Congress

Hegseth’s future as Defense secretary hangs by a thread

Published

2 years ago

December 4, 2024

How much trouble is Pete Hegseth facing in his bid to lead the Department of Defense?

“A lot,” as one GOP senator put it.

Despite Hegseth, a veteran and Fox News personality, zigzagging across the Capitol to meet with Republican lawmakers over his imperiled nomination, there are still significant doubts he’ll have the necessary support to be confirmed. Backup nominees are already being floated, like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, raising speculation that President-elect Donald Trump is ready to move on.

“That’s definitely how my colleagues are taking it,” said the GOP senator, granted anonymity to speak candidly. “That’s sending the signal to everybody here that Hegseth’s not likely to survive.”

Many GOP lawmakers won’t publicly say Hegseth is in trouble, but they’re noting Hegseth has issues to address. Hegseth is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 2017 but has not faced any charges. NBC News also reported that Hegseth’s cable news colleagues were concerned over his drinking habits.

He has denied sexual assault allegations and newly vowed to senators that he won’t drink if he’s confirmed, according to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), the incoming chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee that will review Trump’s Pentagon picks.

“I think that’s probably a good idea,” Wicker told reporters. “You know, President Trump doesn’t drink.”

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said Hegseth has “got to address these accusations,” adding flatly he didn’t know if the votes were there to confirm the nominee. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters she plans to meet with Hegseth next week and has questions about “many of the allegations that you all have been reporting.” Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) also said she plans to meet with Hegseth and expects the allegations will be part of their conversation.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said it’d help if Hegseth pledged to quit drinking, apparently unaware he was making that promise on Wednesday: “I would love that. It would help me a lot.”

Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday: “We’ll see what the sense of our members is after he’s concluded all the meetings.”

Hegseth can only afford to lose three Republican votes in the Senate before his nomination would fall apart, assuming Democrats remain unanimously opposed. One Trump pick — former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who was tapped for attorney general — has already withdrawn from consideration after a number of Senate Republicans expressed concerns. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister was also nominated to serve as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, but withdrew from consideration earlier this week.

Some senators seemed to believe it was a matter of when, not if, Hegseth would be forced to withdraw.

“At the end of the day, it’s his call, his decision. He can keep moving forward at one point, or he can pull out,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a vocal Hegseth supporter. “At some point it’d become a family question on how much more he wants to go through.”

Two pulled potential nominees and a possible third on the way out is rare for an incoming administration, but GOP senators writ large are still trying to be deferential to Trump’s picks. Publicly toiling with the president-elect over his intended nominees before his term even begins doesn’t fit the vision of party unity that GOP lawmakers touted following the November elections.

“This advice and consent process is a beautiful one,” Hegseth told reporters in the Capitol on Wednesday. “I spoke to the president this morning. He supports me fully. We’re not going anywhere.”

There are still other tricky GOP nominees coming down the pipeline. Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, tapped to be the Director of National Intelligence, is expected to face pushback from the Senate’s national security hawks. Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services is also expected to draw attention.

Joe Gould and Eleanor Mueller contributed to this report.

Congress

House Oversight requests Alan Dershowitz testify in Epstein probe

Published

2 days ago

June 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House Oversight Committee requested that Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer who once represented Jeffery Epstein, testify as part of its investigation into the federal government’s handling of the Epstein files.

The interview is tentatively slated for 10 a.m. on July 9, with a video and transcript of the testimony being released “as expeditiously as practical,” Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) wrote in a letter to Dershowitz on Friday.

“Due to public reporting, documents released by the Department of Justice, documents obtained by the Committee, and your former role as Mr. Epstein’s attorney, the Committee believes you have information that will assist in its investigation,” Comer wrote.

Comer told reporters on Wednesday that he wanted to hear from Dershowitz, who helped Epstein secure a controversial plea deal in his 2008 sex abuse case.

“I’m looking forward to testifying,” Dershowitz wrote in a text message to Blue Light News on Friday, adding that he is “trying to adjust my schedule” for July 9.

Congress

Cornyn tells Mike Lee to lay off John Thune

Published

2 days ago

June 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. John Cornyn isn’t a card-carrying member of the Senate GOP’s growing YOLO caucus. But with less than seven months left in office after losing his primary, the Texas Republican appears to be feeling newly free to speak his mind.

The latest clap-back came Thursday night and the early hours of Friday morning, when Cornyn called a conservative influencer a “grifter” and told Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) on social media to stop publicly blaming fellow Republicans — including Senate Majority Leader John Thune — for the fact that the GOP elections bill doesn’t have support to pass inside the party.

“You don’t have the votes” for the SAVE America Act, Cornyn posted on X. “@LeaderJohnThune can’t change that. It is math.”

He was directing his comments at Lee, who had just penned a post telling Thune, “let’s do this!”

Cornyn continued, “Try focusing on Democrats instead of Republicans. Republican on Republican attacks are hurting our chances to win the majority in November.”

Lee responded to ask, “on what planet is this an attack on Republicans?” and appeared to suggest a staffer was tweeting on Cornyn’s behalf: “Once my friend John Cornyn realizes that you’re saying this in his name—whoever you are—I don’t think he’ll be happy with you.”

Cornyn, however, is known for posting himself on his social media accounts in a chamber where many Senate accounts are run solely by staff. And he’s been making it clear all week that he will push back on Trump and his party when he thinks it’s needed.

In multiple conversations with reporters in the Capitol, Cornyn said that Republicans need to “stop the circular firing squad.” And he added that he won’t intentionally be “a thorn in [Trump’s] side,” but he’s also “not going to go out of my way to try to appease him.”

“I want him to succeed, I want the Republican Party to succeed, I want the country to succeed,” Cornyn said this week. “But on a case-by-case basis, when I think there’s been overreach or just a bad idea, I’m not going to hesitate to weigh in.”

The four-term senator’s comments come after he lost his primary last month to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who Trump endorsed in the final days of the runoff.

Cornyn said in an interview with The New York Times that he was not a “wounded bear” but that he believed Trump’s insistence on “slavish adherence” was going to backfire for Republicans in the midterms and result in “the most miserable two years of his life” if Democrats flip the House or Senate.

“I think it is going to be a pretty bumpy ride for the next seven months,” Cornyn said.

Congress

Capitol agenda: What Schumer told us about AI

Published

2 days ago

June 12, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Chuck Schumer wants Congress to pass AI legislation. But he’s casting doubt on it happening this year.

“In this Congress, it’s hard,” the Senate minority leader said in an interview Thursday.

Schumer’s reality check isn’t a complete door-slam. But it underscores the steep climb lawmakers face to bridge a slew of intra-party and inter-chamber divides about what Washington’s approach should be toward the emerging opportunities and risks from the rapidly developing technology.

The problems are multi-pronged.

The White House, whose posture toward AI has shifted dramatically in recent weeks, is angling to enact legislation that would preempt state laws in favor of a national standard. Most recently, administration officials have been exploring a plan to attach preemption legislation to bills designed to shore up kids’ safety online. But there are issues — House Republicans aren’t in love with the Senate GOP’s kid safety bills and Senate Majority Leader John Thune has warned that many senators have concerns “about not trampling states’ rights in the process.”

Democrats aren’t unified on what to do next, with the public broadly skeptical about AI.

Some House and Senate Democrats are leery of state preemption and want to wait until next year to tackle AI, when they might be in power. Opposition from key Democrats is a major factor derailing an attempt by Reps. Lori Trahan and Jay Obernolte to strike a deal on legislation that would set nationwide safety and transparency rules while restricting state action. And Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have proposed a moratorium on AI data centers pending stricter government oversight.

Schumer is striking a balanced tone on how to proceed, arguing that there are “tremendous benefits” from AI but that “we also have to have guardrails.”

“We should get something done on AI, and it’s … got to be balanced — keep innovation strong, but have guardrails to prevent the dangers,” he said. “That’s a hard needle to thread, but I would very much like to see that get done the sooner the better.”

What else we’re watching:

— FISA LAPSE, CLAYTON NOMINATION: Thune is vowing to move “fairly quickly” to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence, with the FISA Section 702 spy authority set to lapse at midnight thanks to a stalemate between Democrats and the White House over the position.

— GOP ADVANCES BIG DEFENSE BOOST — Republicans have taken the first steps toward granting President Donald Trump’s request for the largest budget ever for the Pentagon. Senate Armed Services members on Thursday approved a draft of their annual defense authorization bill outlining priorities for $1.14 trillion in defense spending next year. The House Appropriations defense subcommittee advanced $1.1 trillion in fiscal 2027 funding for the Defense Department in a closed-door markup.

Calen Razor and Connor O’Brien contributed reporting.