Congress
Senate GOP mulls vote on budget blueprint next week
Senators are bracing for a likely battle next week over the GOP’s budget blueprint that will allow Republicans in the coming weeks to draft and pass a sweeping border, energy and defense bill.
Majority Leader John Thune hasn’t made a formal decision yet about whether he’ll bring the Senate’s budget resolution up for a vote on the chamber floor. But several GOP senators view it as increasingly likely that they will act next week after the Senate Budget Committee adopted the measure on Wednesday.
Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican who is close with Thune, said in a brief interview that the “planned timeline right now” is to take up the Senate GOP’s budget resolution to the floor next week.
Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham of South Carolina noted that he would defer to Thune, but told reporters: “Hopefully next week.”
It’s not just Republicans who are gearing up. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will hold a special Democratic caucus call on Saturday to discuss party strategy around the budget resolution and “Republicans tax cuts for the rich,” according to a Senate aide.
A second aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said that Senate Republicans haven’t yet confirmed that they will bring their budget resolution to the floor next week, but procedural votes are a possibility as soon as Tuesday.
Being able to adopt the budget resolution next week would put the Senate even further ahead of the House in dueling efforts to pave the way for drafting a massive bill under the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process — necessary for enacting the heart of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.
The Senate GOP still wants to take a “two-track” approach, frontloading energy, defense and border security provisions into one reconciliation bill before dealing with expiring tax cuts in a second one later. The budget resolution that cleared Graham’s committee earlier this week greenlights the first bill in that process.
House Republicans, however, want to pass “one big, beautiful bill” that encompasses all these policy areas plus a tax overhaul. They were able to clear their budget blueprint out of the House Budget Committee on Thursday night to set the stage for that approach after weeks of high-profile infighting amongst their own members.
Tensions on the House side appear as though they won’t be ending anytime soon, with some fiscal hawks calling for more cuts while swing-state incumbents fret over having to cut safety net programs to pay for Trump’s priorities. The House budget resolution is already drawing criticism from some Senate conservatives.
The Senate has an advantage over the House, now, if for no other reason than it that chamber is staying in session next week while the other is in recess.
House Republican leaders had been trying to hold off the Senate advance, including by coordinating with some White House officials who are sympathetic to the one-bill strategy. But complicating that effort are fissures within Trump’s own circle over the best path forward: Vice President JD Vance, White House policy chief Stephen Miller and budget chief Russ Vought among those favoring the Senate’s preferred two-bill approach.
Senate Republicans also privately vibe-checked Trump during a dinner last week at Mar-a-Lago, and again on Sunday when a group of lawmakers joined him for the Super Bowl. Their takeaway was that the president was fine with them pursuing their two-bill strategy and just wants “results.”
Thune, asked about the path forward during an interview Friday with America’s Newsroom on Fox News, didn’t tip his hand on the schedule for next week.
“[The House and the Senate] have the same end result, end goal. I mean, we want to get to the same destination,” he said. “The House and the Senate operate differently, clearly, and we have procedural issues we have to deal with in the Senate. But … these efforts are going to, at some point — they’re going to merge.”
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
Congress
Johnson pledges House probe into Tesla threats
Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday said Congress will probe “domestic terrorism” attacks targeting the Tesla car brand after vehicles and storefronts were vandalized.
“Congress will investigate the sources of these attacks and help the DOJ & FBI ensure those responsible are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Johnson said in a post on X.
Johnson’s announcement is the latest attempt by Republican leaders to rally around Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk after Tesla’s stock price took a dive in recent days and the company faced a wave of attacks and heated demonstrations. Trump said this week he would buy a Tesla in support of Musk.
Johnson did not explain what committees would be empowered to lead the investigations. Spokespeople for Johnson and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
Congress
Jeanne Shaheen won’t seek reelection
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen will not seek reelection, she announced Wednesday, becoming the third Senate Democrat to announce their retirement ahead of the midterms.
Shaheen, who is 78 and was first elected to the Senate in 2008, said she made the “difficult” decision to step aside: “It’s just time.”
“There are urgent challenges ahead, both here at home and around the world, and while I’m not seeking reelection, believe me, I am not retiring,” Shaheen said in a video.
New Hampshire will be a critical battleground in the fight over control for the Senate, but it was already a challenging map for Democrats to retake the majority even before the retirements.
Congress
Capitol agenda: Johnson puts Senate Dems in a corner
House Republicans passed their stopgap funding bill Tuesday evening, which means Senate Democrats can now no longer delay their long-dreaded decision: Do they give up a chance to stand up to Donald Trump or let the government shut down in three days?
Democrats plan to huddle around lunchtime to try and hash out their strategy for confronting the government funding fight. They have already held one “vigorous discussion,” and even the chattiest senators emerged from their Tuesday meeting tight-lipped about their strategy. Many declined to say if they were unified in their approach.
They don’t appear to be. Republicans need at least eight Democrats to vote in favor of the six-month stopgap, given GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s expected opposition. Sen. John Fetterman is expected to cross party lines. But most of the 20 Democrats we surveyed in the minutes after the continuing resolution passed the House were noncommittal — particularly among the swing-state set.
A few are varying shades of “no.” Sen. Jeff Merkley said he will oppose it, while Sen. Richard Blumenthal is a “likely no.” Sen. Alex Padilla said he would not be in favor unless it offered California disaster aid after the Los Angeles wildfires.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn’t said a word publicly since the House vote. Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued a charge of her own: “Democrats in the House have shown us they are united,” she told reporters after all but one House Democrat voted against the stopgap. “Why should it be different in the Senate?”
But Senate Democrats are agonizing over a few things: Getting blamed for the shutdown, especially after House GOP leaders sent members home for recess, is a big consideration. And they’re worried it would give Trump — who’s set to be on Blue Light News today for the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon — unchecked authority to shutter even more parts of the federal government. That’s an especially fresh concern after his administration moved Tuesday to gut the Education Department.
“A shutdown is uncharted territory when you’ve got an administration that, at least in some ways, probably would welcome a shutdown because that would give the president almost unlimited power in deciding who’s essential, who’s nonessential, holding up agencies,” Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters. “That’s the dilemma that’s being discussed.”
What else we’re watching:
- Dem retreat: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is looking to get his caucus on the same page at their annual retreat that starts Wednesday, especially after a disjointed response to Trump’s joint address to Congress last week. Democrats’ challenge: How do they channel the anti-Trump energy of the Democratic base — and many of their members — while calibrating their message to the swing voters they need to win?
- Johnson and Thune meeting: Johnson met with the Senate majority leader on Tuesday as the top congressional Republicans look to hash out their other big problem: a path forward for Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda. “Both of us understand we’ve got to get this done. We’re trying to figure out the best way to do that,” Thune said afterward.
- Visa revisions: House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan is eyeing his party’s flagship immigration bill as the legislative vehicle for giving Musk the overhaul he wants on high-skilled visa rules. Musk has pushed for increasing immigration levels for those with expertise in science, technology and engineering.
Nicholas Wu, Brendan Bordelon and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
-
The Josh Fourrier Show4 months ago
DOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Uncategorized4 months ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Economy4 months ago
Fed moves to protect weakening job market with bold rate cut
-
Uncategorized4 months ago
Johnson plans to bring House GOP short-term spending measure to House floor Wednesday
-
Politics4 months ago
RFK Jr.’s bid to take himself off swing state ballots may scramble mail-in voting
-
Economy4 months ago
It’s still the economy: What TV ads tell us about each campaign’s closing message
-
Politics4 months ago
How Republicans could foil Harris’ Supreme Court plans if she’s elected
-
Politics4 months ago
What 7 political experts will be watching at Tuesday’s debate