SENATE PASSES RESCISSIONS, TOSSING TO HOUSE: In another win for Trump and Republicans, the Senate muscled through amendment votes overnight to pass a slightly modified rescissions measure that would claw back $9 billion that Congress previously approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting.
The vote was 51-48. Moderate Republicans Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) joined their Democratic colleagues in opposing the bill, which heads to the House today in a race toward a possible floor vote within hours to comply with a Friday midnight deadline.
Democrats, leaning into the 60-vote Senate leverage they have by September to keep the government funded, have threatened to abandon any bipartisan spending deal for the next fiscal year's budget, which begins in October, if Republicans move ahead to rescind funding Congress agreed to. They have called it a question of trust.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) warned during the Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday that radio stations would be significantly impacted by funding cuts to rescind $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
"These rural stations are often the lifeblood of these communities when it comes to emergency alerts," Klobuchar said, citing coverage of air quality and wildfires in Canada as an example. "These are things that, they sound small, but they would bring the community together."
▪ The Hill: Trump funding cuts to PBS set to hit free educational content for kids.
▪ Politico: The White House is eyeing candidate alternatives to Collins if she does not seek reelection next year. She previously said she will run.
▪ The Hill: Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) was hospitalized overnight Wednesday in Washington for tests after feeling ill.
CRYPTO MOVEMENT: House Republicans cleared a key procedural hurdle Wednesday night to unlock consideration of a trio of cryptocurrency bills, unfreezing the floor after a two-day saga, The Hill's Mychael Schnell and Julia Shapero report.
In a 217-212 vote, the chamber adopted a rule to govern debate on the legislation after most of the Republicans who opposed the procedural effort on Tuesday flipped their position.
The vote Wednesday remained open for well over eight hours as lawmakers negotiated behind the scenes, making history as the longest vote in the House two weeks after the previous record was set amid negotiations over Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
▪ The Hill: Trump on Wednesday signed a measure into law to toughen fentanyl-related drug penalties.
PUMMELING POWELL: The president may yet change his mind, but on Wednesday afternoon said it was "highly unlikely" he would fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before his term in that role ends in May.
Still, the president conceded he polled a group of House conservatives on Tuesday at the White House, reportedly with a letter of termination in hand, to gauge their thinking about the central banker he calls a "knucklehead" for not lowering interest rates.
"I think he does a terrible job," Trump told reporters when asked about news reports that he was preparing to "soon" fire the chair he appointed in 2017. Those headlines briefly caused market jitters and rekindled an unprecedented ongoing drama about politics, presidential authority and who gets to steer monetary policy.
Senate Republicans are warning the president and his advisers that firing the Fed chief would send "shock waves" through financial markets. Banking Committee member Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said he did not think any president has that authority.
Treasury Department Secretary Scott Bessent, one of a handful of candidates mentioned to be Trump's next Fed pick, said the president "is not looking to fire Chair Powell," adding during a Bloomberg TV interview on Tuesday that "an independent central bank is very important for the conduct of monetary policy and we can see that in terms of the financial markets."
By law, the president could fire the chair for "cause," and Trump and White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, another potential candidate to lead the central bank, have floated the suggestion that a $2.5 billion renovation of the 1937 Federal Reserve headquarters could sink Powell on his watch if there is, as the president mentioned without any evidence, "fraud."
"They're laying the predicate for doing this," Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) said at the Hill Nation Summit.
▪ The Hill: White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told the summit in Washington that Powell is the "worst Fed chair in history."
▪ The Hill: House GOP split over whether Trump should try to fire the Fed chair, which by law requires "cause."
▪ The Hill: Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) on potential Powell firing: "I'm not there yet."
Trump's irritation with the central bank, to some observers, is the president's way of "playing the ref." Powell has described the criticism as "noise" and has shown no indication he plans to step down early.
Speaker Johnson on Wednesday told reporters he was "not sure" Trump could fire Powell.
"I believe new leadership would be helpful at the Fed. And I believe interest rates need to be adjusted, and I agree with the president's assessment on some of those decisions," Johnson said. "So, we'll have to see."
SOLIDLY SECURE: To recap Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's headline at the Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday, the Transportation Security Administration under her is working to streamline domestic air travel with new security screening that could free travelers from certain limits on the size of liquids and gels packed in carry-on baggage.
Noem said her department is in discussion with "several" companies about making it happen. "Hopefully the future of an airport where I'm looking to go is that you walk in the door with your carry-on suitcase, you walk through a scanner and go right to your flight."
That walk, she suggested, could require just "one" minute to get to a traveler's gate.
▪ The Hill: 7 key moments from the Hill Nation Summit.
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