Congress
No DHS meeting today
The White House turned down a Monday morning meeting with a bipartisan group of senators who have been negotiating an end to the Department of Homeland Security shutdown, according to three people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.
“Hopefully, a meeting gets set soon once Senate Republicans and the White House get on the same page. This comes as there’s been some positive headway in talks, particularly on body-worn cameras, sensitive locations, officer IDs, and training standards, with conversations continuing on masks, warrants, and use of force standards,” one of the people said.
Senators had hoped to meet Monday with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan morning after a Saturday meeting was canceled by Democrats.
Sen. Rand Paul blocked an attempt by fellow Republican Sen. John Kennedy to quickly pass legislation that would require companies to build a “kill switch” into their artificial intelligence model.
Kennedy, of Louisiana, went to the Senate floor Wednesday to try to pass his bill without holding a formal vote — a step that can be prevented by any one of his 99 colleagues. He argued that the measure was effectively a short-term step, with Congress unlikely to pass more sweeping AI legislation in the immediate future even amid fears that technological advancements could spiral out of human control.
“We are not going to get up off our ice-cold lazy butts and address this anytime soon,” Kennedy said about Congress’ inability to pass a more comprehensive bill. “But still we’ve got this risk out there that we know is real of one of these models becoming the Terminator.”
Paul, however, blocked Kennedy’s request to pass the bill through a unanimous consent agreement, saying from the Senate floor, “I think we should have as many facts as possible before we dictate rules for the whole economy.”
“I don’t oppose the spirit of this bill but I do ask that we make sure that we have all the information,” the Kentucky lawmaker added.
Paul tried to amend Kennedy’s bill to establish a group that could make recommendations on AI guardrail policies to the Senate Commerce Committee. Kennedy rejected that suggestion.
“My mama didn’t raise a fool,” he said, adding, “a committee is a way to kill this.”
Kennedy’s push for a vote comes after he told reporters Monday that he intended to roll out legislation and attempt to pass it this week, even while he acknowledged that he didn’t yet have any formal buy-in from his colleagues. He also appeared to know by earlier in the day Wednesday that he was running into a roadblock, saying in an interview that he expected Paul to offer a counterproposal.
The House voted Wednesday by unanimous consent to hold billionaire investor Leon Black in contempt of Congress after he refused to comply with two congressional subpoenas sought by the Oversight Committee as part of its investigation into the late Jeffrey Epstein.
The matter is now in the hands of the Justice Department, which will determine whether to ultimately bring charges against Black. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It marks the first time a witness has been held in contempt over the course of the Oversight panel’s yearlong probe into Epstein and the web of powerful people who enabled his abuse for years before his conviction on sex trafficking charges.
“This vote is an important step towards justice and accountability,” said the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Robert Garcia of California. “Leon Black has continued to defy two congressional subpoenas and we need to know why he gave Jeffrey Epstein $180 million dollars. We will continue to center the survivors in our fight to hold those responsible for these horrific crimes. We are just getting started.”
Black, according to the Oversight Committee, had a close personal relationship with Epstein for years as well as financial connections, with Black paying Epstein over $158 million. He was brought in for a transcribed interview with the panel members in June but refused to turn over certain nondisclosure agreements he entered into with women tied back to Epstein, resulting in subpoenas to compel their release.
Black has refused to comply with the demand, instead choosing to sue the Oversight Committee on allegations the leaders overstepped their authority in making their demands. It did not stop the committee from moving forward with contempt proceedings, voting Tuesday to recommend the full House take action.
“As a result of his extensive dealings with Epstein, Mr. Black possesses firsthand information regarding the activities of Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell and their efforts to establish relationships and curry favor with influential individuals while engaged in sex trafficking,” the panel said in its contempt resolution.
Susan Estrich and Aaron Cutler, Black’s attorneys, in a statement called the action against Black “politically motivated and completely retaliatory by a Chairman who is focused solely on himself and his own political ambitions without any regard for the truth and the law.”
“We intend to pursue our litigation challenging this action and will hold the Committee and Chairman [James] Comer [R-Ky.] accountable in the courts,” the lawyers added.
Comer, in a statement, said, “no one is above the law. Leon Black defied two subpoenas, and the U.S. House of Representatives acted swiftly to find him in contempt of Congress. We will continue to seek transparency for the American people and justice for survivors in our investigation of the federal government’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein and [co-conspirator] Ghislaine Maxwell criminal cases.”
The top Democrat on the House education committee is potentially facing a second challenge to his leadership amid broader frustrations over the caucus’ longstanding deference to seniority.
Rep. Bobby Scott already set out to defend his record on the House Education and Workforce Committee last week after Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) launched a formal bid for his spot on the panel. Now, one of the Virginia Democrat’s allies, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), says she is “not ruling anything out” about making her own run.
“I want the best leadership for the committee. I’ve been on the committee for a long time and [am] just exploring all the options,” Bonamici, who has served on the panel since 2013, said in an interview. “It’s a really important committee. I care about it a lot. It’s important for our future.”
The race for Scott’s position — and potentially the committee gavel, if Democrats flip the chamber in the midterms — is the latest example of the angst within the caucus about leadership opportunities. It also reflects the interest Democrats have in ramping up oversight of the Trump administration and its efforts to dismantle the Education Department, scrutiny that sparked Hayes’ run against Scott, who is 26 years older.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Monday that he has spoken with both Scott and Hayes but declined to say more.
Scott, who is 79 and has served as the House education committee’s top Democrat since 2015, often delegates the more attention-grabbing aspects of ranking member to others, particularly former teachers serving on the panel.
When House Democrats marched to Education Department headquarters demanding to meet with agency leaders early last year, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) took the lead. And Bonamici led a resolution to impeach Education Secretary Linda McMahon earlier this year with the support of other committee members and House lawmakers — a resolution where Scott isn’t a co-sponsor.
“Ranking member Scott has his role as the ranking member, but I think it’s up to Congresswoman Bonamici, myself and others to build support,” Takano said in an interview earlier this summer, when asked if Scott should support the effort to impeach McMahon.
Scott doesn’t seem worried and repeatedly said he would let his work speak for itself. He also used a Dear Colleague letter to dissuade any concerns about his leadership style and demeanor.
“While I have no qualms about sharing the spotlight with my colleagues, I want to be clear that my colleagues should not confuse my humility with an inability to deliver results,” Scottwrote in a letter to colleagues declaring his candidacy to continue leading Democrats on the committee.
- Rand Paul kills Kennedy’s AI ‘kill switch’ bill
- Jay Jacobs gets his first-ever challenger for state Dem chair
- ‘The US can’t lose’: Pentagon plows ahead on AI despite warnings
- House votes to hold Leon Black in contempt of Congress
- GOP’s gas tax holiday push falters in House
- Bonamici ‘exploring’ bid for Scott’s education leadership
- Ted Cruz: ‘It’s still my hope’ to have an AI markup this month
- Cassidy grills surgeon general pick on vaccines
- Democrat targets Trump’s push for publicly-sited AI data centers
- Leader of House Epstein investigation rolls out bill to protect victims of sexual assault
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