Congress
Capitol agenda: Trump huddles with House GOP
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
House Democrats introduce alternative war powers resolution
Half a dozen moderate House Democrats have introduced their own war powers resolution as the chamber barrels towards a floor vote later this week on a bipartisan measure to curb President Donald Trump’s use of force in Iran.
It’s a sign of how some Democrats are struggling to reconcile their opposition to the Trump administration’s military action with a desire to appear hawkish on national security — even in a largely symbolic capacity.
The new proposed resolution from the six lawmakers would call for an end to military operations in Iran within 30 days unless Congress provides authorization for use of military force or a declaration of war. In contrast, the resolution that is being forced for consideration Thursday from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) would require the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iran.
The co-sponsors of the alternative resolution are Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Jared Golden of Maine, alongside Reps. Jim Costa and Jimmy Panetta of California.
The Massie-Khanna resolution has little chance of becoming law, even if it makes it through the House — which is no guarantee. Still, there’s pressure on Democrats to take a unified stance in support of the bipartisan proposal and against the Trump administration’s actions, with Democratic leadership and ranking members of key committees urging a “yes” vote to rein in the president.
Asked about the new war powers resolution from members of his caucus, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a Tuesday news conference said he had not yet seen the legislative text.
“Our focus is on the resolution that will be on the floor this week,” the New York Democrat said.
Jeffries also said House Democrats will discuss the matter Wednesday afternoon, following an all-member House briefing scheduled for Tuesday evening with Trump administration officials on the unfolding situation in Iran.
“We’ll continue to make the strongest possible case,” Jeffries said. “There is going to be very strong Democratic support for the War Powers Resolution across the ideological spectrum.”
Bipartisan members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, of which Gottheimer is a co-chair, have discussed the matter during their own meetings in recent days. Many have shared concerns that the Massie-Khanna resolution is overly broad and would hamstring the administration regarding key national security efforts, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
Congress
Mike Rounds seeks Pentagon briefing on Anthropic spat
A top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee has requested a briefing from the Pentagon on its escalating feud with AI startup Anthropic, which has prompted the Trump administration to threaten to declare the company a supply chain risk.
“I’ll withhold judgment until I’ve had my briefing,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chair of the panel’s cybersecurity subcommittee, told reporters Tuesday, in response to questions from Blue Light News about the unprecedented move.
A supply chain risk designation would result in Anthropic being blacklisted from government contracts — something typically reserved for firms with ties to U.S. foreign adversaries. The technology company is expected to challenge such a designation in court.
The Defense Department and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Negotiations with the Pentagon over use of Anthropic’s AI systems hit a roadblock last week when the firm refused to lift restrictions on the military’s unfettered access to its technology. The startup had sought to stop its systems from being used in fully autonomous weapons systems or for domestic surveillance.
President Donald Trump, roughly one hour before the deadline to meet the Pentagon’s demands, directed all federal agencies to cease use of Anthropic’s AI and declared a six-month phase-out period in a post on Truth Social. Trump threatened “major civil and criminal consequences,” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an X post accused the company of endangering national security.
Last week, key defense policy lawmakers on Blue Light News urged a ceasefire as tensions between Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei escalated. Top Senate defense appropriators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), as well as Senate Armed Services Committee leaders Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), sent a letter to the two men expressing “concern over the escalatory direction of negotiations between the Department of Defense and Anthropic.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is retiring at the end of his term in 2027, also weighed in Tuesday, telling reporters: “They’re telling Anthropic that they should compromise their code of conduct to facilitate whatever it is Hegseth or somebody wants.” He added that this will give other AI upstarts the “green light” to cast aside imposing their own codes of conduct.
Congress
Lutnick agrees to testify in House Oversight’s Epstein probe
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has “proactively agreed to appear voluntarily” before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Chair James Comer announced Tuesday.
“I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement. “I look forward to his testimony.”
A date for Lutnick’s deposition is not yet known.
Lutnick has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes, and he continues to have the White House’s support. But he has faced calls for his resignation from Democrats after the Epstein files released by the Justice Department revealed the full extent of his relationship with the disgraced financier. Lutnick had previously suggested that he cut ties prior to Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a prostitute. The Commerce secretary later conceded the two men had lunch together following those charges.
Shortly before Comer’s announcement Tuesday afternoon that Lutnick would cooperate with the panel, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) shared her intention to force a vote to subpoena Lutnick during a House Oversight hearing scheduled for Wednesday on an unrelated topic. While committee Republicans have also expressed a desire to hear from Lutnick, his agreement to testify suggests that most GOP members would prefer to avoid having to take a politically uncomfortable vote to compel testimony from a high ranking Trump administration official — plus hand Democrats victory.
On Monday, the Oversight Committee released footage of a deposition with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where Mace accused Lutnick of operating as a “go-between between [Hillary Clinton] and Jeffrey Epstein raising money for [her].” Clinton has said her work with Lutnick was around the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, in which Lutnick’s company lost many employees.
Clinton said she never recalled meeting Epstein and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
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