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Senate sets up exit strategy
Inside Congress Live Aug 6, 2026
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Your first read on Capitol Hill politics and policy.
5 hours ago
A bipartisan counteroffer for ethics language in a major cryptocurrency bill would force President Donald Trump and other federal officials to divest any ownership stake in a digital asset company if it is worth more than $1 million and represents 10 percent or more of the firm’s value, according to three people with knowledge of the language who were granted anonymity to discuss private negotiations.
The restriction applies to ownership stakes in firms that obtain most of their revenue from issuance or sponsorship of digital assets, the people said.
The offer for ethics language in the crypto bill was sent to the White House last week by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Democrats, who rejected a previous White House-blessed GOP ethics proposal, are demanding the provision be in the bill to address concerns about the Trump family’s crypto businesses. It is unclear how exactly the language would apply to Trump, but it could require him to divest from World Liberty Financial, the crypto firm he launched with his sons.
The ethics language in the bill, known as the Clarity Act, remains the subject of ongoing discussions. Tillis told reporters Thursday afternoon that his office has had “discussions” with the White House, “but there’s no exchange of paper” so far.
The counteroffer would allow state attorneys general to sue the Justice Department for not enforcing the ethics requirements. It would also allow state AGs to sue crypto exchanges for listing assets that are in violation of the ethics requirements.
The state AG authorities have been a major sticking point in the ethics talks. Democrats say they don’t trust the Trump Justice Department to enforce any ethics rules, but Republicans have pushed back on proposals to create a role for state AGs, saying they could use the language to go after politicians in the opposite party.
Gallego said in a statement that “this sensible, bipartisan ethics deal ends Trump’s crypto grift by requiring him to divest and stops him from making one dollar more from his rug pulls.”
“If these provisions were law before Trump got into office, they would have prevented the $1.4 billion in corrupt earnings he’s made this term,” he said.
Tillis said in a statement that he has “made it clear” that he “will be voting to get on the Clarity Act but won’t support final passage without a bipartisan ethics agreement.”
“We have worked on a fair proposal that directly addresses the legitimate concerns of both Republicans and Democrats, including enforcing the law and preventing state attorneys general from abusing litigation for partisan purposes,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
Republican supporters of the crypto bill have been hoping to hold an initial procedural vote on it before the Senate departs for its August recess, but GOP leaders are not currently expecting to take it up before leaving. The ethics fight is the biggest sticking point in bipartisan talks, though other outstanding policy issues also remain. The legislation needs bipartisan backing to advance.
The ethics counterproposaltransmitted last week would also cover federal officials who have stakes in crypto firms that are less than $1 million. It would require any official who has an ownership stake of more than $15,000 to place those holdings in a blind trust or divest.
The ethics requirements would take effect one year after the bill is enacted into law. Officials would have six months after that to comply with the divestment requirement.
Bloomberg previously reported that the divestment proposal could let Trump take advantage of a tax break that allows federal officials who divest from certain assets to put off paying capital gains tax.
Lead Art: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said he would not support final passage of the crypto bill without a bipartisan ethics agreement. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
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5 hours ago
The Senate is aiming to leave town Friday for a five-week recess. They’ve got to finish a mountain of work first.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday night the chamber is hoping to pass a stopgap funding bill as well a long-stalled Russia sanctions bill Friday. They are also set to confirm dozens of nominees and — Republicans hope —Todd Blanche as attorney general if he can win the support of Sens. Lisa Murkowski or Bill Cassidy.
Thune indicated Blanche’s fate was still uncertain and that leaders were “still working to get the final vote.”
Republicans will also hold an initial vote on a budget blueprint for a third party-line spending bill, Thune said, as well as a vote related to the SAVE America Act.
“I would expect that would be in whatever the final tranche of votes [is],” Thune said about an initial vote on the budget resolution.
Senate Republicans, as POLITICO previously reported, don’t believe the budget resolution has the votes within the conference to be adopted. Instead, the Senate is expected to hold an initial vote that will fail to clear a simple majority threshold.
The decision to hold that vote comes after two Republican senators, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Thursday that they believed Sen. Mike Lee of Utah or another member of the GOP’s right flank would force a vote regardless on the framework, which they are able to do under the chamber’s rules.
Any single senator could still object to expediting the chamber’s agenda, which would derail Thune’s goal of getting members out of town by the end of the day Friday.
The majority leader teed up a final vote on the Russia sanctions legislation for Friday morning, a confirmation vote for dozens of nominees and another procedural step on a stopgap funding bill.
Leadership is hoping they’ll get a deal later in the day to finish other business, including passing the CR, advancing a college sports bill, confirming Blanche and voting on the budget resolution.
“We’ve been having these conversations with Democrats trying to figure out what’s the path – so we’ve tried to set up a series of votes to deal with all the unfinished business with one exception, so anyways we’ll see how it goes,” Thune said.
Lead Art: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), followed by Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), emerges from a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 4, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
6 hours ago
Senate Republican leaders are punting a vote on a landmark cryptocurrency bill until after they return from the chamber’s August recess, Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) confirmed late Thursday.
The move, first reported by POLITICO, is a major blow to the effort to pass the bill, which would create a regulatory framework for digital assets. Supporters of the so-called Clarity Act, which requires bipartisan support to advance in the Senate, were hoping for an initial vote ahead of the recess.
Thune may still file cloture on the bill — a procedural move intended to tee it up for a vote — but it likely won’t come to the floor until lawmakers return to Washington next month, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
“The Dems insisted on no Clarity vote,” Thune told reporters late Thursday. “We’re getting that queued up first thing [when] we come back in September.”
Senate Democrats have balked at signing off on a time agreement to speed up consideration of a range of outstanding legislative business that would allow the Clarity Act to come up for a vote, saying that they want crypto negotiations to continue. GOP leaders need all 100 senators to sign off on a time agreement if they want to complete the remaining items on their prerecess to-do list without keeping members in Washington deep into next week.
A bipartisan deal on the bill has remained elusive. Several outstanding issues remain, including Democrats’ push to include a government ethics provision to address their concerns about the Trump family’s crypto businesses. Democrats are also demanding changes to address concerns raised by law enforcement groups about a pivotal provision in the bill and to overhaul the commodities portion of the measure that is overseen by the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Lead Art: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) may still file cloture on the bill. | Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
11 hours ago
Vice President JD Vance fielded questions on Iran — lots of them — during a closed-door lunch with Senate Republicans Thursday.
Vance’s visit to Capitol Hill came as the Senate is trying to wrap up a massive to-do list ahead of a planned five-week recess — including unfinished work on a spending stopgap, Russia sanctions and cryptocurrency regulations, as well as possible votes on a party-line spending bill and the GOP elections legislation President Donald Trump desperately wants enacted.
But senators emerging from the lunch said the dominant topic was instead the administration’s ongoing negotiations with Iran over reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending months of hostilities that have put upward pressure on prices.
Some Republicans urged Vance to provide more transparency as polling shows that the conflict is unpopular with many Americans with the midterms just three months out.
“The vice president responded to questions, and a lot of the questions were about Iran,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.).
Kennedy said he suggested that Vance and other top administration officials go on TV or hold a news conference to explain what was happening and why.
Vance, according to multiple GOP senators, detailed how much damage the U.S. has done to Iran’s military since strikes began in February. Republicans said they also discussed the state of the Pentagon’s munitions stockpile during the lunch amid reports that some weapons are running low — something Trump denies — and as the administration pushes for a $1.5 trillion defense infusion.
“That was one of the things I wanted to talk about because I’m on Defense [appropriations],” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) when asked if there was a concern Congress wasn’t approving money fast enough. “We went through the impacts and timing and how they’re managing that. But they’re doing a good job.”
Trump announced earlier this month that a deal with Iran to reopen the strait, a vital global oil corridor, was imminent. Vance, according to the senators, said that the administration is “hoping” to get an agreement.
“But they have to trust and verify, not just trust — so verify whatever it is that they offer, and then maintain it,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). “And if they back out, then we’re still right back in their face again.”
Lead Art: Vice President JD Vance emerges from a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 6, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
12 hours ago
Three Democratic House lawmakers unveiled legislation Thursday to tax artificial intelligence companies and use the proceeds to fund a jobs program aimed at offsetting AI’s impact on workers, marking one of Congress’ most ambitious efforts yet to redistribute the industry’s gains.
The AI Tax and Work Protection Act, championed by Reps. Greg Casar (Texas), Valerie Foushee (N.C.) and Sara Jacobs (Calif.), would impose a levy on AI developers to fund the program, which is dubbed the Work Protection Administration.
The bill comes amid a growing push from progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill to tax AI companies. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced a similar bill in June, the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would impose a one-time 50 percent tax on the stock of leading AI companies to be funneled into a sovereign wealth fund.
Leading AI companies would pay a tax on either the price of the tokens they sell or the revenue they generate selling their products, depending on which value is higher. The tax would also be increased if the unemployment rate rises.
“Right now, the federal government is doing nothing to protect workers from the threat of AI mass unemployment,” Casar said in a statement. “Our bill would protect American workers by making big AI companies pay their fair share.”
Lead Art: Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) departs a vote at the U.S. Capitol July 23, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
12 hours ago
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Thursday he is leaving rehab to return home after a fall earlier this summer left him hospitalized.
In a statement, McConnell thanked the medical staff who helped him during his stay, but added that he will not be returning to Washington just yet.
“On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business,” McConnell said.
McConnell, 84, was rushed to the hospital on June 14 following a fall and what he described as a “mild case of pneumonia.” He later told constituents that while he was briefly knocked unconscious, he did not suffer any broken bones, a stroke or a heart attack.
His absence from Congress has been met with frustrations about what some have called a lack of transparency. Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear last week demanded the senator resign if he couldn’t “directly and verbally address the people of Kentucky” with “proof of your capacity to serve.”
McConnell has suffered several health challenges in recent years, including a fall taken while leaving the Senate chamber that briefly left him using a wheelchair. He announced last year that he would not seek reelection at the end of his current term.
Lead Art: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is seen during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 12, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
13 hours ago
The Congressional Black Caucus on Thursday voiced its opposition to the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act that’s currently under consideration in the Senate, urging Democrats to block the bill until it “reflects the interests of Black athletes.”
In a statement, CBC Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said that though the legislation has “evolved” from when Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) first introduced it, “fundamental concerns” remain.
The bill — which seeks to establish a single federal framework for name, image and likeness rights for athletes, limit conference expansions and grant collegiate sports a limited federal antitrust exemption — has already secured the backing of powerhouse conferences like the Big Ten and SEC.
But the stakes extend far beyond the playing field, Clarke said Thursday.
“Black athletes have transformed college athletics into one of the most successful enterprises in America. Yet the people most affected by this legislation have not been meaningfully included in shaping it,” Clarke said.
Most of the CBC are members of the House, but a handful of Black Democratic senators — Cory Booker (N.J.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.) and Angela Alsobrooks (Md.) — are also in the caucus.
Clarke added that the legislation would offer sweeping federal protections to powerful institutions that have remained silent at “the very moment that Black political representation is under attack across the country.”
It’s an argument the CBC made earlier this year, when its members came out against the SCORE Act — a separate bipartisan effort aimed at providing the NCAA renewed authority to regulate the collegiate athletic system. The CBC’s opposition helped sink that bill in the House, where caucus members’ support was considered crucial getting it over the finish line.
The caucus, made entirely of Democratic members, also expressed support for the NAACP’s call urging Black student athletes to avoid committing to top public athletic programs in Southern states as the redistricting battles in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Callais ruling continues.
Both the CBC and NAACP have emphasized that Black athletes serve as major economic divers for some of the nation’s top collegiate sports programs. A 2026 report from NCAA found that Black athletes accounted for nearly 16 percent of all the organization’s athletes during the 2024-25 school year, and 20 percent of all Division I student-athletes are Black.
Clarke on Thursday said Senate Democrats have a “responsibility” to ensure the legislation reflects the concerns of Black Americans, who have “done their part in strengthening and advancing our democracy.”
“Congress should not determine the economic future of Black athletes,” Clarke said, “without ensuring they and the communities they come from have a meaningful voice throughout the process.”
Lead Art: Congressional Black Caucus Chair Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) listens during a news conference on opposition to the SCORE Act in front of the U.S. Capitol on May 19, 2026, in Washington. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
13 hours ago
Sen. Jon Husted said Thursday his fellow Ohio Republican, Rep. Max Miller, should “step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress” — breaking days of silence about the burgeoning controversy over domestic abuse claims that Miller denies.
Husted serves alongside Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), the father of Miller’s ex-wife. He remained quiet on the issue this week even after Bernie Moreno broke his own silence Sunday to denounce Miller as unfit for office and in need of “professional help.”
Husted said in his latest statement he does “not see how a campaign for Congress benefits” Miller, ex-wife Emily Moreno or their daughter.
“I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress to focus on what is in the best interest of his daughter,” Husted added. “Years from now, I believe he will look back and know it was the right choice for her.”
A spokesperson for Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations, which include drawing a gun on Emily Moreno and breaking their child’s collarbone, and called them “politically motivated” in a CNN interview this week.
Earlier in the week, Husted said he was “sad about the situation” and said he hoped President Donald Trump would “help move things along.” Miller spoke to Trump earlier this week but said afterward he had no plans to resign.
Husted’s statement came as several Senate Republicans spoke out in support of the Moreno family. Sen. Tim Sheehy of Montana said earlier on Thursday that Miller should “step aside and seek help,” calling him “a degenerate sociopath.”
Husted issued his statement as another prominent Ohio Republican, Vice President JD Vance, addressed Senate Republicans at a Capitol Hill lunch hosted by Bernie Moreno. Vance has not publicly commented on the matter.
The controversies around Miller have threatened what had been considered a safe Republican district, with Democratic nominee Brian Poindexter mounting a strong campaign to deny Miller a third term. The White House has privately pushed for Miller to drop out of the race before Monday — the deadline for Ohio Republicans to replace his name on the ballot.
The House Ethics Committee said earlier this week it is investigating the domestic abuse allegations as well as claims of illegal drug use by Miller — a probe the lawmaker asked for in a bid to clear his name. Speaker Mike Johnson subsequently told POLITICO in an interview that he would allow that investigation to run its course and would not call on Miller to step down or end his candidacy.
Lead Art: Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) arrives for a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the Capitol on June 25, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
13 hours ago
Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) said he will reconvene committee members in September to vote again on his farm bill package after it failed to advance Thursday.
“We’re going to come back in that first week and have another vote on the same bill again,” Boozman told reporters after his proposal was stalled due to Republican absences and Democratic backlash over food aid legislation.
Boozman said he expects Democrats to feel backlash from farm groups and the agriculture sector that has broadly backed the proposed policy updates.
“They’re going to be visiting with their constituents in rural America, farmers and local businesspeople. I think they’re very, very disappointed that we didn’t get something done,” he said.
Democrats are demanding that Republicans delay by two years the implementation date for a requirement that states share the cost of providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits starting next fall. Boozman offered a one-year delay and other bipartisan priorities in an effort to garner support.
“I think it’s significant the chairman left the meeting open, as we say, just because we really have to get a farm bill done,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the committee’s ranking member, told POLITICO. “It is clear that they have acknowledged now that this high error rate issue of rewarding those states over the mid error rate states is a problem.”
“I hope that we will reach an agreement,” she added.
Boozman said that it would take a “miracle” to get the farm bill out of committee, voted on by the full Senate and signed into law before the midterms.
“We can do it with cooperation,” he said.
Lead Art: Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.), at left, are seen with other committee members during a markup of the 2026 Farm Bill on Capitol Hill on Aug. 6, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
14 hours ago
Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats rejected a GOP-led farm bill Thursday in a vote that highlights deep partisan divisions over nutrition aid cuts and leaves Congress without a clear path toward reauthorizing the long-overdue bill.
Chair John Boozman recessed the panel indefinitely after the 10-11 vote, meaning that he can call members back to revisit the bill at any point, including in September after the chamber’s August break.
Democrats stood united against Boozman’s package, sticking to their demand for a two-year delay to Republicans’ requirement that states share the cost of providing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
“I want us to get to a bipartisan agreement. I think people know that that is how I have operated in this place, and that’s what I want to get done,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), the panel’s ranking member. “But first and foremost, that includes addressing this ridiculous [SNAP] situation.”
Boozman offered a one-year SNAP delay, language to authorize year-round E15 sales and increased funding for a program that distributes food through food banks in hopes of attracting bipartisan support. GOP senators resisted Democrats’ efforts to push for a longer delay.
Republicans needed at least one Democratic vote to advance the bill due to the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell on Thursday. Boozman accused Democrats of holding SNAP participants “hostage and holding our farmers hostage.”
“I want to be clear: A two-year delay does not have the support of the majority in Congress or of the White House. The offer before you is the best, and it’s the final offer,” Boozman said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) defended Boozman’s offer during the markup.
“The chairman fought as hard as he could,” said Thune, a longtime Agriculture Committee member. “The proposal in front of us … gives everybody another year to do this and saves some states in this room a whole lot of money.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said that “all of us knew before we walked in this room” that the bill would fail due to the SNAP stalemate.
“I want to get the bipartisan stuff done, and we’re not going to get a farm bill. That’s the game here today,” Booker said.
Senators adopted dozens of amendments to the original text, including those that would permanently transfer the Food for Peace program to USDA and make hot rotisserie chicken eligible under SNAP. They rejected several Democratic-led amendments to undo SNAP funding cuts and add other nutrition priorities to the bill along party lines.
Rachel Shin contributed to this report.
Lead Art: Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) are seen during a markup of the 2026 Farm Bill on Capitol Hill on Aug. 6, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
15 hours ago
Vice President JD Vance is attending Thursday’s Senate Republican lunch.
The visit comes as senators try to make progress on several key priorities and leave Washington for a five-week recess. Among the unsettled issues is whether the GOP will advance a budget framework for a new party-line spending bill and take votes on the SAVE America elections bill.
08/06/2026, 12:59pm ET
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15 hours ago
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the top Democrat on the Finance Committee, wants to put more of a federal tax framework around data centers.
Wyden proposed on Thursday to strip away tax incentives if they’re applied toward building data centers, arguing that the current construction boom shows that tech companies don’t need the help.
He also wants to impose a low single-digitexcise tax that would generate new revenue from data centers, which have prompted concerns around the country about environmental impacts and the rise of artificial intelligence.
It’s still less aggressive of an approach toward data centers as some of Wyden’s colleagues, such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who along with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has proposed a nationwide moratorium on new data center construction.
Wyden’s new white paper stated that his proposals “will not end data center development or put at risk the U.S. maintaining its status as the global leader in AI and other innovative technologies.”
“Rather, they will ensure we have the resources to help the communities and workers most impacted as data center construction continues,” the paper read.
Under Wyden’s proposal, data centers would not be eligible for benefits from the Opportunity Zone program, which Republicans enacted in 2017 to help economically struggling areas and expanded in last year’s megabill.
Companies would also be unable to fully expense any capital investments used to build data centers under Wyden’s plan. Republicans restored 100 percent bonus depreciation as part of their 2025 tax cuts.
Wyden acknowledged that he’ll need to further flesh out the details of his framework, including by crafting a more detailed definition of what would be considered a data center under his proposal. He’s also seeking input on how to use any revenue spurred by the excise tax, with his preference being “to directly aid those adversely affected” by the rise of AI.
Lead Art: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wants a new excise tax on data centers and to block the use of existing tax breaks for their construction. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
16 hours ago
Rep. Jay Obernolte, a California Republican leading the charge on wide-ranging artificial intelligence legislation in the House, said Thursday he’s ramping up pressure for a committee vote after a series of cyber breaches involving rogue AI models.
“We have been aware of the need for this type of bill for the last couple of years,” the California Republican told reporters in Washington. “However, the recent events have certainly elevated the discussion amongst my colleagues and elevated awareness of just how necessary this bill is. So, in that sense, it’s been timely.”
Obernolte’s comments follow a series of recent disclosures by OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta that their models autonomously engaged in cyberattacks.
The lawmaker is leading legislation with Democratic Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts that would preempt some state AI regulations and give the federal government the ability to restrict deployment of AI models that pose catastrophic risks.
Obernolte said Thursday that discussions with fellow lawmakers about his bill have continued since the House left Washington last week, including during a recent trip focused on critical minerals. He said leadership of the House Energy and Commerce Committee seems open to holding a vote on the bill in September but have made no commitments.
“We feel like that’s a reasonable compromise that everyone can be happy with,” Obernolte said. “So we’re going to push to have some hearings and markups on that in Energy and Commerce when we return in September.”
A spokesperson for House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Obernolte said he has been briefed on a yet-to-be publicly released White House framework for vetting AI cybersecurity risks and that he has had “constant discussions” with the administration.
Lead Art: Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) is seen during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on March 25, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
17 hours ago
Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) becomes the latest lawmaker to announce a forthcoming book — but this one will take aim at his own party and President Donald Trump.
“ How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents” will explore how a group of “grifting sycophants and useful idiots” have impacted the second Trump administration, according to a new summary from his publisher released Thursday.
Tillis has clashed publicly with the president and members of his administration, particularly after Trump effectively forced him into retirement. In an interview with MS NOW on Thursday, Tillis said those individuals — whom he dubs as “MAGATS” in his book — “are not giving the president honest advice and putting us in positions that we could avoid.”
“I’m talking about people who have never worked a day in business, who now have business strategy, decision-making roles, and they’re simply not looking around corners and taking care of this president,” Tillis said. “Those are the people I want to expose in this book.”
Tillis has publicly criticized members of Trump’s administration including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth; the Director of the Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought; onetime acting Director of National Intelligence Bill Pulte; and Trump’s deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller. His most recent break with the president was his refusal to confirm acting Attorney General Todd Blanche until he agreed to eliminate Trump’s $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund.
But Tillis, who announced last year he would not seek reelection after serving two terms in the upper chamber, emphasized on Thursday that he hopes to help Republicans maintain their slim majority.
“I want Republicans to win in November. That’s why I’m speaking out,” said Tillis. “ I’m here for the American people, not to score points with Stephen Miller, Pete Hegseth or these other folks who I think are giving the president bad advice.”
His book — a play on the famous “How to Win Friends and Influence People” — will be released Oct. 6, ahead of the midterms.
Lead Art: Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) questions Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill on July 15, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
20 hours ago
Don’t expect the typically strong smell of Thursday jet fumes in the halls of the Senate just yet.
Ideally, senators would be leaving town for a five-week recess after business Thursday, but a legislative pile-up and pressure from President Donald Trump has made that impossible.
All 100 senators still need to agree to a deal to speed up consideration of a measure to extend government funding through Dec. 11, a Russia sanctions bill, dozens of nominees including Todd Blanche and a bipartisan college athletics bill — an agenda that would otherwise take weeks to accomplish.
Republicans also need to make a decision about whether they’re going to attempt to take an initial step on a third party-line spending bill, which includes election security measures Trump is demanding.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday evening the vibes were “starting to pick up” in terms of a deal taking shape. But he cautioned on jet fumes:
“You’re not going to be smelling those anytime real soon. …We’ve obviously got, like I said, a stack of stuff to do,” he said.
While Thune hasn’t ruled out taking up a budget blueprint for the GOP bill, he said it was “hard to say at this point” if the votes were there.
However senators are eyeing an exit strategy to allow Republicans to leave town while giving Trump a small win by taking up his elections measure. With that option, Republicans would bring up legislation related to the SAVE America Act instead of advancing a budget resolution, three people granted anonymity to discuss internal discussions said.
Thune said it “remains to be seen” whether that’s enough for hard-liners who have threatened to oppose leaving town without a vote on it.
Also still in limbo is Trump’s attorney general pick Todd Blanche, who met Wednesday with GOP holdouts Sens. Bill Cassidy and Lisa Murkowski. Neither said afterward how they would vote on the nomination — and Blanche needs to secure at least one of their votes.
Government funding legislation is also stuck in the pile-up, with Republicans grappling with intraparty wrangling over hemp language. And an agreement to speed up consideration of the Russia sanctions measure is also in limbo as Democrats work through concerns in their ranks about it.
And Democrats are waiting for smoke signals from Republicans on whether they’ll force them to vote on cryptocurrency legislation that many of them currently oppose. Dems are eager to avoid taking that vote ahead of the recess, potentially fueling tens of millions of dollars of campaign spending by industry allies.
What else we’re watching:
— JOHNSON BULLISH ON SPEAKERSHIP: Mike Johnson said he is planning to remain speaker if House Republicans hold onto the House — but didn’t weigh in on his future plans if Democrats flip the majority. “I don’t have to answer that question because we’re gonna win,” Johnson told Dasha Burns on Tuesday in an interview for POLITICO’s The Conversation. “I’m gonna remain speaker of the House,” he added. Johnson would face difficult political headwinds to stay on as minority leader if Democrats take back the chamber, but he dodged on the topic, reiterating his optimism.
— FARM BILL OUTLOOK DIMS: Agriculture ranking member Amy Klobuchar is signaling she’ll oppose the GOP-led farm bill up for a markup Thursday, likely scuttling chances it’ll advance. At issue is a provision to delay requirements that states pay for part of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Agriculture Chair John Boozman has offered a one-year delay while Democrats are asking for two years. The nutrition aid requirements were passed as part of the GOP’s megabill last summer. Boozman needs to win support from at least one Democrat to advance the bill out of committee given Sen. Mitch McConnell’s prolonged absence.
Jordain Carney, Mia McCarthy and Grace Yarrow contributed to this report.
Lead Art: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) arrives for a Senate Republican Conference luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 4, 2026. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
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