Congress
Capitol agenda: Senate launches push for Graham’s final bill
The Senate is one step closer to achieving a top legislative priority of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham in a feat that seemed impossible a year ago.
Graham’s legislation targeting Russia with expanded sanctions got a huge boost Tuesday night with senators voting 86-12 to advance it. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — who a year ago faced waning support in Washington — pitched senators shortly before the vote as to how the bill could force Russia into peace talks and memorialize Graham.
The bill, which has President Donald Trump’s backing, still faces plenty of hurdles in the Senate and House.
With August recess looming, senators have little time to finish passing the legislation — and tackle the rest of their to-do-list — before leaving town. It will require all 100 senators, including the bill’s opponents, to cut a deal to speed up its consideration with amendment votes.
“I think we can start to winnow, hopefully, the list down,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said as he left the floor after the vote, referring to amendments.
Sen. Rand Paul, for example, is working on an amendment to rein in new tariff powers given to the president under the bill. Sen. Ron Wyden also wants a tariff-related amendment and is working with Paul.
Even if it gets through the Senate, there are still hurdles awaiting the legislation in the House. The top Democrats on the Foreign Affairs and Ways and Means panels came out in opposition of the bill earlier this month, as did the New Democrat Coalition.
Rep. Gregory Meeks said in a statement the Senate’s version “misses the moment,” but that he remained “open to negotiating a good faith compromise.” Meeks and Rep. Richard Neal both flagged opposition to the measure’s provisions expanding Trump’s tariff authority.
Still, Tuesday’s vote — capping a day of memorial ceremonies to honor Graham and his alliance with Ukraine amid its war with Russia — might prove pivotal in spurring momentum for the measure.
“I’m very thankful, this bill is so important,” Zelenskyy, who witnessed the vote from the Senate gallery, told reporters Tuesday night. “It’s not only about money and how Russia finances this war. It’s also a big signal to Europe, big signal to Ukraine, big support of our people.”
Read also: Zelenskyy finally gets Washington reading from the same playbook
What else we’re watching:
— CORNYN TO MEET WITH BLANCHE: Sen. John Cornyn, a deciding vote on whether Todd Blanche gets confirmed as attorney general, is meeting with Blanche on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning to hammer out his concerns. Cornyn, in exchange for his support, is pushing for ironclad modifications to the IRS settlement that created a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and immunized Trump from tax audits. “We need it in writing,” Cornyn said Tuesday night, adding he’d meet with Blanche at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
— VOUGHT MEETS SENATE GOP AS BUDGET PLAN EXPANDS: White House budget director Russ Vought and Trump’s top legislative aide, James Braid are scheduled to speak to Senate Republicans during a weekly lunch Wednesday as the administration eyes dramatically expanding the GOP’s third party-line bill. Thune said Tuesday the White House wants to broaden the budget framework, which comes after the House adopted a slimmer resolution before leaving for recess — putting an already uncertain timeline for the measure further in doubt.
Riley Rogerson and Chris Marquette 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.
- 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
- Pritzker says he’s lost 80 pounds on GLP-1 since diabetes diagnosis
- Michigan’s Gary Peters to teach at USC after retirement
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