‘An economic fallacy’: Rand Paul doesn’t see the benefits of tariffs

Sen. Rand Paul attacked the economic logic of President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy on Sunday — and agreed that the policies raise constitutional concerns. The Kentucky Republican said Trump’s sweeping tariffs on foreign trading partners are based on “an economic fallacy” about trade deficits and objected to the president’s move to pursue them without […]

While Trump Was Away, His Megabill Went Astray

President Donald Trump was only a few hours into a marathon flight from Abu Dhabi on Friday when he sent a crystal-clear message to Capitol Hill: Tidy up the house, kids, because dad’s coming home from his big work trip. Or, translated into Trump-ese, “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’ … STOP […]

DOGE sought access to congressional worker-rights watchdog

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative sought this week to gain access to the congressional office which fields and manages complaints about discrimination, harassment, accessibility and other workplace issues, according to three congressional employees granted anonymity to describe the sensitive situation. The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights is the third legislative branch agency that […]

$40,000 SALT offer discussed with megabill holdouts

House GOP leaders discussed a new, heightened state-and-local-tax deduction with a group of Republican holdouts as they race to salvage their party-line megabill from ruin. A $40,000 cap on the key deduction for individuals and $80,000 cap for joint filers was part of a list of items GOP leaders raised overnight as they scrambled to […]

Trump pushes for GOP unity around megabill as conservative support wavers

President Donald Trump encouraged House Republicans to unite behind the megabill in a Truth Social post Friday morning as some archconservatives have warned of their dissatisfaction with the GOP package. “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, […]

House Budget Committee punts megabill vote as GOP leaders woo holdouts

House Republican leaders delayed a vote Friday morning to push their party-line tax and spending package through the Budget Committee amid ongoing GOP opposition. To placate fiscal conservatives on the panel, Republican leaders are entertaining substantial changes to the bill before lawmakers are expected to vote on passage next week, including enforcing work requirements on […]

House Judiciary to examine New Jersey ICE facility incident

Lawmakers will hold a hearing next week on “Threats to ICE Operations,” in the latest escalation from the GOP after a chaotic protest at a New Jersey Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility that involved three House Democrats. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight, led by New Jersey Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew, will hear Tuesday […]

House Budget forging ahead with megabill markup

House Republicans are sticking with their plan to hold a crucial committee vote needed to launch their party-line tax and spending package for floor debate — despite last-minute objections from fiscal hawks. The House Budget Committee will hold its morning markup Friday, as scheduled, and GOP leaders expect the panel to approve the bill after […]

Capitol agenda: Sprinting into Budget day

House Republicans are steamrolling toward Friday morning’s scheduled Budget Committee markup even as a growing number of issues threaten to block progress on their “big, beautiful bill.” GOP leaders went back and forth overnight with conservatives after they threatened to tank the bill over key disagreements around Medicaid work requirements and IRA tax credits. Other […]

Megabill teeters after hard-liners make their stand

House Republican leaders are having to salvage their party-line megabill a lot sooner than they thought. A surprise holdout by ultraconservative members of the House Budget Committee Thursday is forcing Speaker Mike Johnson to entertain significant changes to the GOP sweeping domestic policy bill, endangering his ambitious Memorial Day timeline for House passage. The hard-right […]