Monday, May 18, 2026

Good afternoon!

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced a 5-year, $580 billion surface reauthorization bill Sunday evening, with a markup session possible later this week. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 appropriations process continues on Capitol Hill, with Acting Attorney General Blanche testifying Tuesday on the Department of Justice’s FY 2027 budget request, the House Appropriations Committee scheduled to markup its FY 2027 Energy and Water Development bill Wednesday, and Transportation Secretary Duffy presenting his department’s budget request to relevant Senate and House committees later this week. Senate Judiciary Republicans are revising their proposed reconciliation legislation after the Senate parliamentarian raised concerns about a $1 billion Secret Service appropriation for the White House ballroom. Over at the White House, the Trump administration’s pressure on Cuba will intensify as the Justice Department announces charges against former President Raúl Castro at a Miami event for Cuban Independence Day, while Federal forecasters report that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz could reduce global oil supply through 2026.

WHITE HOUSE

• The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that oil production will remain constrained at least through June as the Strait of Hormuz blockade continues through May, with shipments not expected to return to pre-conflict levels until late 2026. The Department of Energy now forecasts that global oil inventories will decline by 2.6 million barrels per day, a significant increase from last month’s projection of 300,000 barrels per day. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that even if shipments restart in June, global supply will average 3.9 million barrels less per day through the end of the year, dropping the global total to 102.2 million barrels daily.

• President Trump will meet with his national security team on Tuesday to consider military options against Iran, following the White House’s assessment that Tehran’s latest counter-proposal offers only minor improvements. The Iranian offer, delivered Sunday night via Pakistani mediators, includes a pledge not to pursue a nuclear weapon but lacks specific commitments on halting uranium enrichment or surrendering highly enriched uranium stockpiles. According to an official, the U.S. will not grant sanctions relief, including on Iran’s oil exports, without reciprocal action from Tehran.

• The Department of Justice is expected to announce charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro on Wednesday in Miami on Cuba’s Independence Day, the latest move in the Trump administration’s escalating pressure campaign against Havana. The indictment, related to the Cuban Air Force’s 1996 shootdown of two unarmed Brothers to the Rescue aircraft while Castro led the Cuban armed forces, follows last Thursday’s U.S. delegation visit to Havana led by CIA Director John Ratcliffe and comes as the administration leverages Cuba’s energy collapse to demand reforms from the Díaz-Canel government. President Donald Trump has publicly floated military intervention in Cuba and signed Executive Order 14380 declaring the island an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security.

SENATE

• Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans are revising their proposed reconciliation bill after Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough advised that several provisions would likely be removed during “Byrd bath” reviews. The package totals nearly $72 billion, primarily for immigration enforcement, with $38.2 billion for ICE and about $26 billion for CBP. The most significant provision being revised is a $1 billion Secret Service appropriation, which would fund Secret Service enhancements to the East Wing Modernization Project, including the 90,000-square-foot ballroom.

• Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will testify Tuesday before the Senate Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Subcommittee regarding the Justice Department’s FY 2027 budget request. This will be Blanche’s first public appearance before Congress since succeeding former Attorney General Pam Bondi. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee advanced its FY 2027 Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bill, totaling about $80 billion in discretionary funds, a 1.5% decrease from FY 2026. The House proposal would increase Justice Department funding by just over 4%.

• Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will testify Tuesday before the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee to present the Department of Transportation’s FY 2027 budget request and appear before the House THUD subcommittee Thursday. The FY 2027 proposal would increase DOT’s discretionary funding, with priorities including infrastructure rebuilding, a new air traffic control system, and expansion of the domestic industrial base.

HOUSE

• The full House Appropriations Committee will mark up its FY 2027 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill on Wednesday. The measure would provide $58.5 billion in discretionary spending, including increased funding for maintenance and modernization of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile as requested by the administration.

• The House may consider another war powers resolution this week, sponsored by Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks (D-NY). This resolution would direct President Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran under Section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution.

• House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders introduced a 5-year, $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill, the BUILD America 250 Act, on Sunday. With current programs set to expire at the end of September, a markup of this legislation could occur as early as this week.

• Despite the $580 billion topline, the BUILD America 250 Act delivers less total funding than the law it replaces. The bill grows guaranteed contract authority to $474 billion, 4.4% above Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act levels, but eliminates advance appropriations that front-loaded the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), leaving total funding roughly $65 billion less than IIJA. Roughly $106 billion in this bill is subject to annual appropriations rather than guaranteed, creating significant new pressure on annual Transportation-Housing and Urban Development spending bills, which have historically been funded at about $7 billion annually.

• The BUILD America 250 Act’s most consequential structural change is a sharp shift away from competitive grants toward formula programs. Discretionary grant funding drops from roughly $121 billion under the IIJA to about $28 billion over the five-year authorization period, with transit and rail competitive programs taking the deepest cuts. On the revenue side, a new electric vehicle registration fee starting at $130 per year, stepping to $150, and $35 for plug-in hybrids, is projected to generate $9.7 billion over the life of this bill. The bill’s passage this Congress is far from certain, however, and is widely expected to serve as a baseline framework for the next reauthorization bill, as the Senate has not yet begun its surface transportation work with a limited number of legislative days remaining.