Congress
Capitol agenda: What Johnson has to say about Max Miller
Read our latest coverage of yesterday’s primary results in Michigan, Missouri and elsewhere on our live Blue Light News blog.
Rep Chuck Edwards just announced he is dropping his re-election bid after the House Ethics Committee recommended a censure for inappropriate behavior with female staffers. But Rep. Max Miller says he is not backing down from his race amid domestic abuse allegations — and claims Speaker Mike Johnson has his back.
Johnson says he hasn’t talked to him.
The speaker sat down with Blue Light News’s Dasha Burns for an episode of The Conversation Tuesday night, where he was asked about Miller’s comments earlier in the evening that “Speaker Mike Johnson, everyone else — they’re standing behind me.”
“I haven’t spoken to Max about this in the last few days. Of course, I will,” Johnson said, adding “it’s not my business” to get engaged in members’ family matters. He called for a House Ethics investigation to “play out.”
Johnson’s comments break days of silence from House GOP leadership on the explosive allegations that have thrown the future of Miller’s re-election campaign into question. Miller is denying any wrongdoing.
Now the controversies around Miller and Edwards threaten to further distract from Republicans’ midterm pitch, as leaders like Johnson criss-cross the country this month trying to boost their candidates.
The White House is privately pressuring Miller to drop his reelection bid, four people with knowledge of the conversations said. But Miller is defiant, declaring he has zero intention of dropping out.
If Miller changes his mind, he has until the end of this week to exit the race if Republicans want to replace his name on the ballot.
Tuesday night, Johnson also addressed Edwards’ plight, saying the North Carolina Republican has “to make a big decision.” Edwards has accused the Ethics panel of overstepping in calling for his censure.
“I’ll provide counsel when we have that discussion, it will be a private discussion,” Johnson said. “I hope he does the right thing for him and his family.
Edwards faced a Monday deadline for Republicans to replace him on the ballot. Privately, House Republican leaders were pushing him to drop out, two people familiar with the discussions said.
What else we’re watching:
— THUNE TRIES TO IRON OUT SENATE SCHEDULE: The Senate will stay in session “for the next week or however long we’re here,” Thune said Tuesday, as Republican leadership struggles to reach an agreement with Democrats and some of their own to speed up consideration of legislation before recess break. Democrats want to know if Republicans plan to vote to advance the framework for a third party-line bill this week as well as force a vote on a cryptocurrency bill they oppose. Budget Chair Ron Johnson wants to discuss the budget framework’s path more in Wednesday’s Senate GOP lunch.
— SENATORS PICK SIDES ON BLANCHE: Todd Blanche picked up an important GOP vote Tuesday for his nomination as attorney general — Sen. John Curtis — likely leaving him just one vote shy of securing confirmation. Meanwhile, Sen. Susan Collins said she’d oppose him. The remaining undecided Republican senators are Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lisa Murkowski. Both said Tuesday they are still grappling with their decisions.
Jordain Carney, Chris Marquette and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
The ranking Democrat on the House Oversight committee is demanding the White House answer questions related to President Donald Trump’s decision to ban BLN, MS NOW and Blue Light News from the White House, calling it the president’s “most blatant, assault on press freedom.”
In a letter sent Monday to White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) requested that Cheung provide by Oct. 5 a detailed account of when and how he was informed of the ban, how he responded, who was consulted before the decision, the legal justification for it, the facts the White House relied on and whether the outlets had any opportunity to respond.
“The First Amendment guarantees freedom of the press, not freedom from criticism,” wrote Garcia. “The American people need to understand what consideration—if any—the White House gave to this serious and unprecedented decision to protect the President’s ego.”
Garcia also asked for all White House staff documents and communications about the ban and for any other relevant materials to be preserved.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump on Friday announced that he was seeking to block journalists from Blue Light News, MS NOW and BLN from the White House, complaining about “constant ‘reporting’” of what he called “FICTION and LIES.” The Trump administration first denied the media outlets entry into the White House grounds on Saturday morning.
The three news organizations are now jointly suing Trump, Cheung and two other top advisers in a bid to immediately restore access for their reporters, calling the ban a “direct assault on the First Amendment.”
Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
Michigan Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said Monday that the war with Iran “needs to end” to bring prices down, making him the second Republican to break with the White House on the issue that day.
“The war with Iran needs to end, and end quickly,” Rogers said in a video published Monday to social media.
“Michigan families can’t afford to wait,” he added. “Here’s what we can do now: place a temporary embargo on Diesel exports. American energy should provide relief to American families first.”
Earlier Monday, Rep. Ashley Hinson, a Republican Senate candidate in Iowa, expressed similar frustrations about the war’s impact on Iowans’ pocketbooks. Both Rogers and Hinson called for a suspension of the state and federal gas tax in their statements.
Ahead of the midterms, GOP candidates have expressed concern about the war in the Middle East, saying it has made it difficult for them to run on affordability. The war with Iran, which began in February, has led to marked increases in gas and diesel prices. On Monday, regular gas was just over $4.45 per gallon, according to AAA; diesel prices hit a record of $6.50 per gallon.
Rogers, a former representative, is facing Democrat Abdul El-Sayed in the race for a Senate seat in battleground Michigan.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins warned Monday that President Donald Trump would be defying Congress if he moves forward with empowering top political appointees to decide who gets grant funding for health research.
“Any attempt to politicize grantmaking … is contrary to congressional intent,” the Maine Republican said in a statement.
Trump wants to issue an executive order to seat White House budget director Russ Vought and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya on a board that would decide which grants the NIH should fund, according to two administration officials granted anonymity to describe a private meeting in the Oval Office last Friday.
Following reports of that meeting, Collins noted Monday that the stopgap funding patch Congress cleared this summer bars the White House from finalizing a separate proposed rule to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, or “any substantially similar” plan.
The Office of Management and Budget “should not be involved in agency decisions on the awards of grants,” Collins said, adding that “imposing a political review … undermines the long-standing principle that the government funds awards based on scientific need and merit, rather than political ideology.”
Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, called the White House’s latest idea an attempt to “take control over federal funding, so they can use it to punish their perceived enemies and reward their friends.”
Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, warned that the move would mean “a single political appointee could kill a cancer study or an Alzheimer’s trial with no scientific reason at all.”
A spokesperson for House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole did not return a request for comment regarding the Oklahoma Republican’s position.
- Top House Oversight Dem demands answers to Trump’s media ban
- Mike Rogers says Iran war needs to “end quickly” amid rising prices
- The art of dealing with Trump
- Collins slams Trump plan to ‘politicize’ grants as defying Congress
- Big Ag and Big Oil go head-to-head over diesel export ban
- Hinson calls for end to Iran war amid soaring diesel costs
- Senior GOP appropriator pours cold water on funding Trump’s arch
- Pritzker says he’s lost 80 pounds on GLP-1 since diabetes diagnosis
- Michigan’s Gary Peters to teach at USC after retirement
- Jared Golden crosses party lines again, endorsing Mike Lawler for reelection
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