🔵 The Portal: Trump’s congressional oversight

IN THIS EDITION

Republican chairs left in the dark

What we’re watching

Another controversial nominee to take center stage

THE TOP

Republican chairs left in the dark

Happy Monday morning.

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The shutdown has made one thing decidedly clear: The Trump administration’s approach to Congress is act first, inform later.

We’ve seen this in several ways over the course of the year. First, there was DOGE, when Republican lawmakers had to beg Elon Musk to communicate with them better, or go around to ask President Donald Trump to fix what DOGE broke. Then there was the rescissions package, followed by the pocket rescissions request GOP members had asked not be executed.

And now, Republican committee chairs often aren’t getting the courtesy heads up from the White House before their priorities are slashed, paused or even eliminated during this shutdown.

It’s a departure from past administrations, which mostly made sure to keep their congressional overseers, particularly from their own party, in the loop on major decisions. If for no other reason, they wanted lawmakers’ buy-in so Congress didn’t upend the policies the president was trying to implement.

Not the Trump administration. These days, key GOP lawmakers are often playing catch-up, figuring out what’s been done and why after it’s already happened. And we’re talking about the chairs of some of the most powerful, or once powerful, congressional committees like Senate Finance and Appropriations.

Let’s dive into the administration’s act first, inform later approach to key committees and their chairs.

Appropriations. No lawmakers have had it harder than appropriators this year. The committee often hears about cuts to its priorities after the fact — all while the administration is sidelining the spending panel.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) is still working to get some information. The committee, for instance, hasn’t obtained a list of what specific Army Corps of Engineers projects were paused during the shutdown.

It’s no secret that appropriators have their disagreements with OMB Director Russ Vought. Before Vought announced the administration would lay off some federal workers during the shutdown, Collins said he hadn’t talked to her about the matter. Collins said she made her frustrations known.

“’I’ve made it very clear that I do not believe there should be firing of some furloughed workers,” Collins said earlier this month.

CDFI. News that the Trump administration was going to get rid of the Community Development Financial Institution Fund came as a surprise to Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), as our friends at The Vault reported.

Crapo pledged to work with Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and others to reverse the decision to lay off the entire agency during the shutdown.

The chair described himself as “very discouraged” when he learned of the news.

Warner and Crapo have been on the defense for CDFI since March, when the Trump administration wrote in an executive order that the agency must be closed down. Then Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other administration officials appeared to back off that stance in the face of opposition from Crapo and other lawmakers.

But the shutdown came, and CDFI was put on the chopping block again to the chagrin of Crapo — a loyal Trump ally.

HHS. Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) has had a frustrating year. Cassidy was the key vote to confirm HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying the nominee promised to keep in close communication with Congress, particularly with regard to vaccines.

It hasn’t exactly worked out that way.

Cassidy told reporters earlier this month he didn’t know Kennedy was going to announce new vaccine recommendations, which Cassidy opposed.

HHS and the CDC have had a tumultuous time, especially since the shutdown. There’s been confusion about exactly who’s been furloughed or fired over the past month — and lawmakers were finding out on social media that layoffs had taken place.

Drug war. Trump’s decision to blow up boats that the White House argues are being used by Venezuelan drug cartels to bring narcotics to the United States isn’t an issue tied to the shutdown. But it’s another recent instance where Congress is being informed after the fact and not always getting all the information lawmakers want.

Defense committees didn’t receive a heads-up that strikes were coming, but were told later. Democrats are calling for more information, which experts say may be illegal.

Some key GOP senators are saying they are on board with the attacks and are satisfied with the briefings they have received.

“I’ve been briefed on it and feel comfortable with where we are,” Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said.

But there are signs that some Republicans are worried about how little the administration is sharing with lawmakers.

“The administration needs to give insight into Congress, that’s part of it. If this was happening, with this level of insight, under the Biden administration, I’d be apoplectic,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said on C-SPAN Friday. Lankford added that the administration needs to consult Congress even if it is not asking for permission to carry out the attacks. “We need to be able to have a voice on it as a coequal branch,” Lankford said.

– Samantha Handler

THE WEEK AHEAD

What we’re watching

We’re entering the fourth week of the government shutdown. The House is still out of session, though House Democrats will be in town for in-person caucus meetings.

We expect more votes in the Senate this week on measures to pay certain federal workers during the shutdown.

Monday: The Senate returns with a vote at 5:30 p.m. on two judicial confirmations.

Tuesday: The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a commercial shipbuilding hearing.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing examining competition in the seed and fertilizer industries and another hearing on politically violent attacks.

Wednesday: The Senate Finance Committee will hold a nominations hearing.

The Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on the future of biotechnology.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing on Big Tech and silencing Americans.

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will hold a hearing on the shutdown’s impact on Native communities.

The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a nominations hearing.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on the disability system for veterans.

Thursday: The Senate HELP Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Surgeon General pick Casey Means.

– Samantha Handler

HEALTH POLICY

Another controversial nominee to take center stage

The Senate HELP Committee is no stranger to high-stakes hearings. The panel will take on its latest challenge Thursday.

Health influencer and doctor Casey Means will finally get her nomination hearing to be the surgeon general. Means is coming into the unusual situation of having angered both the MAHA right and those in traditional medicine. It will certainly be an interesting hearing.

Means will appear virtually, the first HELP nominee to do so.

The doctor, who dropped out of her surgical residency to pursue alternative medicine, is criticized by the anti-vaccine crowd for not being anti-vaccine enough. Means is also a staunch advocate of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again mandate, which isn’t winning over Democrats.

A former surgeon general recently wrote that Means isn’t qualified to hold the job. Kennedy’s former running mate Nicole Shanahan has come out against Means, and Trump loyalist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer has strongly opposed Means for getting the Covid vaccine.

Healthy debate. This is all coming at a fraught time for Senate HELP Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.). Cassidy hasn’t said much about whether he will support Means, though her stance on vaccines is likely a welcome development for the Louisiana Republican. Cassidy has been at odds with Kennedy over his recent moves against vaccines at the CDC.

It’s been tough, too, for the Trump administration to secure health nominees. Kennedy fired the first Senate-confirmed CDC director, Susan Monarez, just a month after her confirmation. The first CDC nominee, Dave Weldon, was withdrawn after senators refused to back him over his anti-vaccine stance. Trump also withdrew his first pick for surgeon general, Janette Nesheiwat, after questions about how the Fox News medical contributor obtained her credentials.

The challenge for Means during the hearing will be doing enough to secure moderate Republican votes while still satisfying the MAGA movement.

– Samantha Handler