Congress crawls toward August

IN THIS EDITION

Congress inches toward August recess

What to know about the Homeland Security race

What we’re watching

The Future of Energy: The Players

THE TOP

Congress inches toward August recess

Happy Monday morning.

The House and Senate are in session. President Donald Trump is having lunch with Vice President JD Vance today. The president heads to Scotland on Friday.

This is the House’s last scheduled week in session before the August recess. Members are set to leave Thursday until Sept. 2. Sometimes — although not nearly as much as the old days — it’s good to be a member of Congress.

But across the Capitol, things are looking a dicier for the Senate, which is scheduled to begin its August recess on July 31.

Trump posted on Truth Social Saturday that Senate Majority Leader John Thune should “cancel August recess (and long weekends!), in order to get my incredible nominees confirmed.”

Trump’s push certainly increases the likelihood that at least part of the recess could be scrapped. But there was chatter about this even before Trump weighed in.

Thune and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso have been plowing through Trump’s nominees, but Democrats are forcing them to eat up valuable floor time on each one. We expect Thune to offer Democrats a package of nomination votes to close out the work period next week while threatening to keep the Senate in town if they object.

The flip side here is that Senate GOP leaders want Republican senators to use the August break to tout the “big, beautiful bill” back in their home states. That may be a better use of their time in the long run.

Yet there are dozens of Trump’s picks awaiting Senate confirmation. Senate panels like the Foreign Relations Committee have processed Trump’s nominees at a record pace — because of the president’s own prodding of Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) — yet there’s still a massive backlog of noms awaiting floor votes. The Judiciary Committee has also started approving Trump’s judicial picks.

Approps on tap. Thune’s more immediate moves include a key FY2026 funding vote this week and possible consideration of the annual defense policy bill next week.

Thune has teed up a vote on the MilCon-VA funding bill, which was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee via a 26-3 vote. It’s possible that the bill could be packaged with other funding measures that have come out of the Appropriations panel on similar bipartisan margins.

As we previewed on Friday, this will be a key test vote for the prospects of a government shutdown. Senate Democrats have said they want a bipartisan process but that Republicans’ support for Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package blew up any chance of a deal.

It’s unclear how Senate Democrats will handle this week’s vote, but they aren’t likely to say so until GOP leaders decide whether to package it with other funding bills.

Passing the bills would achieve what Senate Democrats say they want — a bipartisan appropriations process. Many Democrats have noted that the Senate bills call for more spending than the House GOP-drafted bills.

But top Democrats are casting doubt on the notion of helping Republicans pass any of them, citing rescissions and the White House’s hostility toward Congress’ power of the purse.

Unlike House GOP appropriators, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democrat on the panel, made a bipartisan deal on the MilCon-VA bill.

It includes lots of money for Maine projects (nearly $460 million), which is important for Collins, who is up for reelection. That would all be in jeopardy if there’s no agreement between the White House and Democrats, and federal agencies are funded once again using a continuing resolution.

House GOP appropriators have scheduled full-committee markups for three FY2026 bills this week as they prepare to get out of town – Interior, National Security-State and Commerce-Justice-Science.

These House Republican proposals stick largely to Trump’s “skinny” budget plan, which calls for $163 billion in cuts to non-defense discretionary spending, which Democrats and the Senate oppose.

The draft FSGG bill from House Republicans – released Sunday night – cuts $2.9 billion from the FY2025 enacted level, or 11% less. IRS spending would be slashed by $2.8 billion under the GOP plan, while the Consumer Products Safety Commission and FCC would get less as well. The Executive Office of the President and OMB would see their budgets reduced slightly too.

There’s also no money for a new FBI headquarters, a big issue as Trump seeks to block the bureau from moving to a new Maryland site.

– John Bresnahan, Jake Sherman and Andrew Desiderio

Tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. ET, we’re hosting a conversation with Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Punchbowl News Technology Reporter Ben Brody will sit down with Markey to discuss the news of the day and online safety for kids. There’s still time to RSVP!

HOUSE REPUBLICANS

What to know about the Homeland Security race

The House Republican Steering Committee will meet tonight to pick the next Homeland Security Committee chair to succeed Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), who announced his resignation earlier this month.

There are four contenders for the gavel: GOP Reps. Andrew Garbarino (N.Y.), Michael Guest (Miss.), Carlos Gimenez (Fla.) and Clay Higgins (La.).

The main thing to know is that the Republican steering committee is a tool of the speaker. It’s been designed this way for decades. Speaker Mike Johnson has four of the 38 votes, while House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has two.

Overall, Louisiana controls seven votes. Rep. Julia Letlow (R-La.) is also on the panel, giving the Bayou State an enormous voice.

Republicans on the steering committee look to Johnson to see which way he’s leaning, although he typically plays it close to the vest on these fights – or, worse, sends mixed signals. In December, Johnson sent mixed messages about who he wanted to be the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, leading to a tremendous amount of confusion. Johnson doesn’t like playing the heavy in these situations, although that’s what the panel wants.

This time around, Johnson has a more complicated challenge. All four candidates are popular in the conference. Garbarino is a close GOP leadership ally who is friends with Johnson and Scalise. Gimenez, a Cuban-born former mayor of Miami-Dade County, has powerful allies, including Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.). Guest is chair of the Ethics Committee, an assignment that earns you chits in the House Republican Conference.

And, perhaps most notably, Higgins is a Louisianan vying for a chairmanship in a conference that is controlled by his two home-state allies – Johnson and Scalise.

That’s not the only complication. Picking Guest would mean Johnson has to tap a new chair of Ethics and a new member of the Appropriations Committee.

Most Republican insiders believe the race is truly between Gimenez and Garbarino, with Garbarino as a slight favorite. Garbarino is a member of Steering, so he understands how to work the room.

But let’s be honest. Everyone will be intently focused on Johnson. Anything he says or any look he gives could sway the race.

Here’s the breakdown of each candidate:

Garbarino. The New York Republican is seventh in seniority on the panel, but as we noted, he’s a strong leadership ally. Garbarino currently chairs the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection subcommittee. Garbarino is running on his experience and knowledge of cybersecurity policy.

Guest. Guest has met with all members of GOP leadership and steering. Guest has emphasized his background as a state prosecutor and working in law enforcement before coming to Congress.

Guest is chair of the subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement. He is No. 4 in seniority on the Homeland Security panel.

Gimenez. Gimenez wants to focus on “the rise of unmanned aerial systems” and improving the nation’s cyber systems from foreign adversaries’ attacks, according to his letter of intent.

The Florida Republican plans to highlight his experience as a firefighter and working in public safety, according to a person familiar with his plans.

Gimenez is fifth in seniority on Homeland. He’s chair of the Transportation and Maritime Security subcommittee.

Higgins. Higgins, the third-ranking member of the committee, would be favored by conservatives. Higgins is a controversial figure in the House Republican Conference. He once got physical with a protester outside the Capitol. He has also pushed the theory that the FBI was behind the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The new chair would spearhead much of the House Republicans’ border security and immigration agenda and be in charge of drafting a new version of H.R. 2, which we wrote about last week.

Johnson said he talked to all four candidates, but as we noted, there’s no endorsement yet.

“We have very highly qualified people who are willing to step up,” Johnson said. “There’s going to be quite a horse race there.”

– Mica Soellner and Jake Sherman

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What we’re watching

Monday: The House Rules Committee will prepare a number of bills for floor consideration. The House Appropriations subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government will mark up its bill.

Tuesday: The Senate Armed Services Committee will have a hearing to consider the nomination of Vice Adm. Frank M. Bradley to be commander of U.S. Special Operations Command and Lt. Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson to be commander of U.S. Africa Command.

The Senate Finance Committee will have a hearing for Joseph Barloon to be deputy USTR in Geneva, Switzerland, and Brian Morrissey to be general counsel at Treasury. They’ll hold a second hearing on Jonathan McKernan’s nomination to be under secretary of Treasury for domestic finance and Alex Adams to be assistant secretary of HHS for family support.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a hearing on Jason Evans to be the deputy secretary of State for management.

Wednesday: The House Armed Services Committee will have a hearing on reforming defense acquisition policies. Michael Duffey, the under secretary of Defense for acquisition and sustainment, will be among the witnesses.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will have a hearing with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker and a hearing on counterterrorism posture.

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will have a hearing with Acting FEMA Administrator David Richardson on improving the disaster aid agency.

The Senate Commerce Committee will have a confirmation hearing for three Transportation Department nominees: Seval Oz, Michael Rutherford and Gregory Zerzan. Oz is the sister of Mehmet Oz.

The House Appropriations Committee will have a markup of the National Security-State Department spending bill.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will have a hearing on the Middle East with Brian Hook, who served in the first Trump administration as the lead on Iran policy, and Daniel Shapiro, a Biden administration official who was ambassador to Israel during the Obama administration.

Thursday: The Senate Armed Services Committee will have a hearing on Adm. Daryl L. Caudle’s nomination to be chief of naval operations.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee will have a hearing on a number of nominations, including Paul Ingrassia to be special counsel of the United States.

The House Appropriations Committee will mark up the Commerce, Justice, Science bill.

– Jake Sherman

SPECIAL PROJECTS

The Future of Energy: The Players

ICYMI: We wrapped up our four-part series, The Future of Energy, last week with our final segment, The Players.

The Players are the key people, federal agencies and institutions to watch as the energy sector evolves through increasing power demand, a changing regulatory landscape and the global push for decarbonization.

Emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, the increased electrification of transportation modes and the Trump administration’s push to revive domestic manufacturing are already putting pressure on the power sector.

A key challenge for the industry, Congress and regulators will be how to overhaul the nation’s complicated permitting process.

As a reminder, check out each segment of the series here:

The State of Play: an overview of the state of the energy sector and what’s in store for the future … The Regulatory Landscape: how regulators and lawmakers are steering the energy sector and balancing the competing factors driving it into the future.

A Leading Voice: A key lawmaker provides a perspective on how Congress is approaching the issue … The Players: the leading people and institutions shaping the direction of the energy industry.

Be sure to look out for the accompanying podcast for each issue.

– Elvina Nawaguna

THE CAMPAIGN

Texas maps. The Texas legislature will come back into session today in Austin where it will redraw the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. President Donald Trump has been pushing this effort, hoping to squeeze five new Republican seats out of the Lone Star State.

Texas Democrats are on edge over potential changes to the map. The delegation has already spoken with attorneys in preparation of an inevitable lawsuit.

Republicans are eyeing several changes to the district lines — as we’ve reported.

Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar’s district in and around Laredo. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez’s seat, which runs from the Texas-Mexico border to south of Corpus Christi.

Rep. Julie Johnson’s Dallas-area district. Republicans are also eyeing changes to a Houston-area seat. There are four Democratic seats in Houston surrounded by six Republican seats in the suburbs and exurbs. Republicans are likely to try to draw another seat from this mix. Democratic Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, who represents a strong Democratic district in Houston, could be left without a district.

There’s an open question over the location of the fifth seat. Options include:

A new seat in the Austin area. Democratic Reps. Greg Casar and Lloyd Doggett represent most of Austin, so they would have the most to lose. Republican Reps. Michael McCaul and Chip Roy also hold seats around the Texas capital. The question here is will the 78-year-old Doggett retire to allow the 36-year-old Casar to represent Austin. Also, McCaul had an underwhelming second quarter, raising a paltry $92,586. He has just $92,775 in the bank, putting him atop the list of potential GOP retirements.

Rep. Veronica Escobar’s El Paso seat. Escobar shares El Paso with GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales. Escobar’s district shifted decidedly to the right in 2024. Joe Biden won the seat by 35 points in 2020, but Kamala Harris only beat Trump by 16 in 2024. Escobar won by 19 points.

Relatedly, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) has another ad up in Houston and Dallas, as Texans wonder whether the lawmaker will run for Senate. Remember: Hunt’s district is in Houston so he has no reason to be running ads in Dallas other than to get his statewide name ID up.

This is another bio spot that is focused on family, in what could be interpreted as a subtle jab at Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in the midst of a nasty divorce. The spot ends with a photo of Trump and Hunt next to Trump’s 757 jet.

Fundraising. NRCC finally outraised the DCCC in June and for all of the second quarter.

The House GOP campaign arm raised $18.1 million in June and $32.2 million in Q2. Their Democratic counterpart raised $12.7 million in June for a Q2 total of $29.1 million.

The NRCC last outraised the DCCC in March 2025, $21.5 million to $16.6 million. But the DCCC is generally stronger at fundraising. And even though it fell behind in March, the DCCC still raised more than the NRCC in Q1.

The DCCC also has more cash-on-hand. It ended June with $39.7 million to the NRCC’s $37.6 million. Neither committee has any outstanding debt.

Also: We got our hands on the first campaign memo from Scott Brown’s campaign for senator from New Hampshire.

– Jake Sherman and Ally Mutnick

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