Congress
Senate Republicans think Trump tacitly approves of their two-bill budget plan
Senate Republicans believe they have President Donald Trump’s blessing as they pursue a two-bill strategy for passing his domestic legislative agenda.
Trump has repeatedly said that he prefers “one big, beautiful bill,” but Senate Republicans have been privately checking that he is OK with them moving forward with two bills — one that addresses the border, energy and defense spending quickly, while a second gets into more complicated tax cuts. On Tuesday, OMB Director Russ Vought and Border Czar Tom Homan also said behind closed doors that they need $175 billion in additional border money quickly, further boosting Senate Republicans’ confidence in moving immediately.
“I talked to President Trump over the weekend. He wants to get results,” Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters after the closed-door lunch.
The Senate’s plan runs contrary to that of Speaker Mike Johnson, who is still pursuing his one-bill strategy, believing he needs the border, energy and taxes all in one package to pass it through the House GOP’s narrow majority. Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that the Senate’s plan was a “non-starter” in his chamber.
Asked if Trump supports Senate Republicans moving forward with a two-bill strategy, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) added: “Absolutely.”
“He wants results,” Barrasso said of their conversations over the weekend with Trump.
Homan and Vought, according to GOP senators in the closed-door lunch, didn’t explicitly take a side in Congress’ debate over one bill vs. two. And Homan declined to weigh in on his preference to reporters as he left the lunch. But senators believe the implicit guidance from Vought and Homan is that they want border funding however they can get it, and quickly.
“I bet you they talked to [Trump] before they came over,” Graham told reporters. “Why would they come over and tell us — begging for money — if they didn’t want to move?”
Trump has personally muddied the waters on the reconciliation strategy, consistently saying he prefers one bill but leaving the door open to two bills if that’s the best way to pass it through Congress.
“The president says he wants one bill. It’s unclear to me from these guys if they want one bill. I think they want funding. I don’t think they really care about the vehicle,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), referring to Homan and Vought.
It’s still unclear if the House can get its budget resolution, which would outline the parameters of one sweeping bill, out of committee on Thursday. Leadership has indicated they’re hoping to get it through the Budget panel this week.
Graham, Barrasso, Johnson and House GOP Whip Tom Emmer attended the Super Bowl with Trump over the weekend, where they talked about their reconciliation strategy. Graham, recounting their conversations on Tuesday, said that he told Johnson that “nothing would please me more than one big beautiful bill passed by the House” but that border officials are quickly running out of money. Graham also encouraged Johnson to invite Homan and Vought to talk to his conference, arguing the two officials would make their case for moving now on border funding.
“If [the House] can’t do it quickly, we need to go to Plan B,” Graham said.
Jennifer Scholtes and Lisa Kashinsky contributed reporting.
Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday she will vote against Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general.
The Maine Republican, who is facing a difficult race for reelection, said in a statement she would oppose Blanche, citing “several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence.” She specifically mentioned his role in a controversial IRS settlement with President Donald Trump and over having “promised an anti-abortion organization that he would seek to prohibit the mailing of abortion medication to women nationwide.”
Two other Republicans — Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — are known to still be undecided; Blanche needs one of their votes to secure confirmation.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) has once again broken ranks with House Democratic leadership over endorsements, this time to support former Missouri Rep. Cori Bush over incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell.
In a post to social media Tuesday, Pressley called on voters to elect “champions” like Bush, who is in a heated primary rematch Tuesday in a contest that lays bare the party’s divide over Israel.
“Whether in Massachusetts, Michigan or Missouri, we all need politicians who fight for us, not corporations,” Pressley said. Her endorsement comes as voters head to the polls for primaries in both Michigan and Missouri, where progressive challengers are taking on moderate incumbents.
It marks the second time this primary cycle Pressley has endorsed against candidates backed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). Last month, she joined a handful of other Congressional Black Caucus members to support Michigan state Rep. Donavan McKinney in his bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar.
A spokesperson for Jeffries did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pressley’s endorsement also sets her squarely against the establishment wing of the party: both Bush and McKinney have been endorsed by their local Democratic Socialists of America chapters.
But the endorsement is unsurprising: she and Bush served as members of the progressive “Squad” in the last Congress and often worked together on legislation. In a previous interview with POLITICO, Bush said she and Pressley continued to talk regularly, even after Bell unseated her in 2024.
Todd Blanche picked up an important GOP vote Tuesday for his nomination as attorney general — Sen. John Curtis of Utah — likely leaving him just one vote shy of securing confirmation.
Curtis said in a statement he plans to “support” Blanche and was pleased with the nominee’s “receptivity and understanding” of issues raised, including ending the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” created under a May settlement Blanche brokered between the IRS and President Donald Trump.
The announcement came moments after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on party lines to advance Blanche’s nomination to the full Senate.
Crucial to that vote was Blanche agreeing in writing that the $1.8 billion payout fund was nullified and that another aspect of the settlement — an IRS audit immunity agreement — was scaled back. That gave GOP Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina enough comfort to vote for Blanche.
The remaining undecided Republican senators are Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. All three said Tuesday they are still grappling with their decisions.
“I’m still considering everything,” Collins said. “I watched part of the markup this morning to hear some of the statements, but I don’t have any decision to share with you right now.”
Murkowski declined to say how she would vote, and Cassidy told reporters that he had “nothing about Todd Blanche” to say.
Cornyn said he has already spoken with Collins and Murkowski and that additional conversations are expected.
“Senator Collins, she’s one of the most diligent individuals I know, certainly here in the United States Senate, and we had a good conversation.” Cornyn said. “She’ll have to speak for herself as to her ultimate conclusion. And I’ve also been exchanging messages with Senator Murkowski, and I know we’ll have further conversations about this.”
Jordain Carney and Calen Razor contributed to this report.
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship11 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words