Congress
Capitol agenda: Senate GOP eyes exit plan as trail calls
Senators dreaming of the smell of jet fumes might get their wish.
The chamber, initially scheduled to be in session until the beginning of October, is instead eyeing departure by the end of the week. To get there, though, Republicans will need to strike a time agreement with Democrats to fast-track the remainder of their work.
And while GOP members are antsy to spend more time in their states campaigning ahead of the midterms, some in their ranks are also uncomfortable that their final agenda items aren’t doing more to address issues voters increasingly care about — like the cost of living, data centers or AI safety.
For now, senators’ agenda includes: a sweeping college athletics bill, an Iran war powers resolution, a handful of nominees — including for labor secretary — and potential votes to roll back California’s stricter standards for vehicle emissions.
So far Democrats haven’t tipped their hand on whether they will agree to speed up consideration of the college sports legislation. Without a deal, the bill will drag into at least Friday evening, but Democrats first want details about the entire pre-recess agenda, according to two people granted anonymity to disclose private deliberations.
Whether the Senate will get around to doing something — anything — to address public alarm about the growing capabilities of artificial intelligence or pass permitting reform legislation remains to be seen.
Discussions are ongoing about whether the chamber will take a vote on Sen. Jon Husted’s so-called Ratepayer Protection Act, which aims to curb the energy costs associated with data centers.
Negotiators dragged past what was viewed as an unofficial deadline (over the weekend) to reach a deal to streamline energy permitting before the midterms.
Also to potentially get the boot if senators leave this week: a planned Senate Judiciary hearing next week with former special counsel Jack Smith.
Chair Chuck Grassley, asked last week, said “we gotta go ahead with that” hearing but added that he hasn’t grappled with an early dismissal: “Gosh, I haven’t thought about that.”
An aide of his chimed in saying the committee is “working on options” but that “it’s hard with the uncertainty” of the schedule.
What else we’re watching:
— SOARING DIESEL COSTS EXPOSE GOP SPLITS: Several farm state Republicans this week have all but begged President Donald Trump to do something to lower record-high diesel prices fueled by the Iran war, even if it means crossing their traditional allies in the oil and gas sector. The cacophony of outcry puts pressure on GOP leaders and exposes divisions among Republicans as members grapple with an unpopular war led by the president. Grassley posted over the weekend that high diesel prices are “KILLING FARMERS INCOME” and urged Trump to “put an embargo on diesel exports like presidents in the 70s put embargoes on ag products bc food prices were inflated.” Michigan’s GOP Senate candidate Mike Rogers on Monday also threw his support behind a “temporary embargo” on diesel exports and called for an end to the Iran war, as did Iowa Senate candidate Rep. Ashley Hinson in a Monday morning post. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks also called for diesel price relief.
— JEFFRIES SNAPS BACK AT GOLDEN: Hakeem Jeffries slammed exiting Rep. Jared Golden’s endorsement of a battleground Republican Monday, showcasing a rare display of frustration by the minority leader against a member who’s bucked his party multiple times this month. Jeffries and Democratic leaders were already weighing potential punishment for Golden after he twice in recent weeks was a key vote unfreezing Republicans’ floor agendas. On Monday, Golden twisted the proverbial knife by endorsing Rep. Mike Lawler in a district Democrats are spending millions of dollars in in an effort to flip. “Mike Lawler is an unadulterated phony who has never shown bipartisan courage when it matters,” Jeffries wrote in a statement that didn’t mention Golden by name. “In desperation, he is peddling an 11th hour endorsement from a retiring Congressmember who represents an out of town district more than 400 miles away.”
Jordain Carney, James Bikales, Rachel Shin and Riley Rogerson contributed to this report.
The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight committee is demanding the White House answer questions related to President Donald Trump’s decision to ban BLN, MS NOW and Blue Light News from the White House, calling it the president’s “most blatant, assault on press freedom.”
In a letter sent Monday to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) requested that Cheung provide by Oct. 5 a detailed account of when and how he was informed of the ban, how he responded, who was consulted before the decision, the legal justification for it, the facts the White House relied on and whether the outlets had any opportunity to respond.
“The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, not freedom from criticism,” wrote Garcia. “The American people need to understand what consideration—if any—the White House gave to this serious and unprecedented decision to protect the President’s ego.”
Garcia also asked for all White House staff documents and communications about the ban and for any other relevant materials to be preserved.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump on Friday announced that he was seeking to block journalists from Blue Light News, MS NOW and BLN from the White House, complaining about “constant ‘reporting’” of what he called “FICTION and LIES.” The Trump administration first denied the media outlets entry into the White House grounds on Saturday morning.
The three news organizations are now jointly suing Trump, Cheung and two other top advisers in a bid to immediately restore access for their reporters, calling the ban a “direct assault on the First Amendment.”
Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said Monday that the war with Iran “needs to end” to bring prices down, making him the second Republican to break with the White House on the issue that day.
“The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly,” Rogers said in a video published Monday to social media.
“Michigan families can’t afford to wait,” he added. “Here’s what we can do now: place a temporary embargo on Diesel exports. American energy should provide relief to American families first.”
Earlier Monday, Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican Senate candidate in Iowa, expressed similar frustrations about the war’s impact on Iowans’ pocketbooks. Both Rogers and Hinson called for a suspension of the state and federal gas tax in their statements.
Ahead of the midterms, GOP candidates have expressed concern about the war in the Middle East, saying it has made it difficult for them to run on affordability. The war with Iran, which began in February, has led to marked increases in gas and diesel prices. On Monday, regular gas was just over $4.45 per gallon, according to AAA; diesel prices hit a record of $6.50 per gallon.
Rogers, a former representative, is facing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the race for a Senate seat in battleground Michigan.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins warned Monday that President Donald Trump would be defying Congress if he moves forward with empowering top political appointees to decide who gets grant funding for health research.
“Any attempt to politicize grantmaking … is contrary to congressional intent,” the Maine Republican said in a statement.
Trump wants to issue an executive order to seat White House budget director Russ Vought and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya on a board that would decide which grants the NIH should fund, according to two administration officials granted anonymity to describe a private meeting in the Oval Office last Friday.
Following reports of that meeting, Collins noted Monday that the stopgap funding patch Congress cleared this summer bars the White House from finalizing a separate proposed rule to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, or “any substantially similar” plan.
The Office of Management and Budget “should not be involved in agency decisions on the awards of grants,” Collins said, adding that “imposing a political review … undermines the long-standing principle that the government funds awards based on scientific need and merit, rather than political ideology.”
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, called the White House’s latest idea an attempt to “take control over federal funding, so they can use it to punish their perceived enemies and reward their friends.”
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, warned that the move would mean “a single political appointee could kill a cancer study or an Alzheimer’s trial with no scientific reason at all.”
A spokesperson for House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole did not return a request for comment regarding the Oklahoma Republican’s position.
- Capitol agenda: Senate GOP eyes exit plan as trail calls
- ‘We need to stop the contagion’: GOP ramps up midterms defense in Trump states
- Abbott slaps halt on Texas data center permits
- Top House Oversight Dem demands answers to Trump’s media ban
- Mike Rogers says Iran war needs to “end quickly” amid rising prices
- The art of dealing with Trump
- Collins slams Trump plan to ‘politicize’ grants as defying Congress
- Big Ag and Big Oil go head-to-head over diesel export ban
- Hinson calls for end to Iran war amid soaring diesel costs
- Senior GOP appropriator pours cold water on funding Trump’s arch
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