Connect with us

Congress

Capitol agenda: Trump’s tariff test

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Congress

Floor arm-twisting continues

Published

on

The House floor has been frozen for more than an hour now as GOP hard-liners dig in against a procedural vote to move ahead with consideration of extending a government surveillance law, a farm bill and a budget blueprint for a party-line immigration bill.

GOP leaders have been seen huddling with holdouts on the House floor and have so far been able to flip Reps. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, and Andy Biggs and Eli Crane of Arizona. Speaker Mike Johnson will need to flip several holdouts to be able to proceed.

Five Republicans, however, are still standing firm. That includes Reps. Troy Nehls and Keith Self of Texas, as well as Reps. Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, Tim Burchett of Tennessee and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania. GOP leaders have been seen in huddles with the hard-liners, several of which have still not voted. Though a few have since voted for the rule after talking to GOP leaders.

Many Colorado Republicans also haven’t voted yet, with several of them concerned about small refinery language added to a E15 sales bill that will merge with the farm bill upon passage.

Continue Reading

Congress

House Oversight sets date for Pam Bondi deposition

Published

on

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi will appear May 29 for a deposition before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, a panel spokesperson said Wednesday.

The announcement came after committee Democrats said they would pursue contempt charges against Bondi after she failed to appear for an earlier deposition as part of Oversight’s investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and the Department of Justice’s handling of the federal inquiry into the late convicted sex offender.

In a sign of Republican efforts to quickly preempt Democrats’ action, ranking member Robert Garcia of California was taken by surprise by the development during a news conference Wednesday morning to roll out the contempt resolution.

Since the bipartisan vote to compel Bondi’s testimony earlier this year, she has been ousted, and her former deputy, Todd Blanche, has assumed the role of acting attorney general.

Continue Reading

Congress

Capitol agenda: Nobody’s making Mike Johnson’s week easy

Published

on

We’ll find out Wednesday if Speaker Mike Johnson can cross off something—anything—from his long to-do list this week.

The House meets Wednesday morning to vote on a procedural step to advance three legislative priorities: government spy powers that expire Thursday, the farm bill, and a budget resolution for immigration enforcement funding.

But after a weeks-long standoff over how to proceed on reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the sweeping agricultural policy bill and the budget framework, House Republican leadership doesn’t appear to have the votes to advance anything.

And some House and Senate Republicans want President Donald Trump to get involved to break the stalemates.

Here are the battles Johnson is facing within his own caucus and the Senate:

— FISA: A growing number of House Republicans are livid Congress is barreling toward a three-year FISA extension with a House plan Senate Majority Leader John Thune has warned is “dead on arrival.”

“Our team has spent too much time with approximately 10 of our members who want compromises the other 210 don’t want,” Rep. Don Bacon said. “Meanwhile there’s about 40 Dems who are willing to support. This is dysfunction.”

As the House activity flounders, the Senate is negotiating its own FISA extension, multiple senators told Blue Light News. Members are currently looking at a three-year extension paired with some changes, according to three senators. But Sen. John Kennedy warned that there was “heartburn” over that length for an extension, adding: “I don’t think we have the votes in the Senate.”

Even if the House is able to move the procedural rule Wednesday, the Senate won’t swallow a ban on central banking digital currency attached to the measure upon passage.

“That’s not happening,” Thune said in an interview about linking the two matters.

— FARM BILL: Rep. Chip Roy sent the first warning Tuesday night that the rule’s fate was at risk. GOP leaders’ plan to tack on language green-lighting year-round sales of E15 gasoline blend was “E15 crap,” he said, adding it is still a problem with conservative hardliners.

Rep. Lauren Boebert later announced she would vote against the rule after many of her amendments for rural constituents introduced in the Rules hearing were voted down.

House GOP leaders’ plan to simply add E15 legislation to the farm bill is also looking dead on arrival in the Senate. Privately, GOP senators and aides told Blue Light News they’re going to write their own farm bill and haven’t agreed to add the E15 language to it, as they feel that provision won’t clear the chamber.

— IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT: Johnson tried to press his members in a closed-door meeting Monday night to approve the narrow, Senate-approved budget resolution as-is that would set up a path to fund immigration enforcement. The Department of Homeland Security funding lapsed more than two months ago.

Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith, who wants a more expansive bill to fund the department — as do other key House GOP chairs — declined to say if he would support the measure if Johnson put it on the floor in its narrow form.

“I’m just listening to all the conversations,” Smith said in a brief interview.

Johnson can only lose a couple of votes on the rule Wednesday with full attendance.

What else we’re watching: 

— WARSH VOTE IN SENATE BANKING —  Few if any Democrats are expected to support Kevin Warsh when the Senate Banking panel takes up his nomination to serve as Fed chair Wednesday. The panel is still expected to advance Trump’s pick to replace outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, putting him on a glide path to confirmation. But Warsh’s potential lack of Democratic support stands in stark contrast to Powell’s years as a bipartisan force on Blue Light News.

— WHAT MEMBERS WILL ASK HEGSETH — Republicans and Democrats see Pete Hegseth’s hearing before the House Armed Services panel Wednesday as a rare chance to get direct, public answers from the Defense secretary. The hearing is Hegseth’s first congressional testimony outside of classified sessions since the start of the Iran conflict.

Jordain Carney, Jasper Goodman, Victoria Guida and Leo Shane III contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Trending