4 mins read

FISA reauthorization stalls in early-morning Senate vote

Senate Republicans early Friday could not muster enough votes to move forward on a long-term reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, leaving the key surveillance power, which expires next week, in limbo as both chambers leave the Capitol for the weekend. The Senate voted 47-52 on the motion to proceed to […]

5 mins read

Justice Department moving forward with grant office changes

The Justice Department has outlined plans to start the consolidation of three key grant components in September, as part of a reorganization effort that has raised concern from advocates and drawn the attention of at least one senator. The department held a stakeholder briefing Thursday morning where they outlined a rough timeline for consolidating the […]

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Wrapup: All-nighter caps Senate work and a short House week

Congress left town this week after the Senate passed Republicans’ high-priority budget reconciliation package for immigration enforcement, while Democrats saw a war powers messaging win in the House. The Senate adjourned in the wee hours of Friday morning following an all-night “vote-a-rama” to pass a nearly $70 billion reconciliation bill for immigration enforcement. The package […]

8 mins read

Fiscal 2027 NDAA approved by House Armed Services Committee

The House Armed Services Committee approved its fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act late Thursday after a series of politically charged debates about the Iran war, Pentagon acquisition rules, defense spending and vestiges of the Confederacy in the military. After contending with about 900 amendments over the course of 14 hours, the committee approved the […]

5 mins read

Democratic division in the shape of Lebanon

As Democrats in Congress pelt Republicans with repeated war power votes — a strategy to test the party’s support for President Donald Trump’s military action abroad — a foreign policy fissure in the shape of Lebanon took form among their own ranks. More than half of House Democrats voted with Republicans Thursday to tank a […]

7 mins read

Trump’s primary involvement sparks vote-a-rama drama

Some call them the “YOLO caucus,” the slang term for the phrase “You only live once.”  Others say this is how some members of this growing group of Senate Republicans have always legislated.  Either way, Thursday’s high drama vote-a-rama highlighted the complicated equation of the Senate Republicans’ slim majority and the anxiety over the upcoming […]

9 mins read

Bipartisan AI draft proposes three-year preemption of state laws

Another artificial intelligence regulation framework has joined the growing ranks on Capitol Hill, this time focused primarily on model safety and workforce impacts. Reps. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., and Lori Trahan, D-Mass., unveiled their long-expected framework as a discussion draft bill on Thursday. Notably, it includes a three-year preemption of state laws related to AI development […]

2 mins read

Supreme Court sides with FCC power in forfeiture process

The Supreme Court upheld on Thursday the Federal Communications Commission’s power to issue findings that companies broke the law, turning aside challenges from telecommunications giants that the agency had to go to the courts first. The 8-1 decision found that the FCC’s forfeiture process does not run afoul of the Constitution because it requires going […]