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New York’s D’Esposito makes play for top DEA role after failed reelection bid

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New York GOP Rep. Anthony D’Esposito is making a play for a job in the incoming Trump administration: the next head of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

After losing a reelection bid for his competitive Long Island district, D’Esposito is working to consolidate support from regional law enforcement unions, in addition to calling key players in Trump’s orbit, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.

“President Trump has a mandate from the people of this country to Make America Safe Again, and I would be honored to lend my experience as a decorated NYPD Detective and member of the House Homeland Security Committee to assist President Trump in that mission,” D’Esposito said in a statement.

News of the effort comes just a day after Trump’s initial pick to lead the DEA, Chad Chronister, announced he was withdrawing from consideration, just days after being named as the nominee. He said he chose to step back from the process “as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in,” while noting that he wished to continue his present work as a sheriff in Florida. Trump, for his part, posted on Truth Social that he pulled Chronister out of the running, citing remarks he made to supporters.

Allies of D’Esposito are now pushing him as the next best alternative, leaning on his New York Police Department detective credentials to make the case that he is the right person to help address the flow of illegal drugs coming into the U.S.

“@realDonaldTrump should nominate @RepDesposito a highly decorated @NYPDDetectives & proven crime fighter as @DEAHQ Administrator. As a respected member of Congress, D’Esposito has demonstrated leadership & commitment needed to help DJT in his goal of Making America Safe Again,” the Nassau County Detectives Association posted on X on Wednesday.

The centrist New Yorker had flipped a blue seat last cycle, and often carefully tried to toe the line between juggling the demands of a swing district while not alienating Trump and his supporters. But he ultimately lost his Long Island seat to Democratic challenger Laura Gillen.

D’Esposito was among the House Republicans who led the ultimately successful push to expel George Santos from Congress over various ethics violations. Santos has since pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. But D’Esposito later faced controversies of his own, with The New York Times releasing a report weeks before Election Day that detailed allegations of an affair and that D’Esposito was employing his mistress and his fiancee’s daughter. He has denied he violated House ethics rules.

D’Esposito is also one of several Republicans who aren’t returning to the House next year now seeking jobs in the administration.

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Congress

Another DHS funding vote coming to House floor

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Speaker Mike Johnson is planning to put a stalled Homeland Security funding bill on the House floor a third time next week, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss private plans, as the GOP moves to further pressure Democrats to end the five-week closure.

Two versions of the bill have already passed the House, each time with just a few House Democrats breaking from party lines to back it. But the bill is still held up in the Senate, where Democrats have refused to approve DHS funding without adding new restrictions on immigration enforcement.

The House will also vote on a resolution next week in support of DHS workers, including TSA officers who have gone without pay as the spring break travel crush stresses U.S. airports.

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Congress

House GOP leaders punt controversial FISA vote to April

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House GOP leaders are punting a reauthorization vote for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that they had hoped to hold next week until mid-April, with a GOP hard-liner revolt over warrantless surveillance threatening to tank the legislation, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter granted anonymity to discuss the conference dynamics.

GOP leaders are still dealing with a dozen or so Republican members who want reforms to the spy powers extension, as Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to pass a clean, 18-month extension without any changes. President Donald Trump has also asked for the clean extension.

Johnson and GOP leaders will instead work through the remaining issues over the upcoming two-week recess and try to put the extension on the floor the week of April 14, the people said.

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and a group of ultraconservatives have warned GOP leaders that the reauthorization would fail if Johnson tried to push it through next week.

Another House Republican told Blue Light News there was “no way” a rule to advance a clean FISA extension would pass next week.

Johnson can lose only two votes on a rule to advance the measure, and already a handful of GOP hard-liners have told Blue Light News they would oppose it.

The FISA reauthorization deadline is April 20, and the delay leaves barely any time for the Senate to act.

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White House sends blueprint for national AI rules to Congress

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The White House on Friday published a long-awaited policy wishlist for artificial intelligence regulation that it hopes Congress will codify into law.

The light-touch federal framework blends the Trump administration’s effort to create a national AI rulebook on issues like political bias within models and reducing barriers to innovation with protections for children and teens online.

It urges Congress to overrule state AI laws that the administration says “impose undue burdens,” in favor of the “minimally burdensome” federal law that it’s recommending. The Trump administration has been trying to establish preemption over state AI laws using Congress and executive order for roughly a year, arguing that the patchwork of laws harms AI innovation.

The blueprint explicitly calls on Congress to preempt any state laws that regulate the way models are developed or that penalize companies for the way their AI is used by others, and instructs U.S. lawmakers not to create any new federal agencies to regulate AI.

It also outlines some areas where the federal government’s laws wouldn’t overrule those of the states, and asks Congress to allow states to keep laws that protect children, including those that ban AI-generated child sexual abuse material.

Trump administration officials have sought to gather support from Republican lawmakers for a light-touch approach to AI regulation in recent months. It’s unlikely, however, to receive bipartisan support in Congress.

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