GOP's August town hall push gets heated
Tensions are running high over government funding negotiations. And Senate leaders have yet to seal a deal to advance dozens of President Donald Trump's nominees as Majority Leader John Thune shuttles between the White House and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Here's the latest on where things stand.
Funding meltdown — The prospects for two major appropriations bills are dimming after a flurry of drama.
The odds of including the Commerce-Justice-Science bill in an appropriations 'minibus' withered late Thursday night. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who has used the bill as a platform to fight the Trump administration's plans for keeping FBI headquarters in Washington, objected to including the CJS legislation in the broader funding package. Van Hollen wants the agency's campus to move to his home state of Maryland, per a prior agreement.
Van Hollen's hardball tactics rattled Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), the lead appropriator on the bill, who teared up as he spoke about it on the floor.
Moran said he knew 'no path forward' that would allow Van Hollen to amend the bill to address his FBI concerns.
'Our appropriations process is fragile,' Moran said.
The Agriculture-FDA funding bill is still a contender for inclusion in the package. But Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said she's seeking answers first from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins about USDA's plans for a major reorganization under Trump.
The Senate's legislative branch funding bill still faces a snag with Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.). Thune is optimistic the Senate will at least get military and VA funding through before recess.
'We're trying to work out the rest of the package,' Thune said late Thursday. 'And the Dems are now sort of changing their demands with regards to amendments, etc., so we'll have to see if we can land it early tomorrow morning.'
Noms, noms, noms – Thune met with Trump on Thursday to update him on his talks with Schumer to confirm the president's nominees. It's the biggest factor threatening to keep the Senate in town longer, given the need to secure unanimous consent to speed up confirmations.
Trump isn't signaling that a deal is in hand. In a 9:52 p.m. Truth Social post Thursday, he wrote, 'The Senate must stay in Session, taking no recess, until the entire Executive Calendar is CLEAR!!!' (Trump separately lashed out at Maine's senior senator, saying, 'Republicans, when in doubt, vote the exact opposite of Senator Susan Collins.')
Thune staff and Schumer staff are exchanging paper. Senators believe, if it were just up to them, the two leaders could get there. The bigger question is whether any deal they strike can get Trump's blessing, including Democrats' demand that the president unfreeze funding for certain agencies.
'It would be easier if Chuck Schumer and Donald Trump would talk, bare-knuckled New Yorker to bare-knuckled New Yorker,' Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said.
What else we're watching:
— Republicans eye rules revamp to confirm Trump picks: Senate Republicans are heading toward a potential rules change in the fall to speed up confirming Trump's nominees. Thune would need support from nearly all Republicans, and it's not clear he has that yet.
— Mullin plots security boost for senators: Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who leads work on legislative branch appropriations, says he's still working through potential security protocols for lawmakers back home, after House leaders unveiled increased funding for their members' residential security. The Oklahoma Republican had previously said a 'test program' could be unveiled as soon as August.
'We're working with Jennifer [Hemingway], the Sergeant-at-Arms, and working through some protocols that may take place and working with state police,' Mullin said. 'But yes, we're very much looking into it.'
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
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