JOHNSON GOES 2 FOR 3: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) managed to push through two major pieces of legislation on Wednesday night but agreed to punt on a third as part of a deal keeping his conference together.
The House first voted to pass a three-year extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the federal government to spy on foreigners abroad without obtaining a warrant, by a vote of 235-191. The provision is set to expire Thursday and needs to pass in the Senate before going to Trump’s desk.
Johnson then overcame a rebellion within his conference to get passed a budget blueprint to fund immigration enforcement after more than two months of a funding gap. Republican leaders kept the vote open for hours as they won over holdouts to pass the bill on party-line vote.
Earlier in the day, the House GOP cleared a major hurdle in gathering enough support to pass a rule that set up consideration of the two measures.
The vote on the rule was held open for more than two hours as GOP leaders worked to win over the Republican holdouts. To eventually persuade them, leadership offered several compromises and sweeteners, but they could create complications for getting the FISA bill through the Senate.
One concession that Republican leaders had to make was agreeing to delay a vote on the farm bill, which sets agriculture policy for the next five years, in the face of opposition from hard-line conservatives.
Sticking points on that legislation included a measure permitting year-round sales of gasoline with a high ethanol content and controversial provisions on pesticides. Both have caused notable divisions with the GOP, the latter particularly with those aligned with the Make America Healthy Again movement.
▪ The Hill: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashes with House Dems.
BETTING ON THE BLOCKADE: The president has reportedly rejected Tehran's latest offer to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz while postponing talks on Iran’s nuclear program, vowing to keep a blockade of the waterway in place.
Trump told Axios in an interview Wednesday that he sees the blockade as “somewhat more effective” than the bombing of Iran. Earlier in the day, Trump met with energy executives about steps that could allow the U.S. to keep the blockade in place for months.
“They want to settle. They don't want me to keep the blockade. I don't want to [lift the blockade], because I don't want them to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told Axios.
Three sources told the outlet that U.S. Central Command has also prepared for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran with the goal of breaking a negotiating deadlock. They said Trump hadn’t issued any order as of Tuesday night.
Although Trump extended the ceasefire with Iran indefinitely while negotiations continue, the two sides haven’t met a second time to try to reach a deal.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Iranians are already feeling intense economic pain sue to the war, with spiking unemployment and soaring food prices.
▪ The Hill: Trump discussed extending blockade with energy executives.
▪ The Hill: Pentagon CFO says war has cost $25 billion.
STAYING PUT: The Federal Reserve voted to keep interest rates steady Wednesday as Chair Jerome Powell signaled he plans to stay at the central bank as a member of the board of governors after his term as the agency’s leader ends next month.
Powell said at what likely was his final press conference as chair that he will remain as a board member “for a period of time to be determined.” He reiterated his previous statements that he does not want to leave until the investigation into the agency is “well and truly over.”
The Department of Justice (DOJ) ended its investigation into Powell and the Fed last week amid bipartisan pushback to the probe, which examined the renovations being conducted at the Fed’s headquarters and Powell’s testimony about it before Congress. Officials said the investigation would be passed off to the agency’s inspector general.
“My decisions on these matters will continue to be guided entirely by what I believe is in the best interest of the institution and the people we serve,” Powell said.
Powell’s term as chair ends May 15, but his separate term as a board member lasts until January 2028.
The interest rate decision and Powell’s comments came as the Senate Banking Committee advanced Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to be the Fed’s next chair. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) cast a key vote in favor of advancing the nomination after the DOJ ended its investigation, allowing Warsh to advance in a 13-11 party-line vote.
▪ CNBC: Interest rate decision records most dissents since 1992.
▪ The Economist: How Warsh could save the Fed.
BONDI'S U-TURN: Former Attorney General Pam Bondi has agreed to testify on her handling of the Epstein files despite her departure from the DOJ, weeks after she skipped her previously scheduled deposition.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee confirmed Bondi will appear on May 29. She had been set to appear earlier this month after the committee approved a subpoena for her testimony, but the DOJ signaled after Trump fired her as attorney general that she would not comply since she was no longer serving in that position.
The committee’s Democrats introduced a resolution to hold Bondi in contempt, but four of the five Republicans who had supported the subpoena expressed opposition to the move, questioning how valuable her testimony would be.
Democrats rejected that, arguing she had much knowledge on the topic, including related to accusations that the DOJ hasn’t fully complied with the law requiring the files’ release. They also noted that other former attorneys general had been subpoenaed by the committee to testify.
The news of Bondi’s rescheduled testimony came as the Government Accountability Office said Wednesday that it would review the DOJ’s compliance with the law. The DOJ inspector general is also investigating.
▪ The Hill: Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) says Jimmy Kimmel has right to attack Trump.
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