All posts tagged: Mike Johnson

Trump administration dropping DOJ’s .8B ‘lawfare’ fund

Trump administration dropping DOJ’s $1.8B ‘lawfare’ fund

Published by Sam Flores

The Trump administration plans to drop the Department of Justice’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” in the face of legal and political pushback to it, reports said Monday. The fund was created as part of a settlement of President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. It is intended to compensate people who were purportedly victims of prosecutorial overreach by the DOJ under the Biden administration. In addition to the DOJ creating the fund, the settlement included an agreement that protected Trump and his family members from any enforcement actions, including audits, related to their tax filings made before the deal was announced. Reports that the fund was being put on ice came after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met with Trump at the White House about the fund. “I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters on Monday. US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of …

Schumer, Senate Dems plan votes to block Trump’s DOJ ‘lawfare’ fund

Schumer, Senate Dems plan votes to block Trump’s DOJ ‘lawfare’ fund

Published by Sam Flores

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Monday that Democrats will force Republicans to vote on a controversial “weaponization” legal relief fund pushed by President Donald Trump. The fund aimed at compensating victims of what the administration calls “lawfare” has become a political flashpoint on Capitol Hill, sparking rare Republican criticism of Trump from within his political party. Democrats are now seeking to force Republicans to defend the program or vote to kill it. “This week, Senate Democrats will launch a coordinated effort to kill the slush fund before one cent goes out the door,” Schumer wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter sent Monday to Senate Democrats. “And no matter what Republicans do, we will force them to vote.” Read more CNBC politics coverage The fund helped grind Senate floor action to a halt last month, when Republicans were trying to use the budget reconciliation process to fund immigration law enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. Some Republicans told acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a closed-door meeting that they opposed the fund …

Republicans stare down inflation abyss with midterms fast approaching

Republicans stare down inflation abyss with midterms fast approaching

Published by Sam Flores

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., talks with a reporter in the U.S. Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Friday, March 27, 2026. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images Republicans have said for months that inflation is former President Joe Biden’s problem. Now, they’re staring down the barrel of an inflation crisis of their own making just in time for the midterm election, and the blame game is just getting started. Inflation ticked up to 3.8% year-over-year in April, the highest mark since 2023. Much of that spike is coming on the back of soaring energy prices, which have persisted since President Donald Trump launched a war in Iran. Trump and congressional Republicans swept into power in 2024 by promising to defeat the inflation that dogged Biden’s presidency. But they now risk getting trounced in the 2026 midterm election due to their own inflation crisis, and they are struggling to find a clear message to battle high prices as the president pushes for a $400 million White House ballroom and a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded legal relief …

Trump ‘slush fund’ a flashpoint as Senate leaves without funding DHS

Trump ‘slush fund’ a flashpoint as Senate leaves without funding DHS

Published by Sam Flores

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. Heather Diehl | Getty Images Congress will leave Washington this week without approving a package that would fund immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, as tensions simmered over a recently announced $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that could provide payouts to allies of President Donald Trump. The Senate was originally planning to start considering the package Thursday, potentially sending it to the House to take up before both chambers are slated to take a one-week recess. But plans were paused after a meeting at the Capitol with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was dispatched on Thursday to brief Republican senators on the fund. Some were not satisfied. “I think we need to get some clarity about how this is going to work,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters, according to MS NOW. “Hopefully when we get back a week from Monday we can get right on it and …

Trump allies lead thousands in prayer to ‘rededicate’ America to God on National Mall

Trump allies lead thousands in prayer to ‘rededicate’ America to God on National Mall

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (RNS) — As House Speaker Mike Johnson stood before a crowd of thousands on the National Mall on Sunday (May 17), he did something not altogether unusual for the outspoken Southern Baptist: He closed his eyes, bowed his head and prayed. But as Johnson began speaking, his frame dwarfed by enormous screens featuring patriotic and religious imagery, he made clear this particular prayer was meant to hold more weight than usual. “Just as we in the beginning dedicated this land to your most holy name, today, here, Lord, in this 250th year of American independence, we hereby rededicate the United States of America as one nation under God,” said Johnson, a Republican, to cheers. It was one of many such moments at the daylong event, titled “Rededicate 250: A National Jubilee Of Prayer, Praise & Thanksgiving.” The effort was one of several projects overseen by Freedom 250, an organization partnering with the White House and other branches of the federal government to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. …

Rededicate 250 touts a star-studded prayer bash with politicians, Christian celebrities

Rededicate 250 touts a star-studded prayer bash with politicians, Christian celebrities

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — Bishops, evangelical influencers, Cabinet members and an actor who plays Jesus are a few of the speakers and performers scheduled to participate in “Rededicate 250,” the Trump administration’s daylong prayer celebration happening on the National Mall this weekend. Advertised as a “rededication of our country as One Nation Under God” and a “once in a lifetime national moment,” the Sunday event is intended to reflect on the faith of America’s founders and to appeal to God to bless and guide the nation. It’s an initiative of Freedom 250, a White House-backed, public-private campaign staging patriotic events to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday (not to be confused with the bipartisan America 250 efforts). Supporters welcome the event as a tribute to America’s roots, while critics say the Christian-saturated, MAGA-heavy festival casts an exclusionary vision of America’s past and present. Americans United for Separation of Church and State suggested the event advances Christian nationalism rather than religious freedom. The rally has inspired both supportive and oppositional pre-events, the former led by activist and worship leader …

Virginia Supreme Court strikes down redistricting in blow to Democrats

Virginia Supreme Court strikes down redistricting in blow to Democrats

Published by Sam Flores

Campaign signage showing Virginia’s current electoral map alongside the proposed electoral map at a Republican Party volunteer table outside a polling location at Burke Centre Library in Burke, Virginia, US, on Saturday, April 18, 2026. Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down the state’s recently passed redistricting referendum, dealing a massive blow to Democrats who hoped to gain several seats from new House maps. The redistricting ballot measure passed by three percentage points in late April in what was seen at the time as a major win for Democrats, who stood to gain as many as four seats from redrawn maps ahead of the November midterms. The Virginia Supreme Court decision comes amid an ongoing partisan gerrymandering war and as Republican-led states across the South are working to redraw their House districts after a pivotal Supreme Court decision that weakened part of the Voting Rights Act. “We respect the court. But we will keep fighting for a democracy where voters — not politicians — have the final …

Trump signs DHS bill, ending shutdown for most of agency, including TSA

Trump signs DHS bill, ending shutdown for most of agency, including TSA

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a bill to fund most of the Department of Homeland Security, effectively ending the partial government shutdown that began in February. The U.S. House had approved the measure hours earlier following White House warnings that emergency funding for DHS would run out as soon as Friday. The funding bill’s passage comes after more than a month of House Republican opposition to the plan, which advanced unanimously out of the Senate in late March. “Speaker Johnson extended the DHS shutdown for over a month for no reason at all. This is the same bill the Senate unanimously passed five weeks ago,” Senate Appropriations Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement. The bill wards off the potential for more missed paychecks to Transportation Security Administration agents, whose lack of pay earlier this year caused long lines at airports throughout the country. TSA staff work at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, on March 13, 2025. Annabelle Gordon | AFP | Getty Images It does not include funding for …

Kalshi, Polymarket lobby as insider trading, betting eyed by Congress

Kalshi, Polymarket lobby as insider trading, betting eyed by Congress

Published by Sam Flores

With proposals to rein in prediction markets proliferating through the halls of Congress in recent weeks and months, Kalshi — one of the biggest players in the booming industry — went on defense. The New York-based platform launched an ad campaign throughout Washington, rolling out mint-green spreads on billboards, bus shelters and inserts in The Washington Post. The ads seek to deflect the spate of criticism being hurled Kalshi’s way and to position it as different from Polymarket, the other global industry giant. “We ban insider trading,” “We don’t do death markets,” “We aren’t the house,” “We operate under U.S. law,” the ads read. The companies are looking to get ahead of lawmaker concerns about insider trading and bets placed on things like war-related deaths. Building corporate influence in the capital city is a well-used playbook. Prediction markets are a new player, and Kalshi and Polymarket are working to create goodwill with Congress and regulators, who are raising concerns about insider trading and unseemly bets on the platforms. “There’s been a lot of conflation between …

Democrats romp in Wisconsin Supreme Court race, narrow Georgia margins

Democrats romp in Wisconsin Supreme Court race, narrow Georgia margins

Published by Sam Flores

University of Wisconsin-Madison master’s student Cassie Semenas casts a ballot at Lowell Center residence hall in Madison, during Wisconsin’s spring election, which included a state Supreme Court contest, April 7, 2026. Joe Timmerman | Wisconsin Watch | Getty Images Democrats romped to a 20 percentage point victory in a race for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, while Republicans won a special election for a House seat in Georgia by a far less comfortable margin than in 2024. The elections Tuesday underscore strong headwinds for President Donald Trump and his Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which could shift the balance of power in Washington and loosen Trump’s grip on power. Democratic-backed Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor won a 10-year term on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, defeating conservative Appeals Court Judge Maria Lazar by roughly 20 percentage points, according to the Associated Press tally. The race was far more subdued than last year’s Supreme Court contest in Wisconsin, which turned into the most expensive state supreme court race in history after Tesla owner Elon Musk injected …