A very Washington long weekend
After reopening the government, House leaders abruptly pulled Thursday votes and will send members home early amid lingering shutdown fallout, ICE talks, and a long-awaited deal with the Clintons.
Today in Congress
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! House members will have a long weekend after a series of votes this afternoon, following Republican leadership's decision to cancel tomorrow’s session. The House returned to session on Monday after a week-long break and is to be out the week of President’s Day as well. The decision may have something to do with the fact that the House is unlikely to vote on two resolutions to hold the Clintons in contempt for their refusal to comply with a House investigation into the Epstein crimes. (More on that in In the Know below.) The announcement of canceled votes came after the House passed a $1.2 trillion bill to fund most of the government and keep DHS appropriations flat while Congress and the White House negotiate over Democratic demands to reform ICE operations. Read last night’s edition of Congress Nerd Sunset for why reopening the government after a three-day partial shutdown isn’t even the most challenging task lawmakers will undertake this month.
Happenings
The House is in at 10 a.m. and will vote at 3:30 p.m. on a disapproval resolution to reject and overturn the D.C. City Council’s approval of a temporary change to the District’s tax code that decouples its income and franchise tax rules from certain federal tax provisions. It will also vote on a disapproval resolution to nullify a Department of Labor rule establishing new federal overtime pay protections.
Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) will hold a press conference at 9 a.m. on pharmaceutical benefit manager reforms included in the appropriations package.
The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on Europe’s threat to American speech and innovation.
The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on the annual report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
The House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development will hold a hearing at 10:15 a.m. on runaway college spending.
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing at 10:15 a.m. on evaluating FirstNet.
The House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa will hold a hearing at 10:30 a.m. to examine the defense of religious freedom worldwide.
The Senate will meet at 10 a.m. and vote at 11:30 a.m. to confirm Aaron Peterson to be U.S. District Judge for the District of Alaska and end debate on the nomination of Megan Benton to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. Two additional roll call votes are expected at 2:15 p.m. to confirm the Benton nomination and end debate on the nomination of Brian Lee to be U.S. District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee.
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. to identify and address cybersecurity challenges to protect America’s water infrastructure.
The Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. on the future of self-driving cars.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will hold a press conference at 12.30 p.m. on prescription drug prices.
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights will hold a hearing at 2:30 p.m. on fighting fraud in Minnesota and beyond.
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee will hold a hearing at 4 p.m. on veteran health and healing through adaptive sports.
President Trump will participate in a TV interview at 11 a.m. in the Oval Office before participating in a policy meeting at 4 p.m. in the Oval.
First Lady Melania Trump will meet with freed Israeli-American hostage Keith Siegel at 1:15 p.m. in the Blue Room.
White House border czar Tom Homan will hold a press conference at 9 a.m. in Minneapolis.
In the Know
— New polling shows public opinion has turned sharply against ICE in the aftermath of the Minneapolis killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, adding political pressure to the ongoing fight over DHS funding and ICE reforms. A national survey conducted by Data for Progress finds ICE’s net favorability has cratered from +13 last month to –19 today, while majorities of voters support impeaching DHS Secretary Kristi Noem (52%) and removing White House adviser Stephen Miller (51%). The poll also shows 54% of voters oppose funding the Department of Homeland Security without adding new regulations and oversight of ICE, with nearly half saying the agency has made communities less safe and a majority saying President Trump’s immigration approach has been more extreme than expected.
— House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) released a report concluding that the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti were preventable and driven by the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies, violent tactics, and what Democrats describe as a culture of impunity. The report rejects administration claims that the victims interfered with ICE operations or posed a threat to agents, says available evidence contradicts efforts to label them violent extremists, and accuses officials under President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security of misleading the public and obstructing thorough, impartial investigations into the killings.
— House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) announced that former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to appear for transcribed, filmed depositions before the panel as part of its investigation into the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, after months of missed deposition dates and escalating enforcement actions. Bill Clinton is scheduled to testify on Feb. 27, and Hillary Clinton on Feb. 26, following a bipartisan committee vote last month recommending contempt-of-Congress resolutions for defying subpoenas issued last August. House Oversight Republicans say the Clintons agreed to testify only after the chamber moved toward contempt proceedings, while Democrats and Republicans alike have argued the depositions are necessary to ensure accountability and transparency in the Epstein-Maxwell investigation.
— Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) pressed the Trump administration to immediately release the delayed January jobs report and resume collecting February inflation data, arguing there’s no justification for further withholding information that markets and policymakers rely on. Warren said the data had already been gathered before the partial government shutdown and accused the administration of using the lapse as cover to delay its release. She also warned that President Trump’s economic policies are weakening the job market and driving up costs for families at a moment when transparency is critical.
— All Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee urged Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) to delay a confirmation hearing for Kevin Warsh, President Trump’s Federal Reserve nominee, until what they call “pretextual” criminal investigations into current Fed officials are closed. In a letter led by Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren, the senators argue that DOJ probes involving Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook constitute intimidation that undermines the Fed’s independence and public confidence in the nomination process. They warned that allowing a hearing to proceed under those circumstances would legitimize an unprecedented White House effort to exert political control over the central bank.
— Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) introduced legislation aimed at easing the nation’s housing shortage by incentivizing the construction of more affordable, energy-efficient homes. The Advancing Better Options for Dwellings Everywhere (ABODE) Act would direct the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Departments of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency, to run a national design competition for 21st-century single- and multi-family housing focused on lowering costs, improving energy efficiency, and scaling construction in areas with severe shortages. Lawmakers point to a national deficit of more than seven million affordable homes—particularly starter homes—as they argue the bill could help spur new supply while prioritizing durability, accessibility, and long-term affordability.
— Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) released a report accusing the Trump administration of breaking promises to patients by slashing at least $561 million from lifesaving medical research while failing to lower prescription drug prices, detailing the termination or freezing of more than 300 National Institutes of Health-funded clinical trials spanning cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. The report, based on NIH data and interviews with federal scientists, also alleges political censorship in grantmaking through the use of banned words and finds that drugs developed with taxpayer-funded NIH research are consistently sold at far lower prices abroad than in the U.S., undercutting President Trump’s claims of supporting “gold standard science” and lowering drug costs.
Read All About It
“Trump’s war on higher ed is an attack on women” by Monica Potts: “The administration’s assault on colleges and universities is meant to undermine the economic and social progress women have made in the last half-century.
“The quiet reason why Trump is losing Gen Z” by Rachel Jafanza: “They wanted fewer wars. He didn’t deliver.”
“How data brokers can fuel violence against public servants” by Maddy Varner: “A new report from the Public Service Alliance finds state privacy laws offer public servants few ways to protect their private data, even as threats against them are on the rise.”