The Hill reports returning GOP lawmakers this week will face a flurry of controversies stirred up by President Trump and his senior Cabinet officials.
“Keeping the government open” is “going to be a really heavy lift this time,” former Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) told the Hill. “With the extremely virulent atmosphere that is dominating Washington … it would be hard for a lot of Democrats to cast a favorable vote for a continuing resolution. I’m not sure that we’re not at a point where the antagonisms are so deep and so virulent that you can’t get a continuing resolution.”
Avoiding a shutdown could be the biggest challenge, particularly now that Trump has signaled his plan to rescind nearly $5 billion in congressionally appropriated funding through a “pocket rescission” package, which Democrats condemn. The Hill reports Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said the Government Accountability Office has found that the rescission Trump plans is “unlawful.” She and other Republicans on the Appropriations panel say they are the legally designated officials in charge of rescissions, not Trump.
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Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers must also contend with Trump’s and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to fire Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reports the Hill. The dismissal led to the resignation of several other senior officials and Kennedy, and also to the question of whether Kennedy is pushing a political agenda on vaccines over sound science.
Trump’s controversial decision to deploy National Guard troops to the nation’s capital and take over the District of Columbia’s police force is another issue that will require debate, since Trump will need authority from Congress to extend the takeover beyond 30 days. The Hill reports Trump’s deal for the federal government to acquire a 10 percent stake in Intel, and Trump’s attempt to fire Lisa Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve’s board of governors, are still more issues waiting for lawmakers.
Cook has refused to resign and has stayed on in her post while challenging the administration’s power to remover her in court. Some Republicans have joined Democrats in wondering if the White House has no power to remove Cook, reports the Hill.
“It’s breaking new ground, but I don’t know whether the law allows it or not,” Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) told the Hill.
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The Hill said some Republican senators are already warning Trump against “trampling” the Fed’s independence, saying the move could undermine market confidence in U.S. debt and the broader domestic economy.
And amid this disorder comes the Epstein issue, which the Hill reports will "come at them from various angles — and quickly."
Top Republicans closed the session earlier this year in part to avoid the Epstein saga, said the Hill, but the issue has gone nowhere upon their return, say multiple sources, including Politico. A bipartisan cadre of lawmakers will host a press event at the Capitol to force the Trump administration to release all of the government’s Epstein files this week, says the Hill, adding that Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have also subpoenaed the Epstein estate for a cache of sensitive Epstein-related documents, the Hill says.
“This has not gone away like the speaker had hoped,” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-W.V.) told Politico. “If anything, now that the DOJ is releasing documents, it’s increasing the momentum.”
Read the full Hill report at this link and additional information at Politico.