Congress
‘Sanctuary city’ mayors hope to avoid an embarrassing spectacle in Congress
Democratic mayors of four cities with sanctuary policies to protect migrants are consulting with advisers, hiring lawyers and preparing to redact documents ahead of a grilling by House Republicans — hoping to avoid the kind of Capitol Hill spectacle that embarrassed three Ivy League presidents a little over a year ago.
These mayors are also furiously conferring with anyone they know who can offer insight and counsel about how to handle the kind of scrutiny that resulted in the ouster of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill following the late 2023 congressional hearing on antisemitism at elite colleges.
Just as Republicans hammered Magill and others for what they saw as condoning alleged threats to Jewish students and faculty, Republican members of Congress will on Wednesday ask the mayors of New York, Chicago, Boston and Denver to defend their more permissive immigration policies against high-profile, if isolated, episodes of violent crime by undocumented immigrants.
“I just want to make sure that people understand that [this is] a city that has been established by immigrants and migrants who were formerly enslaved,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told reporters about the message he hopes to relay to Congress. “It’s the global capital of the world, and we’re going to continue to show up at our very best.”
Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are getting ready for this moment, too, especially Chair James Comer, who sat on the Education and Workforce panel that questioned Magill and other university presidents. He said in an interview he was impressed by how Rep. Elise Stefanik, the former education committee chair who President Donald Trump nominated to be U.N. ambassador, ran those proceedings.
In a sign of how seriously the Kentucky Republican is taking his own preparations to produce a similar, politically explosive event, he and his members last week sat down to discuss immigration policy with Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and the architect of some of Trump’s most aggressive efforts to curb illegal immigration, according to a person granted anonymity to describe a private meeting.
“We expect accountability — we expect the mandate that President Trump was given on the border to be implemented, and hopefully there won’t be any obstruction or opposition to the law,” Comer, who may run for governor in 2027, said in an interview. “If the mayors are protecting people who are here illegally, then they are breaking the law.”
The ramp-up on all sides speaks to the high political stakes of the upcoming hearing, both for the policies at the center of the debate and the political futures of the committee chair and the four mayors: Johnson, Eric Adams of New York, Michelle Wu of Boston and Mike Johnston of Denver. All four cities have struggled to shelter and support the influx of migrants from the Southern border.
Adams likely has the most at stake: The Trump Department of Justice recently called for the mayor’s criminal bribery and fraud case to be dismissed, citing his cooperation on immigration enforcement. (Adams continues to deny the charges.) Shortly thereafter, Adams met with border czar Tom Homan and announced he’s drafting an executive order allowing ICE agents back into the city’s Rikers Island jail complex.
Adams has rejected criticism he’s beholden to the Trump administration and says he has his constituents’ best interests at heart. Still, observers expect Adams — a former New York Police Department captain — will be treated differently than the other mayors, with Comer contending the New Yorker’s perspective is unique given his cooperation with the administration.
“He was one of the first blue city mayors that was representing a sanctuary city that said, ‘wait, we cannot handle anymore. This is a drain on our resources,’” Comer said of Adams. “I think that that’s what makes him a good witness.”
Adams will seek to strike a balance before the committee, according to his spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus. While the mayor believes in the spirit of sanctuary laws, he also thinks those laws currently go too far. He is expected to testify that immigrants are crucial to his city’s success — but also that the “long-broken immigration system” should be fixed, law-abiding New Yorkers should be protected and violent criminals should be targeted.
The mayor has been meeting daily with his legal, intergovernmental and communications teams in preparation for Wednesday’s hearing, Mamelak Altus said. And his deputy mayor for intergovernmental affairs, Tiffany Raspberry, is the liaison to both the Oversight Committee members and the other mayors’ teams.
At the same time, the contrast between Adams and the other Democratic mayors could pose a political risk for the three more progressive city leaders — including Johnston of Denver, who said in November he was willing to go to jail over his opposition to Trump’s mass deportation plans.
In preparation for the hearing, Johnston has conferred with Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Diana DeGette — both Colorado Democrats — for pointers on appearing before Congress. He also has contracted the Washington-based attorney Dana Remus, a former White House counsel for President Joe Biden.
The city of Denver is preparing to gather documents requested by federal officials, and it is expected to redact information so the hundreds of city employees who have been involved in the sanctuary city work are not unnecessarily targeted for doing their jobs.
Meanwhile, an attorney close to the Chicago mayor’s office hopes to see Johnson stick to his talking points as Republicans may try to pit Adams as “the good compliant mayor and Johnson as the deviant.” The attorney was granted anonymity to discuss internal planning.
Johnson has connected with former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor who has experience working with GOP elected officials — including representing congressional Republicans in two high-profile redistricting cases. He is also working with the city’s corporate counsel, Mary Richardson-Lowry, on how to respond to legally sensitive questions, and the city has contracted with outside counsel.
Wu, the Boston mayor, has received guidance in advance of the hearing from Rep. Stephen Lynch, a fellow Massachusetts Democrat who sits on the Oversight Committee. He called after Comer first extended the invitation for Wu and others to testify, Lynch said in an interview with a local station.
The story Wu is likely to tell is that of her city’s plummeting murder rate. Boston earned national attention for the drop in homicides last year, and the number of shooting victims and instances of gunfire have also ticked down of late. That has prompted Wu to regularly tout Boston as “the safest major city in the country.”
Wednesday will reveal whether the mayors’ preparations are a match for Comer, whose team has been building anticipation for the big event. Last week, Oversight Committee Republicans released a dramatized video, akin to a movie trailer, previewing the hearing, depicting a Constitution burning to reveal the faces of the four Democratic mayors. Ominous music plays, and Comer vows to cut federal funding for those who fail to cooperate with U.S. law.
But in a recent interview, Comer maintained that creating a made-for-TV moment was not his goal. He was there when Stefanik asked those university presidents whether calling for the genocide of Jews violated their codes of conduct — a “substantive question,” Comer recalled, adding that rarely do substantive questions go viral.
“First of all, our goal is to get the truth, we believe in transparency,” Comer said. “My job isn’t entertainment. My job is to get the truth to the American people.”
Senate Republicans are hopeful they will be able to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general by the end of the week. But he’s not in the clear yet, as several undecided GOP senators continue to mull it over.
Blanche’s prospects were nonetheless much improved Monday — less than 24 hours after some GOP senators were predicting he was unlikely to get confirmed as a war of words escalated between President Donald Trump and holdout Republicans.
But then Blanche cut a deal with Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) late Sunday night to clarify a controversial settlement between Trump and the IRS, giving Blanche the votes he needed to get through the Judiciary Committee Tuesday.
He still needs to get through the full Senate, where he can only lose two Republican votes given likely unified opposition from Senate Democrats and Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s absence.
Several GOP senators who raised alarms last week about Trump’s public threats to rekindle the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” Cornyn and Tillis worked to kill declined to say Monday how they’d vote on Blanche.But in a positive sign for the acting attorney general, several are looking to Tillis and Cornyn, who are now supporting him, as a lodestar for their own deliberations ahead of likely floor votes later this week.
“I think certainly the fact that he has signed this order, basically disbanding [the fund] — that’s a pretty good step,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), before adding that she would “like to find out a little bit more about the negotiations.”
Murkowski said she plans to speak with Tillis and Cornyn.
“I’m curious about what went on over the weekend,” she said.
Blanche has made efforts to ingratiate himself with Murkowski. In July, he trekked to Alaska, in part at Murkowski’s urging, to better understand public safety and tribal jurisdiction matters. He recently announced a nine-figure settlement benefiting Alaska natives’ health care that Murkowski was pleased with.
“I just appreciated the fact that he went to the state,” Murkowski said. “He was only there for two days, but I had asked him in my initial meeting to go up to the state.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who like Cornyn lost his primary earlier this year to a Trump-backed challenger, declined to discuss Blanche Monday. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) added that she also wanted to talk to Tillis and Cornyn and read the agreement they struck with Blanche.
“Until I do that, I am not going to make a judgement,” Collins said.
Another Republican who hasn’t yet committed to supporting Blanche is Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah). He met with Blanche last week but hasn’t yet weighed in since Sunday night’s agreement. He had indicated before Sunday’s deal that he would be closely tracking Tillis and Cornyn during Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee meeting.
Getting Blanche’s nomination on a trajectory to pass the Senate this week would relieve some of the pressure on Senate Republicans, who are juggling a long to-do list and a shrinking runway to get it done. Trump, amid last week’s standoff, demanded that Senate Republicans confirm Blanche, including warning during a Cabinet meeting that they “will never get anybody like him.”
Tillis told reporters Monday that “the back-and-forth over the weekend was not helpful” but that the talks “ended up at an acceptable place.”
If Blanche gets out of the Judiciary Committee Tuesday as expected, the soonest the Senate could confirm him as attorney general is Saturday unless Democrats unanimously agree to help speed up a final vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that he’s hopeful the Senate will be able to confirm Blanche but didn’t give an ironclad guarantee as the remaining undecided members review the agreement and talk to Tillis and Cornyn.
“I’d like to figure out a way, a path forward to get him done,” Thune said.
Democrats are likely to use Tuesday’s Judiciary Committee meeting, and the days leading up to a full Senate vote, to hammer Republicans over the deal Cornyn and Tillis struck. Many predicted Monday that Trump wouldn’t stick by the agreement that limits the scope of the IRS settlement and nullifies the $1.8 billion payout fund.
“There are so many loopholes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the president went ahead with the program,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) warned the remaining undecided Republicans about the deal: “I don’t think that that commitment is worth what it’s written on.”
While Democrats can drag Blanche’s confirmation into the weekend, they aren’t able to prevent him from being confirmed if at least 50 GOP senators support him. But they are determined to use the debate to hit at one of their central midterm campaign messages — corruption — with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling Blanche the “architect of Trump’s grifts.”
Tillis suggested Monday he still has questions about who in Trump’s orbit played a role in the roller coaster negotiations over the past week. While the retiring senator is prepared to support Blanche, he said that he’s “not done analyzing the anatomy of this deal and who played a role in there.”
“I’m not going to speak for other members, but I think that it’ll be a solid vote,” he added about Blanche’s chances of being confirmed.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who appeared skeptical during a Sunday morning talk show interview that Blanche would get through the Senate, did a 180 Monday when asked whether he would get confirmed: “Yes, I do.”
Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
Multiple Senate Republicans joined Sen. Bernie Moreno in calling for Rep. Max Miller to step down from office Monday amid domestic abuse allegations from the Ohio senator’s daughter.
Bernie Moreno — father of Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno — said in a statement Sunday that Miller should not serve in the House soon after the House Republican did a livestream video attempting to defend himself from abuse accusations.
Many of Bernie Moreno’s GOP colleagues were quick to back him following the statement.
“I don’t know [Miller]. I haven’t read a whole lot about him, but if [Moreno] thinks he ought to resign, I’m supportive of that,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said in an interview.
Miller has denied the allegations, which include pouring hot water on his ex-wife and holding a gun to her head. He has also denied accusations from his ex-wife that he broke his daughter’s collarbone.
Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas condemned Miller, adding, “He should resign. He should quit.”
“I don’t know Mr. Miller’s story, but I trust Bernie so much as a good friend, and his family has such high values,” Marshall said in an interview. “I couldn’t imagine them wanting this out in public. So to go through with this, it makes me think that they’re telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”
The surge of support from Bernie Moreno’s Senate colleagues marks the first significant crack in a wall of GOP silence regarding the allegations against Miller. The skepticism from Miller’s own party will almost certainly weigh down the congressman’s already floundering campaign as he battles Democratic candidate Brian Poindexter to keep his Cleveland-area House seat.
Miller has until Wednesday to withdraw from the ballot and allow a crash primary to select a replacement.
Some Republican lawmakers stopped short of calling on Miller to withdraw or resign while expressing grave concern about the allegations.
“The accusations are very serious, and if there is truth to them, I am one who says that our elected officials need to be held to high standards,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said. “And certainly, when it comes to allegations of domestic abuse, child abuse, that’s not what we want in our lawmakers.”
A spokesperson for Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In response to Moreno’s statement, Miller said on Sunday, “If my daughter said the same thing to me, I personally wouldn’t wait two years before holding him accountable.”
“You know this isn’t true and the only reason you are speaking out now is to hide from your own media circus,” he added in the post on X.
Notably still silent was GOP Sen. Jon Husted, Ohio’s other senator, who while leaving the Capitol Monday did not respond to reporters’ questions about whether Miller should resign.
Other Republicans in the Ohio House delegation are also staying quiet for now. Almost every House Republican from the state either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment on Moreno’s statement.
The exception was Rep. Jim Jordan, who brushed off questions in a Thursday CNN interview about Miller but noted he was “a good man” and was recently campaigning for him.
Asked Monday if Miller should still serve in Congress following Bernie Moreno’s statement, spokesperson for Jordan Stefanie Farrell said, “As Mr. Jordan has said, it’s up to the voters of Ohio’s 7th District.”
Back in the Senate, other Republicans who were unaware of the situation declined to weigh in on the incident.
“I am not aware of the situation, so I don’t have a comment right now,” said Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who has been a leading GOP voice on domestic violence issues within the military.
But a steady drip of Republican senators said Monday evening they trusted Bernie Moreno.“It would surprise me if Bernie were being untruthful,” Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming said. “I guess I was surprised that it bubbled up to the public sphere, but I suspect that Bernie has got a beat on the situation.”
Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia said he was unaware of the details of the allegations but that “Bernie’s a pretty level-headed guy.”
“I don’t know enough about the allegations, but like Bernie said, it sounds like he thinks he needs psychological help,” Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said, adding, “I trust Bernie.”
Chris Marquette contributed to this report.
Senate Budget Committee Republicans will meet Tuesday morning to talk about advancing a fiscal blueprint for a new party-line spending bill.
Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) declined to say , in an interview Monday if he plans to introduce a resolution this week, noting that he was “working with leadership” and that the “first priority” is to pass a stopgap spending bill. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a panel member, said he didn’t expect the Senate to take up a budget resolution this week because “I don’t think my leadership wants to do it.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t ruled out taking up a budget resolution but has been frank about the challenges it faces among GOP senators.
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