Chris Murphy goes all in on funding bill boycott

Politico

2 days ago

IN TODAY'S EDITION:— The one Dem voting against funding bills— First in IC: Cruz preps new AI bill— Trump's BLS pick has to get past Cassidy
Sen. Chris Murphy wants to pick a fight with Donald Trump over government funding — even if his fellow Democrats don't, Jennifer Scholtes reports.
The top Democratic Homeland Security appropriator said he's willing to shake up the typically bipartisan committee, after Republicans sided with the president to claw back billions of dollars previously approved by Congress.
Trump 'doesn't give a fuck what we write' into spending legislation, the Connecticut senator told Jennifer. Murphy has opposed all the funding measures advanced during Senate appropriations markups for which he was present, challenged his Republican counterpart on the DHS appropriations subcommittee and voted against the Senate's first bipartisan funding package of the year.
Murphy's national profile has been on the rise for years — especially since he's branded himself an outspoken member of the Trump resistance. His name is among those floated as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
The senator's approach on appropriations, however, stands in stark contrast with the rest of his party. Senate and House Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, respectively, have publicly said they're pursuing 'a bipartisan, bicameral' process to avoid a shutdown this fall.
But Murphy has been burned before in his attempts to work across the aisle against the backdrop of Trump's influence. Although Murphy successfully negotiated with Republicans in 2022 to pass the first significant federal gun-control legislation in decades, his subsequent effort to pass a bipartisan border deal floundered after Trump, then a candidate for reelection in 2024, signaled disapproval.
Murphy's fellow Democratic appropriators have largely avoided criticizing his strategy — but they aren't exactly praising him, either.
'He has the right to his opinion,' said top Senate Democratic appropriator Patty Murray. Murphy's friend and another appropriator, Sen. Brian Schatz, told Jennifer, 'I'm not his spokesperson.'
Murphy, for his part, isn't slamming his colleagues for embracing bipartisan negotiations. But he said in an interview he wished more Democrats on the Appropriations panel would join him in taking a stand.
'It's lonely,' Murphy said. '28-to-1 votes are lonely.'
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING. Are you placing a bid in the upcoming auction featuring items from the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein's estate? Email us: [e-mail], [e-mail] and [e-mail].
THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
Jeffries takes on redistricting fights, D.C. police takeover
Jeffries spent Tuesday in Illinois backing Texas Democrats who left their state to block a GOP mid-decade redistricting attempt.
'I had the opportunity to express thanks to them for their courage, their character and their conviction,' Jeffries told Shia Kapos of his meeting with the Texas lawmakers. 'I indicated that we'll support them every step of the way.'
In a joint interview with Texas House Minority Leader Gene Wu aired on MSNBC Tuesday, Jeffries said that to respond to Republican attempts to redraw congressional maps, his party needs to use 'any tools in the toolbox in California, in New York and in Illinois' — where Democrats are floating redistricting efforts in their own party's favor.
House Democrats will hold a virtual caucus meeting at noon today on the redistricting fight. Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who heads the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, is expected to attend.
Jeffries also told Shia he's been in communication with District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser amid Trump's aggressive targeting of the capital city's locally elected government and takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. 'We're going to strongly support her efforts to defend the sovereignty and integrity of the District,' Jeffries said.
The minority leader said he planned to connect with District Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton Tuesday evening regarding the police takeover.
POLICY RUNDOWN
FIRST IN INSIDE CONGRESS: EARLY LOOK AT SENATE COMMERCE AI BILL — Senate Commerce Chair Ted Cruz is prepping draft legislation that would allow companies seeking to use artificial intelligence to apply for waivers from regulations, Benjamin scoops this morning. It's an idea that has the backing of the White House, and Cruz is expected to advance the bill this fall amid his effort to ensure the U.S. comes out ahead in the global AI race with China.
The framework would allow companies to ask a federal agency to waive or modify regulations that are posing barriers to their work with AI. Industry groups are welcoming the proposal, though they're still pushing for a 10-year moratorium on AI regulations that was cut from the GOP's sweeping domestic policy bill, Benjamin reports with Anthony Adragna.
Regulatory sandboxes have been tried before in sectors like fintech, though some experts say such waivers often stretch indefinitely and are expensive to implement. It's also not clear whether Democrats will support the proposal.
CASSIDY TO VET BLS NOM — Trump's pick to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Heritage Foundation economist E.J. Antoni, will need to first survive Senate HELP.
The panel is led by Sen. Bill Cassidy, who has shepherded through dozens of Trump's nominees since January — even as some selections, most notably HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have struggled to win over other committee Republicans.
Antoni would be taking over the nonpartisan agency at a time of heightened scrutiny about its independence and methods of data collection. He has been a fierce critic of former BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, who Trump fired and accused, without evidence, of rigging job report data for political purposes.
In a statement, Cassidy spokesperson Stephen Lewerenz didn't give a strong read on where the panel's chair might come down on the nominee. 'We need a BLS Commissioner committed to producing accurate, unbiased economic information to the American people,' Lewerenz said. 'Chairman Cassidy looks forward to meeting with Dr. Antoni to discuss how he will accomplish this.'
Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E:
THE BEST OF THE REST
Republican Gets Booed in Furious Town Hall Trainwreck: 'F*** You!', from Janna Brancolini at The Daily Beast
Texas redistricting fight provides Democratic Senate contenders with a megaphone, from Ben Kamisar and Andrew Arenge at NBC News
THE CARRYOUT A recess section for lawmakers' Capitol Hill food recs
Rep. Tim Burchett said he brings in homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
'I'm not a fan of the food up here,' Burchett said. 'It's not very good.'
What's your go-to lunch to pack for a day on the Hill? Email [e-mail].
CAMPAIGN STOP
CASAR STANDS GROUND VS. DOGGETT — Rep. Greg Casar isn't backing down from a primary against 16-term Rep. Lloyd Doggett.
New congressional maps proposed by Republicans in Texas would draw the two Democrats into the same district in Austin. Doggett has suggested Casar run in a newly formed district in a different part of the state. In a new statement obtained by POLITICO from the Progressive Caucus chair's chief of staff Stephanie Trinh, Casar turned down that option.
'Greg leaving Austin to run in this new south Texas seat would deprive Austin of Greg's voice and growing influence as new chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and it would undercut Democrats' chance to win in the new south Texas seat by running a candidate with deep ties to that community,' Trinh wrote. 'As Greg has said clearly: his focus is on fighting the maps, but whatever happens he will be running for reelection in Austin.'
BRAUN LEAVES REDISTRICTING DOOR OPEN — Gov. Mike Braun has been noncommittal on calling a special session to redraw Indiana's congressional map, but said Tuesday that GOP leaders are 'considering it seriously.'
'I think mostly what happens here is going to depend on where Texas goes, because I think they've got five seats in play,' the former senator told the Indiana Capital Chronicle.
IN OTHER SENATE CAMPAIGN NEWS — Sherrod Brown will run for Senate in Ohio in 2026, according to two people familiar with his thinking, Holly Otterbein and Gregory Svirnovskiy report.
Brown is making a play for his old job just months after losing to Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno in November. Brown will face GOP Sen. Jon Husted, who was appointed after JD Vance vacated the seat to become vice president.
Republican Rep. Barry Moore, meanwhile, is running for Senate in Alabama next year, he announced Tuesday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Former Reps. Tom Marino and Pete Visclosky … Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders … acting CFTC Chair Caroline Pham … Karine Jean-Pierre … former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen … Larry Weitzner … Grace Davis of Rep. Tim Moore's office … State Department's Bridget Roddy … Adam Sharon … GrayRobinson's Chris McCannell … Gabriel Laizer … AP's Kelly Daschle … Gonzo Gallegos … Kelly Rzendzian … former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders (92) … Sara Sorcher … Herald Group's Ansley Bradwell … Douglas Rivlin
TRIVIA
TUESDAY'S ANSWER: Andrew Stahovec correctly answered that a suffrage activist's demonstration at Woodrow Wilson's State of the Union address got Capitol visitors banned from leaning over chamber balconies.
TODAY'S QUESTION, from Andrew: Which U.S. president attempted to retract the original treaty of the annexation of Hawaii authored under the Benjamin Harrison administration?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to [e-mail].