Congress

Senators bullish on chances for a July vote on college sports bill

Published

1 day ago

July 16, 2026

Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz is hopeful the Senate will be able to vote this month on his bipartisan college athletics legislation as he makes “minor modifications” to win support.

The Texas Republican said Wednesday he has been meeting throughout this week with “several dozen” commissioners and university presidents to solicit feedback on the bill he introduced last month with the Commerce Committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington.

“We continue to make significant progress,” he said, declining to get into the “active discussions” around negotiations.

“I believe we will vote on it this month,” Cruz added.

The so-called Protect College Sports Act would establish a federal rule book for college athletics by enacting new policies for student-athlete transfers, banning coaches from moving schools mid-season and enshrining certain “name, image and likeness” protections in law.

Time is running out to schedule a floor vote in July, however, and it remains unclear how much work needs to be done to build consensus in the next two weeks.

A person granted anonymity to share private discussions said Senate Majority Leader John Thune has expressed interest in moving the bill to the floor once it can get 60 votes. But members in both parties have misgivings — including Democrats concerned about student athlete labor protections as well as some Republicans attuned to concerns from major college athletic conferences.

Cantwell, in an interview Thursday, said there’s a “possibility for sure” the bill could land on the Senate floor by the end of the month, while acknowledging there was still some work to do.

“I think right now we have a bill that’s like really in the middle and then there’s people on both sides trying to make change,” she said. “And I think we’ll have to see what we can do that still preserves that agreement but grows the votes.”

Two lobbyists actively engaged in talks around the bill, who were granted anonymity to comment on private conversations, said the legislation is far from ready for a floor vote, adding that the Commerce Committee has not made substantial progress on winning over key players in college sports.

Several universities and conferences — including Louisiana State University, the University of Alabama and Auburn University — have reiterated in recent days that they believe the Cruz-Cantwell bill still requires substantial changes like clarifying liability protections for schools and closing potential loopholes around non-NIL payments for student-athletes.

The bill has also faced strong headwinds as the Big Ten and the Southeastern Conference — the two largest college athletics conferences in the country — have pushed back on a provision aimed at allowing conferences to pool their media rights, insisting the bill clarify that any such provision is entirely voluntary.

Several major conferences were at one time more enthusiastic about the rival proposal in the House known as the SCORE Act, which would offer strong antitrust protections and preempt state NIL laws. But that bill stalled amid opposition from GOP hard-liners and others, emboldening Cruz and Cantwell to forge ahead with their own plan.

Both measures, however, have faced pushback from the Congressional Black Caucus, which has continued to vow to boycott any college sports legislation amid efforts by GOP-led states to redraw congressional maps across the South.

Congress

House GOP releases bill to fund government until after the midterm elections

Published

3 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House GOP leaders released text Friday for a bill to fund the vast majority of the federal government from the start of the next fiscal year on Oct. 1 until after the midterm elections — bypassing the bipartisan appropriations process and daring Democrats to pick a shutdown fight months before voters head to the polls.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday he plans to put the legislation on the floor next week.

The measure would fund the government through Dec. 4 and, as Republican leaders promised, would not include additional policy riders or unrelated provisions.

The text released Friday also does not include President Donald Trump’s top policy priority, the partisan elections overhaul and voter ID measure dubbed the SAVE America Act.

Congress

Alan Dershowitz cancels on House Oversight ahead of planned Epstein interview

Published

5 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Alan Dershowitz, a professor emeritus at Harvard Law School who worked to craft the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s 2008 plea deal, will not appear before the House Oversight Committee for his scheduled transcribed interview Monday, according to two committee aides granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Lawyers for Dershowitz told the Oversight panel he would not show up as planned and the committee has reached out to Dershowitz’s team to put another meeting on the schedule, said one of the aides.

Dershowitz is a well-known criminal defense attorney who has represented high profile clients such as President Donald Trump and O.J. Simpson. Many have contended Dershowitz’s work to get Epstein the plea deal in Florida allowed him to continue victimizing young women and girls for years until his subsequent arrest and suicide in prison in 2019.

The Oversight Committee continues to interview people tied up in Epstein’s web as part of its ongoing investigation. Jes Staley, a former JPMorganChase and Barclays executive, is set to sit for an interview with the panel July 23. The committee is also scheduled to have billionaire investor Leon Black, the co-founder of Apollo Global Management, appear for a videotaped deposition Sept. 3 that will be conducted under oath.

Dershowitz did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Congress

How one moderate Democratic leader is bracing for Israel politics in the next Congress

Published

5 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Rep. Brad Schneider, the leader of the House’s centrist New Democrat Coalition, is trying to understand how his party became so divided on Israel.

Earlier this week, over 100 House Democrats voted for a Republican-authored amendment to a State Department funding bill that would have cut Israel off from U.S. aid. That amendment failed amid near-unified GOP opposition, but progressives celebrated the Wednesday vote as a seismic victory, saying the break with Israel was born out of years of fury inside the Democratic base over Israel’s treatment of Palestine and, more recently, its handling of the war in Gaza.

In the aftermath, Schneider, a pro-Israel Illinois Democrat, said he is searching for an explanation for how a “hastily crafted, cynically introduced” legislative proposal to cut humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza generated support among his own peers, who have largely supported the longtime ally.

Yet even as hard-left candidates topple incumbents around the country, an Israel-critical bloc of House Democrats will be more powerful than ever next term — and Schneider insisted in a Thursday interview that his party can unite on the fractious issue.

This transcript has been edited for length and clarity.

On Democrats ultimately having similar goals: The goal in the Middle East in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to get security, stability, dignity and a holy peace for the people in Israel, in Gaza, the West Bank, in the whole Middle East. … What can we do that will advance peace? And what can we stop doing that has allowed the status quo? I think for many people, that was their intention in how they were voting.

How do we get to a place where members of Congress are sharing a common purpose and advancing peace for the region, recognizing Israel’s need for security as a Jewish, democratic state, recognizing Palestinian rights and their aspirations for sovereignty and a state of their own one day that’s living side by side in peace with Israel, not threatening Israel but providing a future for Palestinian children?

On Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries voting against the amendment, while Minority Whip Katherine Clark voted in favor — and members being left to make their own decisions: I don’t think you’ll see cynical amendments [in a Democratic majority]. I expect what you’ll see is us … working on advancing the interests of American voters. … I think to do that, we need to work together, and leadership has to be coordinated and speaking in one voice.

… Hakeem Jeffries has kept the Democrats united. We have been able to legislate from the minority … and where there’s times and differences, he’s allowed those to be reflected without festering or ultimately tearing apart the caucus. I think next year [if Democrats win the House] you’ll see that leadership take a step up to the next level. There’s a difference between being minority leader and majority speaker.

On whether Democrats can find consensus next term with the influx of hard-left new members: I suspect we will not get unanimity. … I think where Democrats almost universally come down is how do we make the world safer, more secure for Americans and for our allies around the world.

On whether Israel’s divisive prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has pushed Democrats leftward: Netanyahu is not popular. I’m not a fan personally myself. I think it’s more than just Netanyahu. … They have to address the settler violence in the West Bank. I will always be committed to Israel’s security and safety. I believe addressing settler violence is critical for that.

On more Democrats disavowing money from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee: Members will do what they want. I’d like to see members doing more to advance peace rather than advancing their own personal careers.