Inside Maxine Waters’ fight to block the House GOP’s crypto agenda
Plus: News and notes on the Senate’s rescissions deadline, the upcoming vote on the House GOP’s poison-pill laden 2026 Pentagon funding bill and President Trump’s Epstein Files crisis.
First Things First
👋🏾 HI, HEY, HELLO! Welcome to the premium Sunday edition of Congress Nerd, Once Upon a Hill’s flagship newsletter previewing the week’s key legislative storylines for the people who take the votes, write the bills, shape the agenda, move the message, and run the campaigns—and those working to influence them.
In tonight’s edition, House Democrats prepare to mount an aggressive counterprogram to Republicans’ Crypto Week amid growing concerns that the U.S. has fallen behind in setting the global rules for a nearly $4 trillion industry.
BUT LET’S START with wishing the D.C. press corps luck as they take on bipartisan women of Congress in the annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game this Wednesday evening, a rivalry that has raised over $4.3 million to support the Young Survival Coalition, which aids young adults battling breast cancer.
This Capitol Hill summer tradition was launched by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and former Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) in 2009. Now in its 17th year, the game will be nationally simulcast via Monumental Sports Network, C‑SPAN and FanDuel Sports Network—a first for the event—ensuring its message and mission reach audiences coast to coast.
ICYMI, President Donald Trump has had a busy weekend. On Saturday morning, his administration announced 30 percent tariffs on the European Union and Mexico, set to go into effect on Friday. As I reported in Thursday’s newsletter, the White House sent warning letters to at least 14 nations to urge renegotiation of their trade deals by August’s deadline. It imposed 50 percent tariffs on imported copper and Brazilian goods.
Trump and congressional Republicans have promised that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will deliver significant economic relief to working- and middle-class families. But tariffs function like a tax on imports. American companies that rely on those imports often pass the added costs on to consumers, leading to higher prices on everyday items like cars, appliances, groceries and building materials.
So even though the megalaw extends the modest 2017 Trump tax cuts and temporarily expands benefits for working-class Americans, those gains could be partially or entirely offset by rising store prices, eroding purchasing power and negating much of the promised economic relief. This is something to watch.
ALSO WORTH WATCHING is the Epstein Files crisis roiling the MAGA right and igniting a crisis of confidence the likes of which we haven’t seen before, to use a go-to Trump phrase. In an unhinged Truth Social post on Saturday night, the president lashed out at critics within his movement who are attacking Attorney General Pam Bondi after reports that Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is threatening to resign over how Bondi handled the release of the hundreds of newly unsealed court documents tied to the long-running Jeffrey Epstein saga.
A segment of the MAGA world is deeply invested in a narrative that positions Trump as the outsider fighting corrupt elites like Epstein and his associates. The Epstein revelations undercut that mythology, making it harder for these believers to square their image of Trump with the documented reality of his past social proximity to Epstein, who died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019 after he was convicted of federal sex crimes.
Some right-wing influencers have begun openly asking why Trump isn’t speaking out more forcefully or calling for more investigations. As Trump attempts to tout the wins in the OBBB, the Epstein resurgence has revived old questions about his past, reopened wounds with conspiracy-minded supporters, and given critics ammunition to paint Trump as part of the very elite cabal he claims to oppose.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) announced he will introduce an amendment this week to force a vote demanding the complete public release of the files, a move designed to put every member of Congress on the record and apply bipartisan pressure to the Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi.
In his first public appearance since the Truth Social post, the president on Sunday afternoon was met with a mix of cheers and boos as he appeared on the jumbotron during the national anthem at the FIFA Club World Cup match between Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea at MetLife Stadium. Trump, joined by First Lady Melania Trump, waved to the crowd from a luxury suite flanked by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and a high-powered entourage that included Bondi, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, six-time Super Bowl champion and NFL analyst Tom Brady and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
THE HOUSE IS EXPECTED to consider legislation this week to fund the Defense Department for the 2026 fiscal year. The bill provides roughly $833 billion in discretionary budget authority for the Pentagon, a figure likely to face criticism from defense hawks like Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who argue that flat funding fails to keep pace with inflation and rising global threats.
Among the most direct benefits for service members and their families is a 4.5 percent pay raise for active-duty personnel, increased investments in military housing and expanded access to on-base child development centers. The bill fully funds the Defense Health Program, which supports medical and mental health care services, including treatment for PTSD, suicide prevention and long-term care for traumatic brain injuries. It also includes funding to modernize military infrastructure and improve the climate resilience of U.S. bases.
But the bill is littered with controversial policy riders that could become political flashpoints. It prohibits the use of funds for reimbursing travel expenses related to abortion services, a continuation of Republican efforts to restrict reproductive rights within the military. It also bans federal funding for gender-affirming care for transgender service members and their families. Additionally, the bill prohibits funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) offices and activities, while limiting the teaching of critical race theory or so-called “divisive concepts” in military schools and academies. These provisions reflect broader GOP messaging about “wokeness” in the military, which Democrats argue is a distraction from real readiness needs, and explains why the bill advanced out of the Appropriations Committee on a 36-27 party-line vote last month.
The Senate Appropriations Committee hasn’t marked up its Defense funding bill yet. But McConnell chairs the panel with jurisdiction over Pentagon dollars, so expect him to push for supplemental increases, particularly for shipbuilding, munitions, force posture in the Indo-Pacific and Ukraine aid.
MEANWHILE, the Senate is against the clock to approve the House-passed rescissions package clawing back $9.4 billion in Trump-proposed cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting funds by this Friday’s deadline.
At least three senators—Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Mike Rounds (S.D.)—have concerns with the package as-is and may force amendments to save PEPFAR and rural media. But Trump issued a threat on Truth Social to withhold his support or endorsement from any Republican senator who opposes the legislation. All Democrats are expected to oppose the rescissions package, and Republicans can afford to lose only three votes before it collapses.
Across the aisle, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has threatened to hold budget bills hostage unless Republican leaders back off, raising the specter of a government shutdown this fall. But the Brooklyn Democrat is severely against government shutdowns and led a handful of Democrats in helping Republicans advance a partisan funding bill in March. We’ll believe his tough talk when we see if his actions back it up.
NOW, back to House Crypto Week.