Merkley looks beyond Trump with constitutional reform blueprint
Plus: Ethics panel to review Miller allegations, Senate Dems unite against Medicaid rule and HMF targets Kean in new digital ad.
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THE LINEUP
Merkley looks beyond Trump with constitutional reform blueprint
Ethics panel to review Miller allegations
Senate Dems unite against Medicaid rule
HMF targets Kean in new digital ad
THE LEAD
👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Welcome back to Congress Nerd Daily. I hope today was everything for you.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) this morning unveiled a sweeping package of democracy reforms designed to curb presidential power and rebuild constitutional guardrails after President Donald Trump’s second term.
The For Our Republic Act has virtually no path through the Republican-controlled Congress, and Merkley readily acknowledged as much during an off-camera briefing this morning. Instead, the Oregon Democrat described the package as an effort to shape the debate ahead of the 2028 election and prepare a future Congress to respond to what he called the erosion of the separation of powers under Trump.
“We can’t wait until there is a blue president,” Merkley told reporters. “We have to start thinking now about how we have to address this.”…
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THE POWERS THAT BE
Ethics panel to review Miller allegations: The House Ethics Committee announced it is reviewing allegations that Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) may have engaged in domestic violence, abuse or illegal drug use, while emphasizing that opening the review does not indicate any violation occurred. The announcement came hours after Miller said he would seek an ethics investigation himself, saying he would provide the committee with “all necessary documents” to clear his name…
THE POLICY DESK
Senate Dems unite against Medicaid rule: All 47 Senate Democrats insisted that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services withdraw its rule implementing Medicaid work reporting requirements…
THE TRAIL
HMF targets Kean: House Majority Forward launched a new digital ad targeting Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-N.J.) to call out his previous opposition to expanding paid family and sick leave before he took more than 15 weeks of leave from Congress earlier this year. The spot is part of the Democratic super PAC’s August offensive, following its announcement of more than $15 million in television and digital reservations targeting battleground House districts.