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Democrats set to target multiple Senate GOP tax provisions

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Senate Finance Committee staff is expected to meet Monday with Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, with Republicans and Democrats presenting competing cases for whether health provisions of the pending GOP megabill comply with the chamber’s rules for party-line budget legislation.

That means the critical debate over trillions of dollars worth of proposed GOP tax cuts won’t happen with MacDonough until Tuesday, according to a Senate Democratic aide who was granted anonymity to share details of the private meetings.

Democrats will attempt to strip out a number of provisions from the legislation, arguing that they don’t meet the criteria for the filibuster-skirting reconciliation process. Among their many targets are provisions that would loosen regulations and eliminate taxes on firearm silencers and certain kinds of rifles and shotguns, the aide said.

Democrats will also target GOP provisions that establish a new certification system for tax credits for low- and middle-income workers. Democrats also want to strip out a generous new tax credit for donations to private school scholarships, the aide said.

Lastly, Democrats will raise a “long list” of issues associated with Republicans’ use of a new accounting method for their tax legislation, which would zero out the cost of extending trillions of expiring tax cuts from the GOP’s 2017 tax bill. The debate over the so-called current policy baseline will be consequential, with Democrats likely to sound the alarm that the unprecedented use of the maneuver would entirely erode long-standing budget rules.

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Congress

Oversight of WHCD ramps up on Capitol Hill

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The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, following a briefing Monday from U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran, said he saw “no indication” of a security lapse at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

“It’s a challenge to bring that many people, 2,500 or whatever the number was … but they gave us a good explanation,” the Illinois Democrat told reporters of Curran’s presentation to himself and the panel’s chair, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

Curran is currently making the rounds on Capitol Hill after a shooter attempted to blow past the magnetometers outside the hotel ballroom where President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson and several Cabinet members were in attendance.

The incident has prompted members of leadership and key committee chairs to request briefings with Curran. He also met Monday with House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chair James Comer (R-Ky.), according to a panel spokesperson, who added that they were trying to set up a briefing for all members take place later this week.

An aide with the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said the office had been in touch with Secret Service and the FBI and that the top Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, expected to be “briefed soon.” Spokespeople for Sen. Rand Paul, the committee’s chair, did not immediately respond to a question about if he would also be briefed.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter Monday asking Paul to hold a hearing in the wake of Saturday’s shooting, saying it could be used “to assess the adequacy of presidential security arrangements and resources in the current threat environment.”

Paul didn’t address whether or not he would hold a hearing when talking to reporters Monday, but said that his panel would investigate the security posture around Saturday’s dinner.

“We’re looking into it,” Paul said.

Durbin, meanwhile, said it was not clear whether Grassley intended to call for a hearing with Curran, and that his counterpart had not committed to next steps his committee might take.

“I appreciate Secret Service Dir Sean Curran coming 2my office 2day 4 bipart briefing w me+Sen Durbin USSS is closely reviewing its security posture+the attacker’s bkground Overall Secret Service response has been swift&transparent I commend their bravery + ongoing work,” Grassley wrote on X.

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Over 1,000 TSA officers have quit amid shutdown

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More than 1,110 officers at the Transportation Security Administration have quit since the ongoing DHS shutdown began Feb. 14, a spokesperson told Blue Light News on Monday.

That’s a sizable jump compared with a week ago, when DHS on April 20 said that over 830 TSA personnel had departed the agency due to the record-breaking lapse in appropriations.

The latest figure, first reported by Blue Light News, could have implications for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in June. The TSA spokesperson in a statement Monday said replacements need four to six months of training to “perform regular airport duties.” As of late March, there were about 50,000 TSA officers total, according to the White House.

In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin added that President Donald Trump via executive action has allowed DHS to “grab emergency funding” from last year’s GOP megalaw to pay department employees, but that money will be exhausted if the shutdown continues into the first week of May.

Should that occur, airport security lines could become snarled again, like they were earlier during the spending stalemate — which waylaid travelers across the country.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that a Senate-passed bill to fund most of DHS, including TSA, will have to change to get the House’s OK. That suggests there will be a further delay in reopening a large swath of the department.

During last fall’s 43-day federal shutdown, around 1,110 TSA officers left the agency, a 25 percent increase in separations compared with the same time frame in 2024.

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Jeffries says AI data centers will be Dem priority

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries signaled Monday that shielding consumers from rising electricity costs associated with the data center boom would be a priority on Democrats’ artificial intelligence agenda should they win back a majority.

The New York Democrat said at a press conference that Democrats want to ensure that “our homegrown companies can continue to lead the world in this transformative technology” but that “we’ve got to make sure we protect the American consumer.”

“We have to protect the American homeowner,” Jeffries said when asked by Blue Light News about how he is advising Democrats to talk about AI and what his related legislative priorities would be. “We have to protect the American rate payer from some of the downsides of the explosion of what has been taking place across the country, particularly in connection with data centers.”

Jeffries’ comment comes as House Democratic leadership’s AI priorities are beginning to crystallize. Earlier Monday, Republican Rep. Jay Obernolte and Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu — both members of leadership from California — introduced legislation to boost federal research on AI.

“We’ve maintained from the very beginning as House Democrats that we want to support innovation excellence, while at the same time making sure there are guardrails to protect the American people,” Jeffries said.

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