Congress
House Dems solidify their anti-Trump policy chiefs
House Democrats have largely set their team for countering President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda next year.
While the caucus is still making other Democratic committee heads official, they decided several contested panel leader elections Tuesday morning, with uncontested elections for leadership recommendations later in the day. House Democrats largely saw the contested races to lead Democrats on the Oversight, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees as a check on seniority in the caucus — and a way to instill fresher talent from the ranks.
On the Natural Resources panel, Rep. Jared Huffman (Calif.) is replacing Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), who ended his bid to lead Democrats on the panel again. On the Agriculture panel, Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) beat Rep. David Scott (Ga.), who faced questions about his health and finished in a distant third in an internal caucus panel election before dropping out of the race. On Oversight, Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) defeated Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), though both would have represented new leadership after Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) launched a bid for the ranking position on Judiciary.
Although they won’t hold gavels, House Democrats are looking to counter the incoming Republican trifecta and Trump however they can. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi played a prominent role on that front during his first term, and personally backed two of the three new ranking members on key positions.
Heading into the next Congress, Democrats had fretted about their aging leaders’ ability to respond to conservative policy changes on the farm bill in the Agriculture Committee and in energy policy on Natural Resources. They also see high-profile panels like the Oversight Committee as a messaging bulwark against the Trump administration.
Here’s what the new rankers will do from their leadership perches:
Oversight and Accountability Committee
Connolly, a seasoned investigator, told reporters Tuesday that he’s experienced at countering Trump, and his strategy to fight Republicans was going to be “to tell the truth.”
“And if that hurts, then we know we’ve made our mark,” Connolly said. He added that “we will do a thorough assessment of the committee on the Democratic side and make appropriate changes.”
Connolly had earned plaudits from his colleagues for his tenure on the Oversight panel, where he worked on Postal Service issues and currently serves as the top Democrat on a subpanel on cybersecurity.
His allies also pointed to his deep well of relationships in the Democratic caucus, including in the centrist New Democrat Coalition, which had backed him during the elections for the top spot on the panel.
“He’s bright, he’s witty,” said Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), who helped campaign for Connolly. “I’ve seen him on the Foreign Affairs committee, taking charge of the issue, particularly when the Republicans are overstepping, etc., as well as doing it in a way that brings us all together. … And I think that’s who Gerry is.”
Connolly said he was diagnosed with cancer in a statement after the election. In private conversations as he sought the top Oversight spot, Connolly said he has pledged to his colleagues that he will be transparent about the status of his diagnosis, including if it were to unexpectedly worsen.
Natural Resources Committee
Huffman is now in a key position to challenge Republicans’ effort to enact Trump’s planned “drill, baby, drill” push.
The Californian has a decade of experience on the committee and is known for his frequent sparring with Republicans, plus policy chops that he developed when he worked as an attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. He was a leader among Democrats clamoring for a generational change atop committee leadership.
In taking over the panel that oversees federal lands issues, including energy production and permitting, Huffman told reporters Tuesday he planned to aggressively defend against Republicans’ “Project 2025 agenda” while building on Rep. Raul Grijalva’s (D-Ariz.) legacy to “put environmental justice first and really lifted up his disadvantaged communities that bear the brunt of the climate crisis.”
Huffman had the backing of the large and powerful California delegation, including Pelosi, who he thanked “for her advice and support.” Huffman’s backers cited his knowledge of environmental and climate issues, advocacy for tribes and environmental justice, and his pragmatic streak, along with his work raising money for colleagues on the committee and in the caucus running in tough districts.
Agriculture Committee
Craig’s defeat of Scott and Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) will make her the first woman ranking member of the House Agriculture panel, which some of her supporters touted as a shot at the “boys club” of panel leadership, according to one House Democratic lawmaker who was granted anonymity to discuss the internal caucus dynamics.
It’s also a loss for Pelosi, who was advocating for Costa, her fellow Californian, along with the state’s powerful delegation, behind the scenes. In comments to reporters right after her win, Craig noted it wasn’t easy overcoming the “powerful California” delegation.
In a series of closed-door meetings over the past week, Craig made an aggressive pitch to Democratic House members, citing her credentials as a frontline Democrat from a rural district. She also argued during the closed-door Steering panel meeting that the party needed a Midwestern battleground Democrat in committee leadership to balance out the many senior Democratic leaders hailing from the coasts.
Craig is incredibly well-liked by a wide swath of members, especially younger members who are growing their ranks. Young female members, especially on the Agriculture Committee, wanted to help her climb.
Sen. John Cornyn said Monday he will not support Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general absent a written modification to the settlement agreement President Donald Trump entered into with his own administration.
Opposition from the Texas Republican could sink Blanche’s nomination in a highly anticipated Judiciary Committee vote scheduled for Thursday.
While Cornyn said he is in talks with Blanche and others at the Justice Department, he has not secured changes he has demanded to the settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS. Those include formally rescinding a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and restricting the scope of tax audit immunity granted to the president and his family.
Cornyn told reporters he needs the document to be signed by Blanche but did not specify whether Trump also needs to sign it.
“We’re talking about that. That hasn’t been fully resolved yet,” Cornyn said in a subsequent interview when asked if Trump needs to sign the modification as well. “We’re still talking. I mean, there’s different ways to approach it.”
Time is running out for Blanche to meet Cornyn’s demands ahead of Thursday’s committee vote, where any one Republican’s opposition could be fatal to the nomination. The senator said Blanche and the administration have been so far “reluctant” to follow through.
At his nomination hearing last week, Blanche testified that plans for the payout fund were dead and that the audit agreement was more limited than set out in the settlement. But Cornyn honed in on the text of the agreement, which states that it “may be modified only with the written agreement of the Parties.”
Blanche acknowledged during the hearing that, without a written change to the agreement, the anti-weaponization fund could still be revived.
“That’s what we’re trying to get them to agree to, which is again what his sworn testimony was,” Cornyn said. “So I don’t know why they’re so reluctant to do that.”
The White House and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
Jay Clayton is on the verge of becoming President Donald Trump’s next director of national intelligence — though Democrats won’t be helping him get there.
The news: The Senate on Monday voted 51-43 in a party line vote to move forward with Clayton’s nomination, teeing up a final vote as soon as Tuesday to confirm him as the next head of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. No Democrats joined their GOP counterparts in support of Clayton.
Clayton, the top prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and a former SEC chair, will take over from acting spy czar Bill Pulte and join Trump’s Cabinet when he’s confirmed by the full Senate.
Why it matters: At some level, that’s a win for Democrats, who have been eager to replace Pulte, a Trump loyalist with no background in national security, since the president named him to the post last month. But after an up-and-down confirmation process for Clayton, Democrats have new reservations about the incoming intel adviser, as Monday’s vote underscored.
During his Senate confirmation hearing two weeks ago, Clayton refused to say that Joe Biden fairly won the 2020 vote, leading Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Panel to vote against his nomination. That marked a reversal from June, when Senate Democrats worked with their GOP counterparts to fast-track Clayton’s confirmation in exchange for renewing a powerful spy law. That deal fell apart after Trump intervened, alleging on social media that Democrats weren’t delivering on their end of the deal.
Open question: Though Clayton’s confirmation now looks imminent, Senate action on the spy statute that was supposed to be part of the deal — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — is not.
With the House already gone for the August recess, the Senate appears unlikely to vote on Section 702 until September.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will meet with lawmakers in Washington to discuss American leadership on artificial intelligence, the company said Monday.
A spokesperson for the chipmaker said Huang would hold talks with both Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill to talk about latest developments with the technology.
“Jensen is in DC to meet with leaders on both sides of the aisle to discuss American leadership in AI, including leading in open source,” the spokesperson said.
Huang is scheduled to sit down Tuesday with Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who has expressed serious concern about security threats following last week’s OpenAI autonomous cyberattack.
The senator’s office confirmed the meeting. Senate Intelligence Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It comes as Huang defended open-source AI on X, writing that such models “strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty.”
Huang’s visit comes as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is also expected to meet with Warner, although a spokesperson for the senator said the talks were separate. Earlier Monday, Open AI announced it was in talks with Nvidia, a technology company that makes chips to use artificial intelligence, for a data center project.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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