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GAO is targeted by House Republicans in new spending bill

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House Republicans are aiming to slash funding for the nonpartisan watchdog for waste, fraud and abuse within the federal government by nearly half in the next fiscal year, according to spending bill text released Sunday night.

The House Appropriations subcommittee funding Congress and its support agencies, led by chairman David Valadao (R-Calif.), is set to mark up their fiscal 2026 measure Monday evening, with the full committee set to act Thursday. The Legislative Branch bill would provide $6.7 billion — $51 million below the current funding level, which was set in fiscal 2024. Per tradition, the House bill does not touch any Senate funding.

“Chairman Valadao’s bill puts the American people first — in strengthening the institutions that represent them, protecting effective governance, and safeguarding taxpayer dollars,” said House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) in a statement.

The deepest cuts in the bill are to the Government Accountability Office, an arm of Congress that would see a $396.5 million reduction from current levels to $415.4 million.

GAO has served as the nation’s chief investigator of wrongdoing at federal agencies for more than a century, but has been fighting for months as Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration have attempted to undercut its legal conclusions and independence. Now, they are attempting to shrink the agency into submission as it pursues nearly 40 investigations into whether the White House is illegally withholding, or “impounding,” money Congress had previously approved.

Also tucked into the bill is a major policy change that would eliminate the GAO’s ability to bring civil action against the executive branch over impoundments of funds.

“GAO’s work makes it possible for the legislative branch to hold government accountable,” said Daniel Schuman, executive director of the American Governance Institute. “Congress needs independent expert advice, which is exactly what GAO provides.”

Also on the chopping block is the Library of Congress, which is another legislative branch agency also engaged in a power struggle against intrusion by the Trump administration. The bill allocates $767.6 million for the Library of Congress, which is $84.5 million below the current funding level and $133.7 million below the FY26 request.

“This bill does nothing to safeguard against the growing levels of executive overreach into legislative branch agencies,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the legislative branch subcommittee.

Some other key provisions in the GOP-written bill include:

Capitol Police: The Capitol Police would see a $84.4 million boost to their funding under the bill, bringing the total to $891 million. Some lawmakers had asked for an increase in office funding for use for security, but the bill flat-funds the Members Representational Allowance, which can be used for some member security purposes.

Member Pay: The bill would continue the member pay freeze that has been in effect since 2013, halting automatic cost of living increases that members of Congress are supposed to get under law.

Gay marriage: The bill includes language that prohibits discrimination against any person who “speaks, or acts” in accordance with a “sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction, that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one man and one woman.”

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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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