Congress

GOP leaders scramble to unjam the House as time runs short

Published

2 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Republican leaders on Capitol Hill have high hopes they can use the dwindling pre-midterm legislative calendar to bolster their case for reelection.

First, they’ll have to put down a weekslong internal revolt that has ground the House floor to a halt.

Taking cues from President Donald Trump, hard-liners are falling in behind Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and her crusade to press for passage of the SAVE America Act, the partisan elections bill that has stalled for months in the Senate.

Before the July 4 holiday break, she blocked votes on the annual defense policy bill in protest, frustrating GOP colleagues are now just wondering if she can be persuaded to stand down.

“Not one member can understand the thought behind it,” Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Texas) said in an interview last week. “The hope is that when we come back, we start moving legislation again.”

So far, it’s not looking good. Trump shows no signs of abandoning his drumbeat for the elections bill. In his latest gesture, he announced Friday he would not sign a widely supported bipartisan housing bill in protest of the Senate standstill.

That has inspired more House lawmakers to deliver ultimatums. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) announced Friday, for instance, that Republicans must add the SAVE America Act “to every piece of legislation until we secure our elections once and for all.”

On top of that, House GOP leaders are sparring with a separate group of ultraconservatives who are angry Speaker Mike Johnson hasn’t followed through on what they insist was a handshake deal to hold a vote on a tough immigration and border-security bill.

They’re threatening their own floor blockade, even as a separate group of more moderate lawmakers insist they cannot support the immigration legislation the hard-line Republicans are pushing.

House GOP leaders have asked the White House for help leaning on the Republican holdouts, according to two people granted anonymity to comment on internal discussions. To that end, Vice President JD Vance is set to visit a Tuesday conference meeting and encourage Republicans to reopen the floor and advance Trump’s agenda.

“At this point I’m pessimistic that it ever gets introduced or sees the light of day, because I think they just think these moderates aren’t going to vote for it,” said Michael Hough, co-president for federal relations at NumbersUSA, a think tank that advocates for more restrictive immigration policies.

Republican leaders have spent nearly two weeks strategizing after Johnson was forced to send lawmakers home early for the July 4 recess due to Luna’s blockade. Johnson did try to attach the elections overhaul to the defense bill before recess, but Luna blocked it anyway.

The GOP leadership team remains unsure of what, if anything, they will be able to move across the floor back in Washington this week. They have decided not to try to revive the must-pass Pentagon bill for now. Instead, they’re looking to call up a year-round daylight saving time bill on the floor this week — a priority for Florida lawmakers — as a way to entice Luna to allow legislative business to restart.

Johnson is also planning to again try to pass fiscal 2027 funding for the State Department and overseas programs — another casualty of the Luna-imposed meltdown. That would include a highly anticipated vote on an amendment from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that would slash aid to Israel — something GOP leaders expect will divide Democrats as Republicans seek to exploit the fierce divisions in the opposing party ahead of Election Day.

To appease the immigration hard-liners, GOP leaders have looked at potentially calling up narrower bills — such as a resolution critical of birthright citizenship following last month’s Supreme Court ruling upholding the practice or a bill cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities that do not comply with federal immigration enforcement agencies.

But with the issue weighed down with competing factional demands, Johnson’s leadership circle doesn’t believe any immigration measure can come to the floor at this point, according to four people granted anonymity to candidly describe the talks. Leaders have little to offer holdouts beyond a committee markup for a conservative border bill.

“Just do sanctuary [cities] — that’s like an 80-20 issue, especially among Republicans,” Hough said. “But they get four or five moderate members that say, ‘No, we’re not doing it,’ or, ‘We want what we want,’ and it’s kind of paralyzed them from doing anything.”

Also in a state of paralysis is the yearly appropriations process as a Sept. 30 funding deadline approaches. The House floor impasse has been part of that, but the more profound breakdown has been in the Senate, where a partisan stalemate over spending levels had left the Appropriations Committee unable to act — even before the weekslong absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the sudden death Saturday of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

“It’s as dead as Woodrow Wilson,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said of the annual spending process.

The SAVE America Act is not expected to return to the Senate floor anytime soon, given that Majority Leader John Thune has repeatedly indicated it does not have the votes to move forward.

Instead, Thune is set to launch debate on the Senate’s version of the annual defense policy bill, stalled surveillance legislation and possibly cryptocurrency or college athletics legislation before heading home in August. He’s also set on confirming high-profile nominees like Trump’s attorney general pick, Todd Blanche, and his director of national intelligence designee, Jay Clayton.

The Senate GOP will also be watching as House Republicans try this week to compile a new partisan policy bill under the party-line budget reconciliation process. The White House wants any such package to include tens of billions of dollars in Iran war funding as well as other affordability-oriented items.

Some of the biggest supporters of the bill — referred to on Capitol Hill as “Reconciliation 3.0” in light of the two previous party-line bills Republicans have passed this Congress — initially hoped to move the measure before the summer recess.

That’s now looking unlikely for the House with only two weeks of session left, and Senate Republicans are more skeptical than ever — especially after struggling for weeks to pass a relatively narrow immigration enforcement proposal earlier this year through the filibuster-skirting reconciliation process.

“You saw how easy it was to pass Reconciliation 2.0, right? A very simple reconciliation, something we all supported, and that hit snags,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who is poised to take over the Senate Budget Committee after Graham’s death.

Johnson said Senate Republicans have not seen any of those details yet, and the House Budget Committee similarly has not produced any framework for the legislation — a key prerequisite for any reconciliation bill.

Still, Speaker Johnson is vowing to press forward in the House, and he is planning to huddle Monday with key GOP members to make a plan for the coming weeks.

House Budget Committee Republicans held a call Wednesday to sort out the way forward but didn’t come away with any breakthroughs or even a timeline as fiscal hawks demand spending cuts to offset any new war money or other expenditures, according to two people on the call who were granted anonymity to describe it.

Before members left town for the recess, Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said in an interview that if there isn’t movement in the first couple of days back in session, reconciliation 2.0 is “real trouble.”

“I think the sense of urgency is known, and we want to get a win for this country,” he said.

But even as Republicans on both sides of the Capitol profess a desire to focus on affordability and to beef up their accomplishments heading into the midterms, a sense of resignation has taken hold.

Asked about the GOP agenda this summer, Sen. Johnson said, “I was going to say: What agenda?”

Myah Ward contributed to this report.

Congress

The House’s top progressive thinks Democrats are failing on AI

Published

2 hours ago

July 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus says Democrats are “in the wilderness” when it comes to artificial intelligence — warning that members of his party are being cowed by special interests and must look beyond data centers for evidence of AI’s growing threats.

In an interview Friday, Texas Rep. Greg Casar laid out a proposal for Democrats to become “AI populists,” which he defined as “Democrats stand[ing] with working people who know in their gut that AI right now is just going to make a few billionaires into trillionaires while making millions of Americans poorer, less safe and less free.”

That means, for one thing, eschewing money from AI giants — something that might make some Democrats uncomfortable in a cycle that has been dominated by the rise of new pro-AI super PACs like Leading the Future, which just spent $8 million to defeat an industry critic in a New York City House primary.

“I know for a fact that there’s a lot of consultants telling their clients that you don’t want an AI super PAC to spend millions against you, so just don’t touch the issue at all,” Casar said. “We absolutely cannot let the AI money silence us.”

He wants to ban companies from using AI to set prices based on personal consumer data, establish guardrails for chatbots and require data centers to generate their own electricity. He’s also introducing legislation to tax tokens — the underlying unit of AI computing power — to slow down the industry’s growth.

“I think those sorts of proposals are what working people are looking for from Democrats,” he said. “They want to know that we have a plan to stop their lives from getting significantly worse through unregulated AI development.”

Casar’s platform is dramatically more extensive than that of House Democratic leaders, who are choosing to promote a more narrow AI message ahead of the midterms that centers on shielding people from the cost of data centers and preventing President Donald Trump’s administration from writing the AI rulebook for the entire country.

His message is also far more detailed than that of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has said little publicly beyond wanting to protect the “American ratepayer” from the explosion of data centers.

“A new Stanford study finding that young workers in AI-exposed careers are already having trouble finding jobs; mass layoffs at Oracle, which is based in my district in Austin … as those impacts start to be felt more and more across the country, I think the uprising against data centers may wind up looking small compared to the uprising against all of the impacts of unregulated artificial intelligence,” Casar said.

He’s also growing impatient as the three-member commission that Jeffries convened to develop a consensus Democratic AI framework does not expect to introduce any legislation until the end of the year — once the House majority has likely already been settled.

“I don’t think that, on AI issues, we should be a party like where we are right now on cryptocurrency, where it’s just not really clear where the Democratic Party stands,” Casar said. “We cannot afford for the public to be confused about which of the parties is for them versus the AI companies.”

Casar is calling for an attention-grabbing approach. Last month, for instance, he staged a news conference in front of Oracle headquarters to condemn the company for AI-related layoffs. It’s similar to the high-profile tour of a Meta data construction site in Georgia convened by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) back in May.

But he is not in full lockstep with Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive standard-bearers. For example, he wouldn’t endorse the 10-year moratorium on data center construction proposed by Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

“I generally align with the point that we shouldn’t build data centers that are going to make our lives worse, and that we need to put the rules in place first while I look at the specifics of the bill,” said Casar.

Casar is not the only Democrat with a sense of urgency about AI. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) teamed up with Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) to develop a bipartisan proposal that lays out broad transparency and safety rules for tech companies and, controversially, would preempt state laws on AI development for three years.

The actual legislative text is still in the works as Trahan and Obernolte absorb feedback from their colleagues — much of which has been negative.

While Casar said he respects Trahan’s attempt to broker a deal, the framework falls short of creating the sort of “major federal safety protections” he’s demanding — on par with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, an agency with a nearly-billion-dollar annual budget that conducts about 900 annual inspections.

Casar said those sort of safety measures would be a prerequisite for any bipartisan accord to allow the federal government to preempt state AI safety laws: “If we could get true AI safety legislation across the finish line, we should be willing to compromise and work together.”

In the absence of actual legislation to run on ahead of the midterms, Casar said Democrats need to fill in the blanks for voters by vowing an AI-regulatory blitz next Congress — even if it draws more pro-AI spending that endangers their party’s ability to counter Trump in a potential House Democratic majority.

“Of course, fighting back against Trump is important,” Casar said. “But I think when we look back at 15 or 20 years, the most important thing that happened in 2026 may be AI development, not whatever crazy thing Trump just did today. … We can’t let the threat that Trump poses overwhelm our ability to organize on AI.”

Congress

Ron Johnson ‘prepared’ to take over Senate Budget Committee after Graham’s death

Published

17 hours ago

July 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson is poised to take over the Budget Committee in the wake of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s sudden death late Saturday.

The third-term Republican is effectively next in line to wield the committee gavel. Two more senior Republicans, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Crapo of Idaho, are expected to keep their respective positions atop the Judiciary and Finance panels.

“Senator Johnson is prepared to serve as budget chair when announced,” spokesperson Grace Carnathan said in response to a question about whether he would seek the panel’s chair.

Johnson’s ascension would need to be ratified by the Senate Republican Conference and the full Senate, steps that are typically taken with little fanfare.

As Budget Committee chair, Graham played a key role in Republicans’ two filibuster-skirting reconciliation bills this Congress — last year’s tax-cuts-focused megabill and this year’s effort to fund immigration enforcement for the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term.

Claiming the Budget gavel would put Johnson in the middle of the debate over a third attempt at a party-line reconciliation bill.

Johnson, a fiscal hawk who previously called for deep spending cuts during last year’s megabill debate, has been supportive of a third bill. But like many Senate Republicans, he has expressed skepticism it will come together.

Congress

Graham’s death leaves Senate agenda in limbo

Published

21 hours ago

July 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Lindsey Graham’s death is poised to upend the Senate, where the GOP majority was already tight and the four-term South Carolina Republican loomed large in several immediate policy fights ahead of the midterms — putting the fate of multiple legislative priorities into question.

Graham — who died of a “brief a sudden illness” Saturday, according to his office — chaired the Budget Committee, which has been facing pressure from President Donald Trump to advance a new party-line spending package including a major boost in defense funding. He was also a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, which has been working to land a deal to avert a government shutdown at the end of September.

Graham was a member of the Judiciary Committee, which is set this week to hold confirmation hearings for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to lead the Justice Department permanently. GOP leaders had been counting on Graham to help rally support for the nominee in committee and on the floor with a handful of fellow Republicans at risk of withholding their votes.

And he was leading efforts to slap sanctions on Russia for its ongoing aggression against Ukraine — a crusade that may now have lost a second Republican champion on Capitol Hill after the hospitalization of Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Senate Republican leaders will need to immediately begin to account for Graham’s absence as they plot out their next three weeks in Washington before leaving for summer recess — and as they seek to deliver on campaign promises as the November elections loom.

“He was a trusted adviser and colleague to me and many others, and numerous presidents and heads of state have relied on his counsel,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in a statement Sunday morning. “His influence on the federal judiciary, our national defense, and his beloved South Carolina will be felt for generations.”

Graham’s death brings Senate Republicans’ already narrow majority to 52-47 — and functionally even narrower as McConnell continues to be missing for undisclosed medical reasons. Under South Carolina law, the Republican governor can appoint a temporary successor, though that person would not necessarily inherit his same committee assignments nor share Graham’s vast expertise in defense, foreign affairs and judicial matters.

Graham chaired the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing funding for the State Department, and his successor in that role will be facing a tight timeline ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to avert a funding lapse — and fresh pressures to keep cash flowing to key diplomatic activities amid the ongoing war against Iran.

Nearly all Senate appropriators hold a subcommittee gavel, so decisions about who will take over from Graham will be dependent on whether the most senior members want to shuffle among themselves or let a rank-and-file Appropriations Republican step up into a leadership role.

Graham and McConnell have together led a consistent drumbeat within a changing Republican party for continued engagement by the U.S. on the international stage and with key alliances — along with advocacy for more defense spending. Graham’s death will strike a blow to the “peace through strength” part of the GOP as President Donald Trump shows little interest in traditional alliances and continues his criticism of NATO. Graham was a key voice against a growing isolationist stance within his party and cheerled the war against Iran.

The Senate is scheduled to take up the annual defense authorization measure this week, a major leadership goal of the July legislative sprint ahead of the upcoming extended recess and around which Graham was set to play a key role during floor debate.

“There are no words to describe his impact on the foreign and domestic policy of the United States,” Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said on social media Sunday, adding that “he stood solidly for freedom and strength and he fought for liberty across the globe.”

The most immediate source of anxiety for leadership could be what effect Graham’s absence could have for Blanche, who is scheduled to testify Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee with hopes of being confirmed by the first week of August.

The nominee has faced blowback from members of both parties over Blanche’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and, most recently, his oscillation over the fate of a $180 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” critics feared would be used to pay damages to President Donald Trump’s supporters.

Outgoing Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), who sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee, haven’t committed to voting for him. Another retiring Senate Republican, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, and GOP moderate Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are also among those who would waver on Blanche if and when his nomination comes to the floor. Graham was a reliable “yes.”

GOP leaders will also need to install a new chair of the Budget Committee as the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Congress to move another party-line package with a $350 billion infusion for the military, along with other conservative priorities.

Graham was set to take the lead on a Senate effort, recently meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to discuss using the filibuster-skirting reconciliation bill to bolster the Pentagon amid the ongoing conflict with Iran. He was a major cheerleader for both efforts as a staunch Trump ally and an avowed defense hawk, and his death is a setback for the broader reconciliation push that was already facing steep odds given a truncated window for action and lack of agreement about what provisions should go into the legislation.

The next chair of the Senate Budget Committee will be selected largely by seniority, though the next two Republicans in line after Graham — Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Mike Crapo of Idaho — already chair the Judiciary and Finance panels, respectively. The next two Republicans in line after that are Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who currently chairs the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Roger Marshall of Kansas.

Efforts to impose economic sanctions on Russia are also now up in the air following Graham’s death. He had just returned to his Washington residence from Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced there was an agreement with the White House for the Senate to finally move forward on a package allowing Trump to sanction countries that buy Russian oil and gas.

There was hope heading into the weekend that the deal, which would punish buyers of Russian oil, would yield fresh pressure on Moscow. Graham’s allies in the push — including Wicker and Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut — could rally to pass the package in Graham’s memory.

But the effort also may fall into limbo with its chief cheerleader on Capitol Hill gone and close second, McConnell, also absent.