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Hello, friends. Welcome back to another action-packed (read: dramatic) week on Capitol Hill.
The Senate held a vote-a-rama session this week to advance Republicans’ $70 billion immigration funding package — marking the sixth marathon voting session since Republicans took the Senate majority last January.
So that’s … fun? And if Republicans have their way to push forward a third reconciliation bill, we’ll likely see another later this year.
— Cami Mondeaux
The Big Idea: Trump’s timing problem
There is an art to timing. And it’s something President Donald Trump has frustrated Republicans with as of late.
There’s certainly a delicate balance on Capitol Hill to keep things moving smoothly, especially with Republicans navigating such slim margins in both the House and Senate. But that only makes things harder when the president makes surprise announcements that not only raise eyebrows but actually elicit backlash from members in your own party.
And it’s become more frequent in the last few weeks.
Ballroom funding. As Republicans have been pushing forward with their party-line bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol for the next three years, GOP senators were thrown for a loop when they discovered the White House also wanted to include $1 billion for the Secret Service, with a portion of that money going toward the East Wing Modernization Project. (Aka, security enhancements for Trump’s beloved ballroom project.)
That threatened to tank the entire immigration funding bill as several Republicans came out against it and criticized the timing of the request from the Trump administration.
“I think the timing and the optics are really bad,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters last month.
That problem was eventually sorted out after Republican leaders decided to take it out of the immigration funding package altogether. Republicans were once again on a smooth path to approving the bill until …
DOJ anti-weaponization fund. The very same week that Republicans floated taking the ballroom funding out and moving forward with plans to pass the immigration bill — the Justice Department announced it had created a $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund to compensate those who say they were unfairly targeted by the federal government.
That announcement, coming smack dab in the middle of the week of one of Republicans’ biggest legislative priorities, was a “curveball,” according to one GOP senator.
The fund completely derailed the immigration package as several Republicans opposed it. GOP leaders were forced to postpone votes and sent senators home early for the Memorial Day recess.
“To me, this whole thing was completely blown by announcing it,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said at the time. “The timing was atrocious.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had to do some damage control on Capitol Hill to ease concerns that the fund is actually “off the table” now. But it did snarl the vote-a-rama marathon session as Democrats (and some Republicans) introduced amendments targeting the fund.
FISA. And one of the most complicated negotiations of the year is also at risk of falling apart.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers were finally coming to an agreement on reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire next week. I’ve reported before how tricky these talks get because the issues at hand aren’t really partisan — but we were getting close to a deal this week.
That was threatened when Trump announced he would tap Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard as the director of national intelligence. This sparked immediate backlash from both Democrats and Republicans who questioned the choice because Pulte doesn’t have a background in national security.
Other senators — again, in both parties — raised concerns that Pulte would weaponize the agency to target Trump’s opponents.
Because of that, Democrats started threatening to tank the FISA reauthorization until the nomination was pulled.
“The timing of this nomination couldn’t have been worse, when we’re in the middle of trying to get section 702 reauthorized with some enhancement,” Tillis said. “To have this dropped on us, I mean, somebody over there needs to get shuffled out the door.”
Trump later told reporters that Pulte would be a temporary replacement and it won’t be permanent. But depending on how long that interim position lasts could determine the fate of FISA.
— Cami Mondeaux
- Nominee problems: Utah Sen. John Curtis suggested acting Attorney General Todd Blanche could have a hard time being officially confirmed to the position if the Trump administration doesn’t follow through with eliminating the Justice Department’s $1.78 billion anti-weaponization fund.
- Save the lake: Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy secured $10 million to create a new Great Salt Lake Watershed Recovery Program in a spending bill which received congressional committee approval Wednesday. This is the first step, Maloy says, toward obtaining the $1 billion requested by President Donald Trump in April after he discussed the Great Salt Lake at length with Utah Gov. Spencer Cox in February.
- He’s a natural: Lance Holtzclaw, a defensive end for the University of Utah, participated in a panel testifying before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on Wednesday as senators explore ways to reform the world of college sports. His answer to senators had them joking he was fit for political office.
What’s next for Utah Rep. Burgess Owens?
In case you missed it this week, my colleague Gitanjali Poonia did a deep dive into Utah Rep. Burgess Owens and his plans after he leaves Congress next year.
With his departure and the retirements of the only other three Black Republicans in the House, there won’t be any left for the now-majority party next year. That group includes Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, John James of Michigan, and Wesley Hunt of Texas, most of whom left to run for other offices.
Poonia writes:
“Owens, who is 74, is done with his political career for now. His decision not to run for reelection was influenced by a new, court-ordered congressional map in the Beehive State that includes a heavily Democratic district.
In conversation with the Deseret News earlier this month, Owens reflected on Black conservatism, its future and the legacy he wants to leave behind.
“We look at merit,” said Owens, a former NFL champion who played for the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders. “The Republican Party’s always been about that.”
The Beehive State’s Black population is low at 1.3% — even after it ballooned by 89% from 38,539 in 2010 to 72,756 in 2023. Nationally, African Americans represent 14% of the population.
While the existing Black Republican members in the House are leaving Congress behind, Owens said they are going for a good cause."
— Cami Mondeaux
Quick Hits
From the Hill: All 4 Black GOP House members exit this year. What’s next for Utah Rep. Burgess Owens? … U.S. House approves Utah Rep. Kennedy’s BLM permitting bill. …
‘Ghost students’ steal financial aid. Utah Rep. Burgess Owens wants them stopped.
From the White House: Who is Todd Blanche, Trump’s pick to be permanent leader of the Justice Department. … 4 takeaways from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s Senate testimony on the economy. … As Trump vowed, White House correspondents’ dinner rescheduled for July.
From the courts: Superseding DOJ indictment alleges Southern Poverty Law Center ‘manufactured’ extremism. … In Alabama Ruling, Supreme Court Signals Limited Role for Federal Courts in Redistricting Fights. (New York Times)
What’s next
The House and Senate are both scheduled to be in session next week. Both chambers will participate in the congressional baseball game for charity on Wednesday where at least one Utah lawmaker, Rep. Blake Moore, tells me he’ll be on the roster.
As always, feel free to reach out to me by email with story ideas or questions you have for lawmakers. And follow me on X for breaking news and timely developments from the Hill.