Congress
Introducing Rep. Aisha Wahab
Aisha Wahab was sworn in to the House Wednesday as the 214th Democrat after winning a special election this month to replace California Rep. Eric Swalwell. With Wahab sworn in, Speaker Mike Johnson will be able to lose only one Republican on party-line votes.
The House is now back to 433 members. Vacancies created by the resignations earlier this year of Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and Anthony Gonzales (R-Texas) not expected to filled before the end of the Congress.
Speaker Mike Johnson said he has no plans to campaign with embattled Rep. Max Miller — or visit his home state of Ohio at all — before the midterms.
“I have no plans to go to Ohio between now and the election,” Johnson told reporters Wednesday. “I’ve said everything I can say about the situation. It’s up to the people in his district.”
Miller is running in what had been considered a safe red district before allegations of abuse from his ex-wife Emily Moreno, the daughter of GOP Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno, exploded into public view in recent weeks. Ohio’s two GOP senators have called on Miller to resign.
Miller has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to continue his reelection campaign. A spokesperson for Miller declined to comment.
Johnson said Monday that he supports Miller’s reelection bid and called him a “great member.” The House Ethics Committee is investigating the allegations, which include physical assaults on his wife and daughter.
“He’s running a good campaign,” Johnson said Wednesday. “He has a nasty divorce. He’s, of course, vehemently denied the claims made. And as I’ve said many times, we allow due process to play out.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is stepping into the growing debate over data centers, saying in a local news interview this week that the facilities should be “self-sufficient.”
“They ought to be able to take care of their own utilities, their own power, and that ought to be a given any place they go in the country,” Thune told a South Dakota TV station. “But they shouldn’t be going places where there isn’t support for them at the local level.”
The comments, which appear to be the first he’s made on the matter, come as the public pushback against data centers is growing amid concerns that the data center boom is driving up energy costs — fueling demands for a crackdown from across the political spectrum ahead of the midterms.
Some GOP senators have acknowledged in recent weeks that the issue is becoming a political liability for the party, while a handful of vulnerable House Republicans are pushing for action before the midterms.
Further complicating matters for party leaders, however, is that President Donald Trump lauded data centers in a Truth Social post, saying that “only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor.”
While the social media message has been causing heartburn for some inside the GOP, it’s also appearing to give little breathing room to House GOP leaders back in Washington after the summer recess, who are now under pressure from some members to deliver a legislative response before the November elections.
Many GOP lawmakers are rallying behind a bill that would require states to consider adopting a federal standard that would ensure data centers cover the costs of the grid upgrades needed to serve them.
The so-called Ratepayer Protection Act passed unanimously out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in July, while Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who is in a competitive race against former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, has companion legislation around which he is trying to build support.
Republicans gearing up for November elections aren’t exactly flocking to next week’s GOP midterm convention in Dallas, the first held by a major party in more than four decades.
Republicans — ranging from battleground moderates to hard-line conservatives — are opting out of the televised spectacle as the party pushes through a final election sprint where their control of Congress is at stake.
A Blue Light News survey of more than 70 GOP candidates and members revealed most either do not plan to go or are still weighing whether to go.
Those 45 Republicans cited a variety of reasons for their decision: Some said they had prior fundraising or event obligations planned before the convention was scheduled. Others described personal conflicts, like weddings and family events, while some raised qualms about the high fees party officials want attending members to pony up.
Others in tough races are steering clear of the gathering as they face growing hesitation about associating themselves with President Donald Trump, who is set to be a headline speaker along with Vice President JD Vance.
“I just felt I’d be more useful in my district,” Rep. Tom Barrett said in an interview.
Asked if the president’s remarks might cause him problems back home, Barrett said: “I can’t control what the president’s going to say at the convention, but I can control where I’m at, what I’m doing.”
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said he is not attending because he has a dove-hunting event back home in Oklahoma. Several northeastern members, including Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Andrew Garbarino of New York, said they have commitments in their districts related to the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Most top House and Senate GOP leaders will be in attendance, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Some potential 2028 presidential contenders, including Sen. Ted Cruz, will also be in attendance, as will some Senate Republicans from marquee battleground races including Ohio Sen. Jon Husted. Sen. Bernie Moreno, who is expected to be the next Senate GOP campaign chair, is also planning to attend.
Johnson said he has been “promoting” the event but acknowledged Tuesday some members decided attending is not the best use of their time.
“They’ve got to all make their own individual decision,” Johnson said, adding “it’s critical time right before early voting begins nationwide.”
Some members were more candid in their criticism: One House Republican not attending the convention granted anonymity to speak openly called it “a waste of time” and said event planning has been “a mess.” Another member pointed to the $25,000 fee being charged by party organizers.
“I didn’t want to go anyways. That made it easier,” the member said of the cost.
What else we’re watching:
— JEFFRIES WEIGHS DEFECTOR DISCIPLINE: Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he is weighing disciplinary action against two Democratic members who Tuesday helped rescue Republicans’ floor agenda for the week. “We haven’t ruled anything in, and we haven’t ruled anything out,” Jeffries told Blue Light News. Later, Jeffries and Democratic leadership in a statement said they were referring moderate Reps. Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez to the caucus’ rules panel. The duo’s support resulted in a 210-208 vote that was enough to prevent GOP hard-liners from freezing floor business for the week.
— LAWMAKERS READY MISCONDUCT BILL: The bipartisan House lawmaker duo writing a bill to better police members accused of sexual misconduct are finalizing a draft and want floor time by the end of the month. “Leadership has been with us every step of the way, and so we’re hoping to time it out for introduction and hopefully floor time in September,” Rep. Kat Cammack said. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said they’re conducting their last listening sessions this week and taking staff input before finalizing language. Cammack added they’re also weighing moving the recommendations as a complete package or in two tranches, as some provisions can be addressed with a House rules change while others require Senate action.
Mia McCarthy, Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Riley Rogerson and Chris Marquette contributed to this report.
- Thune: Data centers should be ‘self-sufficient’
- Mike Johnson says he has ‘no plans’ to campaign with Max Miller
- Introducing Rep. Aisha Wahab
- Trump invites battleground Republicans to Rose Garden dinner
- Capitol agenda: GOP does Dallas? Not so much
- Republicans struggle for footing on data center response ahead of midterms
- Susan Collins on Trump, tariffs and her fight for Maine
- Hospitals say coming Trump administration rules are worse than GOP’s Medicaid cuts
- Congress warms to Trump’s Hollywood tax credit effort
- Republicans aren’t exactly flocking to Trump’s midterm convention
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