More funding clawbacks loom over Congress
Congress is staring down a White House threat to attempt the ultimate override of lawmakers' funding power: 'pocket rescissions.'
We're now in the last 45 days of the current fiscal year. If President Donald Trump sends another package of funding cuts at this point, the administration argues it can treat that funding as expired come midnight Oct. 1 — regardless of congressional action. It's a controversial tactic that White House budget director Russ Vought has persistently pushed, and it's making some GOP lawmakers uneasy, Katherine Tully-McManus and Jennifer Scholtes report.
'I'm just not going to aid and abet moving appropriations decisions over to the Article II branch,' Sen. Thom Tillis told us in an interview. He added he won't support more clawback packages if the White House doesn't provide account-by-account details of how the funding would be cut.
The pocket rescissions maneuver risks throwing Republicans into another dicey balancing act of trying not to buck Trump while answering to constituents unhappy about more funding cuts for widely used programs. Public broadcasting and foreign aid were on the chopping block in the first bill lawmakers passed in July to cut congressionally-approved spending. Officials have signaled the Department of Education will be the target of a second package — though the specifics are unclear.
Democrats see the threat of pocket rescissions as a major obstacle to avoiding a government shutdown after Sept. 30. Sen. Chris Coons, a senior Democratic appropriator, accused Vought of 'trying to throw a wrench' in bipartisan appropriations negotiations.
Meanwhile, top Republicans hope to avoid pocket rescissions altogether. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins has called the move illegal; the Government Accountability Office has said the same. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune stressed he would prefer to handle any more spending cuts through the regular appropriations process, rather than another rescissions measure.
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING. Email us: crazor@politico.com and mmccarthy@politico.com.
THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
Kiley calls on Johnson to take up redistricting bill
California GOP Rep. Kevin Kiley is upping the pressure on Speaker Mike Johnson to take up his bill to ban mid-decade redistricting after Johnson criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom for Democrats' redistricting plans.
'Mr. Speaker, these are nice words but we need action,' Kiley said in a Tuesday post on X responding to Johnson's statement. 'You can stop Newsom's Redistricting Sham and save our taxpayers $250 million by bringing my mid-decade redistricting bill to the Floor.'
A standoff over an effort to redistrict in GOP-led Texas ended earlier this week, with Democrats returning to the state to give Republicans a quorum to pass the new map. But they only came back with promises from Newsom to redesign California's map to add the same number of Democratic-leaning seats that Texas was redrawing.
Johnson and other House GOP leaders previously said they prefer leaving redistricting decisions to each state. The speaker said in a post on X Monday that he instructed the NRCC to use 'every measure and resource possible' to stop California, sparking Kiley's comment. A spokesperson for Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.
Clark backtracks on Gaza
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark now says she did not accuse the Israeli government of committing a genocide in Gaza, after previously referring to 'genocide and destruction' in the war torn strip, Nicole Markus reports.
'Last week, while attending an event in my district, I repeated the word 'genocide' in response to a question. I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide,' Clark said in a statement Tuesday. 'We all need to work with urgency to bring the remaining hostages home, surge aid to Palestinians and oppose their involuntary relocation, remove Hamas from power, and end the war.'
Clark said during the event that attendees should 'take action in time to make a difference' such as 'stopping the starvation and genocide and destruction of Gaza.' Immediately after the event, a spokesperson did not walk back the characterization and said Clark's position on the conflict hadn't changed.
POLICY RUNDOWN
WHITE HOUSE FAST-TRACKS FED NOM — The White House is working over August recess to pave the way for swift confirmation of Stephen Miran, who Trump has tapped to serve on the Federal Reserve board.
Miran — who currently serves as Trump's chief economist — met with key members of the Senate Banking Committee, including Chair Tim Scott and Sen. Jim Banks, over the past week. The administration hopes a flurry of Hill meetings will allow Miran to be confirmed soon after lawmakers return in September, in time to attend the Fed's planned meeting mid-month in his new role, Jordain Carney scoops.
Miran will need the committee's green light before his nomination heads to the full Senate.
'With the President's strong backing, there's clear momentum to get this done,' a White House official told Jordain, adding that they're actively pushing for a September floor vote.
SCOTT SEES BIPARTISAN CRYPTO OPPORTUNITY — Scott said he believes about a dozen Democrats could join Senate Republicans in backing legislation that sets up market rules for digital assets, Michael Stratford reports.
'I believe that we'll have between 12 and 18 Democrats at least open to voting for a market structure' bill, Scott said at the Wyoming Blockchain Summit. He had previously eyed a markup of the bill, which already passed the House with support from over 70 Democrats, when Congress returns in September.
Scott conceded, however, that the market structure bill is a 'far more complicated piece of legislation' than the landmark cryptocurrency legislation that passed earlier this year. Banking ranking member Elizabeth Warren has been leading the opposition to this new measure, arguing it lacks the necessary guardrails.
REPUBLICANS DEFER TO TRUMP ON RUSSIA — Sen. Tommy Tuberville doesn't seem keen on taking up Sen. Lindsey Graham's Russian sanctions bill in September, arguing the president can handle it without Congress' help.
'We don't need to be over telling him what to do,' Tuberville told reporters during a pro forma session Tuesday. 'I think it would just tie him to what we would pass instead of give him an opportunity to do what he needs to do, because he knows a lot more about it than us. I think we need to, just need to stay out of it.'
Rep. Virginia Foxx had similar comments during the House's pro forma session Tuesday, arguing 'there's a lot that the president knows and understands that the rest of us don't know.'
'We need to move this as quickly as possible and I think he's doing that,' Foxx said. 'It didn't turn out as quick as he thought it would.'
INSIDE RSC'S MEGABILL 2.0 BRIEFING — GOP aides heard from experts at the America First Policy Institute Tuesday on the topics of tax and higher education policy that could be included in the next party-line tax and spending package. Attendees of the Republican Study Committee's staff briefing examined provisions that did not make it into the first reconciliation bill due to Byrd Rule constraints but which 'could be retooled for a second bill,' an RSC spokesperson tells us.
Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E:
THE BEST OF THE REST
'Not on their nice list': Sen. Josh Hawley irks Republicans as he tries to carve out a lane, from Allan Smith, Julie Tsirkin and Matt Dixon at NBC News
California's in a nationwide redistricting civil war. Who's favored to win? from David Lightman at The Sacramento Bee
THE CARRYOUT A recess spotlight on lawmakers' Capitol Hill food recs
Sen. John Hoeven said his favorite meal at the Capitol is one of the big club sandwiches from Senate carryout.
'I love getting those sandwiches where you stack the beef and the ham and the turkey and all those cheeses and lettuce and tomato,' Hoeven told Mia. 'I always put it on rye, get some mustard. I love that.'
What Capitol meal do you love? Email mmccarthy@politico.com and crazor@politico.com.
CODEL CORNER
CODEL IN SYRIA — A bipartisan delegation including Sens. Markwayne Mullin and Joni Ernst and Reps. Jason Smith and Jimmy Panetta made a visit to Syria.
The group met new Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus to discuss bilateral dialogue as Trump moves to lift sanctions.
CAMPAIGN STOP
BROWN'S CASH BOOST — Sherrod Brown raised over $3.6 million within the first 24 hours of launching his comeback bid for Ohio's Senate seat, his campaign reported Tuesday.
The release states the influx was fueled by small-dollar donations, 'with 95 percent of individual donations under $100' and from all 88 counties in Ohio.
HOGG BACKS CASAR — Leaders We Deserve, the group co-founded by former DNC official David Hogg, is throwing money behind Rep. Greg Casar in what could be a thorny primary against Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Aaron Pellish reports in POLITICO Score this morning. The GOP redistricting proposal in Texas would draw the two Democrats into the same Austin-area district.
'78-year-old Lloyd Doggett is preparing to light $6 million on fire to box out an incredible next-generation progressive leader,' Hogg told Aaron. 'He should use his campaign cash to help Democrats flip Texas seats and pass the torch to 36-year-old Greg Casar.'
JOB BOARD
Gerardo Bonilla Chavez is joining The Century Foundation as director of government affairs. He previously was chief of staff for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and was a 2024 Pritzker fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.
Anderson Tran joins the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council as chief policy counsel and senior adviser. Tran previously served as legislative counsel to Sen. Dan Sullivan.
Jordan Dayer joins the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council as its adviser for congressional and intergovernmental affairs. Dayer was previously director of the Republican Cloakroom in the House.
TUNNEL TALK
JOHNSON CHIEF'S DUI DEVELOPMENT — Johnson's chief of staff, Hayden Haynes, changed his plea to guilty Monday in his DUI charge, according to court documents.
Haynes initially pleaded not guilty when accused of striking a Secret Service vehicle at the Capitol while drunk driving a Tesla on the night of Trump's joint address to Congress in March. As part of the plea deal, Haynes will enter a diversion program in D.C. with community service.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Sen. Steve Daines … Reps. Brad Schneider and Kathy Castor … former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (92) …former Reps. Ron Paul (9-0) and Rubén Hinojosa … Larry Kudlow … Bully Pulpit International's Ben LaBolt … Targeted Victory's Zac Moffatt and Ryan Meerstein … Heather Samuelson … Jeff Morehouse … POLITICO's Natalie Fertig and Doug Palmer … Jenny Backus … Matt Shapanka … Madeline Shepherd … Faryar Shirzad … Michael Donaher … Gina Keeney … Connie Chung … Jim Hock of PSP Partners
TRIVIA
TUESDAY'S ANSWER: Kip Lipper correctly answered that Richard Nixon was the first U.S. president born in California.
TODAY'S QUESTION, from Mia: Who was the first sitting U.S. president to visit Cape Cod?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.
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