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Capitol agenda: Trump’s trade rep takes the hot seat

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2 years ago

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Republican senators desperate for an off-ramp to Trump’s escalating trade war want to know Donald Trump’s endgame now — even as GOP leaders pledge to give the president “space” to let his market-tanking tariff gamble play out.

Expect it all to play out in front of Senate Finance, where Trump’s top trade representative Jamieson Greer testifies starting at 10 a.m. It’s the first of two annual Hill hearings this week on the president’s trade policies that will now serve to show the scope of the fallout from Trump’s blanket-tariff strategy.

Republicans are eager to hear more about potential trade deals that could help calm the markets. “The faster we can get some negotiations done and resolved, the better,” committee member Sen. James Lankford told Blue Light News on Monday.

Indeed, Greer plans to argue that Trump’s tariff strategy is “already bearing fruit,” according to a copy of his prepared remarks that we reviewed. “Nearly 50 countries have approached me to discuss the president’s new policy and explore how to achieve reciprocity,” he plans to say.

But Trump is still playing coy about whether he intends to negotiate, even after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s weekend warning to the president that he needs to focus more on cutting deals or risk a further economic meltdown. Trump on Monday threatened to slap an additional 50 percent tariff on China, disparaged the idea of a trade deal with the European Union and did not announce a tariff agreement with Israel during a closely watched meeting with PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Turning his attention to Blue Light News, he mocked his trade-policy critics as “Weak and Stupid” while pledging to veto bipartisan legislation from GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley — and backed by a half-dozen other Republicans — that would return some control over enacting tariffs to Congress. GOP Rep. Don Bacon is pursuing similar legislation in the House. Neither are likely to see floor action.

The salvos appeared to have their intended effect: Outright breaks with Trump’s brash trade policy remain limited inside the GOP. Greer has been a key part of the pacification effort — privately briefing Hill Republicans over the past few weeks in an attempt to assuage nervous free-market-supporting members.

Greer can certainly expect a grilling from Senate Democrats. Ranking member Ron Wyden plans to slam the administration for offering “no clear message” about how Trump chose his tariff targets and how long he plans to keep them up, according to prepared remarks Blue Light News reviewed. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ message: The blanket tariffs are “illegal and another step toward authoritarianism.”

What else we’re watching:

– Budget business: GOP leaders are planning to bring the Senate-approved budget resolution to the Rules Committee today — but there are still plenty of hurdles to leap before a planned vote on Wednesday. Several hard-liners still want steeper spending cuts, even after Johnson stopped by the House Freedom Caucus on Monday night.

– Trump’s military moves: Bipartisan concerns about reports that the Trump administration is considering major changes to military posture in Europe are likely to take center stage when House Armed Services hears today from the commander of U.S. forces in Europe, Gen. Christopher Cavoli. Chair Mike Rogers plans to raise his objections to a reduced U.S. role in Europe.

– SNAP takes the spotlight: House Agriculture will convene this morning to discuss “the power of work” related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — the first public meeting this Congress about House Republicans’ plan to cut agriculture spending.

Jordain Carney, Daniel Desrochers, Joe Gould, Benjamin Guggenheim, Ari Hawkins, Connor O’Brien, Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

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Clean energy group sets its sights on a new GOP target: Lauren Boebert

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7 hours ago

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October 7, 2026

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A clean energy group is launching a $1.5 million spend against Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), its latest effort this midterm cycle targeting Republicans who actively work against renewables.

The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition’s first ad in the spend, which was obtained by Blue Light News, focuses on an embarrassing incident for Boebert: when she was ejected from a live musical performance of “Beetlejuice” for allegedly vaping, singing and recording the show.

“If Lauren Boebert can’t be trusted in a room full of kids, then she can’t be trusted in the halls of Congress,” the ad says.

The spot makes no mention of clean energy or Boebert’s attacks on the so-called “Green New Scam.” The strategy mimics the group’s previous playbook that it has deployed to help defeat Reps. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) in their Republican primaries earlier this year, as the latter two sought statewide office. The PAC had tried to paint Ogles as an absentee member of Congress and Roy as insufficiently MAGA.

The group, which is backed by solar executives, has become an increasingly forceful player this cycle, which has seen a massive influx of outside spending.

“This industry has been villainized and used as a punching bag at times by the right, and the industry hasn’t always punched back,” said Chris Coffey, the CEO of Tusk Strategies, which is helping run the group. “Maybe when they’re deciding who to villainize next year, they will at least be like, ‘You know what? I don’t need problems with those guys.’”

Boebert’s district is historically deeply red. But Invest in Tomorrow also commissioned a poll, which shows she is underwater: 39% of likely voters view her favorably and 55% view her unfavorably. It also found Boebert leading the district’s Democratic nominee Eileen Laubacher by 5 points.

The poll, conducted by Impact Research from Sept. 21 to 24, polled 403 likely voters and had a margin of error of ±4.8%.

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Trahan unveils AI liability discussion draft

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15 hours ago

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October 7, 2026

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Rep. Lori Trahan on Wednesday unveiled a discussion draft for a bill that would make artificial intelligence developers liable when their products cause harm.

The legislation comes after OpenAI’s agents escaped containment and autonomously hacked into AI platform Hugging Face and accessed U.S. government websites.

The Clear Liability for Artificial Intelligence Misconduct Act aims to make it easier for those harmed by so-called rogue AI to bring claims against developers. Trahan’s bill does not preempt new state laws on AI liability — historically a prerequisite for attracting Republican support in the House.

“When someone breaks the law and hurts you, you can take them to court. That shouldn’t change just because the wrongdoer is an AI agent,” Trahan (D-Mass.) said in a statement. “Developers have already built systems capable of acting on their own and causing real damage. The CLAIM Act makes sure they answer for what their systems do.”

Legal experts have warned that existing laws require proof of intent or negligence, standards that can be difficult to show in court when AI models go rogue.

Trahan’s bill would ensure AI developers are unable to argue that their AI systems are incapable of intent. Instead, courts “would presume an AI system acted with the state of mind a person taking the same actions would have had.”

Trahan spokesperson Francis Grubar said work on the CLAIM Act began almost immediately after theJuly introduction of the FRONTIER Act, legislation with Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) that would grant the government power to restrict the deployment of AI models deemed to pose catastrophic risks. While that bill aims to prevent serious harms before they happen, Grubar said the CLAIM Act would address how to impose accountability for existing damages.

Unlike an AI liability proposal announced last week by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Trahan’s legislation would not amend the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Grubar said the CLAIM Act would instead impose clearer liability on a broader range of harms, as well as autonomous or AI-enabled cyberattacks.

The CFFA, an anti-hacking law that bars individuals from accessing a computer without consent, requires proof of intent to hack into a computer system, which can’t be as easily applied to AI agents.

The Hugging Face incident, along with a flurry of other disclosed hacking incidents by rogue AI agents from OpenAI and other AI developers, has sparked a debate over how companies should be held legally liable for their AI systems.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in an interview with Blue Light News’s Decoded podcast, said there should be a new “liability framework” to hold developers accountable for AI-powered cyberattacks. His comments come after White House officials like Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, who was recently appointed as AI czar by President Donald Trump, previously said that existing product liability laws are sufficient for now in addressing AI’s risks.

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Vance to sit for CBS town hall in Michigan ahead of midterms

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15 hours ago

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October 7, 2026

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Vice President JD Vance will take questions from Michigan voters in a CBS News town hall airing Oct. 17 as the Trump administration prepares a closing message to voters ahead of the midterms.

The town hall comes amid a blitz of campaign events for Vance and President Donald Trump as their party faces multiple headwinds that could cost them control of the House and Senate.

Michigan’s Senate contest between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers has become one of the cycle’s closely watched battleground contests. Michigan also has several competitive House races and will elect a new governor for the first time in eight years.

Vance campaigned in Michigan with Rogers, gubernatorial nominee John James and Mike Bouchard Jr., the GOP nominee in the 10th Congressional District, at an Aug. 31 rally in Sterling Heights. Rep. Lisa McClain also appeared at the event.

The one-hour special, moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Tony Dokoupil, will be recorded earlier in the week. Vance and Dokoupil will discuss issues facing voters, including affordability, tariffs, immigration, health care, artificial intelligence, the war with Iran and the state of American democracy, according to CBS News.

The two were scheduled for a town hall interview in March, but the vice president postponed due to the war with Iran.

The vice president’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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