Congress

Jeffries calls on Biden to pardon more Americans

Published

2 years ago

December 3, 2024

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called on President Joe Biden to pardon more people convicted of nonviolent offenses amid controversy over the president’s pardon of his son, Hunter Biden.

“During his final weeks in office, President Biden should exercise the high level of compassion he has consistently demonstrated throughout his life, including toward his son, and pardon on a case-by-case basis the working-class Americans in the federal prison system whose lives have been ruined by unjustly aggressive prosecutions for nonviolent offenses,” Jeffries said in a statement.

Jeffries’ comments echo the calls from some other Democrats who in recent days have asked Biden to use his clemency powers for more Americans in federal custody besides Hunter and to address sentencing disparities. But it did not pass judgment on the pardon of Hunter Biden itself. Some in the caucus have openly criticized the president since the pardon was issued and said it could tarnish his legacy and open a lane for Donald Trump to issue similar sweeping pardons.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Why Miller’s Ethics probe may be a bust

Published

8 hours ago

August 11, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The House Ethics panel dealt the final blow derailing GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards’ re-election campaign last week, but don’t expect the same scenario to happen to Rep. Max Miller.

Miller, an Ohio Republican, is officially on the ballot this fall after pressure campaigns failed to push him out amid domestic abuse allegations he denies. The GOP is now coming to terms with Miller as their candidate, with members of the White House political team telling Republicans in the state to tamper down calls for Miller to drop out last week as it became clear he was immovable.

“They basically told us to back off,” said one Ohio Republican involved in the conversations, “and let the voters decide.”

Speaker Mike Johnson, meanwhile, told POLITICO he plans to withhold judgment on whether Miller is fit for office until the Ethics Committee works through its process.

”We have to allow this process to play out. It’s just begun,” Johnson said last week.

But neither voters nor Johnson should expect to get any clarity on the claims against Miller from the bipartisan House panel and its non-partisan staff charged with investigating member misconduct. The panel’s probe — instigated by Miller’s self-filing last week — is highly unlikely to be completed before the committee’s traditional pre-election 60-day blackout period, which begins in early September.

That delay is politically convenient for Miller as well as for Johnson, who is already grappling with a razor-thin margin that would be further eroded if Miller faced pressure to step down.

A spokesperson for Johnson didn’t respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the Ethics Committee declined to comment on the probe’s timing, as the panel traditionally does not comment on open investigations.

In last week’s case involving Edwards, it was the Ethics panel’s detailed report finding the North Carolina lawmaker engaged in “persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct towards two young female staffers” that was the final straw to end his reelection campaign. Edwards announced he’d drop out following public outcry and pressure from fellow Republicans.

North Carolina party leaders picked Jennifer Balkcom last night to replace Edwards on the ballot.

But Edwards’ probe was months in the making, and the pace of Ethics Committee investigations varies widely. Some inquiries have spanned multiple Congresses, including an investigation into the campaign activity of former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

The launch of other investigations have galvanized public pressure more rapidly. Former Rep. Tony Gonzales, who was being investigated earlier this year for having a sexual relationship with a staffer, resigned shortly after the panel ramped up its scrutiny as an expulsion vote also loomed.

At the time, Gonzales was facing a primary battle. Johnson also said he would let the process “play out.”

What else we’re watching:

— CASSIDY BLASTS TRUMP’S VACCINE ORDER: Sen. Bill Cassidy pushed back Monday on Trump’s executive order directing federal agencies to reduce the number of recommended vaccines children get and spread the shots over more appointments. “This executive order is wrong. The President does not have the expertise to make these changes,” Cassidy posted on X. “Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots. It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe.” The move comes months ahead of the midterm elections on an issue that Trump’s own pollsters have warned is unpopular, but that the president has long shown a personal interest in.

— DEMS BRACE FOR WALL STREET CRYPTO PLANS: SEC Chair Paul Atkins and CFTC Chair Michael Selig may soon get a glimpse of the challenge they could face if Republicans lose control of either chamber or both in November. The Wall Street regulators are readying new cryptocurrency rules after lawmakers punted on a digital assets bill before heading home for recess. The Clarity Act setback has put the SEC and CFTC in position to drive crypto policymaking. But they risk a backlash from the left as lawmakers fear they’re too cozy with the industry.

Meredith Lee Hill, Erin Doherty, Cheyenne Haslett, David Lim, Sophie Garnder and Declan Harty contributed to this report.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Republicans brace for Trump’s wrath

Published

1 day ago

August 10, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump has held his fire since senators skipped town for five weeks without advancing his elections security bill. Some Republicans don’t expect that to last.

Senators punted until at least September any vote on a framework for a third party-line spending bill that includes parts of the SAVE America Act, rather than hold a failed vote.

Whether Trump accepts that explanation is entirely unclear.

Some Republicans privately are prepared for the mercurial president’s yearslong obsession with the election measure to resurface over the recess and risk further inflaming the party’s base just months before GOP senators need those same voters to turn out.

“That would be consistent with his approach,” Sen. Mike Rounds said about the possibility. But “we also know the votes aren’t there,” he added.

Senate conservatives tried different ways to appease the president before leaving.

Budget Chair Ron Johnson said they spoke directly with Trump before pulling the plug on any vote as they struggled to corral support to advance a budget resolution. Johnson said Trump blessed delaying the vote to September.

And Majority Leader John Thune called up a vote on a simpler voter ID bill that unifies the GOP conference, rather than the more complex SAVE America Act that includes provisions restricting mail-in voting, for example, that some in the party don’t support.

Still, some Republicans don’t believe it’ll be enough to satisfy Trump given his relentless focus on nixing the filibuster and passing the election bill, a hardball strategy that there also isn’t sufficient support for within the conference.

One GOP senator, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said Thune wanted to hold a vote on the voter ID bill because “he thinks it will give us cover with the president.”

“I think he’s wrong,” the senator added.

Asked if he thought the voter ID bill vote would satisfy Trump, Thune said in an interview “good question, but I think if they want votes, we’ll try and get votes, but I can’t guarantee outcomes.”

Sen. Mike Lee and other conservatives continue trying to twist the conference’s arm, vowing to “keep fighting” for the GOP bill and to renew the effort once the chamber returns.

But Trump and his allies’ continued focus on legislation that doesn’t have the votes to pass has frustrated many Republicans, who worry that strategy is sowing division rather than uniting the party against Democrats that they need to defeat.

“I hear what the administration is saying,” Sen. Thom Tills said. “I look at political data almost every day of the week. …I don’t see [the SAVE America Act] as one of the major factors that are going to get out to the polls.”

What else we’re watching:

— HOURS LEFT FOR MILLER DROP-OUT WATCH: Rep. Max Miller has less than 12 hours to drop out of his race and let Ohio party leaders replace his name on the November ballot. So far, Miller is signaling that’s not going to happen. The Ohio Republican has until 4 p.m. Monday to drop out of his race for reelection in the Cleveland suburb district. But Miller has remained defiant amid allegations of domestic abuse from Emily Moreno, his ex-wife and the daughter of Ohio GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno.

— HEGSETH FAILS TO WIN GOP BUDGET SUPPORT — Senators began their break no closer to enacting the crown jewel of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s agenda: a record-breaking $1.5 trillion defense budget. Hegseth hasn’t persuaded Republicans to steamroll Democrats and advance the money in a party-line plan, despite regularly trekking to Blue Light News and hobnobbing with lawmakers. Instead, an increasingly vocal group of GOP lawmakers argue the administration hasn’t explained why Republicans should burn valuable political capital in pursuit of Trump’s vision — especially with the midterms just months away.

Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy, Connor O’Brien and Mark Satter contributed to this report.

Congress

Senate confirms Blanche as attorney general

Published

3 days ago

August 8, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate Saturday confirmed Todd Blanche to be attorney general, following a weeks-long struggle with a handful of wary Republicans.

The Senate voted 50-49 to approve him, with GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining with Democrats in opposition.

Blanche, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, has been serving as acting attorney general since Pam Bondi’s ouster in April. Questions about Blanche’s potential conflicts of interest from representing Trump, as well as his role in the creation of a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of Trump’s settlement this spring with the IRS, created headwinds to his confirmation among a key group of Senate Republicans.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who lost re-election after Trump endorsed a primary challenger, helped Blanche clinch his 50th vote Friday. He said Blanche wasn’t perfect but that he wasn’t sure Trump would pick someone better to lead the Justice Department.

“The choice is not between perfection and Mr. Blanche,” Cassidy said on the Senate floor. “It is between Mr. Blanche and another acting attorney general who may not run the department effectively under President Trump and who indeed may not be as good as Mr. Blanche.”

Cassidy’s support came after Blanche had already spent weeks negotiating with Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, who vetted his nomination as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Cornyn struck an agreement with Blanche Sunday for the DOJ to curtail the payout fund and rein in a deal to exempt Trump from IRS audits.

Cassidy’s support came hours after Murkowski announced that she would oppose Blanche’s nomination, putting it on the brink of potential failure. Between unified opposition from Democrats and Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence for health reasons, Blanche could only lose two Republicans and still be confirmed.

Hours before Friday’s vote, Murkowski told reporters she spoke with Blanche multiple times but that she was “good with where I am.” She said there was no “one” thing that motivated her decision.

“If there was one thing, we might be able to go back to the White House and say ‘Hey, can we work on this one thing,’” she said. “But for me it was a compilation.”

She added that she believed the anti-weaponization fund is “pretty dead” but “what is not so clear” are the audit immunity provisions of Trump’s IRS agreement, “which I just think are viewed by so many in this country as kind of a special and sweet deal for the president and his family.”