get heated as frustrated moderates — who call a subsidy extension omission “a huge mistake” — make their last plea for a vote.
But they face a huge obstacle at the 2 p.m. Rules meeting Tuesday afternoon, where Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and other moderates are unlikely to get a warm welcome from the panel’s conservative hard-liners, who are firmly against extending Obamacare in any form.
The moderates could pull a page out of the Freedom Caucus playbook and threaten to tank the rule or the underlying bill in return, but that does not appear to be in the cards: “I wouldn’t vote against it in protest,” Fitzpatrick said.
— In the Senate: Meanwhile, nearly two dozen senators convened by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) discussed issuing a roadmap this week toward a bipartisan deal.
The rough framework under discussion would pair a two-year subsidy extension with a new income eligibility cap and fraud prevention language. A potential extension of open enrollment for Obamacare exchanges and possible restrictions on abortion funding also remain under consideration.
That’s similar to Fitzpatrick’s proposal in the House, but the two efforts so far are entirely parallel. But there is some hope they might eventually converge: Rank-and-file senators are invited to join a Problem Solvers Caucus meeting Fitzpatrick is hosting Wednesday to discuss a joint effort.
But this much is clear: The Dec. 31 deadline for the subsidies is certain to come and go.
“The calendar precludes getting something done this week,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told reporters. “But, still, a commitment to work together is a lot of progress.”
What else we’re watching:
— Boat strikes oversight: The Pentagon will make video of the Sept. 2 strikes on an alleged drug boat leaving Venezuela available to all members of the House and Senate Armed Services committees later this week, a White House official said. It’s only been shown thus far to the Gang of Eight leaders as well as top members of the Armed Services and Defense Appropriations panels.
— Approps movement in the Senate: Senate Republicans are getting close to reaching agreement within their own ranks to move a five-bill spending package before they leave for the holiday recess. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said that he and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) are in discussions with GOP leaders to get a vote stripping earmarks out of the package and potentially also an amendment related to balancing the budget.
— SPEED Act speeds through: The House GOP’s flagship legislation to speed up federal permitting for energy projects is on track for the chamber floor after House Rules agreed to allow amendment votes demanded by conservative hard-liners — including three from foes of offshore wind, who had otherwise threatened to oppose the measure. One of those amendments would strip language that would limit the president’s power to revoke approved permits for energy projects.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Jennifer Scholtes and Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
Rep. Max Miller issued a subpoena to his former father-in-law and fellow Ohio Republican, Sen. Bernie Moreno, in the latest escalation of a long-running family legal drama.
Pamela MacAdams, an attorney for Miller, reported to the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Monday that three subpoenas were served in Miller’s divorce case, according to court records. A person with knowledge of the subpoenas granted anonymity to comment on them said that two were sent to Moreno and his wife, Bridget.
Their daughter, Emily Moreno, was married to Miller, and the two remain embroiled in a nasty legal battle.
Spokespeople for Miller, Emily Moreno and Bernie Moreno did not immediately return requests for comment. TMZ first reported on the subpoenas.
Miller is seeking reelection in a competitive district, and his campaign has been marred by accusations of domestic abuse against Emily Moreno and their daughter. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations and chose to remain in the race despite other Republican lawmakers pressuring him to withdraw his campaign.
The House Ethics Committee, which began an inquiry into Miller after Miller asked to be investigated, is currently in a preelection blackout period. During that period, which will continue through the midterms, the Ethics Committee doesn’t take any action against sitting members who could return next Congress.
Congress
Trump declares $1B canceled in ‘pocket rescission’ in another affront to Congress’ funding power
President Donald Trump informed congressional leaders Friday that he has unilaterally canceled almost $1 billion without Congress’ consent — employing a budget maneuver many lawmakers consider illegal.
In a move that will almost certainly set up an ugly government funding battle after the midterms, Trump has again claimed the power to execute a so-called “pocket rescission” to nix money Congress has already enacted. The money his administration will claw back is for for immigration services, support to foreign countries, education programs, health research efforts and assistance for businesses owned by minorities.
By law, the president is allowed to send Congress a request to rescind federal funding, then withhold that money for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore it. Trump administration officials also argue they have the power to cancel funding without any congressional action by sending Congress a rescission request with less than 45 days left in the fiscal year. The argument is that the money automatically gets canceled on Sept. 30, when funding lapses at the end of the fiscal year.
Last year, Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
The Senate’s top Republican appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, immediately blasted the move as illegal, saying in a statement Friday night that “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
“This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law,” Collins added, pledging to work with other lawmakers “to address these illegal actions.”
Collins and other appropriators have already been on high alert in recent days, pressing multiple agencies about funding officials have yet to spend ahead of the expiration date.
Democrats are finally catching on to how to talk to young male voters in the lead-up to the midterms, but the party can still up its game, one battleground senator and potential 2028er said Friday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has been one of his party’s most outspoken critics on its handling of outreach to young men, who swung right and helped deliver the White House and both chambers of Congress to Republicans in 2024.
The party is now “definitely moving in the right direction,” Gallego said Friday.
“Like back in the day, I was like the only one,” putting out positions on men, Gallego said at a Washington event on young American men. “Now, like, it seems like everyone every week is coming out with a new position, new idea, which is great.”
Gallego has criticized Democrat’s failure to highlight mens’ struggles and their tendency to over-police mens’ ideas. But there are signs the political winds have shifted in his party’s favor.
A new Cygnal poll released with the event of men ages 18-30 who say they’re the most determined to vote revealed Democrats’ generic ballot lead over Republicans at 57%-40%, Blue Light News reported. The poll also said nearly 40 percent of respondents said they feel their lives are off track.
“We need to take the opportunity to invest in that portion of this country, to say that we care about them and actually try to change the trajectory of what’s happening with men in this country,” Gallego said at the symposium.
Still, the path for specific legislation targeting the needs of this demographic faces an incredibly tight calendar this Congress and is uncertain in the political landscape of next year.
A proposal from Gallego and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to establish a men’s health office within the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, has not advanced. Nor has bipartisan legislation from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who also spoke at the event, targeting education outcomes, college investment transparency and dyslexic student support.
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