Congress

Capitol agenda: Trump turns to Massie after Cassidy revenge

Published

1 month ago

May 19, 2026

President Donald Trump’s grip on the Republican party will be tested again in Kentucky’s primary Tuesday where he’s trying to oust longtime nemesis Rep. Thomas Massie.

In what’s been deemed Trump’s monthlong “revenge tour,” the president has successfully sunk the reelection campaigns of members of his own party who have refused his demands, including several Indiana state lawmakers and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy.

Massie would be the ultimate trophy in Trump’s payback crusade. The House member has been a growing thorn in Trump’s side for years, opposing the Iran war, aid to Israel and pressing for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Trump endorsed Massie’s opponent and former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein as both sides poured tens of millions of dollars into what has been billed the most expensive House primary in history.

A Massie loss could essentially quash any internal GOP dissension as he moves into the lame-duck phase of his presidency. A win, however, could embolden Massie and other internal critics, further deepening intraparty fractures as Trump’s approval ratings slumps.

Although Trump got his revenge on Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican said he isn’t planning on striking back — yet.

Cassidy — facing his own lame-duck future after a stunning loss Saturday — seemed to set himself up as a potential White House adversary during his concession speech, hitting Trump with veiled criticisms. The two-term senator chairs the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions panel and sits on the Senate Finance panel, putting him in a position of veto power over key nominees.

And in interviews with reporters Monday, Cassidy declined to say how he’d handle tricky upcoming votes on the Iran war or an immigration enforcement bill.

Still, Cassidy batted down any suggestion he is now liberated to challenge Trump head-on, and he largely avoided addressing Trump directly.

“Am I going to deliberately push back on things? No, I’m going to do what’s good for my country and my state,” he said.

Cassidy also made a general pitch for Washington to be more bipartisan.

“I’m trying to give a better vision of how we should do things. Do you realize that it’s hard to get anything done now?” Cassidy replied when asked if he’s frustrated with Trump.

“We need to have leadership supporting unity,” he said.

What else we’re watching:

— DEM CAUCUSES BLOW UP BIPARTISAN BILLS: Key Democratic caucuses announced their opposition to two formerly “bipartisan” bills on Monday evening, effectively killing the prospects for SCORE Act passage this week and narrowing the path for another measure. The Congressional Black Caucus yesterday stated its members would unanimously reject the SCORE ACT, a college athletics regulation bill. Republican leaders later Monday night told members they’d have to pull the SCORE Act from the floor schedule as support from across their own conference was also soft.

— BLANCHE TESTIFIES AS ‘SLUSH’ FUND, EPSTEIN ROILS DEMS — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s testimony Tuesday could be a watershed moment for his chances of leading the agency on a more permanent basis. Blanche may use a Senate appropriations subpanel hearing to defend his more controversial moves while leading the Justice Department. The DOJ Monday unveiled a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to pay claims to people Blanche called “victims of lawfare and weaponization.” Democrats pounced on what they called a “slush fund,” arguing Trump may reward his own allies and defendants convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Alex Gangitano, Riley Rogerson, Meredith Lee Hill and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.

Congress

Mitch McConnell is still in the hospital after medical episode, his office says

Published

3 hours ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Mitch McConnell remains hospitalized, his office said in a statement Thursday — without offering details about a recent medical episode that has renewed concern about the health of the former Republican majority leader.

McConnell “continues his recovery in the hospital” and “continues to improve,” his office said.

“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” the statement said. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

The statement did not explain why he was hospitalized last month.

The update comes after multiple outlets reported details of a first responder dispatch call indicating emergency medical personnel responded to McConnell’s home last month to treat an unconscious person who had experienced “cardiac arrest.”

Blue Light News has not independently verified the dispatch call.

The 84-year-old senator, who is retiring at the end of this term, has experienced multiple medical incidents in recent years. On two occasions in 2023, he froze while speaking with reporters. He has also suffered multiple falls and temporarily used a wheelchair, a move his office described at the time as a precautionary measure.

Congress

House Ethics says it doesn’t have information to share on lawmaker sexual misconduct settlements

Published

11 hours ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House adopted a resolution Tuesday requiring the House Ethics Committee to release information on taxpayer funds used to pay out sexual misconduct settlements with lawmakers — but the committee now says it has no information it can share.

In a statement Thursday, the committee reiterated it does not manage sexual harassment lawsuits or their settlements; taxpayers have not footed the bill for those payments since 2018.

Since that time, according to the statement, “the Committee has not been notified of any awards or settlements relating to allegations of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, or other sexual misconduct by a Member.”

Instead, the bipartisan Ethics Committee said it was up to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights to publicly release a list of each member who has received settlements for sexual misconduct allegations, as mandated by the resolution championed by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.).

The committee, in the Thursday statement, said it “fully supports the release of information about sexual misconduct settlements and calls on OCWR to abide by [the resolution] and make publicly available information about Member sexual misconduct matters resulting in payment of taxpayer funds.”

Massie, in a text message Thursday, said “OCWR can release it.”

The OCWR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bipartisan Ethics Committee has been under pressure in recent months to show it takes allegations of sexual misconduct against colleagues seriously. Two former House members — Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) — were forced to resign earlier this year amid serious accusations against them.

The renewed reckoning has prompted new questions about whether the House is up to the task of policing its own. The resolution earlier this week was adopted nearly unanimously, with just one member, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), voting “present.”

House Ethics Chair Michael Guest (R-Miss.) said in an interview earlier this week that while he would support Massie’s resolution, the relevant “information was already out in the public domain.”

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

AOC endorses El-Sayed in Michigan Senate race

Published

14 hours ago

July 2, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) endorsed Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign for Michigan’s open Senate seat on Thursday, a decision that comes as progressives look to capitalize off a series of recent high-profile primary victories in New York, Colorado and elsewhere.

Her endorsement could provide El-Sayed with a critical boost just over a month before the state’s Aug. 4 primary. The former public health official is locked in a heated contest against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow for the right to take on Republican Mike Rogers in the general election.

It also comes as El-Sayed has risen to the top of the pack in recent public polling.

Virtually any Democratic path to flipping the Senate in this year’s midterms would see the party hold the open Michigan Senate seat, with two-term Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) retiring at the end of his term.

The race has emerged as perhaps the largest battleground over the ideological future of the party. El-Sayed, who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018, has collected endorsements from progressives, while Stevens has the tacit backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, with AIPAC also boosting her candidacy.

El-Sayed, Ocasio-Cortez said in an interview with The New York Times, is her party’s best chance.

“Despite our ideological differences and whatever disagreements there are in the party, every single one of us sees this moment as existential,” she said. “And I think many people are willing to put aside differences in order to give us the best chance at winning. And I think that Abdul gives us that right now.”