Congress
Gary Peters endorses Haley Stevens for his seat
Outgoing Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) endorsed Rep. Haley Stevens on Monday in the contentious primary to replace him.
Stevens and progressive former public health official Abdul El-Sayed are facing off in the Aug. 4 primary, after state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign earlier this month.
The nominee will face Trump-backed Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election.
“Haley began her service to Michigan as a critical part of our team as President Obama and I fought to save 200,000 jobs — rescuing and helping the auto industry come roaring back. I’m proud that Haley was recognized as the most effective Michigan Democrat in Congress,” Peters said in a statement.
The race between El-Sayed and Stevens is perhaps the biggest ideological battle in the party this year. Stevens has support from mainstream Democrats — including the tacit backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — and has seen outside support from the pro-Israel group AIPAC.
El-Sayed, meanwhile, has galvanized progressives and has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), among others.
If Democrats lose the general election to Rogers, it will be difficult for them to reclaim the Senate.
While Stevens has received support of establishment groups that argue their methods are best to take on Rogers, El-Sayed and his backers contend that the energy lies with their movement.
Vice President JD Vance is rescheduling a planned Tuesday morning meeting with House Republicans, according to a person granted anonymity to describe private planning.
Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.), the GOP Conference chair, invited Vance to the weekly member meeting to deliver remarks and take questions. Blue Light News previously reported that Vance had planned to encourage them to reopen the floor and advance Trump’s agenda after leaders sought White House help with ending an internal GOP rebellion.
South Carolina Rep. Russell Fry is taking steps toward mounting a campaign to claim the Republican ballot line held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham this November.
Five Republicans granted anonymity to describe private conversations about the developing special primary election described Fry’s interest in a run and said he has spoken to White House operatives about it. Some of the people believe he is a top contender for President Donald Trump’s critical endorsement.
Fry did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment on a possible Senate run. The snap primary is set to take place Aug. 11, with an Aug. 25 runoff to follow if no candidate wins an outright majority.
While South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to fill her brother’s seat Monday, she is widely expected to serve only in a caretaker role until a new senator is elected in November.
Fry quickly emerged as a potential successor after news of Graham’s death circulated Sunday. Trump hand-picked Fry to oust Rep. Tom Rice in his 2022 GOP primary after Rice voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. Fry has since enjoyed close ties to Trump’s political orbit.
Trump’s endorsement is likely to be highly significant, though possibly not field-clearing. The president initially endorsed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the state’s GOP governor primary but later co-endorsed state Attorney General Alan Wilson after Evette lagged in polls. Wilson won the nomination last month.
“Until the President makes an announcement, any speculation is just speculation,” a White House official said in response to an inquiry Fry’s communications with the Trump orbit.
A large group of House Republicans will meet this week with Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel as the GOP races to advance another party-line policy bill — and overcome disagreements over how to pay for it.
Swagel leads Capitol Hill’s nonpartisan budget scorekeeper, which calculates the official price tags and economic impacts of legislation. He will address the conservative Republican Study Committee at its weekly lunch Wednesday, according to an invite obtained by Blue Light News.
The huddle comes as Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow GOP leaders are gathering with House Budget Committee Republicans at Camp David to plot a strategy for convincing skeptical deficit hawks to greenlight a filibuster-skirting reconciliation bill paid for largely with cuts to so-called fraud across Medicare, Medicaid and other social programs.
Even if rank-and-file Republicans go along with the plan, however, those cuts to “fraud” that leaders are envisioning won’t be enough to offset the entire price tag under under CBO’s current scoring methods. Fiscal conservatives are demanding every dollar spent is immediately offset with corresponding spending cuts — including the Trump administration’s request that Congress approve at least tens of billions of funding for the Iran war.
Republicans in recent weeks have tried to explore whether Swagel would consider a taking different approach to scoring the fraud cuts expected in the package, to little avail. They could try again at the meeting Wednesday.
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