Congress

Capitol agenda: Trump huddles with House GOP

Published

6 months ago

January 6, 2026

House Republicans will hear directly from President Donald Trump Tuesday for the first time since the administration’s extraordinary capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

A wider group of lawmakers who want answers on the operation will have to wait till Wednesday, when all House and Senate members are expected to get briefed by administration officials. So far, both Democrats and Republicans are grumbling about the lack of details from the White House on what’s next for Venezuela.

— Where things stand: Speaker Mike Johnson emerged from a leadership briefing Monday night and said he does not believe the U.S. will send troops to Venezuela. And he played down concerns that Trump and his deputies reneged on pledges not to pursue regime change in Venezuela.

“This is not a regime change,” Johnson said. “This is a demand for change of behavior by a regime.”

But other Republicans struck a more skeptical note. “I think what the president was trying to communicate is hopefully facilitating a peaceful transition of power,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who was not at the briefing. “I don’t know how you do that without boots on the ground. And I don’t support boots on the ground.”

The Senate is on track to take up a bipartisan war powers resolution Thursday aimed at constraining future Venezuela strikes. But don’t expect this attempt to succeed where prior ones have failed.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who entertained supporting past resolutions, said he would not vote for the measure “at this time.”

— Trump’s turn to talk: The president’s address to House Republicans Tuesday morning during their closed-door retreat at the Kennedy Center is expected to focus on touting GOP wins and rallying Republicans ahead of the midterms — not Venezuela.

GOP leaders plan to discuss their 2026 legislative agenda with the rank-and-file. That includes whether Republicans will tackle another reconciliation bill and how to deal with health care and affordability issues.

House Freedom Caucus members sent Johnson a letter Monday outlining policies they want to see accomplished in 2026, including reducing discretionary spending, codifying Trump’s border actions and preventing the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital currency.

— What Democrats are doing: Democrats are mulling options to force Venezuela-related votes, including during Tuesday’s Rules Committee hearing. Democrats expect Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) to reintroduce their own war powers resolution. And they are looking to keep the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in the spotlight on the five-year anniversary.

What else we’re watching:

— Jan. 6 anniversary split screen: Johnson broke his silence Monday on the long-running saga of the missing plaque honoring the police who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. His office made clear the plaque now sitting in storage won’t be hung on Johnson’s watch. The speaker’s comments come as House Democrats push to keep the attack in the public eye five years later. They are teeing up a Tuesday 10 a.m. presentation where they’re set to hear from former law enforcement officials, state officials, former members of the Democratic-led select panel and more.

— Appropriations moves: House and Senate GOP leaders are hoping to move a second funding package before the end-of-the-month shutdown deadline, according to four people granted anonymity to discuss the private strategy. That would be in addition to the three-bill package of Commerce-Justice- Science, Energy-Water and Interior-Environment, which the House will vote on this week and the Senate could take up as early as next week.

Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.

Congress

Johnson says he will send housing bill to Trump on Monday

Published

11 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Speaker Mike Johsnon said he plans to send President Donald Trump a bipartisan housing bill Monday, just days after the president abruptly canceled a signing ceremony for the legislation after Congress failed to pass his elections security act.

Speaking with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Johnson said the 21st Century ROAD To Housing Act is a Republican priority for lowering costs for Americans.

“I’m going to send the bill over to him on Monday, and it will become law,” the Louisiana Republican told host Maria Bartiromo. “I certainly want him to take the biggest, boldest marker that he has and do that big Trump signature proudly on that legislation because we’re delivering for the people, and that’s what he wants to do.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Johnson’s remarks.

The bill is the product of almost a year of back-and-forth between all four congressional corners and aims to increase affordability by boosting housing supply and home ownership. It passed both chambers of Congress with wide bipartisan support.

Trump was scheduled to sign the bill into law last week but canceled the ceremony “until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency.”

Trump’s SAVE America Act would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end mail-in voting. Trump has also said he would like the bill to include prohibitions on transgender athletes competing. But Republican leaders have repeatedly indicated the legislation does not have enough votes to pass.

Congressional leaders appeared taken aback by Trump’s signing cancellation, but Johnson on Sunday said he and the president have since met in the Oval Office to discuss the housing bill “in great detail.”

“We made a lot of promises to the voters, and we’re fulfilling those every single day of this Congress,” Johnson said. “This is a big part of that because this will increase the availability, the access to more housing, bring down cost, cut regulations, do the things we know are very important for that market. The president and I talked about that at length. Of course he wants to do those things.”

But if Trump does not sign the housing bill into law within the next few days, it would still become law unless he were to veto it. Congress also has the power to override a presidential veto.

Congress

Sen. Thom Tillis rails against Trump’s fixation on voting legislation

Published

11 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Thom Tillis on Sunday expressed frustration with President Donald Trump’s continued fixation on passing the SAVE America Act.

In an interview with BLN’s “Face the Nation,” the retiring North Carolina Republican lamented “the impossible task” of implementing the requirements of the legislation ahead of November’s crucial midterms.

“Why are we doing more things to undermine our confidence in elections, rather than getting the strong message out that will win for Republicans this year?” Tillis said.

Rather than promoting the bill — which would require voters to present a photo ID at the ballot box and effectively end widespread mail-in voting — Tillis said Republicans should tell voters about “the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America” while accepting the current voting laws.

“Win by the good results that Republicans have produced and stop undermining the confidence in the elections,” said Tillis. “This is a bedrock of our 250-year history of success as the democracy that changed the world. Let’s not mess with that between now and November.”

Trump has said the SAVE America Act is his “No. 1 priority” ahead of midterms, going so far as to abruptly cancel a bill signing for major bipartisan legislation on housing affordability until Congress passes his elections bill. But many Democrats are staunchly against the bill, arguing it could disenfranchise millions of voters, and Republican leaders in Congress have repeatedly indicated it does not have the votes to pass.

Tillis co-sponsored the original SAVE America Act but has objected to Trump’s version of the legislation, which would also bar transgender athletes from women’s sports.

It’s not the first time Tillis has clashed with Trump.

Earlier this year, Tillis blocked Trump’s Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, until the Justice Department dropped an investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He has also spoken out against the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” calling it a “payout for punks.” And he has emerged as a fierce critic of Bill Pulte, Trump’s interim director of national intelligence.

“Let’s try and figure out a way to completely and finally end these distractions so that we can focus on the damage Democrats could do if they take the House, if they beat incumbent Republicans in the Senate. That’s what Republicans need to be talking about between now and November,” Tillis said Sunday.

Congress

Sen. Bill Cassidy on Trump: ‘Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage’

Published

12 hours ago

June 28, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bill Cassidy appeared to question President Donald Trump’s view of Congress, saying in an interview that he is not sure Trump grasps that Congress “is a separate body, separate from the presidency.”

“Sometimes he acts as if Congress is merely an appendage, and, frankly, sometimes Congress acts like it’s an appendage,” the Louisiana Republican said in a pre-taped interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday.

The latest criticism in a public clash between the two leaders, Cassidy also told host Margaret Brennan that he would be focused on affordability, including the cost of health care and groceries, if he were president.

“If I were president, I would be focused on those people that they have, my people, our people, us at the kitchen table. How do you make their life better? And that’s what I think the president should be focused on,” Cassidy said.

The relationship between Cassidy and Trump has been rocky for some time. Cassidy was one of only a handful of Republican leaders who voted to convict Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Trump and Cassidy recently clashed in a closed-door meeting between GOP leaders, with Cassidy admitting he raised his voice to “match” the president’s.

“The president said something negative about me. I received it as attempting to bully me from asking a question that I think the American people need to know, and I’m not going to be bullied,” Cassidy said at the time.

However, after receiving a special briefing from Vice President JD Vance and special envoy Steve Witkoff, Cassidy changed his vote on a resolution designed to rein in Trump’s power to wage war against Iran.

“They said right now the negotiations are delicate, and they could collapse if they’re not nursed along in the appropriate way. I can accept that,” Cassidy said.

“That’s the reason they said for their kind of lack of being forthcoming. I can accept that, but my goal was to be briefed, to have the truth in order to make a decision for the benefit of my country, and that was satisfied.”

Still, Cassidy’s stance against Trump has cost him: After serving more than a decade in the Senate, Cassidy lost his campaign for renomination after Trump endorsed against him. Rep. Julia Letlow will be the Louisiana Republican Senate candidate this fall.