Congress

Johnson pursues a ‘modified’ FISA extension

Published

6 months ago

April 16, 2026

Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to strike an agreement to make changes to an extension of a key spy authority ahead of a planned vote Thursday afternoon, as House GOP hard-liners continue to oppose a clean, 18-month reauthorization of the expiring program.

One option under consideration is shortening the length of the current, clean bill to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to one year — down from the 18 months favored by leadership and the White House — according to four people granted anonymity to share details of private conversations.

Those people also said there’s talk of potentially adding some new language into the rule teeing up consideration of the extension measure that would crack down on FISA abuses. It’s unclear if that portion can be agreed to.

Republicans involved in the talks have been floating a short-term extension for several days — as Blue Light News first reported — if House GOP holdouts and the White House are unable to strike a deal on a longer extension ahead of the Monday deadline.

Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) said in an interview he was fairly confident his group could secure an agreement with the Trump administration “a longer extension” by the end of Thursday. His members have been discussing an extension longer than 18 months with White House officials and GOP leaders, which ultraconservatives would consent to in exchange for Section 702 reforms.

After huddling Thursday, the Freedom Caucus prepared to pitch GOP leaders on a plan for a three-year FISA extension with “significant reforms,” according to four people.

Before this, Freedom Caucus members and other Republicans were floating a 60-day extension in the event a deal fell through. But GOP leaders have been deeply resistant to that idea, preferring a longer option that will get them through the November elections at the very least.

Asked if he would support a yearlong extension, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said he “probably” would, but would need to see the details of any agreement. Other conservatives are firmly uninterested in that one-year timeline.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise acknowledged to reporters Thursday that leaders are now pursuing an extension that would be “modified” after insisting for weeks they would ram through a clean reauthorization.

Johnson, Scalise and GOP hold-outs discussed a raft of options on the House floor earlier Thursday, following a huddle on whether to pursue a short-term, emergency extension to buy time for continued negotiations past the April 20 deadline — as Blue Light News first reported.

A vote on a standalone amendment that would place guardrails on the use of warrantless surveillance tactics, for which ultraconservatives are agitating, would likely not survive in the Senate and tank the entire package, Republican leaders have privately warned.

Congress

Elon Musk pours another $76 million into boosting Republicans

Published

10 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave another $76 million to boost Republicans in the first two weeks of October, bringing his total giving this cycle to more than $442 million.

The additional funds, which Musk gave to his super PAC, America PAC, make the group one of the biggest super PACs this cycle. America PAC has already spent tens of millions of dollars on digital advertising, mailers and text messages as it targets competitive House and Senate races across the country.

Musk — the world’s wealthiest man — is by far the biggest single donor this cycle, with his political giving this year far exceeding even the roughly $290 million he spent in 2024. There is no precedent in modern American history for any donor spending as much as he has.

While the Tesla CEO and former DOGE lead has spent significantly to help Republicans, he has not been joining GOP candidates on the campaign trail this fall like he had in the past. Republicans privately acknowledged Musk could be politically toxic after the party lost a major Wisconsin judicial race in the spring of 2025 where Musk had become both the biggest funder and a campaign issue.

Still, Musk’s money has been instrumental for Republicans this fall. His earlier giving this cycle includes $158 million for Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, which was transferred to a super PAC boosting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight Senate race against Democrat James Talarico. Democrats have looked to make his money a campaign issue: Talarico recently responded to an attack from Musk on the Musk-owned X social media site by saying that there was “deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator.”

Musk has also given to House Republicans’ super PAC arm, President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC, and a group seeking to repeal Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, along with a smattering of GOP candidates.

Congress

Senate Democrats’ campaign arm takes out $15M loan

Published

10 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Democrats have taken out a $15 million loan as they hope to expand their map in the final days before the midterms.

The party’s campaign arm took out the loan earlier this month, according to a report submitted Thursday to the Federal Election Commission.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent $32 million in the first two weeks of October, with half of those funds going toward coordinated expenditures in 10 states. That includes: $4.7 million Ohio; more than $1 million in each of Iowa, Michigan, Kansas, Alaska and Maine; and additional funds in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire.

The committee reported just over $20 million cash on hand as of Oct. 14, according to its FEC report.

Its GOP counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, previously took out $20 million in loans in September, according to an FEC report filed earlier this week. The DSCC has slightly trailed the NRSC in fundraising for most of the cycle, but Democratic candidates have largely outraised GOP ones across the map — in some cases, several times over.

Democrats’ candidate fundraising advantage has helped offset the GOP’s massive super PAC cash advantage since candidates, and parties working with them, get better rates for broadcast ads.

It’s not unusual for party committees to take out loans late in an election cycle to power last-minute spending. In 2024, the DSCC took out $20 million in loans.

“In the face of being outspent by GOP megadonors, Senate Democrats remain in the best position yet to win the majority, after we strategically and effectively expanded the map and sent Republicans scrambling to play defense in red states everywhere,” DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement. “We will continue to use every tool at our disposal and we will win in November.”

Congress

Kevin McCarthy predicts GOP will lose House majority

Published

16 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted Republicans will lose the House in two weeks, citing historical midterm trends while also criticizing the sitting GOP leadership for how they’ve managed the chamber.

“In the last 100 years, all off-year elections, whoever is the party in power has the White House, has lost seats, and it’s only a few seats for the majority,” McCarthy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Thursday.

Democrats, he added, will “get a majority” in the House: “I’m not quite sure how big it is, but they will probably win the majority.”

The former speaker, who ushered in the current GOP House majority in 2022 but only led the conference for less than a year before being booted from the speakership, went on to fault his own party for giving the election away.

“It’s not that the Democrats are going to win this election,” he said. “Republicans are going to lose it.”

He pointed to the skimpy House legislative calendar as a factor. Speaker Mike Johnson and his deputies have routinely canceled scheduled session days amid member revolts that have undermined his grip on the razor-thin majority.

“You’re only given 24 months in a majority to manage it. They were in the fewest amount of days. They let the Democrats dictate,” McCarthy said. “You have to give a reason why to win. What are the three things Republicans will do if they win the majority? I can’t tell you what that is.”

Still, McCarthy cautioned that if Democrats win the House, it won’t be because they have laid out their own agenda and warned that he believes that Democrats will face their own hurdles.

“Democrats are not popular. They haven’t laid out an agenda on what they’ll do,” McCarthy said. “So they’ll have a really hard time governing in the next Congress.”