It's markup day. Does the GOP have consensus?

IN THIS EDITION

Ready, set, markup

The Vault: Can Tim Scott wear two hats?

Schumer to block DOJ noms over Trump’s Qatar plane gift

Top Scalise aide heads to Andreessen Horowitz

New: The Future of Medicine series launches

THE TOP

Ready, set, markup

Happy Tuesday morning.

The Celsius machines are going to need a refill today.

Three key House committees — Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means and Agriculture — are slated to mark up their reconciliation bills, a huge moment for Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP leaders. Energy and Commerce starts at 2 p.m., Ways and Means follows at 2:30 p.m. and Agriculture will begin at 7:30 p.m.

All of the chairs’ marks of these bills are out. Here’s Energy and Commerce, here’s Ways and Means and here’s Agriculture. But these bills could change significantly during the next 12 to 24 hours.

Much of the House Republican Conference is intently watching how Johnson handles this. Every major decision on assembling President Donald Trump’s agenda was delayed until the last minute. Johnson likes to say he is in the consensus-building business.

Yet on issues ranging from health care to taxes, there’s no consensus inside the House Republican Conference on this package. Conservatives think the bill is too weak on cuts to Medicaid and other programs. Blue-state Republicans don’t have a deal on SALT, while moderates worry about the Medicaid changes.

This is going to be a problem over the next two weeks as GOP leaders attempt to squeeze the reconciliation package through multiple committees and across the floor with only a razor-thin margin of control.

And then House Republicans will have to see if – and how – their Senate GOP counterparts change the package.

The wide view. If you’re a corporate lobbyist (or CEO), you made out pretty well in this House Republican tax proposal. The legislation doesn’t create a new corporate SALT cap. It doesn’t close the carried interest “loophole,” handing a big victory to hedge fund managers, private equity executives and their lobbyists.

The bill doesn’t increase the stock buyback tax, which the committee discussed. Key business tax breaks, including for R&D, have been revived for a few years and there’s a strong chance Senate Republicans will make them permanent.

Still, some sectors took massive hits. House Republicans’ repeals of IRA clean energy tax credits were significantly more aggressive than supporters hoped.

The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the GOP tax bill costs $3.7 trillion in lost revenue between 2025-2034. Ways and Means had between $4 trillion and $4.5 trillion of budget space to work with.

SALT shakeup: House GOP leaders haven’t reached an agreement with blue-state Republicans from New York, California and New Jersey on the state-and-local tax deduction limit. These members are dug in on the issue, which they consider existential for their political careers.

House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) included a $30,000 cap in the tax package limited to people making $400,000 or less. For people making more, it winds down to $10,000. That’s very far from what the SALT Caucus wants.

Blue-state Republicans are making their distaste for the Ways and Means proposal clear. They left a meeting with committee members and House GOP leaders Monday unhappy with the direction of the talks.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) said the reconciliation bill, as written, won’t have his support. Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) said he’s “a hell no for a bill that has a flat $30,000 cap.”

LaLota said Smith “relied on outdated data, drew faulty conclusions and refused to incorporate the needs of the SALT Caucus. There’s no ‘beautiful bill’ if he keeps putting warts on it.”

Ways and Means shared data during the meeting on how many more households in the blue-state members’ districts would benefit from full SALT deductions with a $30,000 cap than the current limit.

Sources involved in the talks said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) is taking a more central role in trying to cobble together a deal.

With so much at stake, Johnson has all but taken over the high-stakes SALT negotiations for leadership. Smith told SALT Caucus Republicans on Monday that he didn’t view negotiating with them as part of his job.

E&C, Ag politics: Energy and Commerce has to get its massive Medicaid spending cuts — more than $700 billion in the health-care section of the committee mark alone — through the panel. Republicans say they’re confident Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) can get the job done. CBO estimates the GOP bill would lead to an additional 13.7 million Americans going uninsured.

Energy and Commerce has three Republicans seeking reelection in tough seats: Reps. Gabe Evans (Colo.), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (Iowa) and Tom Kean Jr. (N.J.). Democrats are salivating over the opportunity to run TV ads accusing them of backing a bill slashing Medicaid funding. Evans already has two challengers in his suburban Denver seat, including former Democratic Rep. Yadira Caraveo.

And the House Agriculture Committee will vote on Republican-authored cuts to nutrition programs while requiring states to fund a portion of their SNAP benefits.

Vulnerable Reps. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) all sit on the Agriculture panel. Bacon is one of just three Republicans in a district that Kamala Harris won in 2024. Bresnahan could face a rematch with former Democratic Rep. Matt Cartwright.

Hardliners. The House Freedom Caucus is putting the onus on GOP leadership to make “very aggressive changes” to the reconciliation package before it comes to the floor. Many conservatives have asked for at least $2 trillion in cuts.

These HFC-backed changes – more Medicaid cuts, a total repeal of IRA clean energy credits and “deficit neutrality” – would have to happen during today’s trio of committee markups or the Rules Committee. Johnson controls the Rules panel, but conservatives have a huge voice there too.

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) went on one of his trademark screeds Monday, saying on X that he won’t cave to internal pressure to support the bill, which he seems to think is unserious.

Remember: Johnson can only lose three votes on the floor. And he wants the reconciliation package on the floor next week.

— Jake Sherman, Laura Weiss and Mica Soellner

Today at 9 a.m. ET, we’re kicking off The Summit: Investing in Small Businesses featuring House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, Verizon Chair and CEO Hans Vestberg, Joe Montana and a closing panel on small business and communications technology. Join us live — RSVP now.

The Vault: Can Tim Scott wear two hats?

Crypto has a dilemma in the Republican-run Senate.

The GOP chair of the Senate Banking Committee needs several Democrats to approve an effort to integrate the crypto industry into the financial system.

The chair of the NRSC, meanwhile, wants to wipe Senate Democrats off the map in the 2026 midterms.

Both roles belong to the same man: Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.). The question is whether those jobs can coexist for one lawmaker in the midst of high-stakes policy negotiations.

Campaign conundrum. The Senate failed to advance the GENIUS Act last week, despite significant bipartisan support.

Much finger-pointing followed. But no senator or outside group went quite as far as the NRSC.

A statement from NRSC Executive Director Jennifer DeCasper – Scott’s former chief of staff and long-time confidant – declared that “Republican leadership is the only path to real crypto wins in Congress … Anyone backing Senate Democrats in hopes of crypto progress is ignoring reality.”

The implications weren’t lost on Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), who led the DSCC for the 2024 cycle. The crypto-backed campaign finance network Fairshake spent big in 2024 and is poised to do so again in 2026.

Crypto “will reward people who vote with them, and they will punish people who don’t vote with them,” Peters said.

Peters argued Scott’s twin roles constituted “major conflicts of interest.”

In a statement, Senate Banking Committee spokesperson Jeff Naft said Scott “has been committed to working in a bipartisan manner to advance a regulatory framework for digital assets, and he’s delivered results with the GENIUS Act – only for Democrats to play politics at the finish line.”

No worries! A number of senators said they’re not sweating Scott’s approach. “Sen. Scott really does want to get this done, and I think we will get it done,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) said.

And Scott isn’t the only campaign chair involved in the negotiations. The bill’s lead Democratic co-sponsor, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), chairs the DSCC.

We asked Gillibrand whether it was a problem that Scott was straddling leadership of both Senate Banking and the NRSC.

“I can’t speak for the chairman, but I’m optimistic we will get good legislation done soon,” Gillibrand said of Scott. The New York Democrat dismissed the dilemma of working on policy with Republicans while trying to defeat them in elections as “unrelated and irrelevant.”

Tactics, tactics. Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.), one of the lead GOP negotiators, said the talks are a “delicate dance,” but Scott is giving her and Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) room to negotiate.

“He’ll come into the room, set the stage, say, ‘this is my bottom line. This is what I feel I have to have, and beyond that, work it out.’ And then he kind of leaves it to us,” Lummis said.

– Brendan Pedersen

THE PLANE

Schumer to block DOJ noms over Trump’s Qatar plane gift

News: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is placing holds on all Justice Department political appointees in response to President Donald Trump’s acceptance of a $400 million luxury jet as a gift from Qatar’s royal family.

It’s the first time Schumer has ever placed a blanket hold on a set of presidential nominees, as Democrats go all-in to raise alarm about what they say is an unconstitutional arrangement between Trump and Qatar.

Senate Republicans were reluctant to defend Trump Monday on the issue. But only a few expressed concern, even as they appeared uncomfortable answering questions about the unprecedented gift.

Schumer’s escalation: The New York Democrat is expected to announce the move in his floor remarks later this morning. Schumer will also call on DOJ’s Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) unit to “disclose all activities by Qatari foreign agents inside the U.S. that could benefit” Trump or his business interests.

Schumer is questioning the specifics of the arrangement, including what a new Air Force One plane means for the existing Boeing contract. Schumer is also demanding that Attorney General Pam Bondi testify to explain her legal signoff. Bondi served as a registered lobbyist for the Qatari government.

“Until the American people learn the truth about this deal, I will do my part to block the galling and truly breathtaking politicization at the Department of Justice,” Schumer will say today on the Senate floor.

Schumer has limited authority to challenge Trump on this while Democrats are out of power. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) is vowing to force votes to block weapons sales to Qatar, as we scooped. But even this is unlikely to have a tangible impact.

While Schumer’s holds apply to dozens of nominees, there aren’t very many — if any — Trump nominees being fast-tracked through the chamber these days anyway.

A squeamish GOP: Several Republicans declined to directly comment on the jet arrangement, saying they didn’t have enough information. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso referred to it as “rumors,” while Majority Leader John Thune called it a “hypothetical.”

“I don’t know enough about it yet,” Thune said. “I’m sure, if and when we have more information, we’ll sort all that out.”

Just a few hours earlier, Trump was visibly irritated at reporters’ questions about the arrangement. “They’re giving us a free jet,” Trump said, adding he’d be “stupid” not to take it.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) nodded to concerns about properly outfitting a foreign-owned plane with sensitive U.S. government communications equipment. Tillis said he’d want to “put it through its paces several times before it becomes the primary means of transport for the president.”

Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) was the only Republican we spoke to who criticized the move, saying Trump shouldn’t accept the jet.

“I don’t think it looks good or smells good,” Paul added.

— Andrew Desiderio

…AND THERE’S MORE

Top Scalise aide heads to Andreessen Horowitz

News: Ben Napier, who served for nine years as a top aide to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, is joining Andreessen Horowitz’s growing Washington operation.

A16z, as it is commonly called, is one of the world’s most prominent venture capital firms. It was an early investor in Twitter, Facebook and Airbnb, among many other prominent companies. It is a major investor in AI, cryptocurrency and blockchain.

Its founders, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, are both very active politically. Andreessen has been a supporter of President Donald Trump and Horowitz supported both Trump and former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Napier, who ran the House floor for Scalise, is joining a16z as a government affairs partner.

Andreessen Horowitz has staffed up as of late. Michael Reed, formerly a top adviser to House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, recently joined.

New: ModSquad Action, the Democratic super PAC helmed by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), hosted a retreat Friday where senators were urged to focus on cost-of-living issues to win over independent voters. Businessman Mark Cuban and influencer Brian Tyler Cohen were featured speakers during the event.

Arizona: EMILYs List is endorsing Adelita Grijalva in the special election for Arizona’s 7th District. Grijalva, the daughter of late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), also has the backing of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Also: Cherlynn Stevenson, a former member of the Kentucky General Assembly, will run as a Democrat in Kentucky’s 6th District. The seat is currently held by GOP Rep. Andy Barr, who is running for Senate. The district leans Republican, but is on the DCCC’s target list.

– Jake Sherman, Max Cohen and Mica Soellner

SPECIAL PROJECTS

New: The Future of Medicine series launches

Our latest editorial project, The Future of Medicine, explores the complicated interplay of regulations, innovation, the drive for profit and how technological advancements are shaping the future of medicine.

The four-part series, in partnership with Incubate, will provide an overview of the state of the life sciences industry and the factors shaping its future and the regulatory landscape. We’ll also speak to a key lawmaker for insight into Congress’ role.

In the first segment, we look at a top issue driving the future of medicine: The long and expensive process it takes to bring a drug from the start to a patient’s bedside. That process lasts about eight years and costs about $2.6 billion from discovery to approval per drug.

Besides looking for solutions to the protracted drug development cycle, drugmakers are turning to lawmakers to amend the Inflation Reduction Act, specifically policies on government price negotiations.

In the meantime, the U.S. industry faces competition from other countries like Switzerland, Germany, the U.K., China and Japan. New technological advancements will nevertheless give an edge to whoever adapts fastest.

As the life sciences evolve, artificial intelligence has become an integral tool driving the health care and biotechnology sectors into the future. Drugmakers, regulators and even health care providers are embracing the technology in their operations.

You can read the full segment here and be sure to check back in next week as we dive deeper into the regulatory considerations for the future of medicine.

– Elvina Nawaguna

MOMENTS

CLIPS