Wednesday, September 16 | By Joshua Feldstein and Abigail Walker
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It’s Wednesday, or Hump Day since the Geico camel commercials have returned 🐪 (“Uh oh...Guess what day it is?”).
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- Federal Reserve expected to raise rates
- Senate Republicans plan spending cuts
- Trump to campaign with Whatley
- Kash Patel strikes back
Programming note: We're Joshua Feldstein and Abigail Walker, filling in for Cate today. Please send us your tips, comments and story ideas to jfeldstein@thehill.com and awalker@thehill.com.
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That was an exhausting...three days of work for House members: |
House GOP leaders have made the call to cancel Thursday's votes, starting recess a day early. We won't be seeing members back in Washington, D.C., until after the midterms.
Democrats had urged House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to keep the House in session to work on legislation around artificial intelligence (AI) safety.
Rep. George Whitesides (D-Calif.) said Monday that "we need to have a safety stand-down with AI for at least one month for all companies." However, Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) have dismissed calls for a urgent response or hefty regulations.
💬 Follow today’s live blog
Looming Hegseth vote: The weekslong House recess means members won't have to vote on Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-Ky.) move to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth until after November's election.
Once Massie introduced the impeachment resolution on Tuesday, it initiated a 48-hour clock for a vote to be called to the House floor.
Johnson said Wednesday the resolution would have been quickly tabled — effectively putting Massie's motion on hold.
But that still would have required Republicans to go on the record with a politically sensitive vote related to the divisive Pentagon chief and unpopular Iran war.
With the House now out until Nov. 9, after Johnson canceled the last two weeks of September sessions earlier this month, that's a later problem.
"Oh, let me talk about the impeachment vote. That's ridiculous. It's a publicity stunt by someone who wants attention," Johnson told reporters.
"Secretary Hegseth has done an extraordinary job at the Department of War. We're in the middle of international conflicts right now, and we should not be playing games with national security."
🔎 Read more on the developing House recess
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➤ SPENDING CUTS ON THE HORIZON |
Trump's allies in the Senate are setting up to slash tens of billions of dollars in federal spending following the midterm elections.
The Hill's Alexander Bolton: Thune announced Tuesday the Senate would not move on a reconciliation package until after the election on Nov. 3.
It will likely be necessary for Republicans to move emergency defense funding to help cover the costs of the Iran war and a boost to the Pentagon’s base budget through the regular appropriations process. Trump also wants to raise the debt limit by about $5 trillion to extend the nation’s borrowing authority through the end of his term.
Those priorities will be really expensive, and getting 51 GOP senators on board will likely require some big offsets.
“Inflation is a problem. We all understand the cost of living is a problem. The only way we’re going to get the cost of living down is if we balance the budget," Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said about the proposed cuts.
“We’ve basically come to the realization if we want some fiscal controls, that’s the point in time to do it, so we need to be in favor of a debt limit and offer those types of fiscal controls,” said Senate Budget Committee Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). “That’s initially what reconciliation was for, deficit reduction.”
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President Trump is heading to North Carolina Wednesday evening to campaign with GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley, looking to give him a boost in an uphill battle.
According to recent polls, Whatley is currently trailing former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) by double digits. Trump has won the battleground state three times and looks to deliver a jump in the polls for the GOP, according to The Hill's Julia Manchester.
What's the strategy?: Convince Trump supporters the president is effectively on the ballot, even though he's not. It's a message Trump hammered during the Republicans' midterm convention in Dallas last week.
"He [Trump] helps Michael Whatley in trying to energize the Republican base, which is something Republicans have to do," said Paul Shumaker, a North Carolina-based GOP strategist.
📝 Follow the Whatley vs. Cooper Senate race here
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Interest rate hike (probably) coming in 3...2... |
President Trump has long pined for lowered interest rates and selected Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh to make it happen.
But it doesn't appear the president will get his way. Investors are all but certain that the Fed will raise interest rates by a quarter point at its meeting today, with an announcement coming at 2 p.m.
A Reuters survey of economists earlier this week found that roughly 85 percent expect rates to go up. Heather Long, a chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote Friday, “A September Fed rate hike is almost locked in now."
"It’s the right call,” Long continued in her post on X. “The risks are growing that inflation remains entrenched (or keeps broadening). Fed Chair Warsh doesn’t want to make the same mistake Powell did of waiting too long to hike.”
Those pesky bond markets: The Hill's Max Rego: "Monday marked the first time the 10-year bond yield touched 5 percent since October 2023 and just the second time it has done so since July 2007 — before the global financial crisis."
It's a warning sign, responding to heightened government debt and economic uncertainty caused by the Iran war.
That was expensive! The Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that in its deferred resignation program, the Trump administration paid departing federal workers almost $7 billion, according to a Tuesday report.
This was part of the DOGE cuts overseen by Elon Musk, in case you forgot.
Since the start of the president's second administration, the use of paid leave among federal employees saw a 435 percent increase.
“The number of workdays of paid administrative leave reported increased from about 4 million workdays and 4.4 million workdays in calendar years 2023 and 2024, respectively, to about 21.6 million workdays in 2025,” the report found.
Paid leave in 2025 amounted to $9.6 billion, with the GAO estimating that $6.7 billion of that covered buyouts for the 144,312 government employees who accepted the deferred resignation offer.
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Mission-ready solutions built by veterans. |
More than 3,000 veterans with disabilities are employed through SourceAmerica and our nationwide nonprofit network.
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Patel had more to say about that Senate hearing: |
FBI Director Kash Patel bashed Democratic lawmakers following his Tuesday oversight hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling them "buffoons" during a late-night appearance on Fox News's "Hannity."
Senate Democrats slammed the director's leadership and launched an investigation into his jet usage, asking the FBI to turn over flight records for Patel's alleged "date night" travels with his girlfriend and other endeavors, according to The Hill's Rebbeca Beitsch.
"This FBI, under my leadership and President Trump's administration, is here for the people of America, not the cacophony of the United States Senate and Democrats and their radical lunacy," Patel said on Fox News.
Pressure piled on: Democratic Sens. Cory Booker (N.J), Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) were among those who peppered Patel with questions, accusing him of lying about subpoenaing journalists and the growing concern over the FBI's involvement in the midterms.
In one exchange between Booker, Patel and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Senate Judiciary chair, Grassley interrupted Booker as the Democrat pressed the FBI director over the decision to subpoena a New York Times reporter over a story written about Patel.
"This is ridiculous. This is a sham," Booker said. "And what's bad is not the person sitting there, who's a mockery to the office he holds. What's bad is the people that are enabling him to do so."
Grassley didn't appreciate the feedback.
💡 Take a look at Rebecca Beitsch's five takeaways from Patel's hearing.
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— Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) announced he is directing the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to penalize data centers that do not follow the state's water-use reporting requirements. Abbott told the TWDB to enforce legal consequences if data centers fail to comply with water usage reports.
— A local news helicopter in Los Angeles crashed Tuesday night while covering a fatal bus collision in the Chatsworth neighborhood. The NBC4 and Telemundo helicopter crashed just before 7 p.m. PDT, killing a reporter and pilot onboard and another unidentified victim around the crash site.
—Kerry Kennedy, the sister of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., called the Kennedy Center board vote to close the arts venue a "tragedy," knocking President Trump for the decision. "President Trump has said they have $250 million, ready to hand over tomorrow," Kennedy said in a CNN interview. "He's just withholding it because he wants his name on the building."
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Associated Press: Americans are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of AI, new poll finds
NBC News: How Kraft Heinz is keeping its legacy brands affordable to cost-conscious shoppers
Reuters: US charges five people in alleged Russian-backed murder plots
CNBC: Canada invited to become EU's first "associate member" as Trump trade war intensifies.
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🧑⚖️Coming up! Trump’s critics see a reprieve with the Supreme Court's latest mail-in ballot ruling, while the Kennedy Center’s future hangs in the balance. "" authors Zach Schonfeld and Sophie Brams will break it all down during a live Q&A at 3 p.m. EDT. 📺The Hill Insiders to join.
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The House and Senate are in. President Trump will travel to North Carolina to campaign with Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley. (All times EST)
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2 p.m.: Federal Reserve decision on rate hikes
2:30 p.m.: Fed Chair Kevin Warsh to hold press conference on rate hike decision
7 p.m.: Trump campaigns with Whatley in Gastonia, N.C.
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🥑 Celebrate: Today is National Guacamole Day! And no, pea guacamole doesn’t count.
🐎 Rappers Drake and Don Toliver previewed a remix of Ella Langley’s country hit “Choosin’ Texas” Tuesday night — creating one of the most interesting musical collaborations of 2026.
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Because you made it this far, watch these service dogs reunite with the people who raised them before they graduate from training! 🦮
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