Congress
Jeffries calls on Biden to pardon more Americans
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.
The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing next week on Jay Clayton’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence — paving the way for replacing the controversial acting director Bill Pulte and clearing the way for an extension of a lapsed spy authority.
Committee Chair Tom Cotton officially scheduled the confirmation hearing for July 15. The Arkansas Republican had originally intended to convene Clayton’s hearing last month, but those plans were derailed when President Donald Trump announced the confirmation process for Clayton would not go forward until James McDonald’s nomination to succeed Clayton as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York was approved.
Trump appeared to come around late last week, telling reporters that Clayton’s hearing would take place in two weeks. A spokesperson for Cotton didn’t comment at the time, but a person with knowledge of the matter, granted anonymity to disclose private scheduling, told Blue Light News Cotton was aiming to hold a hearing on July 15.
Republicans want to confirm Clayton before leaving for a weeks-long break at the start of August and hope that moving his nomination will break a stalemate over a three-year extension of Section 702 authority of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Democrats have said they won’t vote for the reauthorization until Pulte, a Trump ally who they deem as unqualified, is removed from the post.
Spokespeople for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Majority Whip John Barrasso said the two leaders spoke this week with Sen. Mitch McConnell, who has been hospitalized since June 14.
Disclosure of the calls — with Thune Monday and Barrasso Tuesday — comes amid rampant speculation from conservative influencers online about McConnell’s health and little detail from the Kentucky Republican’s own office about the reason for his hospitalization or his condition.
Thune and McConnell “had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security,” a spokesperson for the majority leader said in a statement Tuesday.
Kate Noyes, a spokesperson for Barrasso, said the No. 2 leader and McConnell “had a lengthy conversation early this afternoon,” speaking by phone for roughly 20 minutes.
“They caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits,” as well as the Senate agenda, she added. “Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”
Both men previously said they had spoken to McConnell in the immediate aftermath of his hospitalization. In addition to Thune and Barrasso, Scott Jennings, a longtime McConnell adviser who is now a BLN commentator, posted on social media Tuesday that he had also spoken with McConnell.
A spokesperson for McConnell did not directly respond to a Tuesday request for a status update on the senator’s health. McConnell staffers did email news outlets to flag the calls with Thune, Barrasso and Jennings, and pointed reporters back to a Thursday statement that said McConnell “continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff.”
That was the latest in a series of occasional updates from McConnell’s staff that have said nothing about why he was hospitalized or remains under medical care.
Suggestions online that McConnell could be in grave condition exploded over the past week after news outlets reported on D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services radio traffic that indicated a person at the former GOP leader’s address was found unconscious and required cardiac resuscitation.
Two Supreme Court justices will testify on Capitol Hill next week, marking the first time since 2019 that members of the high court will testify on their annual budget request to Congress.
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan will appear July 14 before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, which has jurisdiction over the annual spending measure that funds the Supreme Court, according to a scheduling announcement from House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole.
They will also give testimony that same day to members of the Senate Appropriations Committee, according to a person granted anonymity to disclose scheduling not yet made public.
The Supreme Court requested a boost of more than $14 million for fiscal 2027 for security for the nine justices. House Appropriators have advanced legislation that would fund the Supreme Court at $207 million — nearly $44 million more than the current enacted funding levels.
Lawmakers of both parties and chambers are seeking more information about how the court plans to use the funds. Senior appropriators have said they are hoping to keep questioning tightly focused on operations and expenses of the court rather than on cases pending before the justices.
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