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Mullin refuses to commit to following court orders for DHS

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Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin repeatedly refused Tuesday to commit to following court orders from judges who rule that the Department of Homeland Security is acting illegally.

In his first appearance on Capitol Hill since confirmation as secretary two months ago, the former Oklahoma Republican senator told lawmakers that DHS “will never break the Constitution, and we’re not going to break the law.” But Mullin also would not vow to abide by rulings from judges.

“If we didn’t think courts were politicized, then I would probably be able to answer that,” Mullin said. “But we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.”

Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, the top Democrat on the panel that funds DHS, noted that even Republican-appointed judges have said the department has violated almost 100 court orders this year. The senator cited that noncompliance as the main factor fueling the ongoing partisan feud over DHS funding that led to the longest funding lapse in U.S. history this year.

“This is a really important discussion for us to have, because this is — whether you want to believe it or not — at the root of our disagreement,” Murphy said, adding, “it is very hard for us to figure out how to fund an agency that is violating the law.”

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Congress

Senate Republicans propose 3-year extension of key surveillance power

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Senate Republicans are proposing a three-year extension of a key surveillance power that would include new guardrails and penalties for intelligence abuses but doesn’t include some of the biggest demands made by a bipartisan coalition of privacy hawks.

A copy of the bill reviewed by Blue Light News would extend the program through June 12, 2029. It also includes a three-year ban on the Federal Reserve issuing a digital currency — a gesture toward House Republican hard-liners who have pushed for a permanent ban.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) took the lead in drafting the bill, which is being circulated ahead of the June 12 to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which targets foreigners abroad but has come under controversy because of its ability to sweep in Americans.

A spokesperson for Cotton didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the legislation, which has not been publicly released but is being privately circulated.

Cotton consulted with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, as he drafted the bill in hopes of garnering enough bipartisan support to overcome a Democratic filibuster. Speaker Mike Johnson’s team has also been reviewing the text.

However, the push for Democratic support was complicated Tuesday by President Donald Trump’s decision to name Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence. The appointment of Pulte, a close Trump political ally with no known intelligence experience, has fueled concerns from Democrats that he could weaponize the intelligence community against the president’s perceived political enemies.

Warner lambasted the pick during a Senate hearing Tuesday, saying Pulte’s appointment would make it harder to convince fellow lawmakers to renew Section 702 ahead of its looming expiration.

“What qualifications from my standpoint does Mr. Pulte bring to the office? Well, he has shown that he is willing to do anything that President Trump wants, legal or otherwise,” Warner said.

There are also lingering concerns among some far-right Republicans, particularly in the House, that could threaten passage of a long-term deal. One House GOP hard-liner granted anonymity to candidly describe the situation said that “there remain serious concerns.”

The copy of the bill obtained by Blue Light News has some similarities to an extension of the spy program the House passed in April, including new penalties for violating search standards, a requirement for an attorney’s sign-off on some FBI’s searches and additional transparency provisions. It also narrows the definition of an “electronic communications service provider” after Congress previously broadened it in a way that sparked bipartisan concerns, though the change is unlikely to satisfy skeptics of the intelligence community.

The bill also does not include two other major provisions demanded by privacy hawks in the House and Senate: requiring federal officials to obtain a warrant before searching for Americans in databases of intelligence obtained abroad and preventing law enforcement from buying Americans’ information from data brokers without a warrant.

Meredith Lee Hill and John Sakellariadis contributed to this report.

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‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ is dead, acting AG says

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The Trump administration will drop its $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that was widely criticized as a payout for the president’s allies, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a congressional hearing Tuesday.

“We’re not moving forward with the fund, period,” said Blanche in remarks before the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees funding for the Department of Justice.

Republican blowback from the announcement of the fund has stalled movement on an immigration enforcement bill in the Senate, where GOP leaders feared their members would vote on Democratic amendments to nix or put guardrails on the account. Separately, a judge late last week paused the administration’s ability to administer the fund, prompting DOJ to release a statement saying it would follow the court’s orders.

But Republican senators have been hopeful Blanche would make clear in his testimony that the administration would abandon this effort altogether, which could clear the way for Congress to vote on the party-line package with fewer political headaches.

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Schumer shares few details on meeting with Platner

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer would share no details Tuesday afternoon of his meeting earlier in the day with Graham Platner — the embattled candidate for a Maine Senate seat who was not the New York Democrat’s first choice for challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

“I met with Graham Platner today,” Schumer told reporters at his weekly news conference. “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”

Schumer’s comments came as Platner faces a litany of potentially damaging scandals, the latest involving revelations he exchanged sexual text messages with other women while he was married. Schumer initially backed Maine Gov. Janet Mills as his choice to take on Collins.

Mills suspended her campaign in April, prompting Schumer and others to endorse Platner, an oysterman with populist appeal, but over the weekend insisted she never actually withdrew or dropped out of the race, allowing her name to remain on the primary election ballot.

Schumer did not respond directly to questions about whether he prefers Platner or Mills to run at this point.

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