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Samantha Handler retweeted
Another nearly $1 billion “pocket rescission” by Trump. Democrats & @SenatorCollins won’t like it.
If Democrats win House and/or Senate, 2027 is going to be a big showdown (again) over spending
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Samantha Handler retweeted
President Trump says Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not be AI czar. “Number One, he doesn’t want to.”
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Samantha Handler retweeted
You might be surprised to find who first reported what’s what on tech on the Hill
We’ve been covering the ins and outs of the AI debate — and every other tech policy issue — closely all Congress.
@BenBrodyDC and @Dareasmunhoz have a roundup of our coverage from the past three months: punchbowl.news/article/tech/…
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Samantha Handler retweeted
“You have to convey to us: what are your top priorities? What are you going to try to move back into the base bill?" Coons said. "Because moving tens of billions of dollars of programs across every branch quickly is not easy.”
DOD briefing SASC this AM on the spending outlook.
Senate Democratic defense appropriators said they relayed a clear message to senior Pentagon officials during a closed-door budget briefing Wednesday: get your military funding priorities ready.
@briana_reilly and @AnthonyAdragna have more:
punchbowl.news/article/defen…
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Samantha Handler retweeted
NEWS: W.H. says permit reform talks have broken down.
W.H. official:
“The administration and congressional Republicans agreed to a strong bipartisan offer. The Democrats have since refused to take yes for an answer. If they think that the administration is going to freeze these concessions until the lame duck, they are severely mistaken," a White House official said.
Dems say talks are still ongoing.
Not a great sign.....
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Samantha Handler retweeted
Latest from 🔵Portal: Top Democratic and Republican appropriators are airing their grievances with the Trump administration.
Plus, how we're using Portal.
@sn_handler and @em_luetkemeyer with details: punchbowl.news/archive/92326…
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Samantha Handler retweeted
Permitting latest: Senate Dems concerned about timing w/ the House out, per Dem source close to the negotiations
“Democrats want to lower energy costs and get a permitting deal done. However, this requires passage by both houses of Congress, and with the House out for the next six weeks, we need sensible assurances about vote timing.”
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Samantha Handler retweeted
Judiciary Chair GRASSLEY says he can’t yet say if he’d call Donald Trump Jr. in for a hearing — as Sen. Curtis requested in a letter
“I think the fact is that it takes time, and if you were going to ask me when you're going to have a hearing, there's no way I could answer that today.”
Adds: “I’m going to take his request seriously and sit down with staff and see what we can do.”
Also knocks Curtis, saying he probably realizes he should’ve given Judiciary R’s a heads up ahead of sending letter & notes that Curtis has his own oversight powers
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CAPITO says no permitting agreement yet to announce but added:
“I think the moment can be met this week.”
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New: Sen Dem appropriators Murray and Schatz warn ahead of Sept. 30 deadline to allocate funds that Trump admin isn’t properly distributing billions in foreign aid.
Details here ⬇️
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New: Collins writes to OMB Director Russ Vought + NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya urging them not to proceed with any EO giving political appointees power over grants
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Samantha Handler retweeted
News: GOP Sen. @SenJohnCurtis wants the Senate Judiciary Cmte to investigate & subpoena Donald Trump Jr. over allegations that Russian oligarch close to Putin paid for part of his wedding celebration
punchbowl.news/09-21-2026-cu…
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Samantha Handler retweeted
Amtrak so bad it’s causing flight delays now …
UPDATE: An Amtrak construction crew accidentally cut into a fiber line in New Jersey which caused a telecom outage and forced FAA to pause flights in the Northeast.
Right now:
- Flights are resuming at LGA and PHL
- Flights into EWR, JFK, and Teterboro Airport are paused
This incident underscores the need for additional funding to modernize aging infrastructure and prevent disruptions like this in the future.
Follow @FAANews for updates.
Community note
Amtrak and NJ Transit stated the cable was cut by a NJ Transit contractor on their property, not an Amtrak crew. The outage started with failure of an aging primary circuit; the cut affected only the backup line.
northjersey.com/story/news/tra…
nydailynews.com/2026/09/21/nyc
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Both Top Democratic appropriators called on R's to join them in pushing back on the administration.
Murray said GOP must join Dems to "stop any effort" by the admin to politicize grants.
DeLauro said in upcoming FY27 negotiations, "reasserting Congress’s authority over federal spending by beating back the administration’s efforts to hijack grant funding will be of central importance.”
🚨News: Collins says any attempt by the administration to politicize grant making at the NIH is “contrary to congressional intent.”
Statement comes after reports in WaPo & Politico that Trump admin is looking to use an EO to overhaul NIH grants
PBN text subs had it first.
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🚨News: Collins says any attempt by the administration to politicize grant making at the NIH is “contrary to congressional intent.”
Statement comes after reports in WaPo & Politico that Trump admin is looking to use an EO to overhaul NIH grants
PBN text subs had it first.
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Samantha Handler retweeted
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), chair of the House Appropriations Interior subcommittee, says “there’s not any” fiscal year ‘27 funding “in our bill” for Trump’s arch.
“That's something that needs to be debated. I think Congress ought to have to approve that, frankly. So, I hope if they decide to do it, that they would come to Congress and ask for an appropriation for it, if they're gonna use appropriated dollars to do it,” Simpson said.
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Samantha Handler retweeted
Retiring Dem Sen. Gary Peters’ next job: head of USC’s Center for the Political Future
today.usc.edu/u-s-sen-gary-p…
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