• Norman finally endorses Graham in South Carolina.

• House rejects plan to fix the Supreme Court at nine justices.

• The House GOP majority shrinks again.

WHITE HOUSE. On a gorgeous late summer evening, President Trump brought a group of House Republicans to the White House Rose Garden last night - many of them facing difficult reelection runs in November - as he vowed to help GOP candidates across the nation. “All the way to November 3rd, I'm going to be helping you,” Trump declared.

• TRUMP. “I will be with you 100 percent,” Trump said in a lengthy speech, as he urged lawmakers to run on his own second term record. “All you have to do is talk about it, and you’re going to win, and you’re going to win big.”

• ROSTER. What House members were there? Trump named Miller-Meeks IA, Carey OH, Begich AK, Barrett MI, Lawler NY, Nunn IA, Perry PA, Van Orden WI, Finstad MN, Steil WI, Mackenzie PA, Salazar FL, Evans CO, Bresnahan PA, Kean NJ, Kiggans VA, Crane AZ, Luna FL, Crank CO, Wittman VA, Tenney NY, and Turner OH.

• SENATE. Two of the House members at the White House are running for U.S. Senate: Mike Collins of Georgia and Ashley Hinson of Iowa.

• CONGRESS. “This is really about 35 races,” Trump said, talking about the swing seat races for the House and Senate. “That would be five senators and 30 congressmen and women,” as he promised to travel as much as possible before November. “I think we'll get all those people elected.”

• GOVERNOR. Also on hand were three Congressional Republicans running for Governor: Andy Biggs in Arizona, John James in Michigan, and Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin.

• STRATEGY. Does Trump making campaign stops all around the nation help or hurt GOP candidates who are in tough races? Tell me what you think.
  

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MONEY. It’s not clear how much money Trump and his MAGA Inc. PAC might be willing to spend on races for House, Senate, and/or Governor. Earlier this week, the Senate’s top Republican publicly pleaded with Trump to invest big money in the Texas Senate race, where state Attorney General Ken Paxton has been struggling in the polls.

• LONE STAR. While Trump vowed last night to help Paxton win in November, the President offered a somewhat peculiar public review of Paxton, dinging his choice of clothing, and the quality of his campaign work.

“We're going to go to Texas and work for Ken Paxton, who's a great guy. So, Ken Paxton, you might not like the way he dresses, and I say this - it's so insulting to him, but I might as well say it. You might not like the way he looks. You might not love his look. You might not love his television interviews, but he was the best attorney general in the country…and that speaks a lot louder than the suit he's wearing that doesn't look so great.”

TEXAS. There have been some unusual poll numbers in Texas in recent days for Republicans. But they still have two months to turn things around.

VOTE BY MAIL. One day before the first mail ballots get sent out for the November elections, a federal judge will hold a hearing on President Trump’s plan to place unprecedented new restrictions on voting by mail. It’s one of a series of legal fights playing out in the courts - which could theoretically reach the U.S. Supreme Court before Election Day.

• RULES. First, what would the new Trump rules do? Here is the short explanation that the Trump Administration gave to a federal appeals court on Wednesday. Each state would have to follow these rules - or they would not be allowed to send out mail-in ballots:

“The Rule creates standardized design and review requirements for ballot envelopes, requiring that the envelopes include the official Election Mail logo, be automation compatible — so that they can be processed by USPS’s high-speed mail processing equipment — and use unique barcodes. 91 Fed. Reg. 54,966, 54,990-91 (Aug. 26, 2026). And the Rule requires States to upload the name-and-address information of intended recipients of ballot mail—information that all election officials necessarily possess — as well as the unique barcode number, into an online portal.”

CONGRESS. A whistleblower from inside the Postal Service told Congress this week that the new USPS system for mail ballots could actually prevent the mass delivery of ballots to voters. “This process will likely lead to chaos, confusion, and the inability of many Americans to have their vote counted,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

• GOING POSTAL. Other Democrats piled on. “Trump's mail-ballot verification system is so broken it could lose or reject ballots ahead of the midterms,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). “As we've warned for months, Trump wants to rig the midterms,” added Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

• VOTE-BY-MAIL. While Republicans often parrot Trump’s claims about possible mail ballot fraud, most GOP lawmakers have not endorsed this plan - worried that it will create havoc for elections officials in red and blue states alike.

• SAVE AMERICA. Remember, if Trump had his way, there would be major limits on voting by mail. He wanted that added to the SAVE America Act - but Republicans never voted on the idea, because it would have lost badly in both the House and Senate.

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FRAUD? MAYBE NOT. Is there really a problem with noncitizens voting? Georgia state elections officials just finished a full review of their voter rolls. Out of 7.9 million voter registrations, there were 432 ‘potential noncitizens who have voted at some point since 1996.’ That’s 432 ‘potential noncitizens’ in the last 30 years. Read more at this link.

SOUTH CAROLINA. Two days after he balked at the idea of endorsing Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), it was time on Wednesday for Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) to do some political cleanup. Norman backed Graham, and made it clear that he was getting on board with the Republican Party for November.

• ON BOARD. “I respect the decision of South Carolina voters,” Norman said in a written statement, as he endorsed Graham. “I will support our Republican nominee in November because defeating the Democrats and protecting our conservative values must remain the priority.”

• PALMETTO. That was a bit different than Monday, when Norman was asked what he would tell South Carolina voters to do in the November election for U.S. Senate. “Vote for Ralph Norman,” he said, complaining that Sen. Graham had not called him since she won their Senate GOP runoff.

• ST. GEORGE. “Democrats would love nothing more than for Republicans to stay divided,” tweeted C.J. Westfall, who chairs the Dorchester County Republican Party in South Carolina, as he called for GOP unity. “The primary is over.”

• SIDELINES. One of the biggest concerns for Republicans is that frustrated GOP voters might stay home in November, whether it’s in South Carolina or any other state. They can’t afford to have divisions like the GOP is seeing in Texas.

HOUSE DEMS. A day after two conservative Democrats helped House Republicans win a surprise procedural victory on the House floor, Democratic leaders were still steamed - but they seemed to be backing away from the idea of punishing Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) and Rep. Marie Glusenkamp Perez (D-WA).

• JEFFRIES. “We haven’t ruled anything in. We haven’t ruled anything out,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters, after he ordered a review of the incident. “It’s a process, and we’re going to follow that process.”

• VOTING. I think it’s important to once again explain why this was a big deal. It’s not an issue of Golden and Perez breaking ranks. Everyone knows that they will break with Democratic leaders a lot, because they are in tough districts. But this was different.

• THE RULE. This was different because Golden and Perez provided the margin of victory to the GOP. They threw the Speaker a lifeline on a procedural vote. There is an unwritten rule that you don’t help the other side avoid legislative dysfunction. That’s why so many Democrats were so angry.

PUNISHMENT. There had been talk of stripping committee assignments from Golden and Perez - but with Golden retiring at the end of the year, that seemed pointless. But a message was sent by one senior Democrat yesterday to Perez, as she testified before the House Rules Committee. On the left, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) turned his back on Perez - on purpose.

BLAME CANADA. In public, most GOP lawmakers in Congress are saying precious little about President Trump’s new trade war with Canada. But behind closed doors yesterday in a meeting with top trade officials, GOP lawmakers reportedly expressed concerns about the new Canadian tariff fight, as well as the President’s plan to allow in more imported beef.

• ATTACK. While Republicans remain quiet on tariffs, Democrats have invoked the fight with Canada repeatedly this week. “Trump’s central promise was to lower costs,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), at a House hearing on Wednesday. “He’s delivered the opposite.”

• PRICES. “The mom doing mental math in the checkout line isn’t thinking about trade policies,” said Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA). “She’s wondering if she can afford the groceries that week.”

• BEEF. Meanwhile, 51 Republicans from the House and Senate sent a letter to President Trump expressing concerns about what’s facing farmers and rural America. What was fascinating was the cryptic nature of the letter - which never specifically mentioned the controversial Trump beef import plan.

“President Trump, We appreciate your attention to the issues impacting American consumers, farmers, and ranchers. A strong American agriculture industry leads to greater efficiency, availability, affordability, and security in our food supply chain. American farmers and ranchers face significant headwinds, including years of prolonged drought, devastating natural disasters, animal disease and pest threats, market swings, and burdensome regulations.”

MARKETS. The main thrust of the letter was to call on the President to negotiate trade deals which expand U.S. export markets. “There is significant opportunity for advancing market access for American beef around the world.”

• IMPORTS. The closest mention of beef imports was this: “Any intervention in the natural system, especially at a time when producers are making marketing decisions, threatens to pick winners and losers and undermine the long-term viability of family-owned cattle operations throughout the supply chain.”

• JUST CAN’T DO IT. It’s really been wild to watch GOP lawmakers in Congress deal with Donald Trump over the last 10 years. Most of them cannot bring themselves to directly criticize his policies - even when they are causing major problems for their voters back home.

SUPREME COURT. The House on Wednesday rejected a GOP plan to amend the Constitution in order to fix the Supreme Court at 9 Justices. Only one Democrat broke ranks to vote for the plan, Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), who faces a difficult reelection fight in a red district in North Carolina. The final vote was 212-206. A two-thirds vote was needed.

• PACK THE COURT. Republicans forced this vote mainly to put Democrats on the record about calls by progressives to add as many as four new Justices. “Give them power, and they’ll pack the Court until they get the rulings they want,” said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).

• HISTORY. Most people probably don’t realize that Congress already has the power to pass a law - at any time - in order to change the number of Justices on the Supreme Court. Originally, the Judiciary Act of 1789 created a Supreme Court with 6 Justices.

• REVISED. After that, Congress passed a half-dozen different laws to change the court’s size. In 1801 it went down to five. In 1807, the Supreme Court went to seven seats. In 1837, Congress made it nine Justices. In 1863, a tenth Justice was added. In 1866, it went back to 7, and then in 1869 - it was set at nine.

• MESSAGING. Here was how House Republicans used that vote for a campaign messaging line:

WHOLE HOUSE. Democrats cut into the House GOP majority again on Wednesday, as Rep. Aisha Wahab (D-CA) was sworn into office. Wahab will fill out the term of ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who resigned back in April. The House is now:

• 218 Republicans

• 214 Democrats

• 1 Independent

• 2 vacant seats (Texas and Florida).

MAIDEN SPEECH. The daughter of Afghan refugees who grew up in Fremont, California, Wahab vowed to fight for those struggling to afford the basics of life. “I often say Uncle Sam raised me, and because of that, I have always seen the people of this nation as family, regardless of background,” said Wahab.

BEHIND THE SCENES. Up on the wall of the west side staircase in the Senate wing of the Capitol is a fairly unique stained glass window, depicting the seal of the United States Senate. But this is not the original, which featured an eagle with a shield and American flags - that was accidentally destroyed in the 1960’s, and replaced with this design. The window is all inside the building - behind it is a Senate office.

MUSE OF HISTORY. September 3, 1913. With Congress in session in September for the first time in 20 years, the Senate was duking it out over a major tariff bill on this date. “Hemp,” said Sen. William O’Connell Bradley of Kentucky, “can be grown profitably in three-fourths of the States.” Bradley wanted tariffs on imports of jute - which undercut U.S. hemp growers. “I do not see why there should be a desire to destroy this industry,” Bradley added.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House convenes at 9 am.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

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Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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• House easily votes to avoid a shutdown on October 1.

• Incumbents hang on in Massachusetts.

• “They’re hurt” - GOP Senator pans Trump’s beef imports.

TEXAS SENATE. The Senate’s top Republican spent a chunk of Monday trying to get the attention of President Trump. Why? GOP Senators want him to start spending money to bolster Ken Paxton, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Texas. It’s going to take maybe $100 million to get Paxton over the finish line - and Senate Republicans don’t have that much cash to spend.

• LONE STAR. “Because Texas is such an expensive state, we’re going to need the President, his team, to be engaged there and to be putting resources into that race,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Fox News on Tuesday. “We absolutely have to win that race.”

• MAGA INC. The Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. Super PAC has about $400 million. But no one is quite sure how much of it Trump will spend on Senate races - and who will get that help. But everyone knows that Trump helped Paxton defeat Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in Texas - leaving a big hole in GOP campaign plans.

• THUNE. “We are certainly hopeful that the President and his team and MAGA Inc. will be engaged in some of these races,” Thune added. “We've got some states that are incredibly expensive.”

• RADIO. It wasn’t just on Fox News. Thune made the same appeal for help later in the day during an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio show. “Texas is expensive. There are 20 media markets down there, Hugh, and so you know we need help there,” Thune said.

• TEXAS. The appeals from Thune came as more Republicans are openly expressing concern about Paxton, who has trailed Democrat James Talarico in many polls. Remember - Paxton wasn’t Thune’s choice. He backed Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who was spurned by Trump.

• HELP. “We need MAGA Inc. and everybody else engaged, but we can’t afford to lose Texas,” Thune said. So everybody needs to - whether they like the way the primary came out or not - to get on board with the team and make sure that Paxton wins.”

• FOGHORN LEGHORN. The message isn’t new. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) tried to send the same plea on Sunday during an interview on Fox News. “We in the Senate don’t have the money budgeted for Texas,” said Kennedy. “We need help from the President.”

• CAMPAIGN. It sure seems odd to listen to GOP Senators openly pleading with the President to open the money spigot for them. But that’s where Republicans are in 2026. Should Trump help? Will Trump help? Tell me what you think.
  

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HOUSE. Wow. House GOP leaders dodged a bullet on Tuesday. When the House convened, Republicans were heading for yet another House floor meltdown. Members of the Freedom Caucus were ready (again) to block a GOP procedural rule vote - possibly derailing this week’s legislative schedule. Things looked grim for Speaker Mike Johnson.

• PLOT TWIST. But as the clock ticked down on that rule vote, two Democrats suddenly broke ranks to save the GOP, providing a big win for Speaker Johnson, and setting off bitter recriminations inside the House Democratic Caucus.

• DEM DUO. The two Democrats were Rep. Jared Golden (R-ME) and Rep. Marie Glusenkamp Perez (D-WA) - maybe the most conservative Democrats in the House. They provided the winning margin as the House voted 210-208 to approve the GOP ‘rule’ for this week’s agenda.

• DEM ANGER. It’s no surprise that Golden voted Yes - one of the bills advanced by this plan would help lobstermen in Golden’s home state of Maine. But backing a GOP procedural vote caught House Democratic leaders totally by surprise. They issued a blistering statement last night:

“The decision by two of our colleagues to blindside the entire House Democratic Caucus and join with the Republican majority to pass a procedural rule on the brink of failing represents a significant breach of trust. It is an action that necessitates a serious response, and we have asked the Committee on Caucus Rules to take this up in short order" - House Democratic Leadership statement

SAVED BY TWO DEMS. “There is no reason not to vote with your party on the rule,” said Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), as Democrats grumbled about Golden and Perez siding with the Speaker and House Republicans. “You only oppose your party to mark yourself as a stick in the spokes.”

• DIRTY POOL. If you haven’t worked on Capitol Hill, it’s hard to convey just how unusual this was by Golden and Perez. They delivered a political victory (during a campaign year!!!) to the Speaker of the opposing party - who often struggles to keep the House functioning.

• UNFORCED ERROR. That vote allowed the GOP to bring up a resolution attacking Democrats over socialism - which also included support for the SAVE America Act. Instead of laughing about GOP dysfunction in the House - Democrats were the ones playing defense.

• ADVANTAGE GOP. No one is going to write a book about this. But every victory is important in Congress. And in this instance, Republicans got the votes they wanted, peeled off some Democrats, and caused division within their ranks. Tuesday could not have gone much better for the GOP.

SOCIALISM. Long term, not many people are going to remember that the House voted 220-192 to pass a non-binding GOP resolution condemning socialism and Democratic Socialist candidates. But it did put Democrats on the record - and for some, voting against it was a bridge too far in this election year.

• EIGHT IS ENOUGH. 8 House Democrats supported the GOP measure: Kathy Castor FL, Henry Cuellar TX, Don Davis NC, Jared Golden ME, Vicente Gonzalez TX, Marie Glusenkamp Perez WA, Darren Soto FL, and Gabe Vasquez NM.

• BLUE DOGS. Cuellar, Davis, Golden, Gonzalez, and Perez are probably the five most conservative Democrats in the House - so their votes weren’t that much of a surprise. Vasquez is facing a strong challenge in southern New Mexico, while Castor and Soto are fighting for their lives under a new GOP map in Florida.

• GOP. Republicans were more than happy to yell out the results. “192 votes against denouncing socialism,” said Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA). “192 votes telling what the Democratic Party stands for and wants for America.”

• EUGENE DEBS. Most Democrats scoffed at the resolution. “The President is the biggest Socialist in America today,” said Rep. Sydney Kamlager Dove (D-CA). “This is a cynical Republican-forced vote,” added Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).

• JOE MCCARTHY. If you played a drinking game with the House GOP leadership news conference from yesterday - where you drank a shot every time someone said words like Communist, Marxist, or Socialist - you would have passed out before 12 noon. Will that work in November? You tell me.

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BAY STATE. There were no upsets in primaries for Congress yesterday in Massachusetts - but the closest race for Congress was actually somewhat of a surprise. Just three states have primaries left as next week brings votes in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Delaware finishes the midterm primaries on September 15.

• SENATE. The Democratic race for Senate wasn’t close, as Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) thrashed Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), 65-35 percent. It was yet another reminder that just because the incumbent is old - Markey is 80 - it doesn’t mean they will lose to a much younger challenger (Moulton is 47).

• HOUSE. The closest House race wasn’t even one that people were watching. Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) - first elected to the House in 1988 - had to work hard to defeat Jeromie Whalen, a local school teacher. The winning margin was 54-46 percent. Neal will be a strong favorite to win again in November.

• WAYS AND MEANS. In terms of seniority, Neal is number seven on the House seniority list. If Democrats take back the House, he will again chair the powerful tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. At age 77, Neal was once Mayor of Springfield - that’s where he ran up most of his winning margin last night.

• NUMBERS. The current turnover total in Congress is at 72 seats. There will certainly be more incumbents who will lose in November.

TAR HEEL. One of those leaving Congress was hit with a historic punishment on Tuesday. The U.S. House voted to publicly censure Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) for sexual harassment of two female staffers. Edwards told his colleagues the penalty did not match what had happened - arguing that he never had sexual relations with either of the women.

• DEBATE. “I do not believe I committed sexual harassment,” Edwards said on the House floor. “Generosity is not sexual harassment. Caring deeply about the people with whom you’ve worked for years is not sexual harassment.”

• ETHICS. But top lawmakers on the House Ethics Committee told a different story. “The allegations in this matter do not implicate a quid pro quo sexual harassment,” said panel chair Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS). “But rather that Edwards’s conduct created a hostile work environment.”

• GIFTS. The ethics report was filled with cringey details of gifts that Edwards gave the two young women: jewelry, designer purses, guns, shoes, flowers, a laptop and cell phone, KitchenAid mixer, robotic vacuum, vacations, tickets to performances, and one-on-one dinners.

• ICK. “Chuck Edwards’s behavior over the past two years is disgusting and horrible,” said Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM). “The sexual harassment of two young women on his staff and his abhorrent abuse of power is outlandish and disturbing.”

• VOTE. The final vote was 413-2. Edwards voted against the resolution, along with Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).

PUNISHMENT. As is custom after the adoption of a censure resolution, Edwards was required to stand in the Well of the House - to undergo what is basically an additional public shaming in front of his colleagues - as the Speaker read the details of the censure resolution.

HISTORY. Censure used to be a big deal in terms of public punishment for a member of Congress. But Republicans cheapened the power of the censure in recent years by using it for political purposes - like to attack then Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) for his investigation of Donald Trump.

• ETHICS. What was different about this vote was how it was handled by the Ethics Committee - and not brought by an individual GOP member or the leadership. That’s why the vote was 413-2 in favor of censure.

• BIPARTISAN. Not since 1983 - when Rep. Gerry Studds (D-MA) and Rep. Dan Crane (R-IL) were censured for having sex with House Pages - had there been such a bipartisan censure. Those votes were 420-3 and 421-3.

CONGRESS-SPENDING. There won’t be a government shutdown before the election. The House easily voted on Tuesday to send a Senate-passed ‘CR’ to President Trump for his signature, extending current funding levels from October 1 to December 11. The vote was 370-48.

• EARLY ACTION. Instead of waiting until late September before a funding lapse, the House and Senate decided to approve this temporary funding plan well ahead of the October 1 deadline.

• TEMPORARY FUNDING. “Responsible governance means putting the well-being and stability of the nation first,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

• LOTS OF WORK. While it is great that the CR is already finished - there is a lot of work still to do on the 12 regular government funding bills for next year. The House has passed 3 of 12 bills; the Senate has yet to vote on any of them. Will there be a pre-Christmas Omnibus? Stay tuned.

WHERE’S THE BEEF. Tuesday’s pro forma session in the Senate gave reporters a chance to speak with Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD). Talking to us outside the Senate chamber, Rounds made clear the displeasure of farmers and ranchers in his home state about President Trump’s move to allow in large amounts of foreign beef.

• SOUTH DAKOTA. “They feel like they’ve been let down,” Rounds said of voters back in South Dakota, comparing Trump to a favorite relative who did something bad to his family. “They just feel like - as a relative - he just pulled the rug right from underneath them. They’re hurt.”

MEETING. Rounds said he thought that GOP lawmakers had persuaded Trump not to do something like this on beef imports, telling us about a White House meeting last year which had convinced Republicans that the coast was clear.

• WHITE HOUSE. “Last November when it first came up, we thought we had this thing bagged,” Rounds said. “We thought the President understood very clearly that this was not the way to go.”

• ISSUE NUMBER ONE. Rounds - who is running for reelection this year - said he understands the need to focus on affordability, especially as grocery prices increase. “But anybody who understands anything about beef knows this is not going to help.”

• NOVEMBER. But I keep asking this question - do you really think that all those frustrated farmers and ranchers are really going to give up on the GOP? I just find that hard to believe. But we’ll see in 9 weeks.
  

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BEHIND THE SCENES. For one day, newly-elected Rep. Everton Blair (D-GA) got to be the most junior member of the U.S. House. Blair was sworn in on Tuesday to fill out the term of the late Rep. David Scott (D-GA). Blair and his family joined House Speaker Mike Johnson for what we call the ‘mock’ swearing-in ceremony, just off the House floor.

• ONE HIT WONDER. One note about Blair (far left) - he is not on the ballot in November in Georgia - so he will serve on Capitol Hill for only four months, until the start of the 120th Congress on January 3. But like the rock bands that only had one hit, he can always say he was elected to the U.S. House.

WHOLE NUMBER. The House now stands at 218 Republicans, 213 Democrats, and 1 Independent. But another new Democrat will show up today, as Aisha Wahab will be sworn in to fill out the term of ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA).

• VACANCIES. Wahab’s arrival will mean that only two seats are vacant. One is in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) refused to call a special election. One is in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) refused to call a special election. You can draw your own conclusions.
  

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MUSE OF HISTORY. September 2, 1893. On this date, Senators scrapped over why the Cleveland Administration had not spent a full $100,000 approved to deport Chinese workers. “The reason is obvious,” said Sen. Stephen White of California. “The number of Chinese to be deported is so numerous that if there is a commencement made it will result in an immense expenditure, and there is not sufficient money in the Treasury for the purpose.”

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House convenes at 10 am.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Follow me on Bluesky.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

Tips also welcome on Signal - jamiedupree.64

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• Norman still steamed over South Carolina loss.

• Will the Freedom Caucus derail the House again today?

• Republicans press on illegal immigration.

Read more

• Democrats question Trump’s plan to take over oil in Venezuela.

• GOP lawmakers go on the road - but stay quiet.

• House expected to vote to avoid shutdown this week.

Read more

• Speaker Johnson makes the rounds in Texas.

• Democrats looking good in Alaska Senate race.

• Florida Republican unveils bill to officially rename Lake Ontario.

SCHEDULE. When the House comes back to work next week after a five-week summer break, you might think there would be big legislation on the agenda for Republicans. Maybe there would be votes on something about high prices or food safety. Think again. The GOP is in election mode.

• NEXT WEEK. Other than voting on a Senate-passed measure to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September, the biggest item will be a House GOP resolution denouncing Democratic Socialist candidates and socialism. (I’m not kidding.)

• AGENDA. The lack of any bills about affordability, gas prices, or anything along those lines isn’t really a surprise. The elections are pretty much all that anyone is thinking about in both parties right now.

• SERIOUS. “I am highly skeptical that we will see anything serious done by Congress other than an attempt to keep the government open,” said veteran Congressional analyst Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute.

• SOCIALISM. Voting against socialism is nothing new. The House did that last November - but Republicans have fine tuned that plan to include mentions of the new super liberal Democratic Socialists winning House primaries.

• H.RES. 1490. “Resolved, That the House of Representatives — (1) condemns and denounces socialism in all its forms, including the Democratic Socialists of America, and opposes the implementation of socialist policies in the United States,” the measure states. You can read the full resolution at this link.

HOUSE BILLS. What else is on the schedule after five weeks away from Capitol Hill? There are no individual government funding bills - even though the House still hasn’t passed 9 of the 12 appropriations measures. Frankly, there isn’t much of note at all from House GOP lawmakers:

• H.R. 1501 – Protecting Domestic Mining Act of 2025

• H.R. 9436 – Northeast Lobsterman Protection Act of 2026

• H.R. 4795 – Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act of 2026

• H.J. Res. 1- Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to require that the Supreme Court of the United States be composed of nine justices.

SUPREME COURT. That last item piqued my interest, so I read the amendment. It just says the Supreme Court shall be made up of 9 justices. But what if someone dies? Is it okay just to have eight for a while? The amendment doesn’t say anything about that. (Narrator: It’s just GOP messaging against calls to pack the court.)

• TERM LIMITS. Instead of the socialism resolution and the Supreme Court amendment, maybe the GOP could bring up a vote on an amendment providing for term limits for Congress. That’s at least something controversial.

• MESSAGING. Instead of real legislation, the month of September will mainly feature these kinds of messaging votes from House Republicans, as they try to argue that Democrats are being overtaken by wild-eyed socialists.

EDWARDS. Sometimes in life, it’s best to shut your mouth and move on. But Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) has decided to take the opposite road. And it will likely mean even more attention for his ethics case that forced the North Carolina Republican to abandon his reelection bid earlier this summer.

• ETHICS. Instead of quietly fading into the woodwork after an embarrassing House Ethics Committee report, Edwards is pleading with fellow Republicans to spare him from a censure for sexual misconduct - sending his colleagues a 22-page brief on why his case could actually threaten them in the future.

• BRIEF. “The Committee concluded that I neither engaged in sexual activity with nor explicitly propositioned any individual staff member,” Edwards wrote, even as he characterized his relationship with the two women as involving ‘reciprocal affection.’

• NOT GUILTY. “When the conclusion is as devastating as sexual harassment, the evidence supporting it should be commensurately persuasive,” Edwards argues. Why was Edwards making his case? The full House is expected to vote on his censure case next week.

• CENSURE. In my youth, the penalty of a House Censure was a big deal. But it’s been cheapened in recent years by Republicans, who used it to punish their political enemies. Hardly anyone will remember Edwards in a few years. Unless he causes a big stir on his way out the door.
  

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UKRAINE. After a visit with leaders of Ukraine in Kyiv, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) took an extra trip, going to Dnipro, not far from the front lines. Blumenthal said he was the first U.S. lawmaker to be allowed in that area since the Russian invasion.

SOONER STATE. Also visiting Ukraine this week was Sen. James Lankford (R-OK). He spoke at a national prayer breakfast. “I’ve seen the beating heart of liberty and the spark of faith in Ukraine,” Lankford said. “It was an honor to be there to worship, pray, and remember the faithfulness of God in the middle of the battle.”

TEXAS TEA TIME. House Speaker Mike Johnson’s summer of campaign stops took him to several places in Texas on Thursday, trying to help GOP incumbents and challengers for November. In this photo, he’s next to Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), who is having a rough reelection run.

• FRIENDS. “These are not my bodyguards,” the Speaker said of four other Republicans standing with him. They included Rep. Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Rep. Mario Diaz Balart (R-FL), and two GOP candidates for Congress, Mark Tedford from Oklahoma, and Tom Sell of Texas.

PITCH. “This is a this is one of the toughest races in America,” Speaker Johnson told a morning rally for De La Cruz outside Corpus Christi, Texas. “Y'all know we got to fight hard. We cannot take this for granted.”

• TRUMP. On the stump, the Speaker is trying his best to include President Trump as part of the reason to vote Republican in November - like Trump is on the ballot. “Even though his name isn’t, his administration, his legacy, the America First agenda is,” said Speaker Johnson.

• DATELINE DALLAS. Johnson also previewed next week’s unusual GOP midterm convention in Dallas - where Trump will speak both nights. “We’re going to parade all of our stars across the stage,” Johnson said.

• ATTENDANCE. I wonder how many GOP lawmakers actually go to Dallas for that gathering.
  

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TOM KEAN. Watching the campaign efforts of Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) is somewhat of a head-shaking exercise right now. Kean - the guy who ignores reporters in the hallways of Congress - is now raising money by telling the story of how someone called the cops last week on a New York Times reporter.

• NOT INVITED. “The New York Times showed up uninvited to a PRIVATE Team Kean fundraiser,” Kean’s campaign wrote. “But instead of leaving, they waited in the parking lot and then wrote and published an entire hit piece about not getting their way.”

• PARKING LOT. What’s even funnier about that fundraising description is that the reporter stayed out in the parking lot - and was able to get a quick interview with House Speaker Mike Johnson, but not Kean.

LAKE ONTARIO. What else happened on Thursday here in Washington? President Trump renamed Lake Ontario. Seriously. He is now calling it Lake America, sort of like how he also renamed the Gulf of Mexico last year. It was all part of his continuing trade spat with Ottawa. “Canada has been ripping us off for a long time,” Trump said.

• WORD WORLD. If you don’t know, Lake Ontario is not named after the Canadian province. The name actually comes from a word describing the lake used by the Iroquois and Huron tribes.

• AYFKM. Democrats mocked Trump and his time spent on criticizing Canadians. “This is why your gas and grocery prices are so high,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT). “Because he spends all his time on this BS.”

• WINNER. Rep. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) is the winner of the Lake America competition. He was the first GOP lawmaker to announce that he is submitting a bill to officially change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America.

• PANHANDLE. “The renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America was met with an awesome response,” Patronis tweeted, fully behind Trump’s effort to get under the skin of Ottawa. “Let it rip, Mr. President!”

• REVERSE. Meanwhile, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) is offering a bill to overturn Trump’s move. “The Great Lakes are a shared treasure,” Dingell said. “That’s why I’m introducing legislation to keep Lake Ontario as Lake Ontario and block President Trump’s idiotic order.”

• BADGER STATE. There was one Republican who rejected Trump’s move - Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), who is running for Governor of Wisconsin. “The Great Lakes are Great Lakes, and we should leave them that way,” said Tiffany. (Narrator: We’ll see if that aggravates Trump at all.)

ALASKA. The Alaska Primary was back on August 18, but they are still counting ballots up there, trying to figure out which four candidates will move onto November. The overall numbers certainly raise some red flags for Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), who only received 42 percent of the vote.

• FINAL FOUR. Leading the primary is a Democrat, ex-Rep. Mary Peltola, with 49 percent. She seems well positioned to win in November. “Housing, healthcare, groceries, gas – the cost of everything is skyrocketing, and Alaska families are getting crushed,” said Peltola.

• SAME NAME. What’s really interesting is who the other two candidates will be in this ‘Top Four’ general election. One will certainly be Dan Sullivan - not the incumbent GOP Senator - but another Republican named Dan Sullivan.

• THE FOURTH. Right now, Democratic Socialist David Leslie is in fourth place, after getting just over 1700 votes in the primary. He obviously could take votes away from Peltola in November - just as Sullivan the challenger could take votes away from Sullivan the Senator.

BEHIND THE SCENES. If you look back at old floor plans of the U.S. Capitol, there used to be a door leading out of the original Senate chamber on the first floor. Later used by the U.S. Supreme Court from 1819 to 1860, the door opened into a lobby along the main hallway of the Senate wing. That door no longer exists. But if you look carefully on that wall, you can see the white-ish discolored stone of where that doorway used to be (on the left).

FLOOR PLAN. On the right is part of an 1846 floor plan of the Senate wing in the Capitol. The old doorway is indicated by the red arrow. The Senate first met in that room in 1800; Senators moved upstairs one floor in 1819.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 28, 1963. The March on Washington thrilled some lawmakers on this date. “It was the most moving and inspiring experience in my life in connection with any matter involving public affairs,” said Sen. Wayne Morse of Oregon. On the Senate floor, Morse said the speech of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ‘will go down in the history of American oratory and will inspire fellow Americans for years to come.’

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on Monday, August 31.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

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• Kennedy Center name fight is back in court.

• A House-passed defense bill is no longer MIA.

• Some bruised GOP feelings in South Carolina.

Read more

• Top officials won’t say where imported beef is coming from.

• Democrats ramp up attacks on Trump tariffs and beef imports.

• Trump lawyers suggest tearing down the Kennedy Center.

SOUTH CAROLINA. It took a lot of work. But President Donald Trump got the outcome he wanted last night in a special GOP Senate runoff election in South Carolina. Trump’s support clearly pulled Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) across the finish line, as she defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) by a 52-48 percent margin. Graham will now replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the ballot in November.

• FERTILE MYRTLE. The key to victory for Graham was in Horry County in the southeast corner of the state, home to Myrtle Beach. President Trump held a rally there last Friday, and that helped churn out a 17,000 vote advantage for Graham in that one county - almost exactly matching her winning statewide margin.

GENERAL. Darline Graham wasted no time going after her Democratic Party opponent in November. “Her views are those of Bernie Sanders and AOC,” Graham said. “If you liked Kamala Harris for President, you’re gonna love Dr. Annie Andrews.”

• RALPH NORMAN. Unable to break out of his upstate strongholds of Greenville, Spartanburg, and the suburbs of Charlotte, Norman just didn’t have enough votes to upset Graham. “We had $8 million spent against us,” Norman told supporters. “We couldn't come up with that much money.”

• TRUMPED. Soon after Lindsey Graham’s death, Norman asked Trump for his endorsement - but Trump refused, and then endorsed Darline Graham. “I never understood why he got in this race,” Norman said, flashing some frustration in his remarks. “But it is what it is.”

TWICE SHY. It was the second time in recent months that Norman had lost a statewide campaign. He failed to make the runoff earlier this year in the GOP race for Governor - but got a second chance to run when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died on July 11. Norman was first elected to Congress in 2017.

• NOVEMBER. While no one really expects anything but a Graham victory in November, you never know what might happen when a combination of big turnout for Democrats gets added to a lack of enthusiasm among Republicans, who are turned off by the current political environment.

• CAMPAIGN. Look for Andrews to stress affordability and cost-of-living issues, and amplify charges made by Norman that Sen. Graham is not ready for prime time. Even so, Graham will be the strong favorite.

BOOMER SOONER. President Trump not only won in South Carolina last night, but also had the winner in the GOP runoff for Governor in Oklahoma - though it was very close. Even with the backing of Trump and current Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), Republican Mike Mazzei defeated state Attorney General Gentner Drummond by just 2,000 votes out of over 370,000.

GEORGIA. Voters outside of Atlanta took a bit of a surprise detour last night, electing a former school board chair to fill out the term of the late Rep. David Scott (D-GA). The winner was Everton Blair, who defeated Scott’s daughter, Marcye Scott.

• FAMILY. Usually in these situations, the voters opt to give one last favor to the deceased member of Congress, by electing their family member. But not this time. David Scott was first elected to Congress in 2002, but he suffered from medical issues for the past six years.

• SHORT TIMER. Here is one interesting note about the winner. Blair is not on the ballot for this seat in November - so he will serve four months in the U.S. House, and then head back to Georgia. (I guess that means he is ‘retiring’ from Congress??)

• KWANZA. Four months in office is better than one month - that’s how long Democrat Kwanza Hall served in late 2020, when he was elected to replace the late Rep. John Lewis (D-GA). Hall was not on the ballot in November, so he served as a Congressman for just 31 days.

LOW TURNOUT. Maybe the most eye-opening part about this special election was how few people voted. Only about 19,000 people cast ballots for this seat. Ironically, one of the criticisms of Rep. David Scott had been how he failed to vote in six straight elections.

• NUMBERS. This is the second seat won back by Democrats over the summer break. That means when those two members are sworn in - most likely next week - the House will be 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, 1 Independent, and 2 vacant seats. The GOP majority gets even tighter for Speaker Mike Johnson.

MYSTERY MEAT. You probably have heard some of the complaints from farm groups about President Trump’s plan to allow in large amounts of imported beef over the next few months. But there is still one big unknown. Where is that meat coming from? The Trump Administration still won’t say.

• AG SECRETARY. What country or countries is sending this extra beef? “I am not actually part of any of those conversations,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in an interview yesterday with Spectrum News. “I am not privy to talk about that,” Rollins told other reporters at the White House.

• UNKNOWN BEEF. Think about that answer for a second. The Secretary of Agriculture won’t say what country is sending 300,000 metric tons of foreign beef to American consumers. That just raises all sorts of red flags - and Democrats were more than happy to help.

• WHERE’S THE BEEF. “300,000 metric tons of beef from an unknown source?” tweeted Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA). “Why is Trump hiding where the foreign beef is coming from?” added Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA). “This is NOT America first,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

BLAME CANADA. While Donald Trump continued to lash out at Canada over trade matters on Tuesday, he was getting almost no public support at all from GOP lawmakers in Congress. But the trade brouhaha was giving Democrats all sorts of political targets on affordability and the cost of living for Americans - energizing their campaigns for November.

• MICHIGAN. “Donald Trump and John James’ reckless tariffs are hitting Michigan small businesses hard,” said Democrat Jocelyn Benson, who is running for Governor against Rep. John James (R-MI). “This is the John James Tax, and Michigan families and businesses are paying the price.”

• WISCONSIN. This isn’t a difficult formula to figure out for Democrats. “These reckless tariffs and the new trade war with Canada will only squeeze our rural communities more,” argued Rebecca Cooke, who is running for Congress in Wisconsin against Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI).

• MAINE. “A tariff is a tax,” said Hannah Pingree, the Democratic nominee for Governor in Maine. “It shows up in groceries, energy costs, and now in a new long list of goods that will just increase prices for Maine families.”

UNFORCED ERROR. Democrats have been churning out tweets, news releases, press conferences, and statements for days now on the Trump trade fight with Canada, plus the Trump plan to import huge amounts of foreign beef. While Republicans have pushed back on the beef story, their silence is deafening on Canada.

• GOP. What are Republicans saying? Those who are talking about Canada have been making the argument that Trump’s actions are about fair trade. “What President Trump is trying to do - and I applaud him for that - is level the playing field,” Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) told Fox Business.

• FAIR TRADE. But that argument has seemed hollow for the past two years. The ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs did not make the world cut deals that favored the U.S. And American farmers are still suffering from trade retaliation (just ask the soybean farmers how things are going).

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KENTUCKY. How are the midterms going for Republicans? NBC News had a bizarre story yesterday about a GOP candidate for Congress in Kentucky - that’s Trump country - who has quietly removed his picture with President Trump and all sorts of Trump mentions from the candidate’s campaign website.

• ERASED. Originally, Ralph Alvarado’s website called him an ‘America First Fighter.’ “President Trump needs more allies in Congress to deliver on his bold vision to Make America Great Again,” it read. Now there is no mention of Trump, and it labels Alvarado as ‘Independent Leadership.’

• ZACH. The Democrat running for Congress in KY-6 was more than happy to weigh in on Alvarado’s changes. “It reeks of a career politician’s desperation,” tweeted Zach Dembo, a former Navy JAG prosecutor. (Narrator: If Democrats are winning in this Central Kentucky district, yikes.)

LAKE AMERICA. Speaking of changes, President Trump on Tuesday tried to taunt Canadians by suggesting that the name of Lake Ontario be changed to ‘Lake America.’ The White House was happy to echo that in this tweet:

GULF OF AMERICA. I wonder if there will be a House Republican who quickly submits a bill to change the maps for Lake Ontario - just like they did for the Gulf of Mexico.

• POLITICS. Democrats are more than happy to watch Trump fight with the Canadians, arguing that Trump has a plan to rename Lake Ontario - but doesn’t have a plan to end the Iran War or make gasoline less expensive.
  

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KENNEDY CENTER. This next story is absolutely crazy. Lawyers for President Trump told a federal judge on Tuesday that if the courts won’t allow Trump’s name to be added to the Kennedy Center - named for President John F. Kennedy - then the memorial might have to be torn down. (Narrator: I’m not kidding.)

• BRIEF. “Without the prominent recognition of The Trump Administration, and President Trump’s efforts, the donors will not contribute, and the Center will continue to be in a financial and structural death spiral,” Trump’s lawyers argued.

• TEAR IT DOWN. “Without those efforts, the Center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down, with a determination to follow on what to build on the site, such as a large outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Potomac River,” they wrote.

• BLUF. In other words - if Trump can’t get his name on the Kennedy Center building - then he will get rid of the building. I’m sorry, but this is so wrong. Trump’s name does not belong on the Kennedy Center at all.

• FUTURE. A federal judge has already ordered the removal of Trump’s name - and instead, the Kennedy Center board has kept up a scaffolding to hide Kennedy’s name. I took this picture on Sunday:

RAP SHEET. Sometimes the U.S. Capitol Police blotter gets interesting. But this one is definitely a first. Officers on Tuesday arrested a 35-year-old man from California, after police noticed his pickup truck parked on East Capitol Street, in between the Supreme Court and Library of Congress. What was in the pickup that attracted their attention? A guillotine.

STATEMENT. “The suspect 35-year-old Philan-Tam-Duy Le of Julian, CA, was arrested for Carrying a Dangerous Weapon for being in possession of the guillotine,” police said in a statement. “The suspect drove here from California. USCP investigators are going through the suspect’s background to learn more about why he came to Washington, D.C.”

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 26, 1922. Working on a Saturday, there was a bit of jocularity on the House floor, as lawmakers approved a plan to spend $2,500 for the ‘extermination and banishment of insects’ from the Capitol and Congressional office buildings. “I understood from the reading that it only applied to the Senate,” Rep. John Nance Garner of Texas said to laughter. “No; there are a few bugs in the House,” answered Rep. Clifford Ireland of Illinois.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on August 31.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Follow me on Bluesky.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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• Trump battles Ottawa: “WE DON’T NEED CANADA.”

• More GOP lawmakers dump on Trump’s imported beef plan.

• No running in the halls for this Senate pro forma.

Read more

• Supreme Court allows ballroom construction to continue.

• Immigration questions prompt Twitter tiff.

• Another quick exit for a Senate pro forma session.

Read more

• Speaker Johnson stumps in Pennsylvania.

• Democrats decry gun threats by ICE agent in Virginia.

• Ex-GOP Speaker tells his party to focus on the economy.

REGULAR ORDER NOTE. With both the House and Senate on break, Regular Order will take a day off on Friday. My next report will be out on Monday morning.

RECORD DEBT. I very clearly remember the excitement of the multiple budget surplus years at the end of the Clinton Administration. It has been downhill ever since. The National Debt went over $40 trillion on Wednesday, as an ocean of rising red ink shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon - and Congress shows no signs of balancing the budget.

• GOP. “Congress needs to get spending under control,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), as he again urged a balanced budget - though his party never produces one. “Our growing debt is unsustainable,” added Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS).

• SAY WHAT. Democrats ridiculed comments like that from the GOP - noting that last year’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ would add an extra $4 trillion in deficits. “They only care about “fiscal responsibility” when it’s time to cut your health care,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA).

• DETAILS. Republicans used to campaign on a balanced budget. Not anymore. And their repeated packages of tax cuts have only made the situation worse. If Democrats are ‘Tax and Spend,’ then Republicans have morphed into ‘Borrow and Spend.’ The 2026 deficit will be over $2 trillion.

• NUMBERS. It took 9 years to go from $10 trillion to $20 trillion of debt. It took half that time to go from $30 trillion to $40 trillion.

  • $4.4 trillion - Clinton takes office Jan. 1993

  • $5.7 trillion - Clinton leaves office Jan. 2001

  • $10 trillion - Sept. 30, 2008

  • $20 trillion - Sept. 11, 2017

  • $30 trillion - Feb. 1, 2022

  • $40 trillion - Aug. 19, 2026

THE FIX. Conceptually, it’s not hard to balance the budget. You just have to make a lot of very difficult and politically painful decisions (like making changes in entitlement programs). Remember, there are only three basic options:

• 1) Cut spending

• 2) Bring in more revenue

• 3) Combination of 1) and 2)

LOOKING BACK. 25 years ago was the last surplus, $128 billion in Fiscal Year 2001, the end of the Clinton Administration and the first year of the George W. Bush Administration. The next year in 2002, the deficit shot up to $158 billion. (Narrator: We would love to have that right now.)

• TODAY. Donald Trump added $7.8 trillion to the national debt in his first term in office. Joe Biden added about $8.4 trillion during his four years. Now Trump has added $3.8 trillion more in just 19 months.

• CAP HILL. I have no confidence in either party to fix this situation. And the American people certainly don’t have the patience to deal with the difficult decisions that would come with the territory. In other words, everything is probably just going to get worse. Buckle up.
  

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BALLROOM. The White House on Wednesday again pressed the U.S. Supreme Court to brush aside lower court decisions which threaten to halt work on the new White House ballroom. “Completing the Project without delay is a national security imperative,” wrote Solicitor General John Sauer.

• NAME. The latest brief from the Trump Administration again refers to the project as a ‘military complex.’ “The injunction would leave an unstable, unfinished 70-foot-tall structure on White House grounds, putting the complex at risk and thwarting Secret Service protection.”

• TRUMPED. Speaking to reporters this week, President Trump has also referred to the construction as a ‘military complex’ - but you can tell that the ballroom description remains near and dear to his heart.

• OPPONENTS. “The people that are opposing the ballroom are people in my opinion who are very disloyal to our country - very, very disloyal to our country,” Trump said to reporters. “It’s going to be the most beautiful ballroom of its kind.”

• SHADOW DOCKET. No timeframe has been given for a Supreme Court decision. You could see some of the tall structures for the ballroom in the background as Trump spoke to reporters on Wednesday.

CONGRESS. I’ll say this again. This is not about whether a ballroom is needed. This is about whether the Congress authorized the White House to tear down the East Wing and build a new ballroom and military bunker complex.

• BILLS. We all know that Congress never approved those ideas or the money for them. There is no reason why this construction should be happening. But that doesn’t mean the Supreme Court will see it that way.
  

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ELECTIONS. The day after Tuesday’s primaries, the winners urged their party’s voters to rally behind them in November. “Southwest Florida sent a clear message,” said Jim Schwartzel, who won a GOP House primary in FL-19 by defeating six candidates who recently moved to Florida. “This congressional seat belongs to Southwest Florida.”

• CLEANUP ON AISLE 47. Meanwhile, President Trump threw a defeated GOP Congressman under the bus on Wednesday. “I told Congressman Cory Mills of Florida, a friend of mine, to get out of the Race,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social website. “But he wouldn’t listen.”

• ELIJAH. Trump then embraced Ryan Elijah, who defeated Mills. “I am humbled to have the endorsement of President Trump,” said the former TV host, who will be the strong favorite to keep this Central Florida seat in the hands of the GOP in November.

NOVEMBER. Making the rounds on cable TV this week, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been sounding the alarm for his fellow Republicans - worried about a Blue Wave in November. Compared to the message of Speaker Mike Johnson - which focuses on calling Democrats communists and socialists - McCarthy said there was only one issue.

• IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID. “The number one issue is the economy, and if you talk about anything else, you’re losing,” McCarthy said on CNBC. “Right now, the Democrats are winning because their base is excited about voting, and the Republicans are not,” McCarthy added, naming three states to watch.

“I’m really worried. You got to watch Iowa. You know we have all four congressional seats there. When I first came in, we only had one. Pennsylvania, you got a very popular Governor there. Arizona, I don’t think our Republican nominee is that strong, and we could lose the House if he doesn’t perform, and we lose a couple seats there.”

• ARIZONA. Let’s start with Arizona. McCarthy was referring to Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), who is the GOP nominee for Governor. He is a staunch Freedom Caucus guy who is an underdog against Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ).

• BIGGS. Just listen to McCarthy on Biggs: “We could lose the House if he doesn’t perform.” There are several seats which could slide to the Democrats if they get a big enough turnout in November.

• IOWA. My father always talks about how Democrats picked up three seats in Iowa in the 1958 midterm. Right now, that delegation is 4-0 for the GOP - and Democrats believe they can also win the race for Senate and Governor.

• KEYSTONE. Let’s finish in Pennsylvania. Democrats this week flipped a state legislative district that Trump had won by 18 points. There are several U.S. House seats which could flip as well in November.

DUNDER MIFFLIN. Speaker Mike Johnson was stumping for votes on Wednesday in one of those Pennsylvania districts, held by freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA). The focus was law enforcement, as Republicans do their best to argue that Democrats - especially the more liberal ones - are soft on crime.

• BACK THE BLUE. “Backing the badge isn’t new for me,” Bresnahan said. “I’ve always had their backs, and I always will.”

ALLENTOWN. Along with helping Bresnahan, Speaker Johnson also stopped on Wednesday in the Lehigh Valley to try to boost the fortunes of another freshman Republican lawmaker, Rep. Ryan MacKenzie.

• RED TO BLUE. Democrats have four targets in the Keystone State: Bresnahan, MacKenzie, Rep. Scott Perry, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. How those four fare could well dictate which party wins control of the House in November.

• DEMS. I would bet those four Republicans in Pennsylvania aren’t saying much about the economy and gas prices. “The Republican economy is a disaster,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said on Wednesday. “Vote them all out in November.”

LOOKING AHEAD. Newspaper endorsements aren’t as impactful as they once were in U.S. politics. But I still wonder if this week’s decision by the Boston Globe will derail the reelection bid of Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), first elected to the U.S. House in 1976, and a U.S. Senator since 2013.

• EDITORIAL. “Generational change is on the lips of many candidates this midterm season,” the Globe editorial stated. “Representative Seth Moulton is promising that he can bring new vision and vigor to an aging, ailing, and deeply unpopular party.”

• CHALLENGE. Markey is 80 years old. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) is 47. He has raised more money than Markey, and Moulton could be trying to move up at just the right time - when voters want change. This primary is on September 1.

ICE THREAT. Two Virginia Democrats met Wednesday on Capitol Hill with a woman who was recently accosted by ICE agents. One of those agents pointed his gun at Carolina Molina, and accused her of trying to run over federal agents. But once she said she had a dashcam - the officers backed off their threat to arrest her.

• MOLINA. “I hope that we see a thorough investigation,” Molina said outside the Capitol at a news conference, as she detailed her encounter with ICE agents not far across the Potomac River in Virginia. “I think there should be some type of justice that occurs.”

BEYER VOLVO. “This dangerous and dishonest nonsense unfortunately matches what we’ve seen from ICE,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who met Molina along with Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA).

• PROBE. The two Democrats said they would start their own probe. “There have been other recent ICE encounters in Northern Virginia, in addition to this one, where agents hurt people without justification,” Beyer added.

• KILLING. But the event also held a reminder of how tricky the immigration issue is for Democrats. While they rightly try to shine a light on the actions of ICE agents - they can’t ignore violence committed by illegal immigrants.

• GREAT FALLS. Not far from the Molina incident, police arrested a 19-year-old man for murder - and revealed that he had been stopped at the border in 2024, but then allowed to enter the country.

• MIXTURE. The immigration issue is a reminder that Americans favor a middle ground. They clearly don’t like the Trump plan of using ICE agents to drag people off the streets. Just look at what happened in Minneapolis.

• PROTECTION. But Americans also don’t like the idea of a southern border that’s open and being overrun by migrants - especially when it leads to violent crimes against U.S. citizens. Tell me what you think the happy medium is on immigration policy.

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BEHIND THE SCENES. In the original House wing of the U.S. Capitol, one floor below the old chamber, there is a sealed-off circular stairwell area - which is no longer used - but there is a window which opens into that spot. On the walls and the windows inside are dozens of signatures from the past of House Pages and staffers. I managed to get a glimpse of it, courtesy of the summer sunshine.

ATTIC. When I was a Page in 1980, I signed the wall up in the attic of the Capitol, back when my job was to raise the flag over the House wing each day when the session began. Unfortunately, my name - and the signatures of hundreds of other kids - were later painted over.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 20, 1888. “This being Monday, the regular order is the call of the States and Territories for the introduction of bills and resolutions,” said Speaker John Carlisle, soon after the House convened on this date. Back then, members needed formal permission - or ‘leave’ - to unveil a bill. Mondays were devoted to that, as each state delegation got a chance to introduce legislation. Arkansas went first.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on August 31.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Follow me on Bluesky.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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• Speaker Johnson hits the stump in Michigan.

• Trump loses another GOP race for Governor - this time in Wyoming.

• Democrats urge Supreme Court to nix White House ballroom.

FLORIDA. There was no shortage of storylines in the Sunshine State on Tuesday night. Voters defeated a scandal-plagued GOP Congressman, rejected an out-of-state carpetbagger backed by President Trump for another U.S. House seat, and dealt a surprise defeat to the Democrat favored in a primary for U.S. Senate.

MILLS. The election headline from Florida was the GOP primary defeat of Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) - who has faced a series of sexual misconduct allegations. The final tally wasn’t close, as former TV anchor Ryan Elijah defeated Mills by almost 13 percent, as Mills will leave Capitol Hill after two terms in office.

• CHANGE. “The voters in Seminole and Volusia County delivered a strong message tonight that was heard around the country,” said Elijah, who had gone directly after Mills.

• SUPPORT. The big turning point in this campaign was a few weeks ago, when two Florida GOP lawmakers - Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and Rep. Mike Haridopolos - publicly endorsed Elijah over Mills. That changed the race.

• SCANDAL. But let’s be honest. It never should have come to this. Mills knocked around one woman, and narrowly avoided arrest. Then Mills was hit with a restraining order after he threatened to release nude photos and videos of another woman he had dated. That should have been enough.

• TRUMPED. But Mills refused to step aside even with a House ethics probe. He repeatedly touted his February endorsement from President Trump, though Trump did not repeat that support in the days leading up to the GOP primary. “God is good,” Mills tweeted after voting.

• CONGRESS. There will be few tears shed for Mills among fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill. His scandals were too obvious and too blatant. And he could still face punishment from the House Ethics Committee.

• NUMBERS. Mills is the eleventh House incumbent to lose a primary in 2026. His loss means that 71 current lawmakers will not be back after the November elections. That’s a 16 percent turnover already. November is still coming.

• NOVEMBER. The GOP results were a bitter pill for Florida Democrats, who were hoping that a wounded Mills would limp into the general election - and give them a chance to flip that seat in Central Florida.

SPEAK UP. There is also a larger lesson at play here in the halls of Congress. Mills probably doesn’t lose this race if not for the power play by Reps. Luna and Haridopolos. I wish more lawmakers would speak up about their embattled colleagues - instead of quietly watching them try to survive.

• THE SPEAKER. Also, the refusal of House Speaker Mike Johnson to say anything bad in public about Cory Mills really looks like a poor choice after last night. It would have been real easy to tell Mills to give up his campaign for reelection - and endorse Elijah instead.

SETBACKS. The Mills defeat wasn’t President Trump’s only loss in Florida last night. GOP voters in southwest Florida brushed aside Trump’s hand-picked candidate for a U.S. House seat in the Naples area, rejecting a series of carpetbaggers, and instead picking a homegrown Republican for Congress.

• FL-19. The winner of the GOP primary in FL-19 was Jim Schwartzel, a local radio executive who prevailed over six out of state transplants, including two former U.S. House members.

• HOMEGROWN. Born in Naples, Schwartzel emphasized his roots during the campaign. “Vote local - Vote Schwartzel,” he said on Tuesday. “I’m the only candidate in this primary who was born and raised here.”

• LAUFING. It was the third time that Trump’s candidate, Catalina Lauf, had run for Congress and lost. The first two losses were in Illinois. She thought it would be different with Trump’s support this time. It wasn’t, as Schwartzel defeated her 29-22 percent.

• CARPETBAGGERS. Finishing third was Jim Oberweis, who had lost a run for Congress before in Illinois as well. Trailing in single digits were ex-Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and ex-Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY) - both had also moved to southwest Florida to run for Congress. That didn’t work.

INCUMBENTS. Other than Mills, no incumbents in Florida had a bad night. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) had no problem running in a different district - despite criticism from Black leaders. Wasserman Schultz won her primary easily with over 45 percent of the vote.

• POSTGAME. Statewide in Florida, Democrats had a mixed night. Their candidate for Governor, former Republican and ex-Rep. David Jolly, won easily. But in the race for Senate, a progressive state Rep. from Jacksonville, Angie Nixon, won an upset win, defeating Alexander Vindman by 12 points.

• FLORIDA SENATE. Money isn’t everything. And that was especially true in the Nixon-Vindman race. Vindman, whose brother serves in Congress from Virginia, was the strong favorite, as he had raised over $16 million.

• UNDERDOG. Meanwhile, Nixon had struggled to get to $1 million in campaign funds. But it didn’t matter, as she won handily. “We did it ya’ll,” Nixon told supporters. “Get ready, the fight has just begun.”

• NOVEMBER. While Jolly will have a chance to win the Governor’s race in November against Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Nixon will be a heavy underdog to Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL).

• OUTLOOK. Moody seems like a somewhat weak incumbent who is not an active campaigner. But a Democratic Socialist running statewide in Florida doesn’t seem like the answer in November - at least not right now.

• JOLLY. Could Florida voters split the difference in November and vote Jolly for Governor and Moody for Senate? Something to think about.
  

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DEFEAT. Donald Trump has a very good record when it comes to endorsements in Republican primaries. His choice of a candidate can often determine the winner. But his magic seems to be wearing off - especially in GOP races for Governor.

• EQUALITY STATE. Last night in Wyoming, Trump lost a GOP race for Governor for the fifth time this year. FIVE TIMES. Trump backed the state school superintendent Megan Degenfelder - but she fell short.

• GOVERNOR. Degenfelder joined a series of other Trump-backed candidates who have failed all across the country in races for Governor:

  • Minnesota - Mike Lindell

  • Georgia - Burt Jones

  • Iowa - Randy Feenstra

  • South Carolina - Pamela Evette

WYOMING. For all the talk about Wyoming going hard to the right, it was actually quite the night for established Republican elected officials.

• SENATE. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) easily won the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. She will be the favorite in November.

• HOUSE. Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray won a closely contested GOP race to replace Hageman in Congress.

• GOVERNOR. Former state House Speaker and current state Senator Eric Barlow won the GOP nod for Governor, defeating Trump’s candidate.

CALIFORNIA SPECIAL. The vote was too close to call last night in a special U.S. House election in California. Two Democrats were vying to fill out the term of ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), who resigned back in April - under fire for various allegations of sexual misconduct.

• TOP TWO. Ahead in the count was state senator Aisha Wahab. She leads Melissa Hernandez by less than 2,000 votes. Wahab is a progressive backed by the state Democratic Party. Hernandez has the support of AIPAC.

• BLUE MAIL. As many of you know, California is notorious for a slow election count, as it deals with massive numbers of mail-in ballots. It could take a few days to see how this race shakes out.

• COUNTING. Why does Florida get finished so fast - but California does not? The answer is simple. Florida won’t accept any mail ballots that arrive after 7 pm on Election Day - when the polls close. California waits a week to count any ballots which were postmarked by Election Day.

• NUMBERS. Along with this California seat, a second Democrat is likely to win a special election next week in Georgia. Those two would make the House 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, and 1 Independent - making life even more difficult for House Speaker Mike Johnson.

CAMPAIGN TRAIL. As for Speaker Johnson, he continues to hopscotch around the country during this August break to help GOP lawmakers campaign for November. On Monday, he was in Virginia Beach. Tuesday, the Speaker was in Michigan to help freshman Rep. Tom Barrett (R-MI) who represents a district centered on the state capital of Lansing.

MESSAGE. Johnson’s message on behalf of Barrett (upper right of the photo) was much the same as in Virginia Beach on Monday, arguing that Democrats are badly divided - and that they are led by nothing but a bunch of commies and socialists who will run the country into the ground.

• MICHIGAN. “This is a contrast election, a contrast between common sense, represented by a guy like Tom Barrett, and crazy, and that’s what his opponent represents,” Speaker Johnson said.

• OUTCOME. “I am very bullish on the outcome of the election,” Johnson told reporters. “People understand you cannot turn the government over to radical Marxist communists, okay?”

• CARAVAN. For a second straight day, Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK) and Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) were with the Speaker. Also appearing at this Lansing stop was Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) and former Michigan Gov. John Engler.

AMICUS. 33 Democrats in Congress are urging the U.S. Supreme Court to block further construction work at the White House, where President Trump is building a ballroom plus some kind of underground military nerve center. The argument of the 16 Senators and 17 House members is no surprise - they say Congress never authorized Trump to do anything.

• BRIEF. “Congress neither authorized the demolition of the White House’s East Wing and construction of a ballroom nor appropriated funds to carry out that project,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote to the High Court.

• HOLD A VOTE. “If the President believes national-security concerns warrant the demolition or construction of federal property, the Constitution requires him to come to Congress,” they added in the brief.

• WATCHDOG. Two government watchdog groups echoed that. “Congress, not the Executive, controls the country’s purse strings,” wrote the Campaign Legal Center and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “This is a check against both Executive extravagance and the risk of corrupting influence or its appearance.”

• TIMING. It’s not clear how quickly the Supreme Court will deal with this matter. This was one of the photos the Trump Administration submitted to the Supreme Court in arguing for the project to keep moving forward. You can see how tall the new ballroom structure is going to be - next to the White House.

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VOTING. Another day has gone by without a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on President Trump’s executive order which seeks to slap dramatic new federal rules on voting by mail. The Trump Administration brought their latest appeal to the Justices back on July 27. Briefs were due by August 3. But nothing has happened.

• ABSENTEE. There could be a case bubbling in the lower courts which may get to the U.S. Supreme Court about age limits on who can use an absentee ballot. In a decision issued on Tuesday, a three-judge panel ruled against a South Carolina law that limits most absentee ballots to people over 65.

• RULING. “That means voting is harder for voters under age sixty-five than those age sixty-five and older — which constitutes an abridgement of the right to vote on the basis of age and contravenes the Twenty-Sixth Amendment,” the appeals court panel wrote. You can read the ruling at this link.

• CONFLICT. Two other federal circuits have ruled the opposite way, so that could possibly pave the way for this matter to get to the U.S. Supreme Court before the 2028 election.

• LIMITS. South Carolina is not the only state with an age-related law on absentee voting - Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Indiana have similar systems as well.

SUPREME COURT. Let me circle back to where I started - the lack of a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court on the Trump-mail voting matter. The midterm elections actually begin on September 4 when North Carolina starts sending out absentee-by-mail ballots. Would the Roberts Court change all the rules before then? Tell me what you think.

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IRAN WAR. The Trump White House continues to send out a mixed message on the war with Iran. President Trump on Tuesday posted a map declaring the Strait of Hormuz as American territory, and later said ‘there are no talks’ going on with the Tehran regime to officially end the war.

CONGRESS. As you might imagine, most Republicans in Congress are saying very little about the Iran situation during this August break - especially as President Trump veers back and forth on how to deal with the Tehran regime.

• STRAIT. GOP lawmakers support the goal of blocking Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. But how do you achieve that? How do you get the Strait of Hormuz open again? How do you bring down gas prices? It’s giving Democrats some easy election targets.

• GAS PRICES. “Americans are paying for the Iran war every time they fill up their gas tank,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), as the average price of a gallon of gas remains over $4.00. “The war with Iran has been a geopolitical catastrophe for the United States,” added Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO).

BEHIND THE SCENES. My report yesterday on our Q&A with Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) prompted a number of questions about the Senator’s beloved ‘Babydog.’ The 60-pound English bulldog is not allowed on the Senate floor, but he accompanies Justice at times - dragged along in his own special cart by a staffer.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 19, 1919. This was a remarkable day in U.S. government history. Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee gathered on this date at the White House to take testimony from President Woodrow Wilson - who wanted the Senate to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and help create the League of Nations. “I welcome the opportunity for a frank and full interchange,” Wilson told Senators. The full transcript of the meeting was placed in the Congressional Record the next day. Wilson’s lobbying effort did not work.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on August 31.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

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• Speaker Johnson hits the campaign trail in Virginia.

• GOP Senator worries about high prices.

• White House lobs insults at Sen. Ossoff.

PRIMARIES. It’s my favorite day of the week - a primary Tuesday! Voters go to the polls in three states today to take the next step on the road to the November midterm elections. Most of the attention will be on Florida, where a new GOP map forced Democrats to run in a series of newly-drawn districts. But there are also notable races taking place for the U.S. House and Senate today in Wyoming and Alaska.

FLORIDA. There are a couple of U.S. House incumbents who probably did not sleep well last night, as today could bring some bitter medicine from the voters - or some signs of big trouble for November. Topping the list is Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), already under ethics investigation for multiple instances of sexual misconduct.

• MILLS. While President Trump has officially endorsed Mills, several fellow House GOP lawmakers have refused to follow suit, instead backing one of his primary opponents, Ryan Elijah.

• TALLAHASSEE. Even Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has refused to help the two-term Republican Congressman with his GOP primary. “I have not endorsed Cory Mills and I do not support Cory Mills,” DeSantis said last week.

• CAMPAIGN. Mills has refused to give up his bid for reelection, even as more details have surfaced about how he threatened to release nude photos and videos of one woman who was not his wife - and knocked around another woman who was not his wife.

• TRUMPED. “To be clear, I’m the only candidate in Florida’s 7th endorsed by President Trump,” Mills said last week. “I’m proud to have the only proven constitutional conservative voting record.”

• TRUTH. But last night as Trump repeated his endorsements in the Sunshine State, he skipped over Mills. That’s not the same thing as opposing him - but it also sends a message to GOP voters.

• BALLOT. The one thing that might help Mills survive is that he has three Republican primary opponents. And since Florida has done away with runoffs, Mills could still eke out a victory tonight.

FL-20. One House Democratic incumbent could have some heartburn today - that’s Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). The veteran Florida Democrat switched into a new majority-minority district when Republicans chopped up her old district, and that has aggravated some Black leaders in South Florida.

• DEXTER. The Democratic challenger getting most of the airplay in recent months is Elijah Manley, who has called Wasserman Schultz a carpetbagger. “DWS is everything that’s wrong with the Democratic establishment,” said Manley. “I look forward to retiring her from public office.”

• RESIGN. Also on the ballot is a familiar name - that of ex-Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), who resigned earlier this year over charges that she pocketed a mistaken $5 million overpayment by the state of Florida. She won’t win - but she could draw some votes.

• INCUMBENT. It won’t surprise me for Wasserman Schultz to win today, as there are four Black candidates on the ballot who will split the votes against her. (Narrator: I wonder what kind of odds you could get on a Mills-Wasserman Schultz daily double.)

FL-19. The absolute craziest primary of this year takes place today along Florida’s southwest coast, in a district that stretches from Fort Myers down to Sanibel Island and Naples. This seat is currently held by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), who is running for Governor. The GOP slate of candidates trying to replace him seems like it’s been made up by an AI bot.

• GOP FIELD. Try not to giggle, because this is going to take a while to run down some of the characters in this 10-person GOP field.

  • FORMER. There is ex-Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, who left Congress after losing his 2022 GOP primary to Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC) - and now lives in Florida.

  • PARDON. There is ex-Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), the first GOP lawmaker to endorse Donald Trump in 2016. Collins resigned in 2019, convicted of insider trading. He was pardoned by Trump and moved to Florida.

  • LAND OF LINCOLN. There is former Illinois State Senator Jim Oberweis, an 80-year-old businessman who has raised over $3 million for this race. He lost three races for Congress before moving to Florida.

  • ONE MORE. Also from Illinois is Catalina Lauf, who lost races for Congress there in 2020 and 2022 - before moving to Florida. She may be the favorite, because she has the endorsement of President Trump.

  • EMPIRE STATE. Then there is Ola Hawatmeh, who ran for Congress in New York in 2020 - before (everyone join in) moving to Florida and running for this House seat.

  • MICHIGAN. Do you think I’m done? Nope. Also in the race is Linda Sawyer, who ran for Congress in Michigan in 2020 and 2024 - before (let’s hear it from the back) moving to Florida and running for this seat.

  • JAN. 6. Also in this race is John Strand, a self-described ‘January 6th political prisoner.’

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EQUALITY. In Wyoming, there are some interesting open seat GOP fights for Senate, House, and Governor. Today’s primary is the first time in 32 years that all three of those posts have not had an incumbent running. There are big names in all of those races.

• SENATE. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) - who defeated Liz Cheney in 2022 - is trying to move up to the Senate, to replace the retiring Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). Hageman is the favorite over four opponents like Sam Mead, a rancher whose Uncle Matt served as Governor.

• HOUSE. The race to replace Hageman has drawn big money in a state of less than 600,000 people. Three candidates have lent their own campaigns over $1 million each, as this race includes the Secretary of State, the Wyoming Senate President, and the former state superintendent of schools.

ALASKA. The final state on the board today is Alaska, where all eyes will be on the outcome in the Senate jungle primary. Alaska uses a ‘Top Four’ system, where the top four finishers go on to November.

• SULLIVANS. While there are two Dan Sullivans on the ballot - one is the incumbent GOP Senator - the main candidate to watch is ex-Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat who is seen as a possible threat in November. It may take a couple of days to shake out the primary results in this one.

GOLDEN STATE. Just over four months after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) resigned from Congress, voters in his district will elect someone to fill out his term for the rest of the year. The two candidates on the ballot are both Democrats - as they finished first and second in California’s ‘Top Two’ primary.

• BALLOT. State Senator Aisha Wahab will face Melissa Hernandez, a member of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) board. Wahab won over 42 percent in their first meeting - as the same two candidates will also meet in November for this same seat.

• NUMBERS. The House currently has 218 Republicans, 212 Democrats, and 1 Independent. One Democrat will get elected today from California - and another likely next week in Georgia. That means when the House returns on August 31, the margin will be even tighter for GOP leaders at 218-214-1.

• STILL VACANT. This is also a reminder that two GOP Governors never called a special election for vacant seats in their states. Gov. Greg Abbott (R) left the seat of ex-Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) vacant, and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) did the same with the seat of ex-Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL).

• ROSTER SPOTS. The House has not had a full 435 members since December 1, 2023, the day that Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was expelled.

ON THE ROAD. Speaking of elections, House Speaker Mike Johnson wasn’t too far from Capitol Hill on Monday, doing an event in Virginia Beach with Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA), who is one of the prime targets for Democrats in November.

• VA BEACH. Kiggans wasted no time getting to the central GOP message. “It's a fight right now between craziness and common sense, and really civility and communism, socialism,” the Virginia Republican said.

SPEAKER. “Virginia's second district will determine the fate of the country,” Speaker Johnson told reporters, as he tried to portray Democrats as a bumbling bunch of socialists who will take the country in the wrong direction.

• JOHNSON. “It’s a fascinating thing to see the Democrat Party. They’re in the midst of an open civil war,” the Speaker said, highlighting differences between party leaders and much more liberal Democratic Socialists. “They’re kind of a rudderless ship.”

• IRAN WAR. In a short Q&A with reporters, the Speaker was asked about the ongoing Iran war, and its impact on gas prices - which remain over $4 per gallon on average.

• THE STRAIT. “Everybody in the world has an interest in the Strait of Hormuz being open for commerce,” Johnson added. “I believe we’ll be getting into a new phase of that, where we can calm (prices) down.”

ON BOARD. There were three other lawmakers who joined the Speaker and Rep. Kiggans in Virginia Beach: Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA), and Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX). I was surprised to see Goldman at a 1pm ET event. Why?

• HOUSE. A few hours earlier - at 9 am - Goldman had chaired the House pro forma session. (Narrator: Something tells me that he didn’t drive down to Virginia Beach for that Kiggans event. Just saying)

PRO FORMA. Speaking of pro forma sessions, Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) had the honors of gaveling the Senate in and out on Monday. And unlike some of his colleagues who don’t like to stay and talk, Justice chatted with a handful of reporters after he left the Senate floor.

POST RECESS. Asked about whether the Senate can get a budget resolution done when it returns for legislative business on September 14, Justice gave us a blunt - but folksy answer. He doesn’t believe much of anything will get done by October 1, when the House and Senate are scheduled to leave for November.

• CAMPAIGN. “I think we’ll try to jam in as much stuff as we possibly can, but you know what everybody’s thinking right now,” Justice said. “There’s almost nobody here that is not thinking anything but midterms.”

• HIGH PRICES. Justice said the message he hears from voters back home is simple. “They’re hurting, whether it be gas prices or food prices or whatever it may be, they’re hurting,” he said. “And we need to absolutely be more in tune with them.”

• TOBY AND EDITH. Justice likes to refer to voters as ‘Toby and Edith.’ “You people are living in a cave if you don't see that the folks out there - the Toby and Ediths out there - are hurting, they're hurting,” said Justice. His election outlook for the GOP did not seem promising to say the least.

• WAR. Asked about the Iran war - and how that’s kept gas prices up - Justice said there aren’t many good options for President Trump. “You’ve got a situation to where it’s hard to get away. It’s hard to drive gasoline prices back down to where they ought to be.”

OMAN. As for the Iran War, Trump provided a somewhat bizarre headline on Monday, as he threatened to attack the country of Oman, which has been trying to help mediate a deal between the U.S. and the Tehran regime.

• TRUMP. “If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump told Fox News on Monday. That prompted an immediate reaction in Congress from Democrats.

• KAINE. “I will challenge Trump’s deranged threat to “bomb the shit” out of our ally Oman,” announced Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who vowed to file a war powers resolution when the Senate returns next month.

• KOREA. Meanwhile, Democrats ripped Trump over his threats against South Korea. “Trump is siding with Communist dictator Kim Jong Un over South Korea because South Korea refused to help Trump with his failed war against Iran,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC).

• PYONGYANG. Ever since his summit with Kim - which produced no peace breakthrough - Trump has continued to express his admiration for the North Korean leader. “Trump was wrong on Putin. And he’s wrong on North Korea,” said Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI).

GEORGIA SENATE. The White House lashed out at Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on Monday, a day after Ossoff needled President Trump in a campaign speech over his push for a White House ballroom and his focus on a new Air Force One.

• ZINGER. “He doesn’t want to do the job,” Ossoff said of Trump. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”

• HARP. But who is Natalie? That is Trump’s aide Natalie Harp, a 35-year-old former conservative TV media host, who is often by Trump’s side. Evidently that Ossoff line struck close to home.

• PUSHBACK. “Jon Jackoff has to be the biggest cuck loser in politics,” tweeted White House Communications Director Steven Cheung. “Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama,” added White House spokesman Davis Ingle. Trump called Ossoff ‘Pee Wee Herman.’

OSSOFF. Again, I want to note that Ossoff keeps cranking out viral video campaign speech content hitting Trump - like no other Democrat. The production quality is off the charts, with multiple camera angles, and a snappy message that mainly accuses Trump of corruption. It just screams 2028. Tell me what you think.

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ETHICS. Most of the big ethics cases on Capitol Hill of late have involved Republicans - but now there is a House Democrat who faces a new sexual misconduct investigation. The Ethics Committee formally announced yesterday that it is probing Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA).

• GOMEZ. There have been press reports tying Gomez to women who were not his wife. “Years ago, I made personal mistakes outside my marriage that have caused real pain to my wife and family,” Gomez said earlier this year when news broke of a possible ethics review.

• NOVEMBER. Even if this ethics investigation causes big problems for Gomez - it won’t take a House seat away from Democrats. Why not? Because the other candidate on the ballot in November for the Gomez seat is another Democrat - progressive Angela Gonzales-Torres.

• WATER COOLER. Your stat of the day is that of the 52 U.S. House seats from California, 6 of those 52 races will have a Democrat vs Democrat choice for voters in November. Can’t beat those odds.

BIG BEND. Facing criticism from Texas lawmakers in both parties, the head of the Border Patrol said Monday that he has put all construction work on hold in remote areas of Big Bend National Park. Rodney Scott says he will visit the park this week to make an in-person review of border security work that’s drawn sharp criticism from inside the Texas GOP.

• BORDER PATROL. “CBP is firmly committed to protecting America, and that includes our national treasures,” Scott said as he headed for Texas. “We know the current and predictable national security threats and they are real.”

• REPUBLICANS. The videos of bulldozers tearing apart old trees and blasting a road through remote desert areas - where few migrants go - had landed with a thud. “We can secure Big Bend while protecting its God-given scenery,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who praised Scott’s construction pause.

• NO WALL. Originally, the Trump Administration wanted to build a 30-foot high wall through this region, as construction work started near Santa Elena Canyon - where rock walls going as high as 1,500 feet frame the Rio Grande River. (Narrator: In other words, not many people are crossing the border there.)

• AUDIBLE. What’s not clear is whether anything is really changing here - or if this is just a face-saving way for the Border Patrol to act like it is concerned, but then give the go-ahead to this border security project.

BEHIND THE SCENES. I showed you on Monday where the Architect of the Capitol was starting to do restoration work on the first floor of the original House wing. The scaffolding is now going up there so workers can fix the plaster and repaint the corridor in the original colors used by Benjamin Latrobe around 1820.

BRICK AND BLOCK. I’m still hoping that the AOC will be able to answer my questions about what kind of stone was used in the walls of this section. Again, most people don’t realize that much of the original Capitol has stone and/or brick walls - but they are covered by paint and plaster.

• SOUTH WING. This particular first floor hallway is still basically as it was during the 1814 fire set by British troops. The original building ended where the dark stone floor stops at the bottom of this picture.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 18, 1890. When the Senate convened on this date, time was the issue. “Our Senate clock,” said Sen. George Edmunds of Vermont, “varies from day to day very considerably,” and Edmunds asked consent to have the Sergeant-at-Arms purchase a new clock for the Senate chamber. “The Chair has been several times embarrassed by the eccentricities of the clock,” added Sen. John Ingalls of Kansas, who served as President Pro Tempore. The new clock was approved.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on August 31.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Follow me on Bluesky.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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• Texas lawmakers want answers about Big Bend border work.

• Trump still pressing for daylight saving bill.

• Graham grabs endorsement advantage in South Carolina.

Read more

• No rush of endorsements for Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC)

• War of words erupts over National Guard troops in D.C.

• A telephone town hall goes off course in Texas.

NEWSLETTER NOTE: With both the House and Senate on break, Regular Order will take a day off. My next report will be out on Monday morning.

RED INK. Balancing the budget used to be a primary GOP issue. Not anymore. The budget deficit continues to spiral the wrong way, as Uncle Sam ran up $432 billion in red ink in July, the worst monthly deficit in Donald Trump’s second term in office. The numbers are so bad that the deficit is likely to end up at over $2 trillion for 2026.

• LAST YEAR. After 10 months of the current fiscal year, the deficit for 2026 stands at $1.8 trillion - that is already more than the full year 2025 budget deficit of $1.775 trillion.

• SPENDING. Total federal spending is up again this year. As of July it stands at $6.284 trillion - up $309 billion from the same point in 2025. How does that compare to previous years? You can see how COVID spending peaked, went down, and then rocketed back up.

  • 2026 - $6.284 trillion (10 months of the fiscal year)

  • 2025 - $5.975 trillion

  • 2024 - $5.601 trillion

  • 2023 - $5.302 trillion

  • 2022 - $4.831 trillion

  • 2021 - $5.858 trillion

  • 2020 - $5.631 trillion

• TARIFFS. The federal government actually lost $9 billion on tariffs in July. How is that possible? That’s because the Trump Administration has had to refund import duties collected under the President’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, which were struck down earlier this year by the U.S. Supreme Court.

• INTEREST. The most depressing number continues to be the growth in how much interest Uncle Sam pays out on the national debt. So far in 2026, that has cost $931 billion - which is larger than the Pentagon’s budget. Interest costs will total over $1 trillion this year.

• DGAF. But the worst part is that neither party wants to lift a finger to do anything about all of this red ink. Republicans have become the ‘Borrow and Spend’ party, while Democrats remain on the ‘Tax and Spend’ side - though at least Democrats offer ways to pay for things with higher taxes.

• NATIONAL DEBT. The Treasury Department reported on Wednesday that the national debt now stands at $39,941,929,832,070.77 - almost to $40 trillion. That will be the next big headline about red ink.

ICE GLOVES. Democrats in Congress on Wednesday denounced reports that the Trump Administration was ready to spend millions on special gloves for immigration enforcement - which can send an electric shock to help subdue people who are resisting agents. (Narrator: I am not kidding.)

• FINE PRINT. The DHS contract announcement for the gloves says it will be worth up to $20 million.

• ZAPPED. “This won’t make anyone safer and in fact just gives ICE another dangerous tool to target citizens and immigrants alike,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). “This is inhumane, dangerous, and unacceptable,” added Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL).

• FUNDING. “You say there’s no money for body and dash cams, but somehow there’s money for a pain-inflicting electric shock glove?” tweeted Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-TX).

MINNEAPOLIS. This might be a surprise to Republicans in the South - but the actions of ICE remain a potent political issue for many Democrats. We saw that in this week’s primary elections in Minnesota, where residents have not forgotten the two people shot and killed in cold blood by immigration agents back in January.

• DFL. The immigration issue boiled over in the race for U.S. Senate. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) - a longtime moderate Democrat - suffered because she voted for the Laken Riley bill and had not been as tough on ICE. Craig lost big in areas hit by the Trump immigration surge in Minneapolis.

• ICE ICE BABY. It was a different message from the victor. “We need to rip ICE apart and stop them from terrorizing our communities,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who easily won the Democratic nomination for Senate. Flanagan will be heavily favored in November.

• STATEWIDE. The ICE raids and violence in Minneapolis could not have come at a worse time for Minnesota Republicans. The last time the GOP won a statewide race in Minnesota was 20 years ago in 2006 - when Tim Pawlenty won a second term as Governor. The wind is not blowing in favor of the GOP in 2026.

SOUTH CAROLINA. A day after Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) qualified for a runoff in the snap South Carolina GOP Senate primary by topping a field of ten Republicans, there was no rush of fellow U.S. Senators to endorse her - other than her home state colleague Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).

• ENDORSE. “I voted for Darline in yesterday’s primary, and I’ll vote for her again in the runoff,” Scott said Wednesday. “After watching Darline Graham in the Senate and on the campaign trail, I’m confident she’s the real deal.”

• MESSAGE. I have to say - with President Trump endorsing Graham before the primary - it sure seems odd that Scott waited until after the votes were tallied to announce his support. That’s not exactly the biggest public vote of confidence as Graham enters a runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).

• RADIO SILENCE. Meanwhile, there was no word on what third-place finisher Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) would do, or Mark Sanford, the former Governor and Congressman who finished in fourth place. Fry and Sanford won almost one-third of the vote on Tuesday.

• TALK RADIO. The favorite in conservative media is definitely Norman, a conservative member of the House Freedom Caucus. And I wonder if that will have an impact on this race. “Darline Graham is Big Trouble,” declared radio host John Fredericks yesterday. The runoff takes place on August 25.
  

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NATIONAL GUARD. It has been just over a year since President Trump called up members of the National Guard to patrol Washington, D.C. While Trump says the soldiers have helped reduce crime, the presence of troops on the streets has dismayed local officials - as the D.C. City Council this week asked various states to withdraw their troops.

DOJ. That prompted a scathing response on Wednesday from the Justice Department. “Let me be clear, your council has no power to demand that governors remove their brave men and women from serving in uniform in our nation’s capital,” wrote Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald.

• CRIME STATS. If you look at the crime statistics in the District of Columbia, things are definitely better in terms of murders, which are down 32 percent from one year ago. But violent crime overall is up - especially assault with a dangerous weapon, up 40 percent from a year earlier.

• COST. Democrats say the deployment of those troops in D.C. will cost an estimated $1.4 billion through the end of Trump’s second term in office. “This isn’t public safety. It’s a political stunt,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

• TROOPS. I see the Guard troops all the time - mainly in areas where there is very little crime, like along the National Mall, over by the Vice President’s home, and walking in threes and fours along the Potomac near Georgetown. Frankly, they look really bored.

• CITY. What has ‘changed’ with the National Guard deployment here? For those of us who live here, it’s not like it is suddenly safer to work and live in the District of Columbia. But if you talk to Republicans, they act like we have experienced a dramatic change in the city. I just don’t see that at all.
  

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VOTE BY MAIL. As I was taking a walk around Capitol Hill this week, I went by the Supreme Court. It reminded me that the Justices still haven’t ruled on an appeal from the Trump Administration about the President’s executive order to drastically limit mail-in voting in the November elections.

HURRY UP. On Wednesday, the Trump Administration basically knocked on the door of the High Court and asked the justices to get moving. “It is critical that the Court act promptly,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote.

• BRIEF. “Otherwise, the district court’s erroneous orders will effectively run out the clock on the government’s ability to implement Section 3 of the Executive Order for the federal elections in November, thereby causing irreparable harm to the federal government, the public, and election integrity,” Sauer added.

• CALENDAR. I figured the Supreme Court would have ruled by now on Trump’s plan to erect a series of new requirements on mail-in balloting. And every day that goes by makes me wonder what’s happening over there.

• STAY. The Trump Administration made its formal request back on July 27, and followed that up on August 4. Since then, a judge in Boston has issued a second injunction against the Trump order.

• MAIL-IN VOTING. Even though he votes by mail, Trump has tried multiple attacks on voting by mail this year, which would cause major disruptions in states led by both political parties.

  • The SAVE America Act did not get approved in Congress. Trump wanted that to include drastic limits on voting by mail.

  • His executive order for a variety of Postal Service limits and requirements on voting by mail remains on hold at the Supreme Court.

  • Trump has also mused about declaring a national emergency to force states to adopt citizenship checks, voter ID, and an end to most voting by mail.

CONGRESS. The Constitution is pretty darn clear about who has the power to run elections. The states run elections - and the feds can add some requirements for how elections are conducted for Congress and the President. But the House and Senate have to do that by passing a law - not the President through a unilateral fiat.

CAMPAIGN. One thing that I have noticed about campaigns in the age of Trump, is that there are many Republicans who are great at outrage - but they aren’t really that great on the campaign trail. And it’s clear to me that one of them is Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for U.S. Senate.

• NEXT QUESTION. Paxton was holding a telephone town hall on Monday, which has become sort of a crutch for politicians who aren’t the best retail campaigner. Sometimes it doesn’t work out - like the caller who asked Paxton, “Why did you cheat on your wife?”

• MUST ANSWER QUICKLY. “I’m not going to talk about personal issues that relate to my family, just like I don’t think you would want to discuss your marriage on a call with thousands of people,” Paxton said.

BEHIND THE SCENES. Times change. When I started on Capitol Hill, various TV bureaus and networks needed actual hard line connections to send their video back for a live report. Here at the House Triangle - where news conferences are often held outside the Capitol - you can see the old news media boxes for various news organizations which have plugs for power, plus jacks for audio and video feeds. Now, almost all of this is done by wireless connections instead.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 13, 1969. A day after the Senate voted 76-14 to approve a plan for an extended August break, some were still grumbling. Sen. Spessard Holland (D-FL) labeled it an ‘unfortunate vacation period,’ as he read a dismissive article from the morning newspaper. On the House floor, Rep. John Melcher of Montana was also fuming. “I am told, Mr. Speaker, that there is no way to postpone our recess,” Melcher said. Congress adjourned until September 3, the first modern August recess.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on August 31.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

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• Democrats press for answers on foodborne illnesses.

• Trump still fuming over SAVE America Act.

• Senate-passed bill could let the feds get rid of all coins.

PALMETTO STATE. Step one is over. In her first election - less than a month after being appointed to the Senate to replace her brother - Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) rode President Trump’s endorsement to a first place finish in a special GOP primary for U.S. Senate in South Carolina. But it wasn’t enough to avoid a runoff.

• RUNOFF. With no one clearing 50 percent for a majority, Graham will face Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) in the August 25 runoff, with the winner taking over the GOP ballot line in November that was held by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, Darline’s brother, who died on July 11.

TALLY. In a ten candidate field, Graham won nearly 33 percent of the vote, as she showed up with strong numbers in all areas of the state. Meanwhile, Norman capitalized in his home Congressional district, running up big margins in Greenville, Spartanburg, and Rock Hill.

• DARLINE. “I want to say that this is a very emotional night because I'm usually standing here celebrating with Lindsey,” Graham told supporters. In her first time on the ballot, Graham won 28 counties and finished second in the other 18.

• RALPH. Meanwhile, Norman turned back Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) for the other runoff spot. “Tonight voters made it clear they want a proven conservative with a record of getting the job done,” Norman said as the votes came in. “That’s exactly what I’ll give them.”

• SECOND CHANCE. It’s really a crazy turnaround for Norman, who missed the runoff in this year’s race for Governor - and then found himself presented with a second chance to run statewide for U.S. Senate.

TWO WEEKS. I don’t think this runoff is a slam dunk for Graham. She deserves to be the favorite, especially with Trump’s endorsement. But Norman could also prove to be a solid conservative candidate who might be able to capitalize on fears that Graham is not really a true MAGA warrior. They have 13 days to make their case.

• ENDORSEMENTS. I’m really wondering what Russell Fry and Mark Sanford do. They combined for just over one-third of the votes last night. Do they jump on board with Norman? Or do they follow Trump and help Darline Graham?

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NUTMEG. It didn’t have to end this way. But it did. Rep. John Larson (D-CT) - first elected in 1998 - saw his Congressional career come crashing down last night in his Democratic Primary in Connecticut. Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin delivered the knockout, defeating Larson by over 21 percent. It wasn’t even close.

• BRONIN. At 47, Bronin was in college when Larson was first elected. Bronin’s message to voters was simple - the Democratic Party is too timid, and it’s time for the older generation to pass the torch. “This is a political earthquake in Connecticut,” Bronin said to cheers.

• MESSAGE. Speaking to his supporters, Bronin said his main goal was “to shake things up in Washington, D.C.”

“This campaign is just one campaign in one district. But I hope that this campaign helps to send a message that if leaders in our party don't recognize that we need to make changes, then the changes are going to come from the ground up, and that's a message our party needs to hear.”

LARSON. At 78, Larson had to combat a generational challenge - a year after he ‘froze’ on the House floor. Whether it was fair or not, that medical episode may well have doomed his candidacy before the campaign began. “The people have spoken and they’ve made that clear,” Larson told reporters last night.

• NUMBERS. Larson is the tenth House incumbent to be defeated in a primary so far this year - 7 of those 10 have been Democrats.

• INCUMBENTS. No other sitting lawmakers were in any trouble last night. Overall, 70 current members of the House won’t be back after the November elections - that’s split 40 Republicans and 30 Democrats. It’s a 16 percent change already. November is coming.

MINNESOTA. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) easily won the Democratic nomination for Governor in Minnesota last night. She will be the heavy favorite against Republican Lisa Demuth - who defeated Donald Trump’s endorsed candidate, pillow maker (and election denier) Mike Lindell. And just like Trump, Lindell could not accept his defeat last night.

SENATE. In the Democratic race for Senate in Minnesota, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) was throttled by Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, who won by nearly 20 percent. Flanagan will be the heavy favorite in November over Republican Michelle Tafoya, a former NFL sidelines reporter.

• LOSING SKID. Craig’s defeat continues a losing streak for House Democrats who ran for Senate this year. Craig is the fifth Democrat to lose a Senate primary - against zero wins. Two other Democrats still have a Senate primary shot: Rep. Seth Moulton in Massachusetts, and Rep. Chris Pappas in New Hampshire.

TRUMP-ELECTIONS. I learned a long time ago not to ignore Donald Trump’s words. He gives everyone a very clear idea of what he wants to do - whether it is legal or not. Trump has been very frustrated at the lack of action in the Senate on the SAVE America Act. But it seems like he has a backup plan.

• INTERVIEW. In a phone interview with the conservative streaming network Real America’s Voice, Trump was asked about the SAVE America struggle in the Senate. “The Senate has to get going on Save America,” Trump said. “People expect that to happen.” (Narrator: That bill is not going anywhere.)

• EMERGENCY. The host then led Trump into a different question - whether he would declare a national emergency for this year’s elections - in order to get voter ID, proof of citizenship, and limits on voting by mail.

• NON-DENIAL DENIAL. “Let me just say that stranger things have happened,” Trump said. “We’ll leave it at that.” (Narrator: We all know that should not happen, because a President has no role in election administration.)

• SUPREME COURT. This is also a reminder that the Supreme Court is still wrestling with an appeal by Trump to free up his executive order which would drastically limit voting by mail. That order should go nowhere - but this is a different Supreme Court of late.

COINS. This story seems like it deserves a bit more attention. Before leaving town for a summer break, the Senate last week approved a bill which would allow the feds to stop minting new pennies, and change how the nickel is made. While the House passed a similar bill - this Senate plan has one very notable addition.

• SEC. 6. DISCONTINUATION OF CIRCULATION OF COINS. It’s not just the penny that would go away. This new section in the Senate bill would allow the Secretary of Treasury to stop the production of ‘any coin’ now in circulation.

• TO COIN A PHRASE. The language which gives the power to stop minting ‘any coin’ in this Senate bill would apply to all coins produced by the U.S. mint: nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and dollar coins.

• READ THE BILL. The original goal of this bill was to get rid of the penny and change what goes into a nickel coin - in order to save money. But the ‘Common Cents’ bill as passed by the Senate, now does much more than that.

• REASON. Why was this extra added on to the bill? I couldn’t get a direct answer from aides to the sponsor, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY). A spokeswoman in her office called my reporting ‘inaccurate,’ but really didn’t explain how.

• POCKET CHANGE. Do you think the penny is dead? What about getting rid of the nickel? Should we just do away with all coins?

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EXPLOSIVE DIARRHEA. A group of House Democrats is demanding answers from the Centers for Disease Control about what the Trump Administration is doing to combat the spread of cyclosporiasis. “Neither the FDA nor the CDC have publicly identified and confirmed the source of the contamination,” Democrats wrote in a letter to the CDC.

• SENATE. The same calls for action are also coming from the Senate. “First it was cyclosporiasis,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. “Now it’s salmonella,” as Schumer noted reports about tainted jalapeño peppers. “They are doing everything in their power to Make America Sick Again.”

• CUTS. Democrats on Capitol Hill have zeroed in cuts that the Trump Administration made in food safety programs - drawing a direct line between those moves and recent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, and targeting Trump’s controversial health secretary.

• RFK JR. “They cut food safety and defunded public health programs,” said Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO). “Meanwhile, RFK Jr. is focused on his new celebrity cooking show.”

• OUTBREAKS. I still think this could be a very powerful campaign issue for Democrats in this midterm election year. Combine the cyclosporiasis outbreak with the dramatic increase in measles cases - any one of you could write a 30-second TV advertisement on that one.

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BEHIND THE SCENES. Inside the Capitol, there are a couple of examples of rooms with smaller swinging doors. You might call them saloon doors, cafe doors, or maybe batwing doors. I would assume these used to be more common to help with air flow in a building that didn’t have air conditioning until the 1930’s. The door on the left is on the first floor of the House side. The door on the right is on the Senate side of the building.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 12, 1941. The House on this date voted 203-202 to approve a plan to extend the service of active-duty and National Guard troops by 18 months - amid worries about the growing world war, and U.S. military readiness. “We are not getting nearer war,” said Rep. R. Ewing Thomason (D-TX). “The war is getting nearer us.” After the narrow vote, House Republicans demanded a recount, but no mistakes were found, and the one-vote margin stood.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House is back for votes on August 31.

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Follow me on Bluesky.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

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• Republicans roll out ‘Contrast with America’ website.

• GOP taps new candidate to replace Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-NC).

• A welcome Q&A from Monday’s Senate pro forma.

Read more

• Crypto backers get more time to lobby Senators.

• Lots of talk, but no action on SAVE America Act.

• The clock is already ticking on work in September.

Read more

• Todd Blanche confirmed as Attorney General.

• Could a third House incumbent lose this week?

• Senate approves Russia sanctions bill.

SUMMER BREAK. After struggling for days to figure out how to start an extended August break, Senators got a few things done on Friday - and then wrapped up their legislative business for the summer literally in the middle of the night. GOP leaders punted most of their work until after Labor Day, as Senators won’t return to Capitol Hill for votes until September 14.

• FINISHED. What did Senators finish before heading out of town?

  • Passed a CR to fund the government from October 1 to December 11.

  • Approved new sanctions against Russia and Iran.

  • Confirmed Todd Blanche as Attorney General.

  • Voted for a package of 74 other Trump nominations.

• NOT FINISHED. What was left for later despite talk of action?

  • College sports / NIL bill.

  • SAVE America Act.

  • CLARITY Act (crypto regulation).

  • GOP budget resolution / reconciliation.

THUNE. For reporters, much of Friday was just a waiting game at the Capitol, as we chased GOP Senators back and forth through the halls - trying to figure out what would get a vote, and what would not. Senate Majority Leader John Thune often had little to offer as he walked to and from his office with reporters in tow.

• BUDGET. For a few hours, there was talk about voting on a new GOP budget resolution - even though there didn’t seem to be enough votes to start debate. “Why are we holding a vote?” said Thune, repeating what a reporter had just asked him. “That’s a good question.”

NO VOTE. In the end, Republicans heeded the warnings from Thune against starting work on the budget resolution and told the White House it was not a good idea. The House has already passed a plan which includes $60 billion for the Pentagon and $12 billion in aid for farmers. But work on that in the Senate will wait until September.

CR. The most consequential vote that Senators took in their final hours before a summer break was the approval of a plan to avoid a government shutdown in the fall. The Senate voted 90-6 for a stopgap funding bill which goes from October 1 to December 11. (Sen. Darline Graham of South Carolina voted ‘Present.’)

• STOPGAP. House approval is still needed for this Senate CR - but the House doesn’t return until the week of August 31. There are no poison pills or partisan items in this effort, so hopefully the House will approve it, and take a shutdown off the table before the November elections.

• FUNDING. Unfortunately, very little work has been done in Congress on the 12 government funding bills for 2027. The House has approved three of those bills. The Senate has not voted on a single one. It has been 30 years since lawmakers got that funding work done on time by September 30, the end of the fiscal year.

BLANCHE. There was one big victory for President Trump overnight, as the Senate voted at 4:30 am to confirm Todd Blanche as the next U.S. Attorney General. The 50-49 vote came after the final two undecided Republican Senators showed their cards on the Blanche pick - in what felt like a very orchestrated end to that debate.

• ANNOUNCEMENTS. After Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) issued a statement on Friday morning that she would vote against Blanche, it all came down to Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) - the same Bill Cassidy who lost his GOP primary in Louisiana earlier this year because Trump opposed his reelection.

• DECISION. Did you really think that Cassidy - who twisted himself into a pretzel and voted for RFK Jr. for HHS Secretary - would find a way to oppose Trump on the Blanche nomination? Of course not.

• SPEECH. “This is not a referendum on President Trump,” Cassidy said in announcing his support for Blanche in a speech on the Senate floor. “The people of Louisiana can be assured that I worked hard to understand the issue and to make the right decision.”

FLOOR SPEECH. I’ve watched a lot of speeches in the House and Senate. What struck me the most about Cassidy was that he suddenly stops after saying that he will support the Blanche nomination. I don’t know what was going on in Cassidy’s head, but it almost seemed like his conscience was telling him - in real time - YOU ARE MAKING A MISTAKE. Watch it, and you tell me what you think.

BYSTANDER. When you watch Cassidy’s remarks, make sure to check out the reaction of the Senate staffer in the background on the upper left.

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RUSSIA SANCTIONS. In a tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, the Senate voted 86-11 on Friday to approve a bill which lets the President impose tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. The plan would also the White House to punish countries that trade with Iran.

• PUTIN. “The Kremlin’s war machine runs on the money it makes from selling cheap oil and gas to countries like China, India, and Brazil who then profit by reselling Russian energy at a markup,” said Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE).

• UKRAINE. This plan has sat idle for months because of White House opposition. “Now is the time to pass this Russia sanctions legislation to continue the momentum that Ukraine has,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

• OCEAN’S ELEVEN. The 11 Senators who voted against the sanctions bill: Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Hassan (D-NH), Hirono (D-HI), Markey (D-MA), Ossoff (D-GA), Padilla (D-CA), Paul (R-KY), Sanders (I-VT), Warren (D-MA), Welch (D-VT), and Wyden (D-OR).

• FINAL TALLY. When it came time to announce the vote, that honor was given to Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), who was appointed to fill out her brother’s term. The South Carolina snap GOP primary for that seat is next Tuesday.

OUTLOOK. This Russia sanctions bill now goes to the House where it faces an uncertain future. On one side, there are a number of Democrats who don’t like the idea of giving more tariff authority to President Trump.

• GOP. For Republicans, nothing has really changed at the White House about Russia and Ukraine, as President Trump has always been reluctant to help Ukraine fight off a Russian invasion. GOP lawmakers don’t like to cross the President. In other words, it won’t surprise me if this bill never becomes law.

SAVE AMERICA. As Senators walked off the Senate floor just before 5 am, what was missing? There was no vote on whether the Senate should leave town for an extended summer break. Remember - various Republicans led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) had been demanding a showdown vote related to the SAVE America Act. But that was all talk. It didn’t happen.

• VOTER ID. What did happen was a failed procedural vote on a bill which would require voters to show ID at the polls. It was the second time this year that Republicans had forced that vote. All Democrats voted against it the first time, and the same thing happened before sunrise today.

• ALL TALK. On Friday afternoon, Lee made it sound like he was going to stop the Senate from going on vacation. “I’ve objected to a time agreement that would lock-in leaving for August recess without a vote,” Lee tweeted. “We can’t commit to summer vacation before we commit to secure elections.”

• NO VOTE. But everyone knew the SAVE America Act was going nowhere. Everyone knew that Lee would cave. And that’s what happened. There were no votes. No talking filibuster. There wasn’t even some kind of period of fake outrage on the Senate floor.

WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM. A divided federal appeals court in Washington has ruled that President Trump has wrongly pressed ahead with construction of his controversial White House ballroom. The President said Friday that he would appeal this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. You can read the ruling at this link.

• RULING. “We are aware of no instance in American history in which a President unilaterally and using privately collected funds demolished substantial portions of the White House that Congress authorized to be built and American taxpayers paid for. Until now,” wrote the court’s majority.

• PLAIN ENGLISH. In other words, Congress never authorized the White House ballroom. Congress never approved money to build a ballroom. And Congress never approved money for a new White House security bunker - which was evidently built underneath the ballroom.

• NEW NAME. As one might expect, President Trump took to his Truth Social website to lash out at the judges who ruled against him. What was interesting was that Trump did not call it the ‘ballroom.’ Instead, he called it the ‘desperately needed Military Center.’

SYSTEM. Whether you support or oppose building a White House ballroom does not matter. This is all about the way our government works. No President can spend money (or destroy government buildings) unless authorized by Congress, and with an official appropriation.

• AOC. Just ask yourself if it would be okay for a Democratic President to issue an order to tear down the Pentagon, or to shut down ICE and the Border Patrol - without the approval of Congress. Of course not!! You can’t support Trump building the ballroom on his own without allowing Democrats free rein as well.

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ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. A day after Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) lost his GOP primary in Tennessee - even though Ogles had the coveted Trump endorsement - President Trump threw Ogles under the bus and basically told him not to let the door hit him on the way out.

• TRUTH. “The 1 (loss) was a person who I remained loyal to even though he had virtually no chance of winning,” Trump wrote of Ogles, as the President quickly endorsed Republican Charlie Hatcher, calling him a ‘Great Trump Candidate.’

• LOSER. It was yet another reminder - especially to the members of the House Freedom Caucus - that once you have nothing to offer to Donald Trump, he is done with you.

TRIFECTA. Two House incumbents have already lost this week in primary elections: Ogles in Tennessee, and Democratic Rep. Shri Thanedar in Michigan. Could today bring defeat for a third sitting House lawmaker?

• HAWAII. We have already seen examples of young candidates defeating older incumbents this year. There is another one of those races to watch today in Hawaii, as 73-year-old Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) gets a challenge from state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole. This is a familiar story line.

• POLITICS. First elected in 2002, Case is a more moderate Democrat. Meanwhile, the 42-year-old Keohokalole is more progressive, and has attacked Case over his support for Israel - a common theme inside Democratic Party primaries in 2026.

• CAMPAIGN. The two men have raised and spent about the same amount of money. We’ll see if the voters want to shake things up in yet another Congressional district in 2026.

JOBS REPORT. I don’t want to overreact, but we shouldn’t ignore this news, either. The July jobs report was not good - showing a loss of 23,000 jobs last month, though the national unemployment rate stayed at 4.1 percent.

• REVISIONS. Maybe the bigger story was that the Labor Department revised down the jobs figures for both May and June - chopping off another 103,000 jobs.

  • May was revised down 66,000 (from 129k to 63k).

  • June was revised down 37,000 (from 57k to 20k).

LABOR FORCE. Some of you might ask - how can so many jobs be lost, and yet the jobless rate stays historically low at 4.1 percent? The answer is that about 2 million people have left the workforce since last November. They have stopped looking for a job. Why do you think that’s happened?

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BEHIND THE SCENES. Over on the first floor of the House wing, there are two rooms with a beautiful view down the National Mall. Both are under the control of the House Appropriations Committee. Pictured below is H-144, which is actually the first room in the U.S. Capitol painted by Constantino Brumidi. This room was originally used by the House Agriculture Committee.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 8, 1911. On this date, President Taft signed into law a plan to increase the size of the U.S. House from 391 to 433 seats. The bill also included one more seat for both Arizona and New Mexico - after they became states - which would make the House 435 seats. After Congress failed to approve a reapportionment bill following the 1920 Census, the 435 number was made permanent in a 1929 law.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The Senate next has votes on September 14.

The House is back for votes on August 31.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Follow me on Bluesky.

Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com

Tips also welcome on Signal - jamiedupree.64

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• McConnell’s absence sidetracks the GOP Farm Bill.

• Senate will try to adjourn today for a lengthy summer break.

• Investigators say DOGE savings were a bust.

VOLUNTEER STATE. President Donald Trump doesn’t see his endorsements fail too often, but for the second time this week, a Trump-backed candidate lost a primary for Congress. This time, it was a sitting House Republican, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN). He was defeated by former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, 53-47 percent.

• SPACEMAN. The victory for Hatcher over Ogles was also a victory for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R), who gave Hatcher a late endorsement on Tuesday. “Charlie has stood with President Trump since day one,” Lee said in a video message. Hatcher will be the big favorite to win in November.

• THIS WEEK. With his loss, Ogles becomes the ninth House incumbent to suffer a primary defeat in 2026, and the second this week, joining Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI), who lost his primary on Tuesday.

• NUMBERS. The Ogles defeat means that 69 House members won’t be back after the November elections for the new Congress. 40 are Republicans and 29 are Democrats.

• COMPARE AND CONTRAST. How does this year stack up against previous election years? Turnover in the House for the entire 2024 election cycle was 60 seats - as the 2026 change is already higher.
  

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MEMORIES. In his two terms in Congress, Ogles may be best remembered not for the investigations into his campaign finance actions, or having his cell phone seized by the FBI - but rather for proposing an amendment to the Constitution which would let Donald Trump serve a third term as President, but not Barack Obama.

• GOVERNOR. Meanwhile, in the GOP race for Governor in Tennessee, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) coasted to a relatively easy win over Rep. John Rose (R-TN) and state Rep. Monty Fritts. Blackburn won about 44 percent of the vote. She will face Jerri Green, a Memphis city councilmember, in November.

MILLER TIME. The GOP tide may be turning against Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), who has spent this week waging an unprecedented personal and public fight with his ex-wife - the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH). After staying quiet for days about Miller’s future, Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) on Thursday said it’s time for the Ohio Congressman to leave.

• BUCKEYE. “I believe Max would be making the right decision to step aside as a candidate and resign from Congress,” Husted said in a statement where he expressed concern for Miller’s young daughter. “I do not see how a campaign for Congress benefits any of them.”

• BLUE BUNNY. I think one story changed this Miller-Moreno family spat. It was when the Senator described how Miller had refused to hand over his young daughter’s favorite stuffed blue bunny - as the girl went back and forth between parents. That story clearly touched a nerve.

• SOCIOPATH. “What kind of person would treat their daughter this way?” tweeted Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT), as more GOP Senators weighed in against Miller. “This guy is clearly a degenerate sociopath.” (Narrator: It should be noted that House GOP leaders remain silent.)

• CAMPAIGN. Miller has come off badly in his tweets and his TV interviews this week. Republicans were already worried that he might lose his seat in the Cleveland area. They still hope he might give up his bid for reelection - and allow someone else to run in November.

SENATE. The U.S. Senate will do something unusual today - hold votes on a Friday. Normally, Senators are back home on Fridays, but today they are trying to wrap up work before they head home for an extended summer break. So far, it’s been a struggle for Senate Republicans to figure out their pre-recess end game.

• GRUMBLING. “I have no idea what we’re going to do,” fumed Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), who was mobbed by reporters after he left a GOP lunch meeting. “I have no idea what we’re going to do. I want us to just do our work.”

PLAN. After hours of nothing on the Senate floor yesterday, the two parties agreed late last night to a series of votes starting at 11:30 am on:

• 1) Russia sanctions bill plus amendments.

• 2) Package of 74 Trump nominations.

• 3) First vote to shut off debate on a temporary funding bill.

NOT INCLUDED. Several other big issues were not mentioned by Majority Leader John Thune last night. It doesn’t mean they are dead - but they were not included in this initial vote agreement. They include:

1. Todd Blanche nomination for Attorney General.

2. Cryptocurrency regulation bill (CLARITY Act).

3. SAVE America Act.

4. Delaying a ban on intoxicating hemp.

5. College sports / NIL reform bill.

6. GOP budget resolution / reconciliation plan.
   

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DEPARTURE. What’s my best guess for when the Senate leaves town? I think it will be at some point on Friday evening or Friday night. Senators seem likely to punt a whole bunch of stuff until after Labor Day, as the Senate isn’t due back until the week of September 14.

• RECONCILIATION. For example, it sure sounds like the Senate is going to leave town without doing anything on the budget resolution - despite a lot of pressure from the White House for action on extra money for the Pentagon.

• BUDGET CHAIR. “I have no news,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, and would lead any work on a reconciliation bill. “I can’t tell you anything,” Johnson told reporters.

• SAVE AMERICA. We haven’t heard much in recent days about any kind of Senate floor showdown on the SAVE America Act. I would guess there will have to be some kind of adjournment vote or something. But that elections bill is not going anywhere.

• JET FUMES. I think the most surprising thing about this week is how seemingly unorganized that Senate Republicans and the White House have been. There seems to be a disconnect between the two - like they have much different goals for the rest of this election year. Stay tuned.
  

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MCCONNELL. Almost eight weeks after being hospitalized after a fall, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) issued a statement on Thursday which said he had left a rehab facility in Washington, D.C., and would now recover at home. But he’s not expected back at work on Capitol Hill until after Labor Day.

• STATEMENT. “On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home,” McConnell said. He has time to recover - as the Senate isn’t due back after a summer break until September 14.

• ABSENT. The absence of McConnell hit home for Republicans on Thursday - as the Senate Agriculture Committee failed to report out a GOP Farm Bill (no Democrats would support the bill). The panel will try again after Labor Day.

FARM BILL SIDETRACKED. The GOP has a one-vote majority on that committee, which meant that without McConnell - the panel was divided 11-11 between the two parties on the Farm Bill. Republicans had decided to roll the dice - hoping that one Democrat would vote for the measure. It didn’t happen.

• DEADLOCK. Republicans tried to win Democratic votes by including a one year delay in the scheduled cost-sharing shift of the SNAP (food stamps) program from the feds to the states - originally approved in the Big, Beautiful Bill.

• TWO YEARS. But Democrats wanted a two-year delay. The GOP wouldn’t budge. “This is only a one-year fix,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), as Democrats voted against the plan.

• TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT. “A two-year delay does not have the support of the majority in Congress or of the White House,” said Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), who heads the Senate Agriculture Committee.. “The offer before you is the best, and it’s the final offer.”

• HAWKEYE. But out in Farm Country, there was an interesting reaction from the Democrat running for Senate in Iowa. “Iowa farmers have been waiting three years for an overdue Farm Bill,” said Josh Turek. “Today, Democrats in the Senate failed them by letting perfect be the enemy of the good.”

• OUTLOOK. There is no way Congress will approve a new Farm Bill before the elections. Can lawmakers get one done this year? Or will this be the fourth consecutive year of failure?

FARM BILL NERD NOTE. Some of you might know that ‘proxy’ voting is allowed in Senate committees for Senators who are absent - that’s why McConnell was able to vote on certain amendments in committee on Thursday.

• REPORT THE BILL. But those proxy votes do not count for the final vote to send a measure to the Senate floor. Both McConnell and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) missed the vote, so the Farm Bill failed 11-10 in committee. Now you know the rest of the story.

DOGE. A government watchdog has confirmed something we already knew - that the savings claimed by the faux Department of Government Efficiency weren’t always backed up by actual facts. “DOGE was not transparent regarding methodologies used to calculate savings,” the Government Accountability Office reported.

• WALL OF RECEIPTS. You might remember that back in February of 2025, I was one of the first to ferret out some questionable DOGE numbers - like the claim of $8 billion in savings which was actually a contract valued at $8 million.

• NEVER CUT. The GAO noted a series of Pentagon contracts where DOGE claimed multiple billions in savings by cutting IT services. But guess what happened? Those contracts were never cut by the military. “Thus, no savings were achieved,” the report stated.

• NO ANSWER. Congressional investigators said they asked DOGE officials to meet with them to talk about how DOGE estimated savings. “DOGE did not respond to our inquiries.”

• MISSED OPPORTUNITY. I’m still amazed by how badly this whole DOGE episode was handled - not only by Elon Musk, but by the Trump White House. This should have been a slam dunk to find some money to cut. Instead, it turned into an absolute farce.

BEHIND THE SCENES. After Vice President JD Vance met with GOP Senators on Thursday, he went to his ceremonial office just off the Senate floor. That set off a scramble to figure out where he might go next. A group of still photographers gathered on the first floor by a back stairway - hoping for a departure photo.

CAPITOL NERD NOTE. Just one extra note here - this was the same staircase that Vice President Mike Pence came down (with staff and family) as he was evacuated on January 6.

MUSE OF HISTORY. August 7, 1948. The ‘Do-Nothing’ Congress adjourned on this date a special summer session. Called back to Capitol Hill by President Truman - during a speech at the Democratic convention - the GOP-led Congress met for two weeks, and achieved little. “The score for the special session,” said Sen. Glen Taylor of Idaho, “is virtually a goose egg.” What happened next was an election turnaround, as Truman ‘upset’ Dewey, and Democrats took back control of Congress.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The Senate convenes at 10 am.

The House is back for votes on August 31.

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• GOP Rep. Ogles on upset alert today in Tennessee.

• Republicans waste no time going after El-Sayed in Michigan.

• The Senate tries to finish work and leave town for the summer.

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