Congress

Capitol agenda: Trump turns to Massie after Cassidy revenge

Published

3 months 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

Jack Smith invited to testify before Senate next month

Published

3 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Jack Smith, the former special counsel who brought criminal charges against President Donald Trump, has been invited to testify Sept. 22 before the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to an invitation from Chair Chuck Grassley reviewed by Blue Light News.

Smith previously testified before the House Judiciary Committee in January, but Grassley (R-Iowa) and his team have been probing Smith and his investigations for months.

Grassley recently revealed that Smith obtained text messages that 44 members of Congress sent to White House officials during the waning months of Trump’s first term leading up to and around the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

Grassley’s texts were among those accessed by Smith’s team, along with Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

“In the process of a deeply flawed, weaponized investigation, Jack Smith subpoenaed phone toll records from a dozen senators, scooped up text messages from over 40 members of Congress, and subpoenaed the private communications and financial records of hundreds of other Republican entities and individuals,” Grassley said in a statement.

“He needs to answer directly to Congress for his actions,” Grassley added. “Smith has requested to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and our committee looks forward to hearing from him as part of Congress’ investigation into Arctic Frost and his time as Special Counsel. Smith must be honest and forthcoming in his answers, because the American people deserve nothing less than full transparency and accountability.”

Lawyers for Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

During the January hearing, Republicans focused on technicalities of how Smith investigated the probe into Trump’s election interference, such as whether he properly signed his oath of office and whether he was sufficiently versed on the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause that protects members of Congress from criminal investigation for their lawmaking actions.

Congress

Chuck Edwards recommended for censure by House Ethics Committee

Published

3 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House Ethics Committee recommended Monday that lawmakers censure Rep. Chuck Edwards for engaging in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers” — cataloguing multiple episodes of sexual harassment by the married lawmaker.

Censure is the most severe punishment the panel can recommend short of expulsion, requiring targeted members to submit to a public shaming on the floor. The bipartisan panel said it plans to bring a privileged resolution to a vote once the House returns to session later this month.

A spokesperson for Edwards, 65, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a 15-page rebuttal, lawyers for Edwards said that the Ethics Committee “failed to demonstrate that either of the two staffers expressed discomfort to Representative Edwards regarding his conduct with them.” They also rejected the need for censure, noting that it has been used “sparingly in this context and directed only at matters of severe sexual misconduct.”

The panel itself released a trove of evidence including emails, text messages and photographs showing how Edwards had insinuated himself into intimate aspects of their lives.

Edwards, the committee found, made comments on the appearance of two young female staffers in his congressional office, telling them they looked “pretty” or “breathtaking” and made a comment on one staffer’s weight. He also lavished the young women with gifts, including purses valued at more than $1,000, as well as guns, shoes, flowers and one-on-one dinners.

Text messages from one of the women showed Edwards at one point sent her more than 20 containers of ice cream because, he said, she needed “a lot of cheering up!”

Sexual harassment is prohibited by House rules and federal law, and the committee found that Edwards violated “the spirit of the House’s prohibitions on sexual harassment and unwanted advances, as well as the requirement to act in a manner that reflects credibly upon the House.”

The report found Edwards brought one of the staffers to a holiday event at the White House, gave her flowers and texted her how he was “so excited about tonight” and that he pressured her to continue the night with him after the event. Edwards told the committee he accompanied that staffer to her home in Virginia because he “felt uncomfortable dumping a young lady on the street.”

Edwards also talked to that staffer and others about going to strip clubs in Washington, the report says.

The panel concluded that Edwards did not engage in sexual activity with either of the women, nor did he explicitly proposition them or other staff members for sex. Edwards, who is facing a competitive race for reelection in his western North Carolina district, cooperated with the probe, the committee said.

In one instance, the panel found, Edwards skipped House votes one night to decorate the second staffer’s Christmas tree. He also went out drinking and gambling with her. On another occasion, he recited a poem at her going-away party in his office and cried during that incident, making his staff noticeably uncomfortable.

When the second staffer left his office, Edwards helped her move back to North Carolina and sent her a handwritten letter in which he described her as “the most amazing woman” and that she had “written a complex chapter in my heart that I will never stop reading.”

Edwards told the committee that letter was not romantic.

“It was only to imply that we had a relationship on so many different levels — on a congressional level, on a professional level, on a friendship level, on a helping-one-another-out-with-our-chores-and-responsibility level,” he said.

Congress

Cornyn, Tillis confirm they will vote for Blanche

Published

7 hours ago

August 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has a clear path to the Senate Judiciary Committee advancing his nomination to the permanent job after two GOP holdouts confirmed Monday they would vote for him.

The statement from Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) comes after the late-night announcement Sunday of a Justice Department agreement to clarify a controversial May settlement agreement between President Donald Trump and the IRS.

A successful Judiciary vote Tuesday would set Blanche up for confirmation on the Senate floor later this week, before the chamber breaks for August recess.

“We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Blanche and his staff for working with us on this, and we look forward to voting to advance his nomination out of the Senate Judiciary Committee soon,” Cornyn and Tillis said in a joint statement.

The senators suggested their agreement with Blanche also satisfies the concerns of several other Republican senators off the Judiciary Committee who have raised concerns about the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” created in the original settlement, as well as provisions immunizing Trump and his family from some tax audits.

“We are pleased that the Department of Justice has issued a formal order terminating the anti-weaponization fund. Additionally, the Department has acknowledged in a binding written order that the audit settlement is limited to the plaintiffs and the scope does not extend beyond the defendants in the lawsuit, the IRS and the Treasury, addressing concerns that multiple of our Republican colleagues share,” Cornyn and Tillis said.

Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, John Curtis of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are among the other Republicans who have expressed concerns about the payout fund. Blanche recently visited Alaska and announced a flurry of settlements benefiting Alaska as he courts Murkowski’s vote.