Congress

GOP senators hope for a quick Cabinet shakeup

Published

6 months ago

April 23, 2026

If you’re a Cabinet official thinking of pursuing a new professional opportunity, Senate Republicans have a request: Now’s the time to call it quits.

The departure this week of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, who is following former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi out the door, has some GOP lawmakers pondering a larger Cabinet shakeup and what that could mean to an unsettled Senate floor schedule.

Senate Republicans are already trying to juggle a shrinking window for lawmaking before the November midterms — including at least one potential party-line budget reconciliation bill, a litany of measures they are negotiating with the House and, some hope, a possible Supreme Court vacancy.

That’s not to mention the growing uncertainty about what will happen in the midterms themselves, with many Republicans growing concerned that their four-seat majority could be at risk.

“The number of working days are very limited,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said in an interview. “You just do the math. It’s a very compressed schedule.”

Tillis is among a group of Republican senators who believe Trump should make any further changes to his inner circle sooner rather than later to give the Senate maximum flexibility in confirming replacements. Waiting, they fear, could mean significant delays in confirmations or worse if Democrats can retake the majority.

Another GOP senator, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said any personnel shakeup is ultimately up to Trump but that it would “make sense to do it now.”

“As we get closer to the election … you never know what’s going to happen to the Senate,” the senator said.

No GOP senator is openly pointing to any particular Cabinet official as likely to depart. But three privately fingered Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick as someone they believe the president is likely to remove.

A fourth questioned how long Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, would remain in her post given her split with the president on recent issues such as the Iran war and a soon-to-lapse surveillance authority, though many Republicans believe she has powerful allies within the White House and outside of the administration.

FBI Director Kash Patel is also under fresh scrutiny after The Atlantic published allegations of drinking and erratic behavior, which he has denied and launched a defamation lawsuit over. Two of the GOP senators granted anonymity to speak candidly said they believed Patel was on the rocks.

“He’s in a bad mood, so he’s letting a lot of them go,” one of the four said about Trump. “He’s preparing to really let a lot of them go.”

The senator added that the shakeup should happen sooner rather than later, saying, “It’s not like we’ll have that much time.”

The urgency was further underscored Wednesday by the sudden departure of Navy Secretary John Phelan, who was not a Cabinet member but occupied a senior Senate-confirmed post that is now vacant in wartime.

Other senators aren’t fretting, noting that any move to remake the Cabinet depends solely on Trump, who has been known to mull privately for months about potentially firing someone before taking action.

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said. “Typically, you see some changes before, like right after the midterms, in preparation for the next two-year cycle.”

The White House defended Trump’s personnel choices in a statement Wednesday.

“The President has assembled a world-class cabinet who are tirelessly implementing the President’s agenda and achieving tremendous results for the American people,” spokesperson Davis Ingle said. “They will continue fulfilling the many promises President Trump was elected to enact. The White House is appreciative of their service to this country.”

The prospects for replacing Bondi, Chavez-DeRemer, Phelan and others could vary wildly.

Republicans were able to confirm Markwayne Mullin to succeed Noem at DHS in a matter of weeks — but that was the exception, not the norm. Mullin enjoyed bipartisan support as a sitting senator and moved through a committee with few procedural hurdles.

The Judiciary Committee, in contrast, has a 28-day holdover period between when it receives a nominee questionnaire and when it holds a hearing, meaning the Senate’s consideration of any attorney general nominee will be much slower.

Several committees including Judiciary, Banking and Finance all have one-seat margins between the parties, meaning that nominees that can’t garner Democratic support risk getting blocked by opposition from just one GOP panel member.

In addition to the Cabinet nominees, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is working to assemble a package of lower-level nominations to confirm as a group — though even that can be tricky. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), for instance, is holding up all Coast Guard promotions over a contract dispute.

Then there’s the growing pile of backed-up legislation, including the renewal of a contentious surveillance law, a stalled-out housing bill, the GOP’s party-line push for immigration enforcement and a potential push for yet another budget reconciliation bill. The chamber will also be out of session for long stretches later this year to accommodate midterm campaigning.

“We’ve got a full plate, so confirming new people is going to take a while,” Thune said.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) added that the Senate was also busy with the annual government funding process and assembling the mammoth defense policy bill.

“They’ll do it based on what’s best for them and the president,” he said of any departing deputies. “I think it’s totally up to the president as to when he would want to make a submission.”

The White House is signaling that it’s aware of the Senate’s calendar as it considers staffing shakeups and is trying to give the chamber enough time to confirm replacements before the end of the year approaches. Tillis warned that if Trump waits until June or July to oust additional officials, the Senate could run out of time to confirm them.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) questioned if the time crunch wasn’t already so severe that filling any additional Cabinet departures would have to be a “lame duck thing” — referring to the traditional session held between an election and the beginning of the next Congress.

“I think we’re probably better right now … having the stability,” Cramer added.

The North Dakota Republican pointed to other items he wants to get done in the meantime, including appropriations, permitting reform, a farm bill and judicial nominations.

“There are big things to do yet,” Cramer said, noting the “constant Supreme Court chatter” he’d heard. “In fact, that would be more important.”

Leo Shane III contributed to this report.

Congress

Scalise heads to Florida to boost several GOP candidates

Published

9 hours ago

October 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is heading to Florida to boost a raft of Republicans as the House GOP campaign arm launches new spending across the ruby-red state.

Republicans are working to ensure they prevail in a series of tight Florida races after they redrew several districts in their favor. Several GOP incumbents have warned the party needs to do more to help put out fires across these areas. Scalise is just the latest Republican leader who is looking to shore up candidates in once-thought-to-be-safe red territory.

Scalise will hold a GOTV rally Thursday with Republican Dan Green who is challenging Democratic Rep. Darren Soto in central Florida’s 9th District, according to an invite obtained by Blue Light News. Soto should be toast from the GOP redistricting effort, but he’s still hauling in significant fundraising and Democrats say their internal polling shows a tight race.

Over on the Gulf Coast, the National Republican Congressional Committee is also launching its first coordinated ad spending for Rep. Anna Paulina Luna on Wednesday. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, GOP governor nominee Rep. Byron Donalds and Sen. Ashley Moody, who is also up for reelection, are appearing at a Saturday rally with Luna.

President Donald Trump won Luna’s district by 13 points and Democrats have tried and failed to target her before. But Republicans are warning the headwinds are stronger this year and forcing a tighter than expected race.

Republicans are also working to shore up key seats in South Florida. Scalise will be with GOP Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar in the Miami area Friday, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, granted anonymity to share not yet public details. Salazar has raised alarm about Republican erosion with Hispanic voters in his district and other states over the Trump administration’s mass deportations.

Scalise will boost Ryan Elijah, the Republican who beat scandal-ridden Rep. Cory Mills in the primary in Florida’s 7th District, according to another person with direct knowledge of the matter, granted anonymity to speak candidly. The party feels better about the seat in recent weeks, especially more than they would have if Mills had won the GOP nomination.

The House Majority Leader will also hold events with Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast and Rep. Gus Bilirakis, according to the person.

Congress

Capitol agenda: The unknowns of a Sherrod Brown return

Published

15 hours ago

October 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Democrats may be rooting for Sherrod Brown’s comeback, but they are not exactly prepared for what’d happen next.

If Brown wins on Election Day, Democrats likely face an uncomfortable choice: break longstanding party rules to restore his seniority on powerful committees like Banking, Agriculture and Finance or potentially make him start over at the bottom.

Complicating the issue: Brown will immediately need to prepare for a grueling re-election fight in 2028 and his campaign could greatly benefit from two years with a high-profile gavel. That’s because this midterm is Ohio’s special election where voters are selecting a senator to serve out the remainder of Vice President JD Vance‘s term.

Brown’s post, therefore, may not only deeply impact Democrats’ policy agenda but could also play a key role in the party’s success in winning the battleground seat in 2028.

Some members are already suggesting the party should try to find a middle ground.

“Some accommodation that recognizes he would not be a rank freshman would make sense. But that’s distinct from handing him back a leadership role at Banking,” said Sen. Chris Coons.

The Ohio Democrat served as the top Democrat on the Banking panel for a decade. He was also a longtime member of Finance as well as Agriculture, where he would also be the most senior member if his previous service counted.

To give Brown a gavel on Agriculture or Banking could set up clashes with the Democrats now expected to lead their party on the panels: Sens. Michael Bennet and Elizabeth Warren, respectively.

It would also break Senate Democrats’ caucus rules, and precedent is not on Brown’s side when it comes to making exceptions.

Still, aides and lobbyists around the panels expect Democrats will be eager to give Brown some sort of perch.

Those close to him have been encouraging him to seek the Agriculture gavel. It’d allow him to deliver valuable policy wins for Ohio’s rural areas, influence the farm bill if it gets punted to next year and help guide the direction of cryptocurrency regulation.

Another possibility that avoids an intraparty clash: hand Brown a seat on Appropriations, which could potentially give him a subcommittee gavel and federal funding clout.

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has avoided any firm commitments on Brown’s seniority, saying last month when asked: “Let’s win back the Senate first.”

What else we’re watching:

— OMAR RAID RAISES QUESTIONS FOR GOP: House Republicans — including Majority Whip Tom Emmer — have publicly cheered on the Trump administration’s investigation of GOP boogeyman Rep. Ilhan Omar. But the raid raises thorny questions for GOP leaders about how aggressively Congress wants to defend itself — regardless of party — from encroaching federal prosecutors. Lawmakers’ work communications are protected from prosecutors’ scrutiny, with few exceptions, under the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause. That draws into question whether the emails, texts, and materials on Omar’s phone, which was seized in the raid, could legally be reviewed by Trump officials. So far, Speaker Mike Johnson has yet to weigh in on how the House’s legal team may defend Omar.

— TRUMP’S TRICKY FARM MONEY PROMISE: Trump’s move Monday to turn out GOP voters by promising to send farmers $8 billion in taxpayer money is already facing a reality check. The internal USDA taxpayer-funded account Trump is tapping doesn’t actually have enough money in it right now to make the payments, meaning Congress will have to approve new funds or the administration will have to take it from another program, according to three Trump officials granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Plus, farmers wouldn’t receive the payments until late November or early December at the earliest — well past Election Day, according to three people close to the plans.

Jasper Goodman, Grace Yarrow, Kyle Cheney and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

This member is so frustrated with Congress he wants voters to sidestep it

Published

15 hours ago

October 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

At the end of one of the least productive Congresses in modern history, freshman Rep. Johnny Olszewski is so sick of the gridlock on Capitol Hill that he wants voters to bypass it entirely.

“It’s been a long two years,” the Maryland Democrat said in a Tuesday interview.

“One of the things that’s made it difficult as a new member is to see not only the dysfunction, but also the missed opportunities,” he added. “There are so many issues out there that Americans support that this Congress and frankly prior Congresses have failed to act on.”

Fed up with the lack of progress on popular policies like banning congressional stock trading, equipping police with body cameras or protecting in vitro fertilization, Olszewski is introducing a constitutional amendment Thursday, first shared with POLITICO, that would create a mechanism for voters to make federal law directly.

The measure would give voters 18 months to gather signatures from at least 5% of people who participated in the most recent presidential election in 25 states. Then any qualifying direct-democracy measure would be put on ballots for the next national election and need a 60% national majority to pass.

Votes to declare war or direct federal spending would not be eligible under the proposal.

“If we were acting, there’d be no need for this to come into play,” Olszewski said. “It would create a really important backstop for the American people to say, ‘You know what … irrespective of which party is in power, Congress is failing to meet not just our everyday needs but act on issues that we overwhelmingly support and want to see acted upon.’”

The amendment — which itself would require support from two-thirds of the House and Senate as well as three-quarters of states — is an incredible longshot and would create serious implementation headaches, but Olszewski — a former civics teacher — hopes his proposal will spark a discussion about congressional reform.

“I understand that any constitutional amendment is going to be difficult,” Olszewski said. “But I’m hopeful that at least for the lame duck session, this is an opportunity to create a conversation around the fact that we have been so gridlocked that we have failed to address the needs of the American people.”