Congress
Grijalva ally weighs bid for top Natural Resources Democratic position
Rep. Melanie Stansbury is touting support from top Natural Resources panel Democrat Raúl Grijalva as she tests the waters on a long-shot bid to succeed him, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Stansbury’s office told Blue Light News on Monday that she is “taking a serious look” at entering the race against Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), the presumptive favorite who appears to be in a strong position to win.
The New Mexico Democrat, who joined the House in 2021, has quietly sounded out her congressional colleagues as she weighs a bid, the three people said. In messages to colleagues, she has stated that Grijalva asked her if she’d consider running with his support after he dropped out. She’s also highlighted a lack of female leadership at the top of the panel in conversations with colleagues.
Grijalva bowed out of the race on Monday, seemingly clearing the way for Huffman, a 60-year-old Californian with a decade of experience on the committee. Huffman has projected confidence in his position, with a source close to the congressman saying he has earned commitments from 133 colleagues, including 11 new pledges in the day since Grijalva dropped out.
The leadership transition comes as Democrats weigh whether to cast aside other senior committee heads. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) launched a bid against Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to lead Judiciary Committee Democrats. Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.), who has faced questions about his health and ability to lead the Agriculture Committee’s Democrats, is being challenged by Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.).
But Grijalva did not take kindly to Huffman challenging him as he returned from a long absence to receive cancer treatment, telling Blue Light News recently that he regretted the “pettiness of this whole thing” and adding he was confident he has done his job well in the top post.
Grijalva did not endorse or mention Huffman in his official post dropping out of the race Monday. Spokespeople for Grijalva and Stansbury did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The White House sent Congress a list Monday of programs it wants lawmakers to fund at boosted levels under any stopgap funding patch enacted before the Sept. 30 government shutdown deadline.
The list of requests for special exceptions, referred to as “anomalies,” calls on Congress to increase funding for military health programs, certain national security systems, operations of national parks and more. It also asks lawmakers to extend special authority for certain agencies, including for FEMA to spend disaster relief at a faster clip during the span of the funding patch.
House Republican leaders are trying to pass a “clean” stopgap this week that would keep federal dollars flowing through Dec. 4. That measure does not include the dozens of special exceptions the White House is seeking.
In the Senate, top lawmakers want to instead pass a funding patch that includes at least some of the White House’s requests for exceptions, along with other potential additions.
“They’re missing critical things that we need to do,” Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, said in a brief interview Monday night. “So we’re working on our things.”
Senate Republicans are looking at going their own way on government funding, as House Republicans try to move a stopgap spending bill this week to fund the government until after the midterm elections.
GOP lawmakers in the Senate have had conversations with Democrats on moving a stopgap spending bill while also talking with the White House about anomalies, according to a person granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.
Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democratic appropriator in the Senate, said she has had conversations with Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) about a Senate version of a stopgap spending bill along with potential “anomalies,” which are specific exceptions or exemptions to the flat funding of a continuing resolution usually noted to prevent disruptions to key services.
Murray wants to see if the House can get their legislation across the floor.
“Let’s see what happens in the House,” she said in an interview Monday.
Murray warned that chamber’s measure likely won’t have her support if it makes it through the House and over to the Senate.
“I understand there’s some real flaws with it. I am happy to look at a bipartisan CR, but I understand there’s some real problems on the House side,” she said.
GOP appropriators in the House say they are moving the lengthy stopgap spending package specifically because they have doubts that the stalled appropriations process in the Senate will yield government funding bills.
“Unfortunately, current circumstances in the Senate make clear that Congress, as a whole, is unlikely to complete the full appropriations process by the start of the fiscal year,” Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told the House Rules Committee on Monday.
President Donald Trump is meeting with Sens. Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn on Monday to discuss tech policy, according to two people familiar with the meeting who were granted anonymity to discuss a private event.
The huddle comes as Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, is expected to hold a markup next week on a roster of kids’ online safety and artificial intelligence bills.
Blackburn has negotiated with the White House over a possible legislative package that is expected to focus on regulating children’s digital safety. The Tennessee senator has long championed the Kids Online Safety Act, which would restrict the features and platforms minors could access online.
Tech industry representatives and child online safety groups have been involved in discussions about KOSA. Meta said it would drop previous opposition to the bill if it was paired with the App Store Accountability Act, which would require app stores to verify children’s ages, and limited preemption of state AI laws.
The House passed its own version of KOSA late last month without a “duty of care” clause that would require platforms to design features with an eye toward minors’ safety. Without the provision, it faces steep opposition in the Senate.
The White House declined to comment. A spokesperson for the Commerce Committee confirmed the meeting this afternoon.
Punchbowl News first reported details of the meeting.
Cheyenne Haslett and Kelsey Brugger contributed to this report.
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