BREAKING: Reconciliation passes during early morning vote

IN THIS EDITION

The Senate GOP’s rough days

Fetterman allows Trump judge to advance

Stock trading ban plays on campaign trail

Plenty of fireworks as NDAA advances

World Cup Kickoff Party

THE TOP

The Senate GOP’s rough days

Happy Friday morning.

The Senate is in a bad place.

Republican leaders just spent 18 hours trying to tame a rebellion from within their own ranks that threatened passage of their $70 billion immigration enforcement funding package. GOP leaders then lost a key procedural vote on reauthorizing a warrantless surveillance program that expires next week.

The GOP reconciliation bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol ultimately passed on a party-line vote, 52-47, with one Republican voting against it.

But the arduous process of getting the legislation through the chamber saw several GOP senators break with President Donald Trump. It was more than just the usual suspects, a reflection of Trump’s unpopularity and a potential preview of what’s to come as more Republicans seek distance from Trump with November approaching.

As we sent this newsletter, GOP leaders failed to wrangle enough Republicans to clear the first procedural hurdle for a bipartisan compromise bill to reauthorize FISA Section 702. Those GOP “no” votes combined with Democratic opposition — prompted by Trump’s decision to appoint a controversial loyalist as the nation’s top intelligence official — means the program is at risk of going dark. The vote was 47-52.

“I don’t think he thinks about the impact on this and the timing,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said bluntly of Trump. “I don’t think he’s connecting that. Which is unfortunate, because it really has had an impact.”

The twin legislative crises have exacerbated intra-party rifts initiated by Trump. GOP leaders have to deal with a growing cadre of Republicans acting in the name of political survival. Meanwhile, Democrats are exploiting those tensions among Republicans with procedural brinkmanship.

The marathon voting session on the reconciliation bill laid bare the consequences of Trump’s recent moves, from the toppling of two GOP incumbents to the political toxicity of the White House’s handling of an “anti-weaponization” fund for his political allies.

What was supposed to be a straightforward reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement became a major headache for Senate GOP leaders because of this controversial fund. Republicans and Democrats alike tried to add language to the measure to ban the fund.

“This would have been done several hours ago if we weren’t having to deal with some of the issues around the fund, which doesn’t exist — which is the point we’re making,” a frustrated Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, referring to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s pledge that the fund won’t move forward.

FISA in trouble. Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence earlier this week is derailing a hard-fought bipartisan compromise on reauthorizing Section 702.

A procedural vote to kick off the floor process just failed on the floor, even though it only required a simple majority. That’s because, paired with Democratic opposition, there are a handful of GOP senators who oppose any FISA extension. It’ll ultimately need 60 votes in the Senate, which isn’t possible at the moment.

At one point around midnight, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stopped by the Capitol and spent time in the GOP cloakroom trying to twist some arms. Rubio was once the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

As we scooped, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) warned Thune privately that Trump’s appointment of Pulte, who has no national security experience, would make it impossible for Democrats to support an extension of the Section 702 program.

“There was such a, I think, solid path [on FISA] before the president launched this — Mr. Pulte — and I don’t know how we get this [done],” Warner told us Thursday night.

Trump said Thursday that Pulte won’t be nominated for the job permanently, but Democrats want to know who the nominee is before backing the FISA reauthorization. Short of that, or removing Pulte from the job, Thune said he didn’t know if there was anything else the White House could do to move the FISA bill.

Thune said he’s spoken with Pulte and that the Federal Housing Finance Agency director is “committed to implementing all the 702 reforms.”

“This is a dangerous play on [Democrats’] part to try and block or stop this,” Thune told us. “We just can’t have the program go dark.”

The early trouble Thursday. It took Republicans more than three hours to figure out how to deal with the very first reconciliation amendment offered — a measure from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to essentially kill the underlying bill by forcing it back to committee with instructions to add language on the fund.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who recently lost his primary thanks to Trump, had to be convinced to oppose Schumer’s amendment so that three of his vulnerable colleagues who will be on the ballot in November could vote in favor without risking its adoption.

Cassidy spent hours trying to craft an amendment on the fund that the parliamentarian could allow at a simple-majority threshold.

The Louisiana Republican’s efforts angered GOP leaders, who eventually achieved their goal of defeating all amendments while still allowing their vulnerable members to vote for some.

“The fund doesn’t exist. This is about border funding. It’s about law enforcement. It’s about ICE and CBP,” Thune said. “I’m trying to keep it about the main thing.”

Senate milestone. During the vote-a-rama, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) cast her record-breaking 10,000th consecutive vote. Thune, Schumer and other senators took turns congratulating Collins for the historic achievement.

At the exact moment that Schumer was heaping praise on Collins, the Maine Republican’s presumptive Democratic opponent in November, Graham Platner, was on MS NOW being interviewed about new allegations of inappropriate behavior toward women.

To put it mildly, Collins and Schumer have long been at odds with each other — something Schumer acknowledged during his remarks, prompting laughter from the GOP side of the aisle.

— Andrew Desiderio and Laura Weiss

NEW Panelists: Join us on June 24 at 9 a.m. ET for a summit focused on the future of housing and American homeownership. We’ll sit down with Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) to discuss the news of the day and the future of U.S. housing, host a fireside chat with Colin Allen of the American Property Owners Alliance, and close out with a panel including Shannon McGahn of the National Association of Realtors, Heather Kennedy of The Home Depot and more to be announced. RSVP now!

BLUE SLIPS

Fetterman allows Trump judge to advance

News: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is allowing President Donald Trump’s nomination of a federal judge in Pennsylvania to go forward, waiving his right to block the selection.

It’s the first time in Trump’s second term that a Senate Democrat has turned in a blue slip for one of Trump’s judicial picks. The move is already setting off yet another battle between Fetterman and his numerous critics on the left, who demand unyielding opposition to Trump, particularly on lifetime appointments to the federal bench.

This is also a new test for Senate Democrats. Trump only recently nominated a pair of judges for federal district courts in states with one or two Democratic senators. Trump tapped Antonio Pozos for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Michael Martin for the Eastern District of Michigan.

Fetterman turned in his blue slip for Pozos to allow the nomination process to move forward, according to a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Democrat. Michigan’s two Democratic senators haven’t turned in their blue slips for Martin.

Fetterman’s move could take some pressure off Senate Republicans, who defended the blue slip practice when Trump railed against it last year.

Here’s news. A key liberal group, Demand Justice, is planning a six-figure ad buy in Pennsylvania attacking Fetterman for his decision not to veto the Pozos nomination.

They’re also firing off a warning shot for any Senate Democrat who returns a blue slip on a Trump judicial pick, vowing similar six-figure ad campaigns. The group already targeted Fetterman and several other Senate Democrats with a million-dollar ad blitz last year over votes to confirm Trump judges.

Demand Justice argues that all of Trump’s judicial picks refuse to contradict the president’s false claims about winning the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, so Democrats need to block every nominee.

“These are not normal times, and any senator who thinks that this is standard operating procedure and that any of these nominations are normal course of operations is deluding themselves,” Demand Justice President Josh Orton told us.

Orton added that “if Democrats truly believe that we have to stand up to Trump’s attacks on the rule of law, they have to do so in every room — not just on Twitter and not just on TV.”

Fetterman and the left. This is the latest instance of Fetterman — once seen as a rising progressive — going up against the left wing of his party.

Fetterman has become one of the most vocal supporters of Israel in Congress, and he’s criticized fellow Democrats as they’ve become more willing to oppose Israel’s war in Gaza. Fetterman has also broken with Democrats to back Trump’s Iran war.

Fetterman helped install Trump Cabinet nominees. And most recently, the Pennsylvania Democrat publicly bashed Graham Platner, Democrats’ Senate candidate in Maine, who has been the subject of a series of scandals.

This has all left Fetterman in a tough spot, even with Democrats from his home state. There’s already talk of primary challenges to the freshman senator in 2028.

— Laura Weiss and John Bresnahan

AD WATCH

Stock trading ban plays on campaign trail

In an effort to capitalize on voter concerns about self-serving politicians, Republican and Democratic candidates are increasingly campaigning on banning stock trading by members of Congress.

Across the country, candidates are running ads pledging to root out corruption in D.C. by pushing bills to ban insider trading. While legislative efforts to ban members and their families from trading stock have stalled, the campaign ads aren’t letting up.

Per an AdImpact analysis, there have been nine candidates and outside groups that have aired broadcast spots focused on stock trading in 2026. Six were for Democrats, and three were for Republicans.

Consider two of the most tracked Senate races in the country: Ohio and Georgia. In Ohio, Democrat Sherrod Brown launched a TV spot earlier this week where he notes that “last year, members of Congress made more than $635 million in stock trades.”

“Members of Congress and their spouses should be banned from trading stocks,” Brown declares.

In Georgia, GOP Senate hopeful Derek Dooley — who’s in a runoff against Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) — ran an ad where he says “D.C. politicians focus on getting rich” and pledges to “ban stock trading” for lawmakers.

Stock trading is also a hot topic on the airwaves in competitive House primaries. In Nebraska’s 2nd District, both the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC and Democrat John Cavanaugh ran ads touting that Cavanaugh would ban stock trading if elected.

In New Jersey’s 12th District, successful Democratic candidate Adam Hamawy ran an ad where he says he has a “clear prescription” for Congress’ problems: “ban congressional stock trading.”

Hawkeye State. The stock trading issue was particularly salient during our swing through Iowa last week, where scores of candidates brought it up unprompted.

“I’m fighting to ban stock trading in Congress,” said Rep. Ashley Hinson, the GOP nominee for Senate, in her first campaign ad.

Iowa Democrats find Hinson’s stance disingenuous, noting she didn’t sign onto Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s (R-Fla.) stock trading ban discharge petition. Hinson signed on to the Stop Insider Trading Act, a bill with 91 Republican and two Democratic cosponsors.

Hinson’s opponent, Democrat Josh Turek, is also pushing a stock trading ban.

“She’s someone that is now, in her time in D.C., 10 times more wealthy than when she went,” Turek said. Per Hinson’s financial disclosures, she entered Congress in 2020 with a net worth of between $560,000 and $1.7 million. As of her 2024 report, Hinson had a net worth of between $2 million and $8 million. Hinson doesn’t trade individual stocks.

During a post-campaign event gaggle, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) singled out a ban on members trading stocks as a top policy she wanted to pass.

— Max Cohen

DEFENSE

Plenty of fireworks as NDAA advances

House defense hawks’ daylong debate over their $1.14 trillion military authorization bill exposed partisan fault lines on a series of fronts — divisions that may only deepen once the legislation hits the chamber’s floor.

The 14-hour markup also offered an early indication of the topics that could emerge as wedge issues when the House and Senate work to hammer out a compromise plan later this year.

The House bill ultimately cleared committee at 12 a.m. Friday on a 44-12 vote — a stunning level of Democratic opposition to a bill that typically sees one or two defectors.

Democrats who opposed the NDAA this time cited concerns with the overall defense spending hike as they exited the markup Friday morning.

Here are some of the markup’s notable moments.

1. Defense industry blow. Defense lobbying groups suffered a setback with the adoption of a bipartisan “right-to-repair” push, teeing up future clashes between industry and Hill advocates as the NDAA moves forward.

The Aerospace Industries Association and others urged committee members to defeat the amendment, to no avail. It was approved via voice vote.

2. Naming debates. Lawmakers again voted to restore the base names they previously bestowed upon U.S. military installations that once had Confederate namesakes after a passionate late-night debate. The Trump administration previously undid the panel’s work.

However, they approved, by a 29-27 party-line vote, a push by Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) to officially rename the Defense Department to the Department of War, a change the Pentagon requested in April.

3. Money woes. Democrats cited the nation’s fiscal health in unsuccessfully arguing to reduce $150 billion from the topline, zero out $1 billion for the “Trump-class” battleship and bar the use of funds for the war in Iran. The votes were largely party-line, but at least one Democrat broke with their party on each.

4. Flicker of frustration. Republicans offered a rare and brief glimpse of their irritation with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during debate.

Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) vented that Hegseth has not offered lawmakers an explanation for his decision to block the promotions of several military officers. The committee was debating an amendment that would allow only the president to overturn a military promotion board recommendation.

“I would just suggest that if the secretary of defense wants to have a good relationship with the members of Congress, then perhaps he should be responsive,” Scott said. The amendment failed 26-30.

In other news. The House passed a bill to aid Ukraine and sanction Russia 226-195 on Thursday night. Eighteen Republicans and Independent Rep. Kevin Kiley (Calif.) backed the measure, which faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.

— Briana Reilly and Anthony Adragna

PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS

World Cup Kickoff Party

On Thursday night, we hosted a World Cup Kickoff Party in partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal and Telemundo ahead of next week’s first match. During the event, Punchbowl News Founder Jake Sherman sat down for a fireside chat with Christina Kolbjornsen of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises to discuss the upcoming World Cup. Comcast’s Executive Vice President, Federal Government Affairs, Lance West, gave opening remarks. Thank you to Comcast NBCUniversal and Telemundo for partnering with us on this event.

Raising a glass: Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.); Izzie Taveras and Carter Forinash of Rep. Don Beyer’s (D-Va.) office; Gisselle Reynolds of Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart’s (R-Fla.) office; Matt Krack of Rep. Debbie Dingell’s (D-Mich.) office; Grace Franco of Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-Mich.) office; Parul Desai and John Lin of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Eric Lipka of Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) office; and Joelle Terry and Miguel Franco of Comcast NBCUniversal.

AND THERE’S MORE

Endorsement watch: The New Democrat Action Fund is endorsing Marni von Wilpert and Rebecca Bennett.

Former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) is endorsing Democrat Cait Conley for New York’s 17th District, his old seat.

The Human Rights Campaign is endorsing Democrat James Talarico’s Senate run.

Ad watch: Liberal outside group Unrig Our Economy is airing a $280,000 ad buy attacking Rep. Tom Kean (R-N.J.) over rising health care costs.

Tax news: House Ways and Means Committee Republicans are preparing to drop crypto tax proposals ahead of a hearing on the topic next Tuesday.

Seven discussion drafts for bills were circulating among Ways and Means offices on Thursday. They included proposals on the tax treatment of mining and staking, wash-sale and constructive-sale rules, lending agreements involving digital assets and charitable contributions.

Punchbowl News Vault text subscribers got the text, which we scooped, Thursday evening. Sign up here.

— Max Cohen and Laura Weiss