Congress
Details emerge on top Johnson aide’s DUI arrest
Speaker Mike Johnson’s chief of staff could not complete a sobriety test after twice striking a black Chevy Suburban with his white Tesla sedan, according to an affidavit from the officer who arrested him for driving under the influence last week.
The officer who responded just after midnight — about an hour after President Donald Trump completed his joint address to Congress — said that Hayden Haynes “was slurring his words when voice activating his vehicle to open the glove compartment,” had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and said he’d had four drinks over a four-hour period.
Haynes needed help putting his glasses in his pocket, the affidavit alleged, and was unable to complete the remainder of the field sobriety test because he was swaying from left to right.
When asked to provide a urine sample, Haynes dropped the cup into the toilet, according to the report, and when he was given an additional cup he could not provide a sample.
The unidentified person in the SUV Haynes allegedly struck contacted Capitol Police “by communications,” the document said, suggesting that it was a police vehicle.
The affidavit was including in charging documents filed in D.C. Superior Court Monday. Asked for comment on the allegations, a spokesperson for Johnson’s office reiterated the speaker’s support for his top aide. Haynes did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.
“The Speaker has known and worked closely with Hayden for nearly a decade and trusted him to serve as his Chief of Staff for his entire tenure in Congress,” said the spokesperson. “Because of this and Hayden’s esteemed reputation among Members and staff alike, the Speaker has full faith and confidence in Hayden’s ability to lead the Speaker’s office.”
Haynes’ arrest has not gone unnoticed by Johnson’s political foes. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) made reference to it at a rally Friday where he jokingly made reference to it in the context of Republican opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
“They’re not that into DEI. But they love DUI,” he said. “We gotta stop those DUI hires on Capitol Hill.”
House Republican appropriators are publicly rebuking the Trump administration for seeking must-have military cash through a party-line reconciliation bill that’s not guaranteed to clear Congress.
In a report they plan to release later this week, obtained by Blue Light News, House appropriators warn that the White House is trying to fund “critical efforts” like weapons and military equipment through the party-line process, rather than using it to “scale up” military dollars beyond Congress’ regular government funding bills.
“This approach is risky and uncoordinated,” reads the report, an official addendum that goes along with the chamber’s defense funding bill for the fiscal year that starts in October.
In particular, appropriators criticized President Donald Trump’s budget request for splitting funding for the F-35 fighter, the most expensive program in Pentagon history, between the two bills.
The annual government funding bills and the reconciliation process are “entirely separate tracks, with different timelines, committees of jurisdiction, and approval processes,” the report notes.
Many Republican lawmakers are also doubtful GOP leaders will succeed in enacting another party-line package this year.
Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
The House will begin consideration of a bipartisan housing bill Tuesday, with a final vote potentially taking place the same day, accelerating a previous plan to secure congressional passage of the legislation, according to four people familiar with the planning granted anonymity to discuss planning not yet public.
The Senate will hold a final vote on the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Monday.
House leadership had planned to fast-track approval of the housing affordability bill by suspending the rules, a maneuver that limits debate but requires a two-thirds majority vote, as soon as Wednesday, but are looking to move that process a day earlier, the people said.
President Donald Trump is expected to hold a signing ceremony for the bill as soon as Wednesday, said two people familiar, involved with the planning conversations.
The housing bill aims to tackle housing affordability and boost homeownership and supply as the looming midterm election is dominated by cost-of-living concerns and Congress has a narrowing window to get legislation through before the August recess.
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
Alan Dershowitz is scheduled to speak with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on July 20 as part of its ongoing Jeffery Epstein investigation.
“I asked to be allowed to set the record straight and correct various misconceptions,” Dershowitz said in a text message. “I look forward to doing so.”
The prominent criminal defense attorney who once represented O.J. Simpson and President Donald Trump also worked on Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, which many have argued allowed Epstein — who died by suicide behind bars in 2019 — to continue to prey on young women and girls for another several years before his later incarceration.
The Oversight Committee is separately set Friday to interview investor Leon Black, whose business dealings with Epstein have been under congressional scrutiny for years.
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