The House is back (for “Crypto Week”) and the Senate is in session with another vote-a-rama on tap. President Donald Trump is in Washington and will meet with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte today.
Trump told reporters Sunday night that he would be sending Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as well as other “very sophisticated military” equipment, in response to continued Russian attacks on the embattled country. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s envoy, is in Kyiv.
The Senate is set to begin voting Tuesday on a $9.4 billion rescissions package. This could have a huge impact on the FY2026 government-funding fight. And we have an interview with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Rescissions roundup: The White House-drafted rescissions package cuts foreign aid while also slashing more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund PBS and NPR. Congress must complete work on the package by July 18.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) has made clear she doesn’t want cuts to PEPFAR, the George W. Bush-era program to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS. Other GOP senators worry about cuts to public broadcasting.
So the rescissions package is likely to be amended or a substitute package will be offered, although it’s not yet clear what will be changed. This is a little tricky procedurally and will require consultation with the parliamentarian.
There’s also intense pressure from Trump, who said last week that he won’t endorse any Republican who opposes the rescissions package.
The action is expected to begin Tuesday with a motion to discharge the package from the Senate Appropriations Committee. Next is a vote on the motion to proceed, which could also occur on Tuesday but may slip to Wednesday. This triggers 10 hours of debate, equally divided, followed by a vote-a-rama and a vote on final passage.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, have warned that passage of the rescissions bill could doom any chances of an FY2026 spending deal. That boosts the chances of a government shutdown this fall.
After the rescissions package, the Senate is likely to vote on more nominations to close out the week. Senate Majority Leader John Thune wants to confirm as many nominees as possible by August. This could mean some Friday or weekends in session during July, and maybe even the first week of August.
What Jeffries says: We spoke with the House minority leader on Friday as he appeared at a Louisiana press conference to bash the GOP’s “One Big Ugly Law,” especially huge cuts to health care, SNAP and other social programs.
Going to Louisiana was Jeffries’ way of tweaking Speaker Mike Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who along with Trump, masterminded House passage of the massive reconciliation bill despite concerns from GOP moderates and conservatives.
“In the state of Louisiana and across the nation, hospitals will close, nursing homes will shut down, community-based clinics will no longer be able to operate and people will die,” Jeffries said, noting that hundreds of thousands of Louisiana residents will lose health coverage.
This stark language shows just how much is at stake for the 54-year-old Jeffries. He’s declared repeatedly that Democrats will win the majority in 2026. Jeffries also garnered national attention for his record-breaking House speech in opposition to the OBBB.
Yet those theatrics didn’t change the final outcome of the House vote, which gave Johnson and House Republicans a signature legislative win. Trump is running rampant too, doing pretty much whatever he wants without worrying about how a GOP-run Congress is going to react. The Democratic base has demanded that party leaders do something about Trump – anything – but there’s not much that can be done from the minority.
“My track record in pushing back against Donald Trump speaks for itself, including as impeachment manager during the very first Trump impeachment,” Jeffries pointed out. Jeffries said Democrats will hold more speeches, rallies and marches, plus town hall events in GOP districts. Jeffries is planning to visit districts in New York, New Jersey, California and the Midwest.
We asked Jeffries if the reconciliation vote changes the size of the House battlefield by bringing redder districts into reach for Democrats. The DCCC has identified 35 GOP-held districts on their target list. Jeffries said the bill would “further complicate” Republicans’ efforts to hold the House but declined to say if it would change the map.
“That vote will haunt them and we’re gonna tattoo their support for the One Big Ugly Law on the forehead of every single vulnerable House Republican in America,” Jeffries asserted.
But Jeffries declined to say if House Democrats would meddle in primaries in battleground seats to ensure the strongest candidate wins. That decision, Jeffries said, lies with DCCC Chair, Rep. Suzan DelBene and he said they “haven’t had those conversations to date.”
There are a couple other interesting 2026 nuggets from Jeffries:
– Asked if Democrats might try mid-decade redistricting in blue states such as New York or Illinois to combat Republican attempts to redraw maps in Texas and Ohio, Jeffries said, “All options are on the table when it comes to winning back control of the House.”
– Jeffries will meet this week with Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor. Jeffries hasn’t endorsed Mamdani yet.
Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the Intifada” will “be part of our discussion,” Jeffries said, adding that Mamdani needs “to reassure” the Jewish community and others “that he’s going to stand up for their safety and security.”
Correction: In this edition, we previously wrote that Mamdani had said “globalize the intifada.” He has not said that, but he has refused to condemn the phrase. We regret the error.
