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.
Sen. Ron Johnson is sending a letter Monday requesting a conference meeting to discuss the midterm results and a delay in the leadership election.
Johnson has gathered enough signatures to force the meeting under the Senate GOP’s rules and is proposing the gathering for 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“Tuesday’s result was a stunning defeat,” Johnson and his backers write in the letter to Conference Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO. “Holding leadership elections without engaging in a robust discussion and evaluation of how those running for leadership intend to lead would be political malpractice”
Republicans still expect their leadership election to be held Tuesday, where Majority Leader John Thune is so far unopposed to lead the party next year in the minority.
Sen. Chris Murphy announced Friday that he has been released from the hospital after suffering a stroke last week, but will miss “several weeks” of Senate votes while he continues to recover.
“The doctors are very encouraged by the progress I’ve made so far,” the Connecticut Democrat said in a statement. “In order to take my recovery seriously and get back to work on the quickest timeline possible, I will be spending several weeks at a rehabilitation center after being discharged from the hospital today.”
He added that he remains in touch remotely with his staff and colleagues.
Murphy, who was hospitalized last weekend, said Friday that he was “diagnosed with a small bleed in the thalamus region of my brain.” Jose Suarez, the Chief of Neurosciences Critical Care at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, said in a separate statement released by Murphy’s office that the senator “experienced a small hemorrhagic stroke.”
“He has shown tremendous progress, and at the current rate of improvement, we expect that he will make a full recovery following rehabilitation,” Suarez added.
Murphy is the latest senator to suffer a stroke in recent years. Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) were both hospitalized for strokes in 2022. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), at that time a Senate candidate, also had a stroke in 2022 that he later described as near fatal.
The head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said his group will still be power brokers in a massive Democratic majority in a strategy memo previewing plans for next term.
“While some in the press have speculated that a majority of this size undermines our influence within the caucus, they have it exactly backwards,” Rep. Greg Casar of Texas said in the Friday memo obtained by Blue Light News. “Big majorities are good for getting big things done. Our goal is not to win a battle against other Democratic caucuses. It is to pass longstanding progressive priorities that bring down costs, root out corruption, and boost wages.”
The CPC will have at least 105 members next term, according to the memo. If Democrats had a narrow majority, progressives — and any other faction in the caucus — could have used their votes as leverage. Now that presumptive speaker Hakeem Jeffries will have as many 30 votes to spare, Democrats broadly are recalibrating their approach next term.
Casar laid out a “three-pronged” strategy for the CPC to “wield our power” in the three-page memo — tackling legislation, oversight and “holding Donald Trump to his word on populist economic policies.”
“Small majorities give corporate special interest groups the ability to block popular populist policies by recruiting a small number of opponents; a big majority gives us the advantage,” he said.
Casar previewed how the CPC can engage with Trump, noting that “one of the few bright spots for bipartisan lawmaking” was a housing bill that banned private equity firms from buying homes. He noted the caucus should push Trump to cap credit card interest rates, lower credit card fees for small businesses and lower prescription drug costs.
“While we oppose [Trump] strongly on the vast majority of fronts, we should send bills to his desk that would lower prices and raise paychecks. If he signs them, good. If he vetoes those bills, that will propel us to a continued Democratic majority and a trifecta where a Democratic president can sign these proposals into law,” he said.
Casar also outlined oversight targets beyond the administration, urging Democrats to specifically investigate corporations that use customer data for “surveillance pricing,” health care companies that are “taking advantage of seniors” through the Medicare Advantage program and artificial intelligence labs who are “putting jobs and lives at risk.”
“By focusing not just on the Trump administration but also on big corporations and billionaires, we will show the American people we are not just anti-Trump but also pro-worker and pro-consumer,” he said.
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