Congress
Capitol agenda: Trump’s tariff test
At least three Senate Republicans are poised to mark President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” escalation of his trade war by formally rebuking a key piece of his tariff strategy. Trump is fighting back.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski revealed Tuesday that she will vote for a resolution from Sen. Tim Kaine that would end the national emergency Trump is using to levy a blanket 25 percent tariff on Canadian imports. She joins Sen. Rand Paul, who co-sponsored Kaine’s resolution, and Sen. Susan Collins, who said she is “very likely” to support it when it comes up for a vote that’s expected Wednesday.
If the trio follows through, Vice President JD Vance will have to be on hand to break a tie to help the Senate GOP block it. Sens. Chuck Grassley — one of many farm-state Republicans concerned about the Canadian tariffs — and John Cornyn were noncommittal Tuesday about how they might vote. The measure is likely DOA in the House in any case.
But Trump isn’t letting it go. In a 12:58 a.m. post, Trump urged Murkowski, Paul, Collins and Sen. Mitch McConnell to “get on the Republican bandwagon, for a change.”
“To the people of the Great States of Kentucky, Alaska, and Maine, please contact these Senators and get them to FINALLY adhere to Republican Values and Ideals,” Trump said.
Ahead of Trump’s Wednesday afternoon Rose Garden event marking his next round of tariffs, the GOP dissent on Blue Light News represents a significant political rift in the party about the sweeping economic consequences of his sometimes-unpredictable trade policies.
As Blue Light News reported Tuesday, many “Wall Street traders, lawmakers, industry leaders, foreign officials and even some members of the president’s team see only dread” ahead of Trump’s big announcement.
“Part of that is Trump’s negotiating style, to keep people he’s negotiating with, other countries, off balance. But he himself has said there’s going to be short term disruption, so of course people are concerned about that,” said Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican who plans to vote against the resolution.
“We’ll have to see if it works,” he added.
What else we’re watching
— Trump, Thune huddle on the budget: Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Budget Republicans will meet with Trump Wednesday morning as they try to convince fiscal hawks to back a budget blueprint that would unlock the president’s sprawling legislative agenda. Senate Republican leaders are sticking with their plan to try to approve a budget this week, even as they scramble behind the scenes to lock down the votes. Several GOP senators are withholding support and say they don’t yet understand the strategy.
— Good news, bad news for Johnson: After a day of chaos in the House, a pair of Florida special elections to replace former Reps. Mike Waltz and Matt Gaetz went the GOP’s way — but had some warning signs for Republicans ahead of the midterms. While Speaker Mike Johnson’s majority is intact for now, he’s poised to face further fallout in the coming days over his failed attempt to derail Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s push to allow proxy voting for new parents.
— Crypto vote: House Financial Services Republicans on Wednesday are set to advance landmark cryptocurrency legislation that would create new rules for stablecoins. After that, they will have to reconcile their approach with similar legislation moving in the Senate.
President Donald Trump and top White House officials are privately lobbying Republican senators to delay a ban on intoxicating hemp that’s set to kick in this fall.
At the Trump administration’s urging, the government funding patch the Senate is working to pass this week would push off the forthcoming ban of some cannabis products derived from hemp. But several Republican senators are demanding a vote to strip the delay out and let that prohibition kick in come November.
They’re hearing from the White House about it.
Trump called Sen. Ted Budd on Tuesday night, after the North Carolina Republican filed an amendment to ensure the ban kicks in as mandated on Nov. 12, according to a Senate aide granted anonymity to describe the private discussion. On the call, the president discussed creating a federal regulatory framework for hemp but did not ask Budd to withdraw his amendment, the individual added.
“I’ve been asked by lots of people to stand down on this amendment,” Budd told reporters Wednesday.
Budd noted that the Trump administration has had almost nine months to come up with a plan for implementing the ban.
“So why all of a sudden pop up for some seemingly innocent delay?” he asked, accusing the White House of instead preparing to “jam this on some must-pass” funding package at year’s end to further delay the prohibition.
A White House official granted anonymity to discuss the private debate said the Trump administration is seeking “a modest four-week delay” through the Dec. 11 expiration of the funding patch “to allow for productive conversations to continue.” Some synthetic cannabis products would be permanently banned in the meantime, the official added.
The administration lobbying has successfully swayed some Senate Republicans, such as Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who said in an interview that “the White House has committed to me that they’re committed to regulate the industry.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of hemp-rich Kentucky said the issue came up “in a big way” during Senate Republicans’ private lunch meeting Wednesday. Paul said he spoke in support of delaying the ban and said those arguing for a delay “aren’t very rational.”
“They’re wanting to hold up the funding for the government over one month,” he said. “It’s kind of insane.”
Grace Yarrow contributed to this report.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is in the Capitol meeting with holdout GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Bill Cassidy of Louisiania as he tries to lock down their support for his confirmation as permanent leader of the Justice Department.
Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) declined to respond directly Wednesday to Speaker Mike Johnson’s refusal to denounce his former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller over abuse accusations leveled by Moreno’s daughter: “These aren’t accusations in my world,” he said.
“In my world, this is the reality,” Moreno told reporters at the Capitol. “This is not something that is theoretical to me. This is my lived reality of my daughter and my family every single solitary day.”
In an interview with Dasha Burns for Blue Light News’s The Conversation, Johnson declined to take sides in the dispute between Miller (R-Ohio) and Emily Moreno. He called for a House Ethics probe to “play out.”
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