Congress

Megabill threatens to languish as challenges pile up

Published

1 year ago

June 26, 2025

Republicans aren’t panicking about their fraying domestic policy bill. But they aren’t exactly sure about how it’s all going to come together, either.

Senate Republicans emerged from a closed-door lunch meeting Thursday putting on a brave face about the megabill’s progress. Yet this time last week, members were expecting revised text of the sprawling bill Monday with votes starting a couple of days later. In other words, they thought they’d be close to done by now.

Instead, Majority Leader John Thune refrained from giving his members a specific timeline during a closed-door lunch Thursday, according to three attendees granted anonymity to describe the private meeting. Senators are preparing to stay in town and vote through the weekend, but internal policy disputes and procedural roadblocks thrown up by the chamber’s parliamentarian are keeping firmer plans in flux.

A July 4 deadline being pushed by the White House hangs over Capitol Hill as the only real forcing mechanism, and some Republicans said they were glad to have it even if many others harbor doubts about whether that target can be met.

“I don’t think it gets easier to pass going longer,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota. “The more time we take, the more people find things they want to change.”

The latest blow for the GOP came after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough warned that key Medicaid language would not comply with the strict rules that govern what can be included in a bill Republicans intend to pass along party lines using special budget rules. GOP senators expressed confidence they would be able to address MacDonough’s concerns, which some described as “technical,” and salvage the proposal.

But that, Thune acknowledged, will take time and threaten his plan of holding an initial vote Friday: “The parliamentarian’s decisions may push that back.”

Noticeably absent from the debate early Thursday was President Donald Trump, who has the bulk of his legislative agenda tied up in the bill. He returned late Wednesday from a trip to Europe and is scheduled to hold a White House event on the megabill Thursday afternoon.

His lobbying is widely seen as a necessary ingredient in getting the bill done. And for all the anxiety about the parliamentarian decisions Thursday, the more profound issue for Republicans are their internal divides about the policy provisions in the bill — particularly those dealing with Medicaid.

MacDonough’s rejection of initial language curtailing state provider taxes, which most states use to leverage federal health care dollars, emboldened the so-called “Medicaid moderates,” who believe the proposal is not ready for prime time. Nor have they been convinced by leadership’s offer of a $15 billion rural hospital fund, though negotiations are expected to force that number higher.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who spoke with Trump Wednesday about the Medicaid language, said the ruling gave Republicans “a chance to get it right” and expected Trump would be more involved now that he’s “back on terra firma.”

“I think he wants this done. But he wants it done well. He doesn’t want this to be a Medicaid cut bill — he made that very clear to me,” Hawley said. “He said this is a tax cut bill, it’s not a Medicaid cut bill. I think he’s tired of hearing about all these Medicaid cuts.”

Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) walked Republicans through MacDonough’s rulings during the closed-door lunch. Most left saying it would be relatively straightforward to tweak the proposal and keep it in the bill. Senate GOP leaders are counting on the questioned provisions to generate some $250 billion in savings to offset tax cuts and other costly items.

“I’m feeling much better after lunch,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said walking out. “The parliamentarian did kind of a little bit of a hand grenade, but I’ve been encouraged by what we heard.”

The tight-lipped Crapo would not discuss details of MacDonough’s rulings Thursday. But Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota said that, based on Crapo’s briefing, the issue had to do with a provision that would freeze provider taxes in states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs under the Affordable Care Act.

“It was a technical issue with a technical solution,” he said.

Other pitfalls remain to be seen. Republicans are still waiting for MacDonough to issue rulings on their tax plan, while other committees are waiting on final decisions on a crucial food-aid plan and other provisions they had to rework after she rejected their initial efforts.

And while senators have been focused on resolving their own disputes, they also have to be mindful of the narrowly divided House — where pockets of Republicans have continued to raise angry objections to changes their Senate counterparts have been making to the bill that passed the House last month.

No group has been more vocal than the blue-state Republicans pushing for an expansion of the state-and-local-tax deduction. They received an offer brokered by the administration Thursday that would keep the House-passed $40,000 deduction cap but lower the income threshold and change how the deduction is indexed to inflation, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the talks.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) was one of several key players who poured cold water on the offer, saying that he “declined the offer to participate … in further faux-negotiations until the Senate gets real.” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a key go-between, insisted “we’re going to find a landing spot.”

For House conservatives, meanwhile, the outrage of the day was MacDonough’s new decisions axing the health care provisions — including some aimed at excluding undocumented immigrants from federal benefits. Several publicly called on senators to overrule the parliamentarian, or fire her outright — a power Thune holds.

Most Republican senators rejected that demand Thursday, warning that it would derail the reconciliation process.

“People should remember that what comes around goes around when it comes to the parliamentarian,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key undecided vote. “She may rule the way you like one day, the way you don’t the next.”

Thune also rejected calls to sidestep MacDonough, though the headache could become substantially worse if Trump weighs in. So far the White House is staying out of the Senate’s procedural machinations and even Trump’s allies are signaling that he should keep quiet when it comes to MacDonough.

“I hope he doesn’t,” Cramer said.

Benjamin Guggenheim and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Thune and Trump plot GOP money wave

Published

3 hours ago

October 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

John Thune has money on his mind in the final stretch before the midterms.

The Senate majority leader, in an exclusive conversation Monday with Blue Light News on the campaign trail, said funding for Republicans has dominated his recent conversations with President Donald Trump and his staff as the party tries to divvy up its spending to hold onto seats in closer-than-expected races while picking up spots in other states.

“I think the president is sincerely interested in trying to do whatever he can to help the team,” Thune said. “You know, some of the states have gotten very expensive.”

Thune’s focus highlights the emerging story defining the 2026 midterms: Is there enough Republican money, and can it be spent fast enough to counter surging Democratic campaigns and a lackluster national environment for the GOP?

Thune was at a news conference Monday with Senate GOP candidate Michele Tafoya in Minnesota — a state where the party increasingly sees a pickup opportunity after Democrats nominated progressive Peggy Flanagan.

Minnesota is one possible state where Trump could deploy his $400 million war chest, Thune said. But he was vague when asked about Republicans’ potential commitment to the race. He named Michigan and New Hampshire as other GOP pickup opportunities.

Republicans are simultaneously having to play defense in a growing list of red states, like Iowa, Kansas and Alaska. And the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund recently pulled back spending in North Carolina — essentially surrendering a GOP-held seat to Democrats — while increasing its spending in Kansas.

Thune referred to the super PAC’s North Carolina decision as a “pause” in financial support.

And then there’s Texas, where Republicans are deploying hundreds of millions of dollars as they struggle to drag GOP nominee Ken Paxton over the finish line. Thune said “dedicated donors” focused on Texas have prevented the need to siphon funding away from other states.

Thune declined Monday to put odds on the GOP’s chances of keeping Senate control, but repeated, “I think we can keep the majority.”

The results may carry personal stakes for him, as he is expected to run for leader again. And while no other senator has raised their hand against him, some conservatives have questioned whether Trump would publicly turn on Thune if Republicans lose.

“I can’t control that,” Thune said, adding that the Republican conference would ultimately make the decision. “What the president does or doesn’t do … you just move forward and let the chips fall where they may.”

What else we’re watching:

— THUNE CHECKS TRUMP’S DAYLIGHT SAVING ZEAL — Thune also said Monday there is no “consensus” yet on Congress establishing permanent daylight saving time — even as Trump ramps up pressure to pass it. “The president feels strongly on it like he does a lot of issues,” Thune said. “It’s something we’re having conversations about, but there’s no clear path forward or consensus on it yet.” Thune also made clear that while Trump singled out Sen. Tom Cotton for scrutiny, opposition to the bill — which would lead to late winter sunrises in some parts of the country — runs deeper than one senator.

— BUCKS FOR BABIES PLAN DRAWS MURRAY IRE — Top Democratic appropriator Patty Murray is blasting a Trump administration plan to reward communities with high birth and marriage rates with a bigger share of federal transit money. “Tying funding for transit projects to marriage rates and how many babies a woman has is the sort of bizarre and dystopian idea you’d expect in a TV show, not actual policy put forth by the U.S. government — yet here we are,” Murray said in a statement. The Federal Transit Administration wants to revamp a multibillion-dollar program that helps state and local authorities fund infrastructure projects such as rail improvements and new bus lanes. The agency opened public feedback on the plan this month.

Jordain Carney and Sam Ogozalek contributed to this report.

Congress

John Thune has money on his mind

Published

6 hours ago

October 6, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

LE SUEUR, Minnesota — The word on John Thune’s mind these days is “resources.”

In the Senate majority leader’s recollection, it was a dominant topic in his recent conversations with President Donald Trump, including at a recent visit to the White House, not to mention in his frequent conversation with Trump’s political team — and in an exclusive conversation with Blue Light News Monday during a Midwest campaign swing.

“I think the president is sincerely interested in trying to do whatever he can to help the team,” Thune said about his midterm conversations with the president and his advisers. “I also share with him, too, the importance of just the resources in some of these states. You know, some of the states have gotten very expensive.”

As Trump focuses on turning out his own voters — a message the president is taking into his own hands in a series of preelection rallies — Thune is making sure he also has money on his mind: “I … just conveyed to him the importance of ensuring that our candidates are well-resourced.”

Thune’s focus underscores the emerging question defining the 2026 midterms: Is there enough Republican money, and can it be spent fast enough, to counter surging Democratic campaigns and a lackluster national environment for the GOP?

It’s a narrative both sides largely agree on — Thune’s Democratic counterpart, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, said as much last week — even as each leader insists his side will prevail.

Thune declined Monday to put odds on the GOP’s chances of keeping control of the Senate but said repeatedly, “I think we can keep the majority.”

“I think all of these races are margin of error, at least the ones that we have to win,” he added. “And historically, at least if you look at polls, we tend to outperform them.”

Unlike Schumer, who is keeping a low profile in October and focusing on private fundraising, Thune is barnstorming the country — visiting a mix of deep-red and battleground states.

Minnesota was not expected to be in play for Republicans when Thune took over as leader nearly two years ago. Democratic incumbent Sen. Tina Smith had a clear path to reelection in a state that has not elected a GOP senator since 2002.

But Smith chose to retire, and Democrats nominated an unabashed progressive, Peggy Flanagan, who is now facing Michele Tafoya, the well-known former sportscaster, in November. Recent public polls have shown the race in single digits, and Thune was not shy about including it alongside Michigan and New Hampshire as a GOP pickup opportunity.

Mentioning Minnesota is one thing, but investing in it is another, and national groups affiliated with Thune have not made major investments in the state so far. Standing next to Thune at a news conference Monday, Tafoya made the case for that to change.

“We have had three or four straight weeks of really solid polls,” she said. “This is one worth investing in. We are right there.”

But they both kept things vague when asked about Washington Republicans’ potential commitment to the race — including how much cash would be necessary to overcome 24 years of futility and a bad political environment.

Both Thune and Tafoya used the same words to answer that question: “We haven’t had that conversation.”

Thune put the party’s spending decisions into a larger context: “If the president is looking for places where he can make a difference … we’re in touch on a daily basis with his team and hopefully they will — as they already have — continue to help us leverage the resources that we’ve got to bring to bear to get the best possible impact and outcome in these key states.”

Thune pointed to Minnesota as one possible state where Trump could choose to deploy his $400-million-plus war chest. But the tiny national footprint in the Gopher State pales next to the hundreds of millions of dollars being spent in Texas — an expensive state Thune and Trump continue to discuss as Republicans struggle to drag Senate nominee Ken Paxton over the finish line.

Asked about the super-sized investments there, Thune declined to connect the massive spending on Paxton to tough decisions elsewhere on the map. “Dedicated donors” focused on Texas, he said, have meant GOP groups haven’t yet had to siphon funding away from other key states.

But the tough decisions are nevertheless underway. As Republican candidates play defense in a growing list of red states, the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund recently pulled back spending in North Carolina — essentially surrendering a GOP-held seat to Democrats — while increasing its spending in Kansas.

Thune referred to the decision as a “pause” in financial support for nominee Michael Whatley.

The reasons for the political headwinds were on display Monday at an agriculture-focused roundtable, where Thune and Tafoya heard about the impact of Trump’s trade war with Canada, the president’s decision to import foreign beef and the high diesel prices that followed his decision to attack Iran.

Thune, a South Dakotan fluent in farm-state politics, touted Tafoya as someone who could help address some of those concerns by being a “great voice on issues like agriculture” if she makes it to the Senate.

His broader message in the interview, however, was to cast the midterm election as “choice” between the two parties rather than a referendum on the Iran war and the ensuing spike in energy prices. Democrats want “more spending,” “higher costs,” and “open borders,” he said, while Republicans had put “more money in your pockets” with their 2025 tax bill.

“Iran is temporary,” he said. “It will be behind us. Gas prices are going to come down, so who do you want to invest in for the next two years, four years?”

The midterm results carry personal stakes for Thune, who is expected to run for leader again in internal Senate GOP elections that are expected to take place just days after the midterms, regardless of the outcome.

Thune remains well-liked within the Senate GOP conference, and no other senator has raised his or her hand to run against him. But some conservatives, in and out of the Senate, have privately questioned whether Trump would publicly turn on Thune if Republicans lose their majority.

Asked about that possibility, Thune said, “I can’t control that.” He added that “the Republican conference” would ultimately make the decision.

“What the president does or doesn’t do … you just move forward and let the chips fall where they may,” he said. “All I can say is, I’m with him and his team to do the things I think are good for the future of the country.”

When Blue Light News pointed out Trump defended Thune at last month’s GOP midterm convention after some in the crowd booed the mention of his name, he laughed.

“Yeah, I know,” he said. “It’s the little things, right?”

Congress

GOP committee chair rebuts Sam Altman: ‘I’m never willing to accept bad results’ from AI

Published

16 hours ago

October 5, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The chair of the House Agriculture Committee said he’s not willing to “accept bad results” as a tradeoff for the benefits of advancements in artificial intelligence — a direct rebuttal to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

“As someone who practiced health care for 28 years, I’m never willing to accept bad results. I think we just need to do our best,” Rep. G.T. Thompson, a Pennsylvania Republican, told reporters Monday.

He was responding to Altman’s comments to Decoded by Blue Light News that people “should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agency.”

Pressed further on whether he agreed with Altman’s premise, Thompson replied, “No, I think we have to work harder to prevent any bad things from happening.”

Altman’s comments come in the wake of increased panic over the risks of catastrophic destruction from AI, with many industry leaders and experts arguing that guardrails are needed on the technology to prevent it from spinning out of human control.

Pressure is building on Congress to regulate the rapidly-advancing technology, but lawmakers are divided over whether the AI industry needs federal regulation or if it’s capable of governing itself.

The executives of major AI labs and tech companies gathered at the White House last week to discuss solutions with President Donald Trump, who believes overregulating AI will have national security repercussions. The group ended up signing a “morally binding” AI accord that critics say won’t do enough to prevent a worst-case scenario.

Thompson noted Monday he believes that AI will bring “tremendous solutions,” specifically in regards to finding cures for health issues like cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. But he also said AI has to be led with “principle” — comparing it to how he addressed digital assets in a bill to regulate the cryptocurrency industry, which he worked on as chair of the Agriculture Committee.

“The first principle is ‘do no harm.’ So we need to protect consumers, and that means, I think, building some guardrails — some guidelines — to do that,” Thompson said. He added that the second principle is to “foster innovation.”

“I think AI has a lot to do with that,” he added. “I don’t think AI works without RI: Real Intelligence.”