Good afternoon! Congress adjourned for the Memorial Day recess at the end of this week, postponing several major legislative debates until June. Senate Republicans shelved their immigration funding package over disagreements over a new Department of Justice (DOJ) fund. House leaders also withdrew a vote on an Iran war powers resolution after the Senate narrowly approved a similar resolution, 50-47. Before recessing, the House passed a bipartisan housing bill by a 396-13 margin and advanced a $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization out of committee. Appropriations subcommittees began work on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 spending cycle, and the Senate confirmed a new Bureau of Land Management director. Outside Congress, President Trump delayed an executive order on artificial intelligence, Kevin M. Warsh was sworn in as Federal Reserve chair, and negotiations to end the war in Iran are ongoing.
WHITE HOUSE
-
President Trump announced Monday that he had called off a planned strike on Iran, citing requests from leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Tehran submitted a revised 14-point peace proposal through Pakistani mediators. Despite this pause, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and military leaders to remain prepared for a large-scale assault if negotiations fail. On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted modest progress in indirect talks with Tehran, but cautioned that significant differences remain, particularly regarding Iran’s nuclear enrichment. He also rejected Tehran’s proposed tolling system in the Strait of Hormuz and stated that the U.S. and its partners require a “Plan B” if Iran does not reopen the strait. Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, will travel to Tehran to continue mediation.
-
Kevin M. Warsh was sworn in today as the 17th chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Jerome H. Powell. President Trump selected Warsh following a public campaign to replace Powell. In his first remarks, Warsh pledged to lead a “reform-oriented Federal Reserve,” reiterating positions he expressed during his Senate Banking Committee nomination hearing.
- President Trump canceled plans to sign an executive order on artificial intelligence Thursday, just hours before a scheduled White House ceremony with technology executives, citing concerns that the measure could undermine the United States’ leadership in AI. The proposed order would have created a framework for the government to assess national security risks of advanced AI systems before public release, in voluntary collaboration with companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google. This initiative followed increased concern in the banking sector about AI’s ability to identify cybersecurity vulnerabilities. In April, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and outgoing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell convened an urgent meeting with Wall Street executives to address these risks.
SENATE
-
Senate Republicans canceled a planned Thursday vote on a reconciliation package that would provide nearly $70 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). As a result, this measure will not be voted on until after the Memorial Day recess, with a final vote expected in June. The bill, originally set for amendment votes on the Senate floor, lost GOP support due to concerns over a newly announced $1.776 billion DOJ “anti-weaponization” fund and a separate $1 billion Secret Service provision. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) criticized the administration for not consulting Congress on the fund, which the DOJ says would compensate victims of political prosecutorial overreach. The package, which is not subject to a filibuster, will require near-unanimous Republican support to pass.
-
On May 19, the Senate voted 50-47 to discharge a war powers resolution that would end U.S. military operations against Iran, advancing the measure for the first time. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who leads the Democratic effort to halt the conflict, sponsored the resolution. The measure now moves to a floor vote in June. Three Republicans, including Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), also voted to advance the resolution after previously opposing it, citing a lack of communication from the administration regarding Operation Epic Fury. Kaine argued that the administration has exceeded its 60-day window for the ongoing engagement abroad without congressional authorization.
- The Senate confirmed former New Mexico Representative Steve Pearce as Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Monday, making him the first Senate-confirmed leader for the agency under President Trump’s current administration. Pearce was among 49 nominees approved. At his February hearing, Pearce assured senators he would not pursue large-scale federal land sales, noting that the 1976 law governing BLM holdings prohibits such sales without congressional authorization. Among the other nominees approved include David LaCerte to serve on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Douglas Weaver to serve on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) through 2031.
HOUSE
-
House leaders canceled a scheduled floor vote Thursday evening on a war powers resolution halting U.S. military operations against Iran. House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) sponsored the measure, which will now be voted on the first week of June when the House returns after the Memorial Day recess. The postponement followed the absence of 10 Republicans from an earlier vote, leaving the GOP without enough members to prevent its adoption. The delay came two days after the Senate discharged a parallel joint resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), setting up a June vote in the upper chamber as well.
-
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved a five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill early Friday by a 62-2 vote. The bipartisan BUILD America 250 Act now advances to the floor with a White House-supported rail safety provision. This legislation would authorize approximately $580 billion for highway and rail programs through FY 2031 and establish a new annual registration fee for electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to support the Highway Trust Fund. Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and ranking member Rick Larsen (D-WA) led the measure through a markup session that included about 160 amendments from Committee members.
-
The House Transportation and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations subcommittee marked up its FY 2027 Transportation-HUD spending bill on Friday, setting a total discretionary allocation of $92.2 billion. This amount is $10.7 billion, or 10.4%, below the FY 2026 enacted level. The bill allocates $28.3 billion to the Department of Transportation, which is $1.2 billion above the enacted level and $1.5 billion above the administration’s request. This measure includes funding to hire 2,300 additional air traffic controllers and supports other transportation initiatives, while reducing housing program funding. It now advances to the full Appropriations Committee.
-
The House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies subcommittee marked up its FY 2027 Interior-Environment spending bill on Friday, providing $42 billion in discretionary spending, which is $575 million below the FY 2026 enacted level. The bill reduces the Environmental Protection Agency’s accounts by less than half the amount proposed by the Trump administration. It omits a $10 billion fund requested by the president for beautification projects in the District of Columbia. The measure funds the EPA, the U.S. Forest Service, and most of the Department of the Interior, and now advances to the full Appropriations Committee for consideration.
-
The House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan housing package, by a 396-13 vote on Wednesday, accepting a Senate-rewritten version of H.R. 6644. House Financial Services Chairman French Hill (R-AR) called the amended bill the best path forward and urged Senate leaders to support it. The package retains community banking provisions and does not limit how long institutional investors (defined as investors holding 350 or more single-family homes) can hold rental properties they build, unlike the Senate version, which would require institutional investors to sell the properties held within 7 years. Senate Banking Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) stated that the Senate is not prepared to pass the amended bill despite the administration signaling support for the House-passed measure and indicating that the president would sign the bill if passed.
