Congress
On eve of House GOP leadership vote, Johnson shares opposition to punitive rules change
On the eve of the House GOP’s leadership elections, Speaker Mike Johnson is making clear he does not back new internal GOP rules proposals that would take punitive measures against Republicans who prevent GOP bills from coming to the floor.
“I have made clear to members, as I’ve been having discussion with them, that I am not in favor of punitive measures and rules. I think that we are going to work together as a cohesive team. It’s a brand new time, a brand new day,” Johnson exclusively told Blue Light News. “I don’t think we will have a need for party discipline and I expect everybody to be working on singing from the same sheet of music.”
His remarks come as Johnson, according to two sources, had privately told various members that he didn’t support punitive measures. Blue Light News first reported over the weekend that centrists had filed an amendment to the rules to allow for members who voted against bringing GOP policies to the floor be removed from committees.
But some conservatives worry that even if Johnson doesn’t support it, a majority of his GOP conference will move to punish conservatives who block him from bringing bills to the floor, which became common practice last term. Republicans will meet on Thursday to vote on internal rules for the next Congress.
One GOP member, who was granted anonymity to speak frankly, added that leadership just “wants to just calm these waters and move forward,” but supporters of the rules proposal might be able to get “a majority to vote on Thursday … a certain way. We’ve got to address that.”
Another conservative put it this way: “If Johnson is going to try to change the rules and go backwards — I think that is where the motivation is coming from to mount an effort against him. … If he made a public commitment that he is not going to [punish members] or not going to change the motion to vacate, I think that it’ll be a slam dunk for him.”
Johnson’s remarks come as Republicans say he isn’t sweating a potential challenger from conservatives, despite some members saying they reserve the right to put one forward. Part of the reason hardliners are leaning toward mounting a challenge against Johnson is to attempt to push him rightwards on House rules.
Others are hoping that while they point the finger at Republicans being united while Democrats are in chaos, they will be able to avoid similar charges directed at them if a challenger emerges.
“Many of us would like to see Mike not having a challenge, but rather recognizing that he’s the only candidate,” said Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), noting that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced a similar challenger from the right who only got about 30 votes. “Now the question is, why put up a candidate symbolically to be humiliated by getting a handful of votes.”
“There’s nobody you could put up that could propose anything more conservative,” he added.
The conservatives who want to see a challenger have so far failed to name who that member may be, but the group is expected to meet Tuesday night to discuss their plans.
“May or may not happen,” Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), a House Freedom Caucus member, said of a potential challenger. “Honestly, I don’t know that they will.”
Another member involved in the talks added that: “We’re reserving the right to have an alternative. I think we probably will.”
Johnson also said he expects Trump to endorse him Wednesday, before Republicans gather to vote by secret ballot about who will serve in their leadership lineup.
“He’s been talking very publicly everywhere about this, so I expect he’ll do it again tomorrow,” Johnson added.
Adam Hamilton raised $10.6 million in the third quarter of 2026 across his Senate campaign and his joint fundraising committees, his campaign tells Blue Light News, a significant haul for the Kansas Democrat.
The fundraising total illustrates Democrats’ newfound bullishness about flipping a Senate seat in the deep-red state for the first time since 1932.
“This grassroots support sends a clear message: with three weeks until Election Day, Adam Hamilton is building the momentum to win,” said Hamilton campaign spokesperson Tyson Brody.
Hamilton’s third-quarter figure is nearly triple his $3.66 million second-quarter total. His campaign did not provide a current cash-on-hand total.
National Democrats began pumping money into Kansas in recent days, a sign of their growing hopes that Hamilton could win. Last week, Senate Majority PAC — Senate Democrats’ top super PAC — reserved $5 million in television ads backing Hamilton. American Bridge PAC and Lower Costs Now, a new group affiliated with former Vice President Kamala Harris’ super PAC, have spent in Kansas in recent weeks.
Republicans have also flocked to Kansas to prop up Marshall: Senate Leadership Fund, the Senate GOP’s top PAC, has spent or reserved nearly $11 million backing Marshall in the past week, according to tracking firm AdImpact.
“It took us five months to raise $15 million. [Marshall] got it in a day,” Hamilton said at a campaign event in Lawrence, Kansas on Monday. “So please help us.”
Marshall’s campaign has yet to release his third-quarter fundraising totals. As of mid-July, Marshall had over $5 million in the bank to $1.73 million for Hamilton.
A bipartisan Senate duo is urging Trump national security officials to “bring its full capacities to bear” to stave off threats posed by artificial intelligence — sooner rather than later.
Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, and Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, who serves on the Senate Armed Services cybersecurity subcommittee, are calling for a full government response to a growing number of cybersecurity breaches.
“Recent AI security incidents should serve as a warning,” the senators wrote in a Tuesday letter to Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and White House Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios. “Advanced AI agents have escaped testing environments, bypassed safeguards, and gained unauthorized access to real-world systems owned by government agencies and private organizations.”
Spokespeople for Clayton and Kratsios did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Their letter comes as lawmakers struggle to hash out what legislation on AI safety, if any, might look like. Members are currently in recess ahead of the November elections and there’s little hope progress can be made by the year’s end.
But those lawmakers who have been engaged on the topic for years now have mapped out administrative actions the Trump administration could move on now, without waiting on Congress.
The Cantwell and Rounds priorities include: strengthening federal AI safety and security standards at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST; expanding independent testing capabilities at the Center for Advancing Innovation and Standards for Super Intelligence, Department of Energy and the national labs; and working with the tech industry to develop and deploy defensive AI tools.
Specifically, the senators wrote, new NIST standards should address the risks posed by advanced AI capabilities, including the “potential misuse by malicious actors” to conduct sophisticated cyberattacks, automate attacks at scale and agents that threaten external systems and critical infrastructure.
They also said the federal government capacity should be complemented by universities and other research organizations, as well as by private sector, third-party evaluators.
Finally, they point to ways the government could use existing programs at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to work with AI labs to help detect threats and reinforce vulnerable systems.
A bipartisan group of senators urged President Donald Trump to rescind his recent diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, amid bubbling anger on Capitol Hill about Trump’s announcement.
In a letter sent to the White House, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the senators warned that the president’s deal with Russia will not “achieve just ends” or benefit Americans.
“Granting Moscow the ability to sell Russian diesel freely in global markets damages American security interests and is a betrayal of the people of Ukraine, who continue to defend themselves from Putin’s murderous, illegal war,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “This deal is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies; it should be rescinded.”
On Sunday, a smaller group of senators called on the president to “immediately reverse course” on the plan in a statement. Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — who signed on to both — said Sunday there may be “a legitimate case for saying the president’s not following the law.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump announced in a social media post on Friday that Russia would “immediately supply” diesel fuel to global markets — including potentially the U.S. — to help relieve high prices driven, in part, by the ongoing war with Iran. Though Trump has repeatedly defended the U.S.’s actions against Iran, on Saturday he demanded an end to Ukrainian drone strikes that have crippled Russian oil refineries that he argues have caused the record-high oil prices.
The senators on Tuesday argued that the deal with Russia will have a “negligible impact” on fuel prices while providing Putin with “more fuel to finance his war machine” as Russia continues its “brutal attacks on Ukrainian civilians.”
The deal with Russia is a sharp pivot from a sweeping sanctions package signed into law last month. That legislation — championed by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — was meant to deplete Moscow’s resources by targeting Russian officials, banks and a shadow fleet of oil tankers. It drew widespread bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.
Senators on Tuesday referenced the package as they condemned Putin as a “tyrant.”
“For decades, America has stood as the bastion of freedom against tyranny, and American presidents have embodied our nation’s resistance to tyrants. Putin is a tyrant,” the letter reads. “Withdraw from this agreement, rescind General License No. 135, and execute the authorities provided under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. Maintain our legacy – and the duty America holds – as leader of the free world.”
In addition to Blumenthal and Tillis, Tuesday’s letter was signed by Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Dick Durbin (Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Jack Reed (R.I.), and Chris Coons (Del.) and Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Susan Collins (Maine), Alan Armstrong (Okla.), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and John Cornyn (Texas).
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