Congress

John Kennedy is the Senate GOP’s unlikely campaign-trail star

Published

3 months ago

July 10, 2026

In the halls of Congress, Sen. John Kennedy has long been known as the master of the excruciatingly folksy one-liner. His profile off Capitol Hill, however, has recently exploded — thanks to an increasing tempo of Fox News hits, a bestselling book and a growing TikTok following.

The 74-year-old Louisianan is putting his burgeoning notoriety to work for his Senate Republican colleagues, criss-crossing the country for a series of surprisingly successful events where he’s dropping his trademark bons mots, fielding questions about a future presidential bid and discussing “Margaret” — the exercise machine sitting in his carport that is named after Margaret Thatcher and is a guest star in his viral videos.

“When I go into a state and headline a fundraiser for one of my colleagues, it seems to attract people,” Kennedy said in an interview. “I think I’m like the new animal in the zoo. They don’t know what it is, but they like to poke to see what will happen.”

A trip to Ohio for Sen. Jon Husted helped raise more than $2 million, Kennedy said, and he appeared in New Hampshire with former Sen. John Sununu, who is looking to regain the seat he lost in 2008 to outgoing Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.

Kennedy also recently headlined state-party events in Indiana and Tennessee, the latter of which broke fundraising records, according to attendees. Kennedy said he’s also planning stops in Michigan, Georgia and other battleground Senate states.

“Some of them I have to tell, no, because you can’t be everywhere,” he said. “And frankly some of my colleagues don’t need it — you know they’re going to win anyways.”

Husted praised Kennedy during one of their campaign stops as having a “common-sense approach to governing.” Kennedy, in typical fashion, described Husted more colorfully — as “what cool looks like.”

When Kennedy, at a Politics & Eggs event also attended by Sununu, said that he loved New Hampshire, an audience member yelled back: “Well, we love you!”

Kennedy previously traveled in 2024 to help support key Senate races. But this campaign swing comes as Kennedy’s social and political cachet is on the rise — and it’s especially notable because he has no declared leadership ambitions, which is what tends to put sitting senators on the fundraising circuit.

His appearances on Fox News have earned him fans among Republican voters well beyond the borders of his home state. But his notoriety spread further after publishing “How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will,” which spent months on The New York Times bestseller list.

Kennedy discussed his book full of mostly tongue-in-cheek insider observations at the New Hampshire event, saying it would make readers “think” but also “may make you day-drink.”

He is planning to run for reelection to his Senate seat in 2028. Kennedy, however, has acknowledged that efforts have been made to recruit him into the presidential race by people with “a lot of money.” Kennedy didn’t rule out a possible White House bid, summing up his feelings as “never say never.”

Kennedy’s breakout comes as he’s carved out a lane on Capitol Hill as a deliverer of folksy aphorisms who is typically a reliable vote for leadership and Trump but is occasionally willing to throw an elbow.

He put up a stink for days last year over a government funding package — but ultimately accepted a deal that let the bills move forward. He sank a judicial nominee during Trump’s first term and warned in an interview last month that he was willing to vote against a key appeals court pick if Trump nominates someone he can’t support.

Kennedy said he doesn’t go to the White House just to hang out, like some colleagues. And while Kennedy has acknowledged that Trump has sometimes gotten angry with him, he believes he has a good and candid relationship with Trump.

He was part of a group of GOP lawmakers who went to 1600 Pennsylvania in May to press the president on a stalled housing bill. Trump also called him to consult on potential replacements for Kristi Noem shortly before the president removed her from her post as Department of Homeland Security secretary.

His quotemongering can sometimes be hokey — especially for someone with degrees from Vanderbilt, Virginia Law and Oxford — but his colleagues view him as a serious legislator who is willing to use his leverage to advance his conservative policy agenda and isn’t afraid to ruffle fellow Republicans’ feathers.

Those colleagues still take note of his way with words. As Kennedy was talking to a Blue Light News reporter recently, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) crashed the conversation to note, “Damn, he’s got good quotes.”

He now has a much broader audience for his down-home wit courtesy of short-form video. One TikTok about the driveway elliptical machine has more than 5 million views — meaning Margaret might now rival “Beth,” the vintage Hoover vacuum wielded by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) ahead of family gatherings, for social-media fame.

Kennedy said his staff gave him some general advice for how to approach the vertical videos to be “normal” and to not be “serious” or make videos about “policy stuff.”

“They said, ‘Just be yourself,’ which is frankly a dangerous instruction, that’s what I tried to do, and they sent me home one weekend with instructions to film the video … and I decided to do one with Margaret,” Kennedy said.

More recently he posted about his dog Charlie with one viewer comparing him to “America’s uncle.” He praised his wife’s chicken salad — using the same words of praise he’s used for omelets and the states of Ohio and New Hampshire — as being “better than sex.” And he filmed a video talking about his backyard being filled with his dogs’ poop, acknowledging in an interview that his wife “goes ballistic” when he uses kitchen knives to clean it out of his tennis shoes.

And while Kennedy says he has “no idea” if any of his colleagues are watching his TikTok videos, they appear to have caught on both in Washington and outside of it.

“I don’t understand it, really don’t,” Kennedy said. “But people stop me all the time and ask how Margaret is.”

Congress

Troy Carter launches bid to run Congressional Black Caucus

Published

16 minutes ago

September 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.) launched a run to head the Congressional Black Caucus, making official his long-anticipated and heavily favored bid to take over the powerful group.

Carter announced his plans in a letter to colleagues sent Tuesday and obtained by Blue Light News, saying, “I will listen carefully. I will work hard. I will act when action is needed.”

Carter has support from much of the CBC and has positioned himself as a fierce ally of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Next term, the CBC is anticipating an influx of prospective ultraprogressive members. In his letter, Carter signaled he welcomes ideological diversity in the caucus.

“As Chair, I will respect the tremendous diversity of talent, experience, geography, ideology, and perspective within our Caucus,” Carter said in the letter. “Every Member should know that their voice matters, that they have a seat at the table, and that when they need their Caucus, their Caucus will be there.”

In a July interview with POLITICO, Carter previewed how he would lead the caucus, whose membership has been threatened by Republican-led redistricting in the South in the wake of an April Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais that limited the Voting Rights Act .

“If those who are out there banking on us being quieted, going away, not fighting for the rights of individuals, and providing resources to those that have been historically left behind, they are sadly mistaken,” he said at the time.

On other matters that the CBC will have to consider next term, he said he’s not keen on carving up majority-minority districts in blue states to create new Democratic seats, but he struck a softer note on seniority rights for committee assignments, saying: “I have never believed that a person that comes in with superior expertise in a subject matter should be told to wait.”

Congress

Senate Republican seeks to fast-track AI whistleblower bill

Published

31 minutes ago

September 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley is trying to pass a bill before the midterms that would protect whistleblowers who disclose information about the risks involved in artificial intelligence development, according to two people granted anonymity to disclose nonpublic information.

The Iowa Republican is seeking to move it through unanimous consent — a way to expedite passage on the Senate floor that hinges on an agreement from all 100 senators to let the measure through.

Only one senator has to object in order to doom the effort. Grassley is in the process of privately checking with colleagues to see if someone will register opposition, according to the two people with knowledge of his efforts. He likely has until the end of this week to seal the deal, as senators are eager to begin their lengthy recess to campaign ahead of the November elections.

Even if someone indicates privately they oppose the bill, Grassley may go to the Senate floor and try to pass the bill anyways, one of the people said — a way to force a colleague to go on the record publicly blocking the measure and defend their position.

A longtime champion of whistleblower protections, Grassley introduced this specific legislation in May 2025. Original cosponsors included Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Brian Schatz of Hawaii. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, as well as Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), have more recently signed onto the bill.

The push for passage now comes as a flurry of current and former employees of leading AI labs have emerged to share alarm over the rapid pace of AI advancements and its potential for catastrophic consequences if left unchecked.

And while it wouldn’t come close to the kind of AI regulatory framework some lawmakers are clamoring for Congress to enact, it would represent a step toward bringing some accountability to AI development practices that some critics worry lacks necessary transparency.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Republicans riddled by stay-or-go dilemma

Published

4 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Republican senators are stuck in a fight or flight dilemma as they weigh their midterm strategy this week.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t made a call yet about cutting the session short to get lawmakers back on the campaign trail or keeping them in Washington to try and address growing voter unease with inflation and gas prices fueled by President Donald Trump’s war in Iran.

Republicans will discuss the schedule during their closed-door caucus lunch Wednesday afternoon, two people granted anonymity to discuss planning tell Blue Light News.

“We ought to be doing anything we possibly can to try to help” lower the cost of living, Sen. Jim Justice said. “The problem is everybody is running to get out of the doors and everything so they can go preserve their ability to get reelected.”

As of now, the chamber will spend its final days this week focused on passage of a college sports bill, setting up a split screen between the real economic pain hitting Americans and the relatively light stakes of the chamber’s floor agenda. That in itself is adding to the anxiety of some GOP lawmakers raising concerns their majority is in real peril.

At the same time, it’s unclear whether lawmakers can reach a consensus on any consequential legislation in such a short window to address rising costs, and any successful bills would sit idly in the now recessed House.

Still, a handful of senators are making last-ditch appeals for legislative action.

Sen. Jon Husted told reporters Tuesday he’s hoping for a vote on his bill to curb data center-related energy costs.

“It’s foolish both policy-wise and political-wise not to put it on the floor,” Sen. John Kennedy said about Husted’s bill.

Sen. Roger Marshall, who like Husted is locked in a closer-than-expected race, floated a vote on his long-stalled bill capping credit card “swipe fees” — which he said would “lower the cost of gasoline two or three percent” for those putting it on plastic.

And Sen. Susan Collins said she wants to see her bipartisan insulin bill get a vote on the floor next week.

Collins is also pressing for a long-sought bipartisan permitting reform deal to come together this week, which Republicans believe would show voters they are committed to addressing affordability issues.

What else we’re watching:

— PERMITTING DEAL FATE COULD SET UP EXIT: Striking an energy permitting deal could be enough of a reason to keep senators in session longer to vote on it, Thune told Blue Light News on Tuesday night. “If we can get a deal there, that’s something that most of our members believe is really consequential legislation and worthwhile,” Thune said, adding Republicans would discuss the issue at their weekly lunch Wednesday. The deal got new life after Trump signaled he’d ease his administration’s blockade on wind projects to help grease negotiations with Democrats.

— HOUSE GOP LEADERS WEIGH PRE-MIDTERM RETURN: Chatter is picking up in Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership circle about the possibility of a pre-midterm House return — but such a move would likely only happen if the Senate passes energy permitting reform, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. What else GOP leaders must weigh: the chamber’s return would trigger an impeachment vote on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, something Republicans had hoped to avoid before the election. Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz told Blue Light News TUESDAY night he believes the House would come back early to take up his college sports bill if senators pass it this week, but timing would be “a decision for the speaker.”

Jordain Carney, Josh Siegel, Meredith Lee Hill, Mia McCarthy and Kelsey Brugger contributed to this report.