US politics – Congress matters

The Senate Judiciary Committee is launching the confirmation process for the first judicial nominations of President Donald Trump’s second term. The panel Wednesday morning opened a hearing for Whitney D. Hermandorfer, Trump’s nominee for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and four other district court judges in Missouri: Maria A. Lanahan, Cristian M. Stevens and Zachary M. Bluestone for the Eastern District, and Joshua M. Divine for the Eastern and Western Districts. It is a continuation of a major priority of Trump’s first term: applying a conservative slant across the federal bench. The Senate confirmed hundreds of judges the last time Trump was in office, rewriting the rules around judicial nominations in the process. The Biden administration also confirmed hundreds of judges, leaving relatively few vacancies for Trump to fill upon his return to the White House in January. According to data from the U.S. courts, there are currently about 49 existing vacancies. Circuit courts have enormous influence, with judges there often having the last word in cases not taken up by the Supreme Court. The Sixth Circuit seat specifically is one of only a handful of appeals court vacancies that Trump can populate. A graduate of George Washington University Law School, Hermandorfer is the current director of the strategic litigation unit for the Tennessee Attorney General. She previously clerked for Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Amy Coney Barrett, as well as for Justice Brett Kavanaugh when he was still a D.C. Circuit Court judge. Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) opened the hearing by reminding his colleagues that some Biden nominees received bipartisan support, even though many were controversial to Republicans. “Elections, as we all know, have consequences … I worry that partisanship will hamper these efforts,” said Grassley, appearing to take a swipe at ranking member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who recently suggested he could seek to block swift consideration of future U.S. attorney nominees. Durbin defended his threats by pointing to similar tactics deployed by Vice President JD Vance when he was a Republican senator from Ohio, during which time he moved to slow-walk confirmation of former President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees. The two committee leaders also sparred Wednesday over the Trump administration’s decision to stymie the American Bar Association’s influence on the judicial selection process, which stipulates that the nominees will no longer be required to respond to the ABA’s questionnaire or conduct interviews with the organization prior to confirmation. Durbin argued the administration’s decision could prevent senators from knowing whether the nominees are qualified for their roles. Grassley maintained that the ABA could still send letters to the committee, like other organizations, but criticized the group as a “partisan progressive organization.”

The top two congressional Republicans rebutted Elon Musk’s criticism of their “big, beautiful bill” Wednesday as the tech mogul and former Trump administration cost-cutter continued attacking the GOP legislation overnight. Speaker Mike Johnson spent several minutes during a closed-door House Republican Conference meeting on Wednesday morning pushing back on Musk and trying to reassure Republicans after Musk signaled that he thinks lawmakers who support the megabill should be ousted next year, according to three people in the room granted anonymity to describe the private meeting. Johnson told his conference that he’s tried to call Musk to explain the process behind the megabill, as well as a separate bill to claw back billions in spending. Johnson’s message, in the meeting, according to the attendees: People will have differences of opinion; don’t take it personally. “I think he’s flat wrong, and I’ve told him as much,” Johnson said at a news conference after the meeting. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune downplayed the impact that Musk’s criticism would have on his whip count. Republicans can afford no more than three defections in the chamber, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is already expected to oppose the bill. “Obviously he has some influence, got a big following on social media,” he said. “But at the end of the day this is a 51-vote exercise here in the Senate, and I think it’s going to be the question for our members is going to be would you prefer the alternative. And the alternative isn’t a good one.” Thune said he had spoken to Musk “a couple of days ago,” ahead of his latest attacks. Musk called the bill a “disgusting abomination” yesterday, and he continued attacking the bill and the GOP Congress overnight for not doing more to address “massive deficit spending.” The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated Wednesday the bill will add $2.4 trillion in deficits over the coming decade. “There are going to be a lot of people who share commentary about this, and we just got to make sure we’re doing everything we can to get our arguments out there,” Thune added. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also downplayed Musk’s potential threats to GOP members in a brief interview, saying that the party is “continuing to see fundraising goals get exceeded” ahead next year’s midterms. “The speaker, myself, our whole team continues to exceed fundraising goals, because people know what’s at stake next year,” he added. “And President Trump’s all in, by the way, too, helping us hold the House. … He’s been our best, most effective deliverer of support.” Johnson said at the news conference that Trump is deeply unhappy about Musk torching the centerpiece of his legislative agenda — reiterating comments he’d made inside the closed-door meeting: “As you know, he’s not delighted that Elon did a 180 on that.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and his tax writers will huddle with President Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday as Republicans race to resolve a growing list of tax policy disputes in their megabill. Thune detailed what to expect in an exclusive interview with POLITICO: BUSINESS TAX PERMANENCE: Thune emphasized that one of the biggest tax issues for him and other Finance Republicans is making key business tax incentives, such as full expensing for research and development costs, permanent. “There’s a lot of interest in growth in the economy among our caucus,” Thune told POLITICO. “Permanence, I have been told by a number of our members, is a red line for them.” But it’s a costly ask, and senators have been cagey on how they’ll make the numbers work. TAXES ON TIPS: One long-shot idea that could come up is from Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who suggested to POLITICO that the $40 billion “no tax on tips” proposal could drop out of the bill and get passed later on a bipartisan basis. Don’t expect Trump to jump at the idea. Trump campaigned on making tips tax-free, and it’s one of his top priorities in the megabill. CLEAN-ENERGY CREDITS: Tillis also plans to raise concerns Wednesday about House Republicans’ plan to gut clean-energy tax credits, amplifying the warning he and GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), John Curtis (Utah) and Jerry Moran (Kan.) previously delivered to GOP leaders that a full-scale repeal won’t fly in the Senate. Democrats are working to drive a wedge on the issue. SALT: Some GOP senators are pushing back against the deal House GOP leaders struck with blue-state moderates to quadruple the state-and-local-tax deduction cap to $40,000. Thune signaled to POLITICO that the Senate is likely to scale it back. “It would be very, very hard to get the Senate to vote for what the House did,” Thune said. But SALT Republicans are digging in. Rep. Nick LaLota (N.Y.) told POLITICO on Tuesday that such a move could “unwind many of the other connected policies” in the many interlocking deals Speaker Mike Johnson negotiated to muscle the first draft of the megabill through his narrower majority. “It would likely stall the bill,” LaLota warned. Meanwhile, Thune seems optimistic as he works to douse other flare-ups within his conference (Medicaid, food aid) and outside of it (hello, Elon Musk). The majority leader also told POLITICO he expects every committee to release its bill text by the end of next week as he pushes toward a pre-July 4 vote. Armed Services kick-started that process Tuesday with draft text that increases funding for nuclear weapons, munitions production and new technology beyond what the House GOP proposed. POLITICO Pros can dive deeper into the full Thune Q&A. What else we’re watching: — Vought hits the Hill: OMB Director Russ Vought testifies Wednesday in front of House Appropriations on the OMB budget. Expect plenty of questions about rescissions, impoundments and other cuts to come as House Republicans prepare to vote next week on the $9.4 billion rescissions request Trump just sent over. — In the DOGE-house: A House Oversight subcommittee will scrutinize fraud risk in the Defense Department during a hearing Wednesday morning, with testimony from a deputy Pentagon inspector general and an official from the Government Accountability Office. It comes after a GAO report found $10.8 billion in fraud within DOD for fiscal years 2017 through 2024. — Trump’s attempt to reshape the courts: Nearly six months into Trump’s second term, the Senate will finally start to consider his nominees to fill vacancies across federal courts. On Wednesday, Senate Judiciary will consider picks for vacancies in Missouri and on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Jordain Carney, Brian Faler and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.

In an exclusive interview, the Senate majority leader laid out how he plans quick action on the GOP legislation.

The GOP faces internal opposition over its legislative priority.

Elon Musk’s bashing of President Donald Trump’s megabill sparked some conflict with congressional Republicans. But some deficit hawks were thrilled. Several hard-liners rejoiced at Musk’s comments on X on Tuesday — calling the House-passed GOP megabill a “massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill” and a “disgusting abomination.” “These numbers are nothing short of stunning,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) responded. “Congress has hollowed out America’s middle class through reckless deficit spending and the inflation it causes.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who has reiterated his opposition to the bill, said to reporters on Tuesday that Musk “has some of the same skepticism” as him that the bill is “just not conservative.” Musk’s comments came less than two weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson carefully threaded the GOP megabill through his razor-thin majority. He managed to garner enough support from conservative hard-liners concerned over the bill’s multi-trillion-dollar deficit impact. But Musk’s comments reignited the conversation as the bill heads to the Senate. The two hard-right House Republicans who voted against the bill quickly praised Musk for speaking out. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) called Musk’s post “The Big Beautiful Tweet,” while Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) responded, “He’s right.” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the Freedom Caucus chair who voted “present” on the bill, told reporters he didn’t know if Musk’s blowtorch approach would change any minds in the congressional GOP. But he said “we ought to pay attention” when people with “real world experience” throw up red flags about growing deficits. Most Republican senators — even very conservative ones — didn’t appear to share Musk’s assessment that the bill was hopeless. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he believed it would be salvageable with some adjustments. “I think the Senate should make the bill substantially better, and I hope and believe we’ll do that,” Cruz said. Any opponents will have to face Trump, who has already publicly bashed Paul and Massie on Truth Social for their prior comments. The president is pushing for the bill to pass with components, such as raising the debt ceiling and border wall spending, that the members have criticized. “Sure, it helps bolster the case,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a key Senate deficit hawk, said about Musk’s post. “But again, the president wants to balance the budget as well.” Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Donald Trump’s megabill has attracted the rebuke of typical allies and opponents alike.

Elon Musk’s declaration that the GOP’s domestic-policy megabill, the centerpiece of President Donald Trump‘s legislative agenda, is a “disgusting abomination” rocketed around Capitol Hill on Tuesday — and frustrated a host of Republican lawmakers. Inside the Senate Republican lunch, it “got spread around pretty quick,” said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin — who, like other GOP senators, was swarmed by reporters afterward seeking reaction to the tech mogul’s blunt musings. House Speaker Mike Johnson had just gaveled the House into session after a quiet recess week when he was set upon with questions. He immediately declared Musk’s take on the House product “terribly wrong” and “very disappointing” — and revealed he’d walked the tech mogul through the bill as recently as Monday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, characteristically diplomatic, said only that GOP senators “have a difference of opinion” with Musk and that he hoped “he’ll come to a different conclusion” after learning more about the bill. Democrats were more than happy to play up the discord over the GOP’s legislative centerpiece, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer emerging from the Democratic lunch with a printout of the post and giddily telling reporters, “I agree with Elon Musk!” Whether Musk, with all the power he wielded in Washington over the past several months, will now be able to shape the megabill — or kill it entirely — is another question, though. The answer is, probably not, according to several mostly exasperated Senate Republicans who weighed in Tuesday. “He’s entitled to his opinion,” said North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who gave a one-word answer on whether Musk’s message would affect amendments to the bill: “No.” Even MAGA conservatives who have been among Musk’s biggest Hill backers brushed him off: “We need spending reductions, no doubt. But we’re going to work through it,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri. Added Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, “I think the Senate should make the bill substantially better, and I hope and believe we’ll do that.” Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota said he just didn’t see Musk’s opposition moving the ball much: “I think the people that are of the same view are encouraged, and I think others are sort of dismissive.” “I like Elon Musk,” he added, “but he’s one man.”CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misspelled Sen. Eric Schmitt’s name.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that Elon Musk is “terribly wrong” after the tech billionaire blasted the GOP megabill as a “disgusting abomination.” “With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson told reporters. Johnson said he spoke over the phone with the former chief of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative for what he described as a friendly conversation of more than 20 minutes Monday about the “virtues” of the bill. “And he seemed to understand that,” Johnson added. Johnson said he discussed with Musk the accelerated repeal of many green subsidies in the House version of the bill, something Musk has voiced opposition to in recent days. “But for him to come out and pan the whole bill, to me, is just very disappointing — very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him yesterday,” Johnson said. “It’s not personal,” the speaker added. “I just deeply regret that he’s made this mistake.”

House GOP leaders are aiming to move a widely anticipated $9.4 billion package of spending cuts through the House next week, eyeing a Rules Committee vote Monday followed by floor action, according to three Republicans granted anonymity to relay private discussions. Some GOP appropriators are still not completely thrilled with the “rescissions” package, but there are no current plans to alter or mark up the legislation in the Appropriations Committee before it heads to the floor, the people said. The White House plans to send the package rescinding funding for PBS, NPR and foreign aid programs to the Hill Tuesday afternoon. Some House Freedom Caucus members want a vote this week. But Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership circle is planning for a vote next week, barring any other issues. One reason is they want to follow the 72-hour-notice rule for legislation though they are still discussing what particular day it could head to the floor. “My objective is to move it as quickly as our rules allow us,” Johnson said in a brief interview Tuesday, nothing that discussions are ongoing.

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett officially kicked off a bid to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, making her the fourth contestant in a crowded race to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly. “Our country is in an existential crisis driven by an out-of-control Executive with a flagrant disregard for our Constitution, our way of governance, and our very way of life as citizens of a democratic republic,” she said in a letter to Democratic colleagues obtained by POLITICO. “We must pull back the curtain on the unmitigated chaos under Trump 2.0 and translate our findings to the American people in a way they can digest.” The vacancy opened by Connolly’s death has kicked off a hotly contested race to lead a panel likely to take a bulldog approach to President Donald Trump and his administration if Democrats take the House majority in next year’s midterms. Three other Democrats have declared bids: Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland. The contest has set up a generational clash among Democrats amid a broader reckoning with seniority and age in the caucus. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), opted against a bid, leading many Democrats to see the secret-ballot caucus election scheduled for June 24 as wide open. Crockett told her Democratic colleagues she saw the committee leadership position as one to respond to Trump and make the case for a Democratic majority. “From the pulpit of the Oversight Committee, the Ranking Member must lay out our case against Trump 2.0 and his accomplices, the Republicans in the House, and discharge this message across the nation,” she wrote, adding that “our work cannot be solely reactive.” Crockett, who is 44 and serving her second term, is seen as a rising star among House Democrats. She’s earned plaudits from other Democrats for her tough questioning and viral moments on the committee — and criticism from Republicans for recent verbal missteps. She challenged Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan to lead the caucus’ messaging arm and came up short in a previous leadership bid. Connolly designated Lynch, 70, to serve as an interim ranking member. Garcia, 47, has been running on his record as mayor of Long Beach, California, and his caucus leadership position. And Mfume, 76, has touted his experience leading an Oversight subpanel overseeing government operations. In her letter to colleagues, Crockett cited her experience as vice ranking member of the committee — a largely ceremonial title — and her background as the child of a federal worker from St. Louis, Missouri. She also praised former President Joe Biden, saying he “saved the world economy,” at a time when the former president and his inner circle have come under fire for failing to disclose concerns around the octogenarian politician’s fitness for office.CORRECTION: A previous version of this report misspelled Gerry Connolly’s name.

Rep. Mike Quigley lost his plum committee post earlier this year, and the Illinois Democrat hasn’t forgotten. Speaking in an episode of the Pro Politics podcast published Monday, Quigley issued a sidelong rebuke to a pair of former top House Democratic leaders who claimed committee leadership roles after leaving Democratic leadership in 2022. It’s personal for Quigley: He served as the ranking member on the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation-HUD until 84-year-old Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) gave up his leadership position earlier this year and bumped Quigley off of the panel. It also comes amid an increasingly open debate over age and leadership inside the Democratic Party; Quigley, who is 66, was among the first House Democrats to call on President Joe Biden to step aside as presidential nominee in 2024. ”If you’ve been one of the top three leadership spots, you should hesitate wanting to come back and say, ‘I want to be a ranker or chair,” Quigley, a nine-term veteran, told Democratic pollster and podcast host Zac McCrary. “At some point you’ve had your moment, and it’s time to let someone come in and have an opportunity to be on one of those select committees and being a ranker or chair.” Another senior appropriator who later joined leadership, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, assumed the ranking member role on the Financial Services subcommittee in 2023 after exiting as majority leader at age 83, bypassing Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, who is 25 years younger. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has not claimed any committee assignments since returning to the rank-and-file that same year.

Virginians are set to vote for the late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s successor in a special election on Sept. 9. Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday called for a special election to fill the northern Virginia seat left vacant after the longtime lawmaker’s passing on May 21. Virginia’s 11th district is deep blue and will almost assuredly elect another Democrat. The special election will be the third this fall to fill vacancies left by the passing of Democratic lawmakers. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, set a Nov. 4 special election to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner in April, following consternation among statewide Democrats, who threatened to sue the governor over the monthlong delay in setting the date. Arizona voters will also wait to find a successor for Rep. Raúl Grijalva, with Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, setting a Sept. 23 special election date after Grijalva’s March 13 passing. Arizona state law generally requires a longer timeline for a special election than many other states. Connolly, who had battled with esophageal cancer, had announced on April 28 that he would not seek reelection to represent the heavily Democratic D.C. suburb in 2026. In early May, the Virginian endorsed his former aide, James Walkinshaw, for the job. But the field is already getting crowded, with five other Democrats and two Republicans also tossing their hats in the ring.

Senate committees will start rolling out their portions of the GOP megabill as soon as Tuesday, providing a first look at how Republicans in the chamber plan to address some of the House’s most controversial proposals. Here’s the draft-text timeline POLITICO reported Monday night, though it could change: — Armed Services plans to release its text Tuesday — Environment and Public Works is pushing for Wednesday — Commerce is aiming for Thursday — Banking is expected Friday The scheduling logic: Just as the House sequenced its megabill markups from least-to-most controversial to buy lawmakers more time to resolve their stickier policy debates, the Senate will have committees release their least-contentious draft bills first. Finance, which has jurisdiction over tax cuts and changes to Medicaid, is widely expected to be among the final Senate panels to release text, if not the last. The massive tax-and-spending package will “most likely” hit the Senate floor the last full week of June, ahead of the July 4 recess, per Senate Majority Leader John Thune. It could come even sooner — but that depends on how conversations go with the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. Committee staffers started vetting the megabill with MacDonough last week and will continue their talks this week and next. MacDonough’s job is to recommend which House-passed provisions and policy priorities must be dropped to comply with the strict rules governing the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process. Thune signaled Monday that Republicans won’t seek to override their referee if they don’t like her rulings but said he hoped MacDonough could be convinced to green-light inclusion of the so-called REINS Act “in some fashion.” The longstanding conservative proposal would give Congress more authority to approve agency regulations. The chamber’s lightning-fast turnaround nods to the weeks of behind-the-scenes work by GOP senators and their aides to prepare for the domestic policy bill’s arrival from across the Capitol. It also shows the immense pressure they’re under from the White House to get moving on advancing President Donald Trump’s sweeping legislative agenda. The president is starting to play his own hand. Trump met separately Monday at the White House with both Thune and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who wants deeper spending cuts but told POLITICO “we all want to get a bill done.” Trump also spoke by phone with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who’s pushing a return to pre-pandemic spending levels, and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who’s opposed to some of the Medicaid changes endorsed by the Republican House. And the president will likely meet with Thune and Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) either this week or next to talk through the details of the tax portion of the bill. One key fight to watch this week: Look to see if the Senate backs away from the House’s plan to re-up government auctions of federally controlled spectrum. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has drawn a red line on it, saying Monday that “we’ll have to take out the spectrum language that’s in the bill right now. That simply is a non-starter for me.” What else we’re watching: — Rescissions incoming: The White House plans to send up a package Tuesday outlining $9.4 billion in spending cuts, asking Congress to nix current funding for NPR, PBS and foreign aid. House Republican leaders helped shape the so-called rescissions request over the last few weeks in a back-and-forth with the White House. But Senate Republicans are exploring options for amending the package. — Billy Long is back: Senate Finance members will vote Tuesday to advance the nomination of Billy Long, Trump’s pick to lead the IRS, six months after the president announced the selection. In his confirmation hearing last month, Long sought to distance himself from his promotion of certain tribal tax credits that turned out to be nonexistent. Jordain Carney, Benjamin Guggenheim and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune signaled Monday that Republicans won’t move to overrule the chamber’s parliamentarian during an upcoming debate on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” “We’re not going there,” Thune said when asked by reporters about overruling Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who will play a special role in vetting the bill for compliance with the strict Senate rules allowing Republicans to bypass a Democratic filibuster. Senate staffers met with MacDonough during last week’s recess to vet the House-passed megabill and talk through their own ideas, conversations first reported by POLITICO. Thune said that committee staffers tasked with drafting the legislation will continue conferring with her this week and next week. At the end of the process, MacDonough will make rulings on whether various policies comply with the chamber’s rules. The question about the fate of the parliamentarian comes after Senate Republicans sidestepped her in a recent fight to nix waivers allowing California to set its own emissions standards. At least one of Thune’s members is already publicly floating that his party should be willing to directly overrule MacDonough on the megabill. In a tweet last month, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X that “disagreeing with the Senate parliamentarian may be warranted if the parliamentarian gives bad advice, and it’s wrong to suggest otherwise.” Several significant pieces of the House-approved bill are at risk of falling out of the legislation as it moves through the Senate. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday that Democrats will challenge one House provision that places limits on the ability of federal judges to enforce contempt citations. He predicted it will get booted from the bill. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, added that Democrats are looking at challenging some immigration provisions, as well. He added that it was his understanding that conversations with MacDonough were just getting started.

The U.S. Capitol Police will be led by Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher on acting basis while a search continues for a new permanent leader, the department confirmed Monday. Gallagher’s appointment by the Capitol Police Board comes after Chief Thomas Manger retired last month after about four years on the job. Gallagher is seen by some in the department as a strong contender for the permanent position after having held a variety of roles within the department over the past two decades. Gallagher, who oversees uniformed operations as one of three assistant chiefs, has been with the department since 2001. He has previously served as the assistant commander of the Investigations Division and as the assistant commander of the Dignitary Protection Division and the Capitol Division. Capitol Police employees and even some on Capitol Hill with oversight responsibilities over the department were unclear Monday morning who Manger’s temporary successor was, stoking some confusion about who was at the helm of the department. Two people granted anonymity described the decision to POLITICO before the department confirmed the appointment. The job of choosing Manger’s long term replacement will fall to the Capitol Police Board, composed of House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Jennifer Hemingway and Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin. All three came to their positions during Manger’s tenure, and this will be their first time working together in a search for the top Capitol Police official. Top congressional leaders choose the board members and are expected to have some influence in the pick. “If they pick someone from the inside, they’re going to know what our mission is,” Manger said in a recent interview before leaving the department. “They’ll have that — that’s good. If they pick somebody from the outside, they’re going to have to learn about our mission, the uniqueness of it, but the structure of oversight as well, and there is a learning curve there.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s pledge to return the Senate to “regular order” is about to face a major test, with one of President Donald Trump’s top financial policy priorities on the line. After months of chaotic negotiations in the Senate, landmark cryptocurrency legislation that would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins finally appears to have the votes to clear the chamber. But a contentious battle over credit card swipe fees — what processors like Visa, Mastercard and American Express charge merchants for the ability to use their payment networks — is now threatening to blow the effort up. Thune’s promise to allow an open amendment process has raised the possibility of an amendment vote on divisive legislation that seeks to force payment networks to compete on swipe fees. The credit card measure, long championed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), is a fraught policy battle that pits two powerful lobbying forces — the financial sector and major retailers — against one another. Crypto supporters, who are within spitting distance of their biggest win ever in the Senate, are scrambling to prevent the credit card provision from derailing their stablecoin bill. It is unclear how a vote on the Durbin-Marshall provision would go: Most senators haven’t taken a position on the matter. But the fear for pro-crypto lawmakers is that it could garner enough support to be adopted as an amendment with backing from most Democrats and some Republicans — and then tank the underlying stablecoin bill by peeling off GOP senators who oppose the credit card amendment. “It’s a deal-killer,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who supports the stablecoin legislation but said he will try to “kill the bill” if the credit card legislation is attached. “If it goes in it, the value out of the stablecoin components would not outweigh the damage done by [Durbin-Marshall].”It is uncertain if the swipe fee crackdown will ultimately get a vote. The issue is likely to come to a head this week as GOP leaders look to move the bill toward final passage. Further procedural votes could come this week, but the timing of a vote on final passage will depend on whether they can get a deal on amendments. “I’m hoping that we can finish up this legislation in the very near future,” Thune said Monday. The credit card provision is the biggest outstanding question. Durbin and Marshall have been pushing for years to force a vote or attach it to must-pass legislation, and they have failed every time. Marshall has filed his bill as an amendment to the stablecoin legislation. But asked prior to Congress’ Memorial Day recess whether he will seek to force a vote on the measure, he said he has “not decided what to do.”

It’s megabill crunch time in the Senate. Arm-twisting over what to change in the House-passed version of the “big, beautiful” bill will largely play out behind closed doors the next few days. Strategy huddles include Senate Finance’s meeting tonight and Wednesday’s “Big Six” confab between Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker Mike Johnson, their tax committee chairs and lead administration officials. One of Thune’s biggest challenges to pass the bill by July 4 will be winning over the “Medicaid moderates” — an ideological cross-section of members who are aligned against the cuts passed by the House and have the numbers to force changes. Among them: Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Thune can lose only three GOP senators to pass the megabill. Thune and Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who is juggling Medicaid and tax conflicts in the bill, are talking to key members in anticipation of difficult negotiations. Crapo told Jordain he personally supports the House’s Medicaid work requirements, which some GOP senators wary of benefit cuts say they could also support. But beyond that, they’re steering clear of public commitments. One potentially major sticking point: The House-passed freeze on provider taxes, which most states use to help finance their share of Medicaid costs. Sen. Jim Justice, the former West Virginia governor, called it a “real issue,” and Hawley has also raised concerns. But other GOP senators, including Kevin Cramer (N.D.), want to go even further in reducing, not just freezing, the provider tax. Republicans got a glimpse of the political minefield surrounding Medicaid while back home last week. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) “we’re all going to die” response to town hall pushback about the cuts — and her decision to double down on the comments — generated days of negative headlines and ad fodder for Democrats. Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns in the debut episode of her podcast “The Conversation” that the Medicaid work requirements in the bill would “future proof” the program. Then there are the deficit hawks. President Donald Trump over the weekend warned Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) to get behind the megabill, with Paul vowing to vote against it over an included debt-limit hike. But it’s not just Paul making noise. Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) is calling for a line-by-line budget review to find places to slash more spending, and Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rick Scott (Fla.) are also pushing for more cuts. Paul hinted at hard-liners’ leverage Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” saying: “I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction.” What else we’re watching: — Senate Dems make a move: Senate Democrats are preparing to challenge parts of the GOP megabill with the parliamentarian, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter Sunday. He highlighted a specific House provision that critics say would weaken judges’ power to enforce contempt orders. — Trump’s budget request faces first tests: The House Appropriations Committee will begin marking up the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Agriculture portion of Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request this Thursday. Trump’s request includes 22 percent cuts in non-defense spending and sweeping cuts that Democrats don’t appear interested in supporting (and their votes will be critical in September to avoid a government shutdown). — Hitting the Hill: Trump administration officials will testify this week in defense of the president’s fiscal 2026 budget. That includes Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Tuesday, Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau on Wednesday and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday and Thursday. Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

An ideologically diverse clutch of Republicans have found rare alignment — and significant power.

A joint letter from Lisa Murkowski and Jeanne Shaheen urged the Department of Homeland Security to reinstate the protections immediately.

The Iowa senator shocked constituents Friday when she defended Republicans’ reconciliation package.

Shira Perlmutter asked a judge to reinstate her, arguing the Library of Congress is not under direct presidential control.

House Republicans are expecting a modest package next week amid an online pressure campaign.

“I don’t think it’s wise or necessary or useful to try and convince members of Congress what to think” about the Jan. 6 riot, Thomas Manger says.

Leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee is sparring over ranking member Dick Durbin’s decision to block the swift confirmation of a U.S. attorney nominee — and his warning that he could do the same for others. The Illinois Democrat had announced earlier this week that he would put a hold on the U.S. attorney nominee for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quiñones, who is now a state judge in Florida. In doing so, Durbin would create a procedural hurdle that would likely slow Quiñones’ confirmation at a time when the Trump administration has yet to confirm any U.S. attorney nominees in the Senate. Durbin, who cautioned he could do the same for other U.S. attorney nominees, likened his tactics to those deployed by Vice President JD Vance, back when he was a Republican senator from Ohio. At that time, Vance put a hold on a number of Biden-era U.S. attorney nominees, vowing he would do so for every Department of Justice nominee in the wake of the department’s second indictment against President Donald Trump. “[T]here is now a new precedent for roll call votes on the Floor for confirming U.S. Attorney nominees,” Durbin said in a statement. “As I’ve said time and time again—there cannot be one set of rules for Republicans and another set for Democrats.” But committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is accusing Durbin of “playing politics” with the issue, and arguing that Vance did not, in fact, set a new precedent when he put the holds on attorney nominees toward the end of the Biden administration. “Placing a blanket hold on all U.S. Attorney nominees before the Trump administration has filled even a single one of the 93 Attorneys’ Offices would constitute an aggressive, unprecedented attack on the American criminal justice system,” Grassley said in a statement. “Holds should be used selectively,” Grassley continued. “Blanket holds intended to wholly obstruct the confirmation process are misguided and threaten to undermine the Senate’s advice and consent role.”

White House budget director Russ Vought publicly denigrated the federal government’s top watchdog Friday, a day after it concluded the Trump administration violated the law by withholding federal cash. The Government Accountability Office issued an opinion Thursday that the administration made an illegal “impoundment” by refusing to spend appropriated funds on infrastructure that supports electric vehicles. Vought predicted the GAO would continue to make similar findings in the coming months. But those findings won’t matter, he added. “These are non-events with no consequence. Rearview mirror stuff,” Vought posted on social media Friday morning. The GAO is an independent, nonpartisan federal agency that helps Congress with oversight of the federal government and is now pursuing at least 39 investigations into whether the Trump administration has violated the Impoundment Control Act, the 51-year-old law that bars presidents from usurping the “power of the purse” Congress is granted under Article I of the Constitution. Vought called GAO a “quasi-independent arm of the legislative branch” in his social media post, accusing the agency of “playing a partisan role” in the “impeachment hoax” of Trump’s first presidency. “Our longstanding appropriations law work demonstrate our commitment to reaching Impoundment Control Act decisions (ICA) in an independent manner,” a GAO spokesperson responded in a statement, adding that those decisions “do not take a position on the policy goals of the program” and “only examine the procedural issues and compliance with the law.” During Vought’s first stint as White House budget director, the watchdog concluded in early 2020 that the Trump administration violated the impoundment law by freezing aid to Ukraine, issuing the finding after the House voted to impeach the president for those actions and others. Vought predicted that GAO will be concluding the same in its new investigations, as Trump administration agencies cancel, shift and withhold billions of dollars Congress passed into law under orders from the Department of Government Efficiency initiative started under Elon Musk and the president’s executive actions. “They are going to call everything an impoundment because they want to grind our work to manage taxpayer dollars effectively to a halt,” Vought wrote.

Speaker Mike Johnson struck a series of delicate deals to get Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” through the House. Now, Senate Republicans are threatening to tear them apart. Despite behind-the-scenes efforts to smooth versions of the bill between chambers and pleas from Johnson to avoid significant changes, the megabill could be in for a major rewrite across the Capitol. “The Senate will have its imprint on it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune declared. “They’ve got to do what they can get 218 for, and we’ve got to do what we can get 51 for.” Here are some of the early fault lines: MEDICAID FINANCING — There’s a battle brewing between Senate Republicans over the House’s push to freeze the provider tax, which Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) warned “is a real risk to rural hospitals.” Who to watch: Sens. Hawley, Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), who have all drawn red lines on Medicaid benefit cuts. CLEAN-ENERGY CREDITS — House Republicans’ move to speed up sunset dates for several clean-energy tax credits in Democrats’ 2022 climate law is stoking Senate GOP fears that it could have a “chilling effect” on future investments, Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.) told POLITICO on Thursday. Who to watch: Sens. Tillis, Murkowski, John Curtis (Utah) and Jerry Moran (Kan.), who recently sent a letter to GOP leadership warning against gutting the credits. SPENDING CUTS — Some GOP senators openly derided House hard-liners for not securing steeper spending cuts in their version of the megabill (House fiscal hawks mocked them back for thinking they could get more). Thune said he’s aiming for closer to $2 trillion in reductions, above the $1.5 trillion the House passed. Who to watch: Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.), who’s pushing for a return to pre-pandemic spending levels (a roughly $6 trillion cut). He believes he has the votes to tank the bill if it doesn’t go far enough, pointing to Sens. Mike Lee (Utah), Rick Scott (Fla.) and Rand Paul (Ky.) as allies. SNAP COST-SHARING — One of the most controversial House provisions is causing plenty of heartburn in the Senate: requiring states to cover a portion of federal food assistance costs for the first time. Who to watch: Murkowski and fellow Alaskan Dan Sullivan, plus Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Tim Scott (S.C.). Agriculture Chair John Boozman (Ark.) hinted Republicans could face backlash from governors over “how much of an unfunded mandate” the change could create. This comes as a new Congressional Budget Office analysis says increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements could kick 3.2 million people out of the program. What else we’re watching: — Senate Dems prepare megabill attacks: Top Senate Democrats will be looking to exploit GOP concerns with Republicans’ megabill, even as they acknowledge they’re all but powerless to stop the party-line push that needs only a simple majority to clear the chamber. “We know that a lot of Republicans on the Senate side are squirmy,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on a Thursday call organized by nonprofit Families Over Billionaires. “We’re going to fight this tooth and nail.” — The Senate’s megabill process: Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker (Miss.) on Thursday cast doubt on the likelihood his committee would meet to vote on the defense spending portion of the Republican megabill. The potential move to bypass an Armed Services vote signals that the Senate may pursue a more informal committee process for the bill than the House, as Republican leaders attempt to get the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk by July 4. — Biden Oversight hearing: House Oversight Chair James Comer (Ky.) is demanding interviews with Joe Biden’s physician and former White House officials as part of his investigation into the former president’s mental decline. The requests, dated Thursday, were sent to Biden’s physician, Kevin O’Connor; former Domestic Policy Council Director Neera Tanden; former senior adviser to the first lady Anthony Bernal; former deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini; and former deputy director of Oval Office operations Ashley Williams. Jordain Carney, Hailey Fuchs, Benjamin Guggenheim and Connor O’Brien contributed to this report.

The speaker spent months keeping flare-ups from growing into a conflagration even Donald Trump couldn’t extinguish.

The White House’s attempt to seize control of the Library of Congress has run into opposition from key leaders — including Republicans.