Congress
Capitol agenda: Red, white and GOP hard-liner blues
House Republicans finally cleared a runway this week to finish some of their top legislative priorities before the July 4 recess.
That is, unless a small band of hard-liners trip up those plans at takeoff.
Speaker Mike Johnson is hoping to move quickly to pass fiscal 2027 appropriations legislation, the annual defense policy bill and a kids online safety bill that has been years in the making. The movement comes after President Donald Trump instructed GOP hard-liners to stop holding up a procedural vote amid a protest from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and others that the Senate hadn’t passed Trump’s election security bill.
But Luna and other hard-liners are still threatening to tank the procedural vote that could delay the defense policy bill and other measures until they get concessions on the SAVE America Act, amid other demands.
Johnson, for example, had also promised hard-liners a vote before July 4 on a sweeping GOP immigration bill introduced in the prior Congress as H.R. 2, which is highly unlikely to happen.
Johnson for his part has said the House will “pass the SAVE America Act again” by folding parts of it into a third party-line reconciliation bill. But the slimmed-down version he’d need to pursue in order to meet strict Senate rules for the budget process is already being panned by hard-liners as insufficient.
That reconciliation bill is also already delayed. House Republicans aren’t on track to meet their goal of advancing its framework before the July 4 recess as members on the Budget panel balked over how to pay for the legislation in a closed-door meeting last week.
“Time is of the essence, given how many legislative days we have,” House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, who is sponsoring the kids online safety legislation, said in an interview last week. “If we lose a week, that would be important.”
Meanwhile, Democratic leadership is grappling with their own heated internal divisions this week. Members are split over supporting the adoption of an amendment to a fiscal 2027 spending bill from Rep. Thomas Massie that would end Israel aid and cut the overall foreign military aid program by $3.3 billion.
Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro did not instruct her colleagues on how to vote during a rare Sunday evening caucus call, two sources granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting tell Mia and Riley. Leaders did, however, criticize the amendment as poorly written.
One other item this week that could split members of each party: House lawmakers are also slated to vote on a rewritten war powers resolution from Rep. Rashida Tlaib to reign in Trump administration military actions in Lebanon. Leadership worked with Tlaib to come up with new language last month that is expected to garner more Dem support, but the resolution is still expected to fail without GOP votes.
What else we’re watching:
— SENATE GOP GETS ANTSY ABOUT NOMINATIONS: Some Republican senators are unsettled by Trump’s apparent lack of urgency in filling vacant posts, even as GOP control of the chamber beyond the midterms is increasingly in doubt. There are more than two dozen federal court vacancies. Labor secretary, FDA commissioner and scores of other open positions do not have nominees, and a senior White House official said Trump is in no rush to fill them. “We’re running short on time,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a member of Senate HELP, which oversees health, labor and other issues.
—RICK SCOTT SAYS HE’S JUST TRYING TO HELP: Fresh off his controversial Trump invite to a Senate GOP lunch last week, Sen. Rick Scott told Blue Light News in an interview he’s trying to make a mark — not trying to challenge Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Scott insists that neither his invitation to the president nor a letter he circulated afterward outlining how the Senate GOP should be preparing for the midterms should be seen as a prelude to a leadership challenge. The Florida Republican said he’s perfectly happy running the conference’s conservative Steering Committee and predicted Thune would easily secure another term as leader. What has become eminently clear in recent weeks is that Scott — after a long career in business, two terms as governor and nearly eight years as senator — just isn’t a back-bench kind of guy.
Meredith Lee Hill, Riley Rogerson, Alex Gangitano, Jordain Carney and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
How much trouble is the GOP leadership floor plan in? Rep. Pete Sessions of Texas, a former Rules Committee chair who is not in the habit of defying party leaders, said he plans to vote against the procedural measure advanced by the panel last night. He cited concerns about the delay of a hemp products ban in the short-term spending bill leaders want to pass Tuesday.
“I think they’ve got to change it,” Sessions said. “Let’s just make it a clean [continuing resolution]. I’ll vote for that.”
The House has been back in town for a few hours, but GOP leaders may already be forced to send members home early.
A handful of House Republicans are threatening to shut down floor business Tuesday over frustrations about legislation that would fund the government past the midterms.
If GOP leaders can’t adopt a rule to open up floor debate, there’s little incentive to stay in town, especially so close to elections when members are eager to get back to their districts to campaign.
Speaker Mike Johnson can only lose a handful of members with full attendance. A small group of hard-liners oppose a provision in the Senate-passed continuing resolution punting a hemp product ban deadline. Others are angry about Johnson’s decision to put the stopgap bill on a fast-tracked method requiring two-thirds majority to pass — as Democrats are likely to support it.
To be clear: that suspension vote track also means the stopgap is poised to pass regardless of any subsequent GOP revolt that would gum up further floor business.
House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris said he plans to vote against the rule Tuesday over the hemp language.
And Rep. Chip Roy sent a letter to Appropriations Chair Tom Cole and Budget Chair Jodey Arrington Monday night urging opposition to the CR. Roy, who voted against advancing the procedural step in a Rules panel meeting yesterday, said the spending bill does not prevent taxpayer funds from going to abortion services.
“The CR now before Congress does not renew that protection, allowing federal taxpayer dollars to once again flow to Planned Parenthood,” Roy wrote in the letter, shared exclusively with Blue Light News, adding members “should be prepared to account for those votes accordingly.”
Other hardliners wouldn’t say how they plan to vote on Monday night. Rep. Keith Self told Blue Light News, “We’ll see if the rule comes up.”
But if the House does cut their September work period short — with the possibility of not returning until mid-November — that leaves little time this year for any other legislation, including the Senate-passed Russian sanctions bill, which is headed nowhere fast in the House.
GOP leaders omitted it from a list of bills to be voted on this week as the thin House Republican majority is split over intervening in Russia’s war with Ukraine. Meanwhile, many Democrats are wary of handing Trump any new tariff powers.
Asked whether the bill might pass through her committee on the way to the House floor, Rules Chair Virginia Foxx said, “I have no idea. Nobody’s talking about it.”
What else we’re watching:
— REPUBLICANS POISED TO CENSURE EDWARDS: The House will vote Tuesday on censuring Rep. Chuck Edwards — and GOP leaders aren’t coming to his rescue. A critical mass of GOP members seem to be lining up behind the effort after an Ethics Committee report outlined a pattern of sexual harassment by Edwards toward two of his young female staffers. Edwards told Mia the probe was “an abysmal handled process.” House GOP leaders don’t appear to be swaying Republicans to vote against the measure.
— GOP TRIES TO THREAD NEEDLE ON DATA CENTER SUPPORT: Republicans found themselves walking a fine line on data centers Monday — and Democrats are eager to capitalize on the issue igniting voters across the country. House Republicans returning from August recess acknowledged growing concerns from constituents about data centers. But they also tried to support President Donald Trump, who Monday declared communities that reject centers will end up “backwards and poor” while China makes advances in the technology. Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries blasted Republicans for being “pro-data center without any restraints,” making his strongest rebuke yet of the tech industry’s massive infrastructure buildout.
Riley Rogerson, Chris Marquette and Kelsey Brugger contributed to this report.
Democrat Brian Poindexter’s first general-election ad in his campaign to unseat Rep. Max Miller doesn’t directly mention the Republican’s well-publicized family drama — but it makes the subtext impossible to ignore.
The minute-long ad titled “Daughters” features Poindexter’s three children — Ashley, Makayla and Taylor — telling stories about their dad as they sit in front of family photos. His campaign is launching a six-figure buy on digital, cable and broadcast television this week.
“He always shows up: for family dinner, for our games, to help with homework — even when he’s not helpful,“ the daughters say. “He shows up for everyone, coworkers, neighbors and our whole community. For anyone who’s getting hurt or needs a hand.”
Poindexter has leaned on his working-class background and a focus on affordability issues in his campaign against Miller, without explicitly making an issue of Miller’s legal battle with his ex-wife. In the “Daughters” ad, Poindexter again attempts to thread the needle, amplifying his family values and commitment to community without attacking Miller directly.
Miller is facing allegations of abuse from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno. Miller has denied any wrongdoing, including accusations that he poured hot water on Emily Moreno, held a gun to her head and broke his daughter’s collarbone.
The allegations have put national spotlight on the competitive Cleveland-area district, and Democrats are investing to flip the seat.
The ad ends with Poindexter saying in a voiceover, “I’m not going to D.C. for me. I’m going for my daughters — and yours.”
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