Congress

Senate Democratic moderates say they want to work with GOP on tax cuts

Published

8 months ago

January 10, 2025

A group of eleven moderate Senate Democrats say they want to work with Republicans on addressing the GOP’s expiring tax cuts and raising the debt ceiling.

In a new letter to Republicanleaders, they say they are willing to cut spending, protect family-oriented tax policies, have “competitive” rates on businesses — and that they can provide enough votes to allow Republicans to overcome a filibuster in the Senate without having to resort to so-called reconciliation.

The lawmakers say they’re otherwise worried Republicans will tack the $4 trillion cost of extending their tax cuts onto the deficit, which will increase interest rates for everyone, something nonpartisan budget forecasters have recently warned about.

“We understand that the Senate Republican conference is likely to use the budget reconciliation process to address these expirations,” said the letter, put together by Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.) and Mark Warner (Va.), both of whom sit on the tax committee. “While we respect the majority’s right to do so under Senate rules, we believe a better outcome can be achieved by working in a bipartisan manner to reform the tax code and address our growing national debt through responsible spending reforms.”

“We believe a fully deficit-financed, partisan effort could risk raising costs for families, driving up interest rates for Americans looking to purchase a home, and increasing borrowing costs for American businesses and consumers.”

Republicans appear unlikely to take them up on the offer, though it presents a potential answer to many of the jams they now face.

The GOP is deeply divided over the cost of renewing their tax cuts, not to mention scads of individual provisions like the $10,000 limit on state and local tax deductions, and are sure to have a difficult time raising the debt limit. Some have never voted to increase the legal cap on government borrowing.

Republicans have struggled to even agree on scheduling, with weeks of debate over whether they should take up immigration first or combine it with their tax plans.

Tax debates are typically highly contentious, but there was a surprising outbreak of bipartisanship last year when House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and then-Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) agreed on a plan to expand breaks for parents and businesses. It was overwhelmingly approved by the House before later dying in the Senate.

No Democrats voted for Republicans’ original 2017 tax cuts, much of which are now due to expire at the end of this year. Rolling them over is projected to cost some $400 billion per year, and the price tag has become a major issue given the government is already running $2 trillion deficits.

The prospect of a bipartisan tax plan would raise a whole different set of challenges though, with the two sides likely to clash over issues like how much to charge businesses and high earners. The moderates signing the letter would also likely take heat from fellow Democrats who are opposed to the tax cuts and would be happy to see them expire.

The lawmakers said they can work with Republicans on business-related provisions.

“Good faith negotiations can ensure the permanence of a competitive tax code for American businesses with reasonable effective tax rates and competitive treatment of capital and R&D expenses, as well as a rational international tax regime,” they wrote.

“While there will certainly be challenges to finding bipartisan agreement on certain issues, we believe addressing the growing deficit and reducing unnecessary spending can serve as a basis for good faith bipartisan negotiation.”

The letter was also signed by Sens. Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Tim Kaine (Va.), John Hickenlooper (Colo.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), Gary Peters (Mich.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Jon Ossoff (Ga.).

Congress

White House declares $4.9B in foreign aid unilaterally canceled in end-run around Congress’ funding power

Published

3 days ago

August 29, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

The White House budget office said Friday morning that President Donald Trump has canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid by using a so-called pocket rescission — furthering the administration’s assault on Congress’ funding prerogatives.

The move raises tensions on Capitol Hill as lawmakers face an Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Many lawmakers from both parties, as well as Congress’ top watchdog, view the maneuver as an illegal end-run around their “power of the purse.”

The Trump administration boldly embraced the strategy on Friday. “Congress can choose to vote to rescind or continue the funds — it doesn’t matter,” an official from the White House budget office said in a statement. “This approach is rare but not unprecedented.”

The White House is allowed to send Congress a clawbacks request and then withhold the cash for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore the proposal. Because there are less than 45 days left before the end of the fiscal year, Trump’s top budget officials — led by budget chief Russ Vought — argue that they can employ the so-called pocket rescission to withhold the funding until it lapses at month’s end, ensuring its cancellation regardless of what Congress decides.

The pocket rescission request was first reported by the New York Post.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

Bondi, Patel to testify before Congress amid Epstein fallout

Published

3 days ago

August 28, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Two top Justice Department officials are expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in the coming weeks amid fallout over the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, according to two people granted anonymity to share scheduling information not yet public.

FBI director Kash Patel is set to give testimony Sept. 17, with attorney general Pam Bondi on tap to appear Oct. 9. Both have been invited as part of the Judiciary Committee’s general oversight work, and each will have an opportunity to outline some of the pieces of a crime bill President Donald Trump wants Hill Republicans to produce in the coming months.

But the hearings will likely focus most heavily on how the DOJ has maneuvered around the release of files related to the late, convicted sex offender.

Senior Republicans have continued over the August recess to press the Trump administration to unseal more Epstein documents after a mutiny over their release caused chaos in the GOP-controlled House, running the chamber aground before lawmakers left town early in late July.

DOJ started transmitting some of the so-called Epstein files last week in compliance with a subpoena from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. And Alex Acosta, President Donald Trump’s former labor secretary who singed off on Epstein’s previous plea deal as a then-U.S. attorney in Florida, will separately sit for a transcribed interview with the Oversight panel Sept. 19.

However, lawmakers otherwise have so far received scant new information during the month-long district work period, with members of both parties promising to continue to press the issue when the House is set to return to session next week.

Bondi has, in particular, been the subject of Republican consternation over allegedly withholding documents she at one point promised to reveal.

Congress

Mark Teixeira, former MLB All Star, kicks off Texas House campaign

Published

4 days ago

August 28, 2025

Blue Light Newsroom

Baseball star Mark Teixeira launched a campaign to fill an open Texas House seat Thursday, the latest celebrity athlete to dive into politics.

Teixeira is running as a Republican in a safe red seat being vacated by GOP Rep. Chip Roy. And he’s already appealing to President Donald Trump in search of a home run on the campaign trail.

“As a lifelong conservative who loves this country, I’m running for Congress to fight for the principles that make Texas and America great,” he wrote in a post on X. “It takes teamwork to win — I’m ready to help defend President Trump’s America First agenda, Texas families, and individual liberty.”

Teixeira was a superstar on the diamond, going yard 409 times in a career that spanned 14 seasons and saw him play for four big league outfits, including the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. He last played in the 2016 season.

He reached baseball immortality when the Yankees won the World Series in 2009. He was included on the 2022 Hall of Fame ballot but failed to get enough votes from sportswriters to either get elected to the Hall or return to the ballot in future years.

Should he win the seat, he could be a major boon for Republicans in the Congressional Baseball Game, the annual charity event that pits Democrats against Republicans. The GOP has dominated the game in recent years, a gap that a former major leaguer would likely only widen.

Teixeira is leaning into his baseball bona fides.

“In Congress, he’ll bring the same grit, preparation, and competitive spirit that made him a champion in Major League Baseball to fight for Texas—and win,” reads his campaign website.

Roy, a Freedom Caucus member who has served in the House since 2019, is leaving Congress to run for the Texas attorney general post.