Good afternoon! The impact of Saturday night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner looms over the week ahead on Capitol Hill, with lawmakers in both parties pressing to end the partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown even as an impasse over immigration enforcement holds. The House is scheduled to take up a budget resolution to move a two-part DHS funding effort, a five-year Farm Bill, and reauthorization of Section 702 authority, which is set to expire on Thursday. The Senate is slated to confirm Robert Cekada as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) on Monday evening and advance Kevin Warsh’s nomination to be the next Federal Reserve Chair through the Banking Committee on Wednesday. At the White House, Iran has presented a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz that Trump has so far rejected as insufficient, while King Charles III and Queen Camilla are expected to arrive in Washington today for a four-day state visit in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.
WHITE HOUSE
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The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner was interrupted over the weekend when a gunman stormed a security checkpoint in an attempt to assassinate senior administration officials. A Secret Service Agent wearing a bullet-resistant vest was “struck in the vest” but has since been released from the hospital. U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro said at a news conference that the suspect would be arraigned Monday to face federal charges, including use of a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. Despite the setback, President Trump has called on organizers to reschedule this event within 30 days.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Pakistani mediators Saturday, presenting what he called a “workable framework” while saying Iran has “yet to see if the U.S. is truly serious about diplomacy.” This new proposal on Sunday focuses on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, pushing nuclear negotiations to a later, unspecified date. President Trump told reporters Saturday that while Iran has improved its offer, it was still “not enough,” with the National Security Council scheduled to meet today to review next steps. The President canceled planned Pakistani-mediated talks in Islamabad over the weekend and instructed White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner not to travel to the Pakistani capital.
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King Charles III and Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom arrive in Washington today for a four-day U.S. state visit ahead of America’s 250th anniversary. President Trump and the first lady will greet the King and Queen upon their arrival before a garden party at the British ambassador’s residence, followed by a formal White House welcome and ceremonial military review. Tomorrow, the President and King Charles will hold a bilateral meeting before the King’s historic address to a joint meeting of Congress.
SENATE
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Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), a key GOP senator who has threatened to block Kevin Warsh’s nomination as the next Federal Reserve Chairman, has relented, setting up Warsh for the Banking Committee’s approval this week with a vote scheduled for Wednesday. Tillis had maintained he would oppose Warsh and other Federal Reserve nominees until the Department of Justice (DOJ) drops its investigation of current Chair Jerome Powell over renovation cost overruns at the central bank’s headquarters. Tillis said the DOJ notified him that the case against Powell is closed, adding that the agency would reopen the investigation only if there is a criminal referral from the inspector general’s probe.
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Lawmakers in both parties signal they will reject the Trump administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 request to eliminate the $4 billion Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), marking the sixth time Congress has rebuffed the Trump Administration’s efforts to zero out this program. LIHEAP is currently funded at $4.13 billion for FY 2026, a $20 million increase over FY 2025, supporting an estimated 5.9 million low-income households annually.
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The Senate is set to confirm Robert Cekada as ATF Director this afternoon. Cekada, a 20-year ATF veteran currently serving as the agency’s deputy director, was advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 14-8 vote on March 5. The acting director role has rotated between Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll and FBI Director Kash Patel since Steven Dettelbach’s resignation, and Cekada’s confirmation would mark a shift after the DOJ pushed to eliminate the agency and merge its functions into the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The Senate is also expected to take up four district court nominations and three U.S. Marshal nominations that advanced alongside Cekada.
HOUSE
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The House will take up a budget resolution needed to move forward with a two-part effort to fund DHS this week, as lawmakers face increased pressure to end the agency’s partial shutdown after the weekend shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. While there is little sign of compromise on immigration enforcement, GOP leaders hope that reconciliation legislation providing funding for immigration enforcement would pave the way to end the ongoing shutdown. The Senate has passed a bill to cover most DHS appropriations, but House Republicans have been unwilling to take the measure up until immigration enforcement funding is secured through reconciliation. Senate leaders aim to have this reconciliation bill on the floor when Congress returns from recess the week of May 11, which would go straight to the House floor after passing the Senate.
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The House is also scheduled to take up a five-year Farm Bill authorizing $1.3 trillion in funding over 10 years, marking the first long-term update of agriculture and food policy since 2018. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would account for $1.1 trillion of the proposed total. An earlier version of this measure advanced out of the House Agriculture Committee in March, and the House Rules Committee meets today to approve a rule for debate on the House floor later this week.
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Congress faces a Thursday deadline to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Some House Republicans are demanding increased privacy safeguards, and GOP leadership released revised text of an extension last week, though it is unclear whether this measure has the votes to pass. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate is “prepared to move” if the House takes too long.
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Budget hearings and appropriations markups continue this week, with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin testifying before House appropriations subcommittees today on the Administration’s FY 2027 budget request. The budget request proposes a $3.4 billion cut to NASA’s science program and a 52% reduction at the EPA, renewing a call for cuts that Congress largely rejected last year. Several House appropriations bills are also slated for markup later this week, including the National Security-State, Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Legislative Branch bills.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to testify before the House Armed Services Committee on April 29, addressing the panel publicly for the first time since the war with Iran began. The hearing will focus on the Pentagon’s FY 2027 budget request and comes as lawmakers in both parties have pressed the Administration for more information about the ongoing conflict. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine will also attend.
