📝 The Readback: Dems’ futile pro forma strategy

IN THIS EDITION

Dems’ tricky pro forma strategy

Here’s your reconciliation 2.0 survival guide

Here’s what Punchbowl News video was up to over the break

Melania Trump’s shocking press address

THE TOP

Dems’ tricky pro forma strategy

Welcome to The Readback, our weekend digest featuring the best of Punchbowl News this week – a quick roundup of all our scoops, analysis and Capitol Hill insight you won’t find anywhere else. We’ve also included a few of our favorite outside reads from the week.

Dems’ strategy: The House’s Thursday pro forma session was a perfect representation of how the Democratic Party is trying to show its enraged base that lawmakers are fighting back against President Donald Trump — and the subsequent limitations of that strategy.

As Trump brought the United States military to the brink of destroying the Iranian civilization (in his words), Democrats nationwide demanded their elected officials do more to rein in the president.

The issue? There’s not much the House could do during its two-week recess. Even so, Democratic leadership pinpointed the Thursday pro forma session as a chance to take a stand.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries informed his caucus that Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) plans to offer Rep. Gregory Meeks’ (D-N.Y.) war powers resolution aimed at immediately ending the war.

The messaging was slightly thrown off by Trump’s ceasefire announcement, but the point still stood: House Democrats were trying to do something to stop Trump.

On Thursday shortly after 11 a.m., I gathered outside the House chamber to track the proceedings. It quickly became clear that this was no regular pro forma session. Jeffries invited Democrats already in D.C. to “join the effort,” and a group heeded his call.

Most pro forma sessions are rarely attended by any member of the minority. At most, there could be one who’s there to potentially object to a unanimous consent request. But on Thursday, eight House Democrats showed up to the House.

Their hope? That Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) would recognize their request to offer up the Iran resolution. That didn’t happen.

In an aggressive gavel slam reminiscent of former Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), Smith closed pro forma proceedings over the loud objections of the Democrats on the floor.

The Democrats walked out to the House steps to address a massive horde of television cameras and roughly two-dozen reporters, the biggest media crowd I’ve ever seen at a pro forma.

“The pro forma speaker ignored us, which was a tragedy,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), said.

That’s the reality of life in the minority. As much as the base demands action, the math of the House dictates that Democrats don’t control the agenda. But the party isn’t completely powerless. There’s been a string of successful discharge petitions this Congress, most notably forcing House votes on the ACA tax credits and the Epstein files.

And House Democrats vowed to offer the war powers resolution when the House returns to session next week, when the privileged motion will force an on-the-record vote.

What I’m reading: “London Falling,” Patrick Radden Keefe’s new book. It’s a gripping account of the mysterious death of 19-year-old Londoner Zac Brettler and the police’s failure to properly investigate it. I am close friends with Zac’s older brother Joe, and Keefe has done an incredible job of helping the Brettler family search for answers. The best book I’ve read all year.

– Max Cohen

You can find The Readback in your inbox every Saturday at 8 a.m. And don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected] with feedback. Enjoy The Readback.

Here’s your reconciliation 2.0 survival guide

Reconciliation is back.

Did you miss it?!?!?

Nine months after Republicans celebrated passing the One Big Beautiful Bill with a July 4 signing ceremony, they’re officially at it again. The GOP is trying to pass a second bill through the budget reconciliation process.

To recap: Republican congressional leaders want to use reconciliation to fund ICE and CBP while passing a bipartisan spending bill for the rest of the Department of Homeland Security. This is the GOP’s plan to finally end the 56-day DHS shutdown. It will be a tough task to pull this off. A lot could go wrong, but Republicans have a shot.

The appeal of reconciliation is that it allows bills to pass the Senate with a simple majority threshold, avoiding the filibuster. It offers a big opportunity for any party with a trifecta in Washington. Both Democrats and Republicans have taken plenty advantage of that over the last few years.

The downside is that the rules governing reconciliation bills in the Senate are strict and obscure. Everything in the legislation has to comply with the Byrd Rule, which imposes a number of limits. Requirements include that provisions are primarily budget-focused and have a tangible impact on federal spending or revenue.

If you’re ready to hop on the rollercoaster that is reconciliation with us, here are my best tips to get ready for the sprint that’s ahead over the coming weeks:

1) Keep a rundown on reconciliation rules handy. Here are a couple options that lay out what can and can’t go into a bill and answer some other frequent procedural questions.

2) Brush up on your vocab. Reconciliation involves a lot of obscure terms. For one, reconciliation. There’s the budget resolution that kicks off the whole process. Then there’s the “Byrd Bath” when the Senate litigates whether provisions comply with the Byrd Rule in a final bill. The chamber’s parliamentarian then makes a ruling.

My personal favorite is the vote-a-rama. Sounds fun, right? Depends. Do you call an all-nighter in the Senate with endless amendment votes fun? There are a variety of opinions here. It’s an experience you’ll never forget!

3) Stock up on caffeine. Republicans’ push to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill last year involved a lot of all-night voting sessions. The reconciliation 2.0 effort shouldn’t need as many.

The GOP could skip markups on this bill, and they’re trying to keep it small (you will hear the words “narrow” and “focused” a lot). But who knows? Nothing is easy when the House has such a razor-thin majority.

What I’m watching: I’ve started on “Real Housewives of Rhode Island” with friends, and it’s delivering some great drama. It’s even got a “Bachelor” crossover. Can’t wait for the housewives to debut their taglines!

– Laura Weiss

Here’s what Punchbowl News video was up to over the break

It’s hard to believe Punchbowl News has been producing video for less than a year.

We’ve already accomplished a lot in that short time, through Fly Out Day, The Daily Punch, our newsmaker events and more. Then again, at just five years old, Punchbowl News itself is no stranger to growing fast.

However, as lawmakers headed out of town for two weeks of recess — and Fly Out Day on pause until they returned — I needed to get creative.

I knew I wanted to do two things: reflect on Fly Out Day and The Pink Room and dive into something to really nerd out over.

I think I succeeded in both my endeavors. (Don’t tell me if I didn’t, I don’t want to know.)

First, I had a little fun with the famous — or, some might say, infamous — door cam shot. Every guest has approached it differently. Some showed off their hats (looking at you, Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.)). Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) brought a Busch Lite to the door, affectionately calling it the “nectar of the gods.”

However, my favorite shot will always be Sen. Tim Kaine’s (D-Va.) harmonica. He absolutely slays that wild little instrument.

I also rounded up some of the most interesting Pink Room conversations, with help from congressional reporter Max Cohen, of course.

From Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a gastroenterologist turned lawmaker, joking about performing colonoscopies and declaring he didn’t like the view anymore, to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer advocating for getting all of Washington on flip phones, you get a real sense of the personalities behind the politics.

And of course, we can’t forget the full story behind Kaine’s harmonica collection. Sorry not sorry — I just can’t get enough of it.

If you don’t have time to watch every video, I’ve highlighted these fun little moments in this week’s Pink Room compilation.

Don’t worry, I made time to do a little nerding out. I teamed up with our resident tax and financial services pro, reporter Laura Weiss for a quick video explainer about a word you’ve probably heard a lot last year and have been hearing a lot lately again: reconciliation. Republicans are considering a second go at a reconciliation measure to push through more of President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Did I also jump on this video because I needed to know more about what reconciliation bills were? That’s a secret I’ll never tell…

PS: If you didn’t start from the top, Laura has a good explainer higher up in this Readback edition.

What I’m watching: I just finished season one of “The Good Place.” I’m late to the party, but I’m so glad I finally dove in. My former political science professor once recommended it to her students as a playful way to explore ethics and philosophy. I wonder if Immanuel Kant and Aristotle would have as much fun watching it as I do.

– Rachel Scully

Melania Trump’s shocking press address

Covering the news means getting surprised, professionally, a lot.

Still, I was jolted by just how surprising my trip to the White House this week was.

On Wednesday, First Lady Melania Trump’s office had announced she’d be making a speech the following day. No details beyond that.

When I’ve gotten alerts about appearances by the first lady in the past, it’s been because of her work on artificial intelligence issues, especially her push to ban nonconsensual deepfake nudes.

That effort had succeeded last year, but just a day before the advisory, the first guilty plea under that law had occurred. Melania Trump had even posted about it on X.

I figured she’d be taking a (well deserved) victory lap or maybe even announcing a new initiative to build on it.

It turned out she was not doing that.

Instead, here’s how the first lady started her speech: “The lies linking me to the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.”

The press assembled in the Grand Foyer was shocked.

For five minutes, Melania Trump denied that she knew of Epstein’s crimes and that she was a victim of the dead sex trafficker. She slammed “completely false” stories about her and Epstein online.

She also called for Congress to hold hearings focused on survivors and to keep up the pressure on Epstein associates. Then she left, without taking questions.

What followed for me was a hard pivot to write up a story that, complaints about online lies notwithstanding, is definitely off my tech beat.

I spent years as a breaking news reporter. I can (usually) channel panic at a surprise into quick typing and excitement at seeing a real-life twist.

But the speech got me wondering why, besides my prior adventures at the White House, I’d dropped by the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue in the first place.

I’ll admit my assumption that the first lady would be talking more directly about deepfakes wasn’t fully founded, but it is the sort of coincidence we sometimes have to rely on in planning coverage.

If a committee chair rails about an issue I cover and then, the next day, teases a bill-unveiling, I’ll swing by. Usually it’s not a coincidence at all; it’s a rollout strategy.

Sometimes, though, coincidence is something else: a reminder that you can’t plan the news and that the rough-and-tumble can be the most compelling part of the job.

What I’m reading: I’ve been delving into news about Anthropic’s Claude Mythos Preview. The company is not releasing the model, claiming it’s so good at finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities, it needs to be studied by experts. It’s not exactly pleasure reading.

– Ben Brody