The Hill
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) could face his heaviest legislative lift yet tomorrow as House fiscal hawks continue their staunch opposition to the Senate’s budget blueprint aimed at teeing up Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda. At least 10 House Republicans have said they will vote “no” on the measure, and a handful of others have publicly criticized the resolution, creating an uphill battle for Johnson as he looks to muscle it through his razor-thin majority. The Speaker is actively urging his ranks to fall in line, and the White House has begun making calls to House Republicans, The Hill’s Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell report.
But a mounting swell of resistance among fiscal hawks is putting that plan in jeopardy. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus who has sharply criticized the budget resolution, is advocating for the chamber to skip the vote altogether and move straight to crafting the details of the package — an unconventional move that would be a break from protocol.
Asked about prospects of the bill passing, Harris said Monday: “It doesn’t need to. The committees can do their work without the budget resolution.”
▪ Politico: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) indicated Monday that a bipartisan Senate bill to check Trump’s unilateral tariff powers is likely going nowhere.
▪ The Hill: These seven GOP senators signed onto the tariff bill.
▪ The Hill: The Senate voted largely along party lines Monday to advance Elbridge Colby, Trump’s controversial pick to serve as the Defense Department under secretary for policy, overcoming the private concerns of several Republican senators about Colby’s past statements.
PROXY VOTING: The Democratic sponsors of legislation empowering new parents to vote remotely are rejecting a recent alternative from Johnson. Over the weekend, Johnson cut a deal with GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.), who was leading the charge to force floor action on the issue. Their compromise would create a system of “vote pairing,” designed to empower pregnant lawmakers and young mothers with some remote voice during the consideration of bills on the floor, though not a direct vote.
The compromise appeased Luna, but not the Democratic sponsors of the underlying legislation — Reps. Brittany Pettersen (Colo.) and Sara Jacobs (Calif.) — who are accusing Johnson of watering down their parental-empowerment proposal while abandoning lawmakers with young families.
“Instead of letting us vote, he has instead gone to historic lengths to kill our resolution and make sure the large majority of his Members don’t have a voice,” Pettersen said in a Monday statement. “Let’s be clear: these changes are not a win for us and Speaker Johnson has turned his back on moms and dads in Congress and working families.”
The Hill: The Trump administration has taken its fight with Ivy League institutions to new heights by pulling hundreds of millions in funding, giving even some conservatives pause at its actions.