Congress

There’s a big problem with trying to replace Johnson — no clear alternates

Published

1 year ago

January 2, 2025

Even House Republicans who are skeptical about keeping Mike Johnson on as speaker acknowledge they have a persistent problem: Who could replace him?

As Johnson faces potentially a dozen holdouts or more going into the speakership vote on Friday, three familiar alternative candidates have come up in internal GOP conversations: Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana, Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan of Ohio and GOP Whip Tom Emmer of Minnesota.

All three ran for the speakership in October 2023 before Johnson was elected to take the gavel, and all three were forced to drop their bids as it became obvious they couldn’t get the near-unanimous support needed from House Republicans.

Their prospects haven’t changed a ton since then — each still has a faction of the conference that would likely oppose them. Depending on attendance and a possible Matt Gaetz appearance (it’s still unclear if he could participate in the vote, if he shows up), any Republican who wants to be speaker can only stand to lose two votes.

It demonstrates a perennial problem in politics. Voters might want a non-specified “someone else” (as Johnson detractor Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) put it), but once that becomes a real name, that candidate has issues of their own.

Scalise

Where he stands: The No. 2 House Republican has worked to build relationships across the conference for years during his tenure in leadership, and he has some die-hard allies. But there are bitter grudges between Scalise and Jordan after the speakership race in October 2023, which extends to their respective allies. And some loyalists to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy weren’t big fans of the Louisianan, either, though he has made some progress winning over some of them, including Reps. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and Max Miller (R-Ohio).

The roadblocks: Conservatives who closely aligned with Jordan blocked Scalise from taking the gavel after he won the internal party nomination, only for Scalise allies to then respond accordingly and block Jordan from the speakership afterward. There’s little evidence the group’s general feelings toward Scalise have changed.

Jordan

Where he stands: The conservative darling still holds major sway with the grassroots and some remaining McCarthy allies. Hardliners who don’t want Johnson to be speaker have floated his name again, trying to get a feel for whether he could get the votes now.

The roadblocks: But Jordan still has some strong resistance from those who blocked him previously, including appropriators who fear a die-hard conservative would throw the spending process into chaos, as well as old bulls and Scalise allies. And we hear there are more than two members who would oppose him as speaker, if he made another bid.

Emmer

Where he stands: When the Republican whip ran previously, after Scalise and Jordan had withdrawn, Trump personally torpedoed his bid in a social media post, saying Emmer was “totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters.” He’s worked diligently to smooth over that relationship with Trump, according to allies of the incoming president.

The roadblocks: But Emmer has some lingering distrust from the evangelical faction of the party, which took issue with Emmer voting to legalize same-sex marriage.

There is another option, of course. When Johnson won the speakership, he was a low-level GOP leader, hardly a top name under consideration. But critically, he came in when the GOP was tired of fighting and he had no enemies to stand in his way.

Johnson’s allies insist he’s making headway on winning over his holdouts. Right now, Massie is the only official no, but others like Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) are stating that they are undecided.

Congress

Thune is ‘hopeful’ Mitch McConnell will return this week

Published

2 hours ago

June 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday he hopes his predecessor as top Republican, Mitch McConnell, returns this week from a hospitalization.

Thune said he had not yet spoken directly with the 84-year-old Kentuckian but is getting “readouts from his staff.”

Asked about McConnell’s condition or if he knew if he would be back this week, Thune told reporters, “I’m hopeful that he’ll be back this week.”

A McConnell spokesperson said Sunday that he had been admitted to the hospital but did not provide details on his condition or why he was hospitalized — a break from recent prior instances where the seven-term senator was hospitalized.

A former McConnell staffer who spoke on the condition of anonymity was told the senator was doing much better Monday without any further details on what put him in the hospital.

Daniel Desrochers contributed to this report.

Congress

Senate to confirm Jay Clayton as soon as Thursday

Published

4 hours ago

June 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The Senate could vote as soon as Thursday on Jay Clayton’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence — a lightning speed pace that will necessitate buy-in from all 100 senators.

Confirming Clayton could help shore up enough votes from Democrats to extend a government surveillance program that expired last Friday over opposition to Trump’s pick for acting director, Bill Pulte.

“He will come out of the committee Thursday, at least hopefully, and then if we get consent, we can move,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview Monday about Clayton, who Trump only nominated for the job late last week.

Democrats “ought to be happy with Clayton,” said Thune, adding that he’s a “good” and “solid” pick.

Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, floated Sunday to CBS News that Clayton could be confirmed this week if every senator cooperates.

Senate Intelligence will hold a hearing Wednesday on Clayton’s nomination. If every member of the panel agrees, he could then get a committee vote Thursday. Confirming Clayton on the Senate floor hours later would require getting agreement from every senator to speed up the process. Opposition from a single member will punt Clayton’s confirmation to next week.

Confirming Clayton Thursday would, crucially, limit — and potentially circumvent — Pulte from becoming acting director of national intelligence, which Trump has slated to take place Friday, June 19.

The president’s decision to put Pulte in charge after Tulsi Gabbard’s departure at the helm of the Office of National Intelligence sparked bipartisan pushback, with Democrats saying they will withhold support for extending Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act while Pulte is in the acting role. Congress allowed the key government spy authority lapse last Friday without a deal.

Trump threw another curveball into a FISA extension over the weekend when he posted on social media that he was against reauthorizing Section 702 unless a GOP elections bill is attached. That bill, known as the SAVE America Act, does not have the votes to get through Congress.

Thune threw cold water Monday on tying the two issues together.

“Yeah, he’s, as you know, passionate about getting that done and wants to use every opportunity to take a shot at it,” Thune said of Trump and his desire to enact the elections bill.

But, Thune said, “we can’t get FISA done” if the policies are linked.

Congress

Senate eyes vote on updated housing affordability legislation

Published

6 hours ago

June 15, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is planning to put an updated version of a bipartisan housing affordability bill on the Senate floor for a vote this week, according to two people familiar with the bill dynamics and two Senate Democratic aides granted anonymity to discuss ongoing plans.

The version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act that the Senate will vote on will include most of the House-passed language, including a provision restricting large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. The legislation would also add back Senate bills that were dropped from the House package that passed last month, the two people and the two aides said.

The Senate legislation comes after talks between Thune, Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). The updated Senate package was also discussed with the House and the White House, the aides said.

Still, it’s unclear if House leadership and the White House have signed off on the legislation.

The Senate and House have gone back and forth for months on language for a housing affordability bill as lawmakers on both sides look for a win to tout during a midterm election season dominated by cost-of-living issues.

Both chambers overwhelmingly passed their own versions of the housing bill — the Senate 89-10 in March, and the House 396-13 in May. The White House supported the Senate-passed bill and then backed the House-passed bill after it retained most of the Senate’s language on reining in private equity and other large Wall Street investors in the housing market — a top priority for President Donald Trump.

The Senate’s updated legislation would remove two of the House’s community banking deregulation bills due to budget scoring concerns, said two of the people familiar: two bills that would modify the Federal Deposit Insurance Act around failed insured depository institutions. The Senate bill also added back a provision to authorize the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program for seven years, as opposed to a permanent reauthorization in the Senate’s March legislation.

The Senate additionally re-inserted several upper-chamber priorities, including the BUILD NOW Act, which would incentivize communities to build more housing through the Community Development Block Grant program; the Rental Assistance Demonstration bill, which would raise the cap on housing authorities to convert voucher-based assistance; the Moving to Work bill, which would aim to add a new cohort of MTW public housing agencies; and the VALID Act, which would require Federal Housing Administration mortgage disclosures to include cost comparison information for veterans.

The package retains core wins for the leaders of both the Senate Banking and House Financial Services committees and their members and reflects input from all four leaders of those panels, one of the people familiar said.