Congress

خلاصہ: ‘He got tired of me winning’: How Thomas Massie outmaneuvered Trump on EpsteinPresident Donald Trump's call for House Republicans to support releasing Jeffrey Epstein-related documents was a stunning capitulation after a months-long campaign to block the vote. It was also a specific defeat for Trump at the hands of a despised GOP opponent: Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. “He got tired of me winning,” Massie said of Trump’s U-turn in an interview Monday morning. Insisting “I DON’T CARE!” in a late-night Truth Social post, Trump was bowing to the inevitable — a broad House Republican mutiny on a vote that was only scheduled because Massie forced it. It was the result of Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) launching a discharge petition aimed at sidestepping senior GOP leaders who desperately wanted to avoid bringing the issue to the House floor. The campaign to avoid the vote got remarkably ugly in the days before Trump finally conceded, with the president personally attacking Massie for recently remarrying after the sudden death in June 2024 of his wife of more than 30 years. Just hours before Trump’s reversal, one of his top political advisers called him “garbage” in an X post. That adviser, Chris LaCivita, is carrying out a Trump-ordered effort to unseat Massie from the rural northern Kentucky seat he has held since 2012. Trump recently endorsed a challenger, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, in the GOP primary. Massie has not flinched from the threats. Politically, he has seen the best fundraising of his congressional career, entering October with more than $2 million in his campaign coffers. As for the personal attacks, Massie said Monday he and his wife were laughing them off. “She said, ‘I told you we should have invited him to the wedding!’” Massie said. Massie’s efforts around Epstein have been no laughing matter for the White House, with top aides and legislative affairs staff furiously scrambling late last week to head off the completion of the discharge petition. That included pulling Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) into the White House Situation Room in the final hours to try to persuade her to remove her name from the petition she had signed alongside GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Nancy Mace of South Carolina, a survivor of sexual assault. All three have cast their support for the petition as an effort to protect women. Trump's pressure campaign failed. The three female House Republicans held firm, and the petition notched its final and 218th signature Wednesday moments after Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) was sworn in following her September special election win.Despite a final barrage of attacks from the president over the weekend — which included Trump calling his once-close ally Greene a “traitor” and threatening a GOP primary against her — backers of the Massie-Khanna discharge effort knew they had the president beat. There were emerging signs that it was Massie, not Trump, who had his fingers closer to the pulse of the MAGA base. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), a top Trump ally in the House, posted online he would be “voting NO on the Epstein Hoax” as he sought to rally Republicans to “stand by” the president’s side. Nehls received an immediate barrage of online pushback, suggesting a position against full transparency on Epstein would not be sustainable. Massie, in conjunction with the three GOP women who signed the discharge petition, have sought to put Epstein’s victims front and center amid the battle. They invited several to Capitol Hill in September to keep the fight in the public eye as members returned from the summer recess. They are tentatively scheduled to appear together again Tuesday ahead of the final House vote. “This shouldn’t have been a battle, and unfortunately, it has been one,” Greene said as she left a meeting with Epstein victims in September. Yet for months, senior White House officials labored to convince rank-and-file Republicans to keep their names off Massie’s discharge effort. That, according to five people granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, included warnings that any effort to support an Epstein vote would be viewed as a direct and personal move against the president. Trump has denied wrongdoing in relation to the Epstein allegations, and no evidence has suggested that Trump took part in Epstein’s trafficking operation. The president also has maintained that he and Epstein had a falling out years ago. “President Trump has been consistently calling for transparency related to the Epstein files,” said Abigail Jackson, a deputy White House press secretary, in a statement. “The Democrats knew about Epstein and his victims for years and did nothing to help them until they thought they could weaponize the files against the President.” In an effort to undercut Massie's effort, GOP leaders and the Justice Department worked to release 30,000 pages of DOJ documents in early September, right after Massie could begin gathering signatures on his petition. But lawmakers quickly realized most of the materials had been previously released. Around that time, the White House’s key legislative affairs liaison to the House, Jeff Freeland, was on the Hill, seeking to head off Massie right after lawmakers returned from recess. “Jeff introduced himself to me outside of the Capitol, and he said I was moving too fast for him,” Massie said in the interview. “I told him I made a mistake by getting 12 sponsors , because I had given him his whip list to block the most likely signers” of the discharge petition. Over the past week, it became clear to House GOP leaders that they would no longer be able to keep the Epstein measure off the House floor. Shortly after Grijalva signed, Speaker Mike Johnson announced he would expedite the vote, holding it this week rather than next month as required under the discharge petition. Still, with Trump opposing the effort, he maintained Massie’s legislation was reckless and “moot” now that the House Oversight Committee was heading up its own probe. Last week, Johnson tried calling one of the...

خلاصہ: House GOP leaders set noon deadline for Clintons to reach deal on testifyingSpeaker Mike Johnson said in an interview Tuesday morning that Republicans have given Bill and Hillary Clinton a noon deadline Tuesday to provide details of how they plan to comply with a pair of subpoenas issued by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which have until this point gone unheeded. Otherwise, Johnson said, Republicans will move forward with votes later this week to hold the former president and secretary of state in criminal contempt of Congress. “We're holding off until noon,” Johnson said. “They have a deadline until noon to work out the details, and if it's not done satisfactorily, then we'll proceed with the contempt.” Majority Leader Steve Scalise also said in an interview that, if the details aren't provided, then Republicans will proceed with a vote Wednesday as leadership had initially intended before the Clintons surprised Capitol Hill by reversing course. They had for months been resisting subpoenas to testify in the House Oversight investigation into the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying the process was invalid and designed to embarrass and put them in prison. According to a person granted anonymity to share internal discussions between the Oversight Committee and the Clintons' legal team, the GOP-led panel is seeking clarification that the Clintons will accept the standard deposition terms for which they were originally subpoenaed. That includes transcribed, filmed depositions to take place in February, with no time limits.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Despite razor-thin margin, House speaker is optimistic partial shutdown will end soonSpeaker Mike Johnson is voicing optimism that the House can quickly bring an end to the partial government shutdown, but he is dealing with a razor-thin majority and a restive GOP caucus.Source InformationPublisher: NPR Topics: PoliticsOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Senate expected to repeal law allowing lawmakers to sue over data seizuresThe Senate is expected to swallow a House-passed provision that would nix a law that allows senators to receive cash payouts if they had their phone records seized by former special counsel Jack Smith. Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview Thursday night he currently anticipates the repeal language to remain a part of the government funding package the Senate hopes to pass in the coming hours, but which has not yet been unveiled. A second person granted anonymity to disclose private discussions confirmed that the House provision is likely to be preserved. It goes back to the spending agreement Congress cleared last November to end the record-breaking government shutdown. At that time, the Senate quietly inserted a new policy into the legislation which would have the effect of allowing certain Republican senators to sue the federal government for hundreds of thousands of dollars if they had their electronic records seized without prior notification during Smith’s 2021 probe of President Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election. House members of both parties were horrified by the language, which they learned about only after the fact, and quickly passed legislation unanimously to undo it. They took steps last week to tuck that repeal into a separate, six-bill government funding package the Senate will need to pass before the end of the day Friday to avoid a partial government shutdown. But now the chamber is preparing to strip out the Homeland Security appropriations bill to negotiate new provisions around immigration enforcement activities and pass the other five, and it has been an open question throughout the day Thursday whether the repeal provision would remain intact. While the funding agreement hasn’t been announced yet on the Senate floor — meaning it could still change as leaders try to wrangle holdouts, whose blessing they need in order to speed up a passage vote before the shutdown deadline — senators were sending signals that there was a bipartisan appetite to keep it. “I think it was politically tone deaf to put a monetary penalty in there,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has been leading the charge to re-investigate the work of Smith’s office. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), who had expressed frustration that he was not consulted on the initial measure as ranking member of the relevant appropriations subcommittee, said he would advocate for the repeal provision to be included in any funding bill the Senate considers this week. “I think it should be part of anything we vote on,” he said.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Deal struck to keep government funded, Trump and Democrats sayPresident Donald Trump and Senate Democrats said Thursday an agreement has been reached to fund the federal government as a Friday midnight deadline for a partial shutdown approaches. The deal would provide funding through Sept. 30 for most departments and agencies, while providing a short-term stopgap for the Department of Homeland Security. "I am working hard with Congress to ensure that we are able to fully fund the Government, without delay," Trump posted on Truth Social . "Hopefully, both Republicans and Democrats will give a very much needed Bipartisan 'YES' Vote." A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the deal would provide a two-week extension of current DHS funding levels, giving lawmakers time to negotiate new restrictions on the department's immigration enforcement operations. The agreement hasn't been announced on the Senate floor as party leaders try to arrange for swift passage, possibly as soon as Thursday night. Senate GOP leadership aides said they are surveying members to try to shake loose any potential snags or amendment requests. Even if the Senate quickly signs off on the deal, a partial government shutdown could still happen early Saturday morning, since the House is in recess and not scheduled to return until Monday. Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday it will take days to bring his members back into town, though Trump's endorsement could help speed things along.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Clinton contempt votes will hit the House floor next WednesdayHouse GOP leaders are planning votes next Wednesday on a pair of contempt of Congress resolutions against former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss private planning. The Rules Committee will meet at 4 p.m. Monday to consider the resolutions for the floor. The Oversight Committee advanced the resolutions last week , with several Democrats breaking from their party to support the measure after the Clintons defied a subpoena to testify as part of the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. POLITICO previously reported the votes were expected some time next week. Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: House Ethics finds 'substantial evidence' of fraud charges against Florida DemocratA panel of House lawmakers found “substantial evidence” that Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick , who's facing federal fraud charges, committed conduct outlined in the indictment against her. The investigative subcommittee under House Ethics found violations of campaign finance laws and regulations; criminal laws; the Ethics in Government Act; the Code of Ethics for Government Service; and House rules. The Florida Democrat has already been indicted for siphoning FEMA funds for her campaign, taking part in a straw donor scheme and tax fraud. “The ISC’s investigation has revealed substantial evidence of conduct consistent with the allegations in the indictment, as well as more extensive misconduct as laid out in the following Statement of Facts in Support of Alleged Violations related to violations of federal laws and regulations, as well as ethical standards,” a report from the investigative subcommittee stated. A lawyer for Cherfilus-McCormick, Michael Stroud, responded to panel lawmakers by requesting that they pause their proceedings while the criminal case plays out and dismiss the investigation that began in June. “Representative Cherfilus-McCormick disputes and refutes the allegations and report of the Ethics Committee’s Investigative Subcommittee,” Stroud wrote to the panel. Stroud did not immediately return a request for comment. The subcommittee reviewed over 33,000 documents, conducted dozens of interviews, issued 59 subpoenas and met 12 times. Although initially cooperative, Cherfilus-McCormick ultimately invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. An adjudicatory subcommittee will hold a hearing in her case in March.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Amy Klobuchar’s governor run sets up Senate leadership shakeupSen. Amy Klobuchar, the No. 3 Democratic Party leader, made her bid for Minnesota governor official Thursday morning, presaging a leadership shakeup in the caucus. Klobuchar was viewed as a potential contender to succeed Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin as Democratic whip after Durbin — who has held the No. 2 position for two decades — announced his retirement last year. But Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii moved quickly to lock down support to succeed Durbin, and Klobuchar never threw her name in. Even so, she was seen as a credible successor to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is planning to run again for leader but has faced calls to step down from outside the caucus. Klobuchar’s announcement comes amid a fight on Capitol Hill about President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement agenda in her home state. The killing of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis has thrown federal funding for the Department of Homeland Security into question ahead of a Friday midnight shutdown deadline. With the funding fight in full swing and the internal leadership election not taking place until after the November elections, other Democratic leaders aren’t yet jumping to declare their interest in moving up the ranks. “Let’s talk about it after,” Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, the No. 4 Democratic leader, told reporters Thursday. “I am really just focused on an agency out of control.” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, another member of Senate leadership and the top Democrat on the Homeland Security funding panel, said he isn’t focused on how leadership ranks will shift. “We got other big things we’re doing today,” he said.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Feds charge man accused of attacking Ilhan Omar at town hall with assaultFederal authorities charged a man who allegedly attacked Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) this week at a town hall in Minnesota with assaulting or impeding a federal employee. Minneapolis resident Anthony Kazmierczak, 55, allegedly charged at Omar on Tuesday night and sprayed her with a liquid after she called for the abolishment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the removal of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, addressing constituents at a town hall amid unrest in the city following the fatal shootings of two Minneapolis residents this month. Kazmierczak apparently responded, “She’s not resigning. You’re splitting Minnesotans apart,” according to video evidence reviewed by the FBI. Kazmierczak was tackled by two security guards and later arrested by the Minneapolis Police Department. He is set to make an initial court appearance in Minnesota on Thursday afternoon. A hazardous materials specialist later identified the substance from the syringe as water and apple cider vinegar, with Kazmierczak allegedly admitting to squirting Omar with vinegar at the time of his arrest, according to an affidavit . At a Wednesday press conference, Omar — who has been a frequent target of Donald Trump's criticism — blamed the president for threats against her. “Every time the president of the United States has chosen to use hateful rhetoric to talk about me and the community that I represent, my death threats skyrocket,” she said. The attack came less than a week after Trump wrote in a social media post that Omar “should be investigated for Financial and Political Crimes, and that investigation should start, NOW!” Trump has criticized her many times on social media. Shortly after the incident, Trump reiterated his criticism of the Minnesota Democrat, telling ABC News : “I think she's a fraud.” He also alleged, without evidence, that Omar may have “had her herself sprayed.” Kazmierczak, who has been arrested twice for driving under the influence and was convicted of felony auto theft in 1989, apparently told a close associate that “someone should kill” Omar several years ago, per the affidavit. He also has a history of pro-Trump social media activity. In one October 2021 Facebook post, he shared a political cartoon depicting Omar holding a sign that reads “Defund police” and saying: “Security for me, none for thee.” The cartoon also depicts a security officer holding a bag of money that reads: “Omar and the squad spent a combined $100,000 on security last quarter,” an apparent reference to the young progressive group of House Democrats. Kazmierczak also repeatedly posted in defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, the man who shot three people — killing two — at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Senators block funding package amid DHS standoffEight Republicans joined every Senate Democrat to block sweeping government funding legislation from advancing Thursday amid ongoing negotiations around a potential offramp to avert a lengthy shutdown of several agencies. The Senate voted 55-45 against moving forward with a six-bill package that would, among other things, fund the departments of Homeland Security, State and Health and Human Services, as well as the Pentagon. The measure accounts for more than 75 percent of discretionary spending across the federal government, and programs relying on this money will shutter if Congress cannot reach a deal by 12:01 a.m. Saturday. The House already passed these bills, then left town for recess. The Senate was on track to clear them without much drama. But then came last weekend’s killing in Minneapolis of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old U.S. citizen, at the hands of Border Patrol agents. The incident has fueled new scrutiny of the administration’s immigration enforcement activities, including from some of President Donald Trump’s more reliable GOP allies on Capitol Hill. Democrats now say they will oppose advancing the funding measure as long as funding for DHS is included — or until Republicans agree to legislation that would put new guardrails around ICE.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Senate Ag advances crypto bill along party linesThe Senate Agriculture Committee voted along party lines Thursday to advance a landmark cryptocurrency bill, sending the measure to the Senate floor without bipartisan backing. The committee voted 12-11 to advance so-called crypto market structure legislation, which would create new rules governing how digital tokens are regulated. The bill that the Ag panel approved Thursday, which would grant new crypto regulatory authority to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, would need to eventually be merged with a second part of the bill dealing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that falls under the Senate Banking Committee’s jurisdiction. The party-line vote came after months of negotiations between Ag Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) failed to yield a bipartisan deal. Boozman plowed ahead with a GOP-only bill, saying “there were fundamental policy disagreements” between the two sides and it is now “time to move this process forward.” “The CFTC is the right agency to regulate the spot trading of digital commodities,” he said in an opening statement. “At a high level, this bill provides a clear definition of a digital commodity, protects innovation and technology, establishes consumer protection safeguards, and equips the agency with the necessary resources to take on this new responsibility.” Booker, who is a member of a Senate Democratic working group that is negotiating with Republicans on the market structure bill, said Republicans were “walking away from the bipartisan process that produced” a Boozman-Booker discussion draft last year. “That frustrates me because I see a bipartisan glide path to land this plane, to punch through the end zone,” Booker said. Boozman said that he remains “committed to continue working with” Democrats on the bill as it moves toward the floor, adding that “what we want is a bipartisan bill.” The panel voted down several amendments offered by Democrats along party lines, including a provision from Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) that would ban federal officials and their families from issuing or endorsing digital assets. Ethics issues have been a major sticking point in market structure negotiations, as Democrats have pressed for language targeting the Trump family’s crypto businesses. Republicans also voted to reject a pair of amendments from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) that would seek to crack down on crypto ATM fraud and ban some crypto firms from receiving a federal bailout, respectively.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: House infighting will complicate brewing Senate spending dealAs White House officials and Senate Democrats scramble to nail down a last-minute deal to salvage a massive spending package, an internal GOP battle is brewing in the House over whether to accept any compromise. At stake is whether a partial government shutdown set to kick off early Saturday morning would last just a few days or much longer. The House is in recess and currently not expected to reconvene until Monday. GOP leaders expect President Donald Trump will have to lean heavily on House Republicans to get any Senate-approved agreement through the other chamber. Earlier this week, conservative hard-liners threatened to oppose the potential plan — suggesting a shutdown could drag on for weeks if leaders aren’t careful. The Senate talks have revolved around splitting off Homeland Security funding from a larger six-bill package the House sent across the Capitol last week and passing a stopgap measure to keep DHS agencies open while additional strictures on immigration enforcement are negotiated. A White House official granted anonymity to comment on the pending negotiations said Trump “wants the government to remain open” and confirmed the administration is “working with both parties to ensure the American people don’t have to endure another shutdown.” Privately, some GOP hard-liners are open to the possibility of a DHS stopgap, according to three people granted anonymity to describe internal conversations, with one saying it was “not an automatic no.” But their support would depend on the length of the stopgap and whether any Democratic policies are included as part of the agreement. That person added that a two-week punt negotiators are discussing would be “ridiculous.” Ultra-conservatives would prefer one lasting six weeks or longer. Democrats want to move in the opposite direction, with Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota calling for a negotiation of “days, not weeks.” In any scenario, GOP leaders will likely need Trump’s involvement to get the DHS stopgap and the remaining five bills passed in the House and signed into law, which would keep the vast majority of federal agencies — including the Pentagon — open through Sept. 30. Speaker Mike Johnson already is dealing with a razor-thin margin, and a special election in Texas over the weekend is expected to complicate matters. If the Democratic nominee wins as expected, Johnson could spare only a single defection on a party-line vote. Another complication is that a huge swath of House Democrats would likely oppose stopgap funding for DHS, which would keep ICE and Border Patrol funded at current levels without immediate new restrictions. That could prevent GOP leaders from trying to pass the spending legislation on a bipartisan basis under suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority vote. On a caucus call Wednesday night, House Democrats aired concerns their Senate counterparts might accept a deal that does not put real guardrails on DHS agents, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the private meeting. Their leaders haven’t been included in the talks with the White House so far. Senate Majority Leader John Thune , asked Thursday about how soon a potential agreement could get final House approval, said his “hope and expectation” is that the other chamber will do “what's necessary to keep the government funded.” He added that the House plan would be up to Johnson, whom he has spoken with, while acknowledging that having to abandon the six-bill package was “not ideal, for sure.” “We'd hoped to process all the six bills and send it to the White House, but we are where we are, and so we got to try and sort it out and get the best possible outcome given the hand we've been dealt,” Thune added.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: Capitol agenda: Democrats and White House in last-ditch talks to avert extended shutdownSenate Democrats and the White House are in intensive negotiations over how to avert an extended partial shutdown of the federal government that is set to start early Saturday morning. The two sides haven’t yet reached an agreement, according to a person granted anonymity to describe the private discussions. Even if Democrats and the White House reach an agreement, Congress is still expected to blow past the Friday midnight shutdown deadline, since the House is in recess until Monday and is not expected to reconvene earlier to ratify any changes to the six-bill finding package it sent to the Senate last week. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But the person with knowledge of the discussions characterized them as “ongoing and moving in Democrats’ direction.” Democrats have unified behind a demand that Republicans agree to remove Department of Homeland Security funding from the six-bill package following the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old Minneapolis man, by federal agents Saturday. The Senate is set to vote on that package Thursday morning, with Democrats expected to block it absent an agreement with the White House. Were the Senate to agree on splitting apart the bills, it’s unclear if or how quickly the House could act to send them to President Donald Trump. Democrats want to renegotiate the DHS bill to include new restrictions and rules for immigration enforcement activities, including tightening rules for warrants and requiring independent investigations. But Democrats are open to a “very-short term extension” of DHS funding in order to give Congress and the White House time to renegotiate the bill, the person added. White House border czar Tom Homan, who has been tasked by Trump with overseeing the DHS enforcement operation in Minnesota, is set to address reporters Thursday morning in Minneapolis. Separately, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced early Thursday that ICE has ended its “enhanced activities” in Maine, citing a conversation with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “There are currently no ongoing or planned large-scale ICE operations here,” Collins said. What else we’re watching: — Key crypto markup: The Senate Agriculture Committee will mark up landmark cryptocurrency legislation at 10:30 a.m. The big question is whether any Democrats will back the so-called crypto market structure bill coming out of committee. Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) negotiated for months over the proposal with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), but is moving forward with a GOP-only bill that doesn’t currently have any bipartisan backing. That could set the stage for a party-line vote Thursday — or Democrats could vote for it and push for further changes before it hits the floor. Jasper Goodman contributed to this report.Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more

خلاصہ: DHS raids are the stuff of Rand Paul’s nightmares. What will he do about it?Rand Paul made his name as a gadfly preaching about the dangers of a tyrannical federal government. Now, after the killings of two Minnesota residents at the hands of Homeland Security agents, the Kentucky Republican has a chance to do something about it. The 63-year-old, who spent years on the outskirts of the party, is now at the center of the Senate’s response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, which have sparked new criticism of the administration’s immigration enforcement policies and raised many of the same civil liberties questions Paul has long been asking. As chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, he’s already forced a trio of top immigration officials to agree to testify, publicly criticized the administration’s response to the Pretti shooting and even raised the possibility Congress might step in if the administration refuses to conduct an independent investigation of that incident. “For people to have confidence in government and confidence in law enforcement … we have to be very honest,” Paul told reporters. “I don’t think anybody in America believes he was assaulting those officers, so we have to tell the truth.” But Paul — who is already in President Donald Trump’s doghouse as an inconsistent GOP ally — is still walking a fine line. He repeatedly refused this week to weigh in on if Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should leave the administration, saying he was “reserving judgment for now.” And he has also taken pains to separate himself from some of DHS’s most aggressive Democratic critics, telling reporters he is “for restoring trust in ICE” — not abolishing it. Were Noem to depart, Paul could find himself in an especially precarious position. As chair of the Homeland Security panel, he would essentially serve as gatekeeper for the confirmation of any replacement. A single Republican defection on the committee could block any Trump nominee who does not have Democratic support. Speaking to reporters, he connected his skepticism about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement practices to his longstanding ideological crusade. “I mean, it's something I've been concerned with the whole time I've been here,” he said. “What are the rights of individuals? Who can you kill? When can you kill them? What is war? What is not war? What is due process? When do you have Fourth Amendment protections? So all these things are incredibly important.” For now, it’s an open question as to how far he is willing to risk his political career to push back against Trump’s historically aggressive agenda — with GOP colleagues skeptical he would block a Cabinet pick. He might not have to go to such extremes. After Paul publicly questioned why the DHS agents involved in the Pretti shooting were still on the job Tuesday, the department announced Wednesday they had been placed on leave — though no steps have been publicly taken toward the independent probe the senator is seeking. While Paul’s skepticism of federal power, both domestically and abroad, has long made him suspect in the eyes of Trump loyalists, his decision to use his committee gavel to seek answers from DHS is earning support from fellow Republicans — many of whom are uneasy over the administration’s enforcement surge in Minnesota, even if they aren’t willing to go as far as Paul. “Terrible — I mean, this is why there needs to be a full investigation as the president said,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a member of the Homeland Security panel, told reporters earlier this week. “I’m a firm believer in qualified immunity for law enforcement, but qualified immunity isn’t total immunity.” Hawley added that the Feb. 12 hearing, under Paul’s direction, would be “thorough.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who has disagreed plenty with his libertarian-leaning GOP colleague, also backed up Paul’s decision to have the hearing with the heads of ICE, Customs and Border Protection, and Citizenship and Immigration Services. “I think it's important,” Thune said. Underscoring the unusual role Paul occupies in the Senate, Democrats also view him as a potential ally who might help them force answers out of top administration leaders. While the Kentucky Republican frequently clashes with Democrats, especially on fiscal matters, he’s teamed up in recent weeks on bipartisan efforts to check the president’s war and tariff powers. Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), another member of the Homeland panel, praised Paul’s decision to call in the administration officials to testify. “We've had a number of other experiences where there have been issues that are very much on the people's minds, and Congress and colleagues have not called in the administration,” he said in an interview. “This is a good sign from his proactive nature.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also praised Paul as an example of a Republican who understands that “the American people demand truth and accountability right now.” Paul, however, is making clear his concerns about the administration’s response to Saturday’s shooting aren’t personal against Trump. And there are signs his orbit is treading lightly around the Minnesota crisis. After Pretti’s killing Saturday, Doug Stafford — Paul’s longtime chief strategist — posted on X , questioning why Border Patrol officers were in a city nowhere near the border and “when did it become illegal to carry a gun in America.” He later deleted the post. A spokesperson for Paul’s office did not respond to a request for comment on that decision. “ not a partisan voice,” said Brian Darling, a lobbyist who previously worked for Paul in the Senate. “He’s somebody who is going to look at the issue and look at it from a conservative perspective. And look at it from the perspective of preserving liberty. That’s the way he analyzes issues.” In the case of the Minnesota shooting, Darling said Paul would not simply look the other way because of his Republican colleagues. “He’s not going to play team ball on an issue where he sees...

خلاصہ: Senate Democrats float DHS changes in shutdown stalemateSenate Democrats on Wednesday revealed the DHS restrictions they need in exchange for helping Republicans avert a shutdown Friday night, including the tightening of rules on warrants. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer outlined the asks after a closed-door caucus meeting, telling reporters that Democrats were united around “common sense and necessary policy goals.” The list – featuring several demands previously reported by POLITICO — also included a prohibition on agents using masks, mandates for body cameras and IDs and a “uniform code of conduct and accountability,” including requiring independent investigations of incidents like Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti. “Republicans must work with Democrats to find legislative solutions,” Schumer said. Wednesday’s caucus meeting was the first time Senate Democrats had gathered in person and talked strategy since the killing of Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis. The shooting and the initial response by top administration officials have fueled widespread calls for changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy. On Capitol Hill, it has upended the debate over government funding ahead of Friday’s midnight shutdown deadline. The Senate will vote Thursday on a six-bill package that would fund several departments, including DHS. But Democrats have demanded that Senate Majority Leader John Thune strip out the DHS bill and negotiate new policy changes for immigration agencies. Senators are widely expecting the bill to fail to advance Thursday, which would force them to pivot to a Plan B. “There has to be accountability,” Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said. “This is not like some wish list. This is like really practical, common sense stuff that would actually go a long way towards minimizing the harm that we’re seeing in Minnesota right now.” Republicans are loath to strip out the Department of Homeland Security bill because any changes to the funding package would require it to go back to the House, where GOP hardliners are already vowing to throw up roadblocks. Though talks have been ongoing between Senate Republicans, Democrats and the White House, Republicans have been waiting for Schumer to outline specifically what Democrats want. “There's been overtures and attempts to try to connect on what they want and then see if it's something the administration could accommodate without having to change the language of the bill,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters. But Schumer said the “White House has had no specific, concrete ideas.” Without a deal to pass the funding package as is, a partial government shutdown will start Saturday. Privately, Republicans are hoping if there is a partial shutdown that they would be able to negotiate an off-ramp by Monday or early next week. Republicans have floated that the administration could take executive actions to address some of Democrats' concerns. But Smith dismissed that Wednesday, adding, “If you believe that I’ve got a bridge.”Source InformationPublisher: CongressOriginal Source: Read more