Nominations, Reconciliation, and Ring-Kissing: The Hill is Buzzing amid Budget Talks and Cabinet Confirmations

In this edition, Sen. Markwayne Mullin talks confirmations and reconciliation; Rep. Bill Huizenga talks tariffs, Gitmo, and more; Rep. James Comer’s book continues its run on the NYT bestsellers...

February 6, 2025

Let’s dive in.

1. Interview: Confirmations and reconciliation: Markwayne Mullin dives in with the Washington Reporter

2. Interview: Rep. Bill Huizenga on the CFPB, Trump’s tariffs, crypto, GITMO, and more

3. Exclusive: Sen. Bernie Moreno blasts County Council for caving to anti-Semitic protests, potentially threatens federal funding

4. Heard on the Hill

5. K-STREET, 10,000 FEET: Inside the far-left Arnold Ventures’s attempts to cozy up to Republicans

6. Op-Eds: Rep. Dan Newhouse on the importance of a strong Farm Bill and Evan Swarztrauber on why the Senate should quickly confirm Mark Meador

In this edition, Sen. Markwayne Mullin talks confirmations and reconciliation; Rep. Bill Huizenga talks tariffs, Gitmo, and more; Rep. James Comer’s book continues its run on the NYT bestsellers list and more Heard on the Hill; inside a liberal Texas billionaire’s attempt to cozy up to Republicans, and Rep. Dan Newhouse argues for a strong Farm Bill in his latest op-ed.

If you have a tip you would like to anonymously submit, please use our tip form — your anonymity is guaranteed!

INTERVIEW: Confirmations and reconciliation: Markwayne Mullin dives in with the Washington Reporter

by the Washington Reporter

The Lowdown:

• Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.) floats Senate budget “contingency plan” amid reconciliation talks.

• Mullin told the Reporter that the House “missed their timeframe” on reconciliation.

• Mullin calls Rep. Chip Roy’s (R., Texas) idea to raise taxes on corporations a “nonstarter.”

• Roy fired back, saying Mullin “mischaracterizes” his “view that corporate taxes should be on the table as much as taxes on working families.”

The Senate continues to truck forward in the confirmation process to get President Donald Trump’s nominees across the finish line. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R., Okla.), a close ally of the president and a key figure in House-Senate Republican relations, hopped on the phone with the Washington Reporter to talk about the ongoing confirmation process and the ever-daunting task of budget reconciliation.

Mullin told the Reporter the House “has a lot of work to do” and “may have some problems getting the budget passed.” The senator noted that Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R., La.) timeline in the House to pass the budget and move toward reconciliation, but said he thinks the House “missed their timeframe on this.”

“The Senate will be kind of forced to start working on an alternative package, a contingency plan,” Mullin said. “Obviously, we would love to deliver the one, big, beautiful bill that President Trump wants and that it seems like the House would like to do, but, ultimately, if they can’t get it done, then we’ve got to move.”

“And there’s part of it we can’t move because taxes originate in the House. We can’t do the taxes because that’s got to come out of Ways and Means,” Mullin continued. “And there’s some pretty interesting dynamics there. You’ve got people like [Rep.] Chip Roy, who wants to raise taxes on corporations to pay for SALT.”

“That’s a nonstarter. You’re not going to get that done,” he added. “And, so with just that nuance there, it’s difficult for the House to move one big package with taxes being tied up on it. So then the Senate may have to choose to do a separate package to deliver some wins and get things moving for the president, that can make sure we have the funding there for some of the programs when it comes to the border and some of these regulatory reform actions that need to take place.”

Interview: Rep. Bill Huizenga on the CFPB, Trump’s tariffs, crypto, GITMO, and more

by Matthew Foldi

The Lowdown:

• Rep. Bill Huizenga (R., Mich.) applauds President Trump’s tariff policies that have led to renegotiating trade policies with Mexico and Canada and getting America a better deal.

• Huizenga, Co-Chair of the Northern Border Caucus, says Canada annexation won’t be “happening by any stretch of the imagination.”

• Huizenga is reintroducing his Strategic Ports Reporting Act to ensure that the State Department and Department of Defense have active roles in countering malign Chinese influence in strategic global ports such like those in Panama.

Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga’s (R., Mich.) home state of Michigan could have been the first to feel the consequences of President Donald Trump’s recently proposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. However, Huizenga’s “confidence that [Trump’s] going to be able to” renegotiate America’s deals with bordering countries, much like how he renegotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) — a feat that every president since Bill Clinton failed to do, was well-placed as both of America’s neighbors found off-ramps that many thought might not have existed only a few days ago.

“I think he's going to find willing partners certainly in Canada and hopefully in Mexico as well,” Huizenga had predicted in an interview with the Washington Reporter just prior to the tariff pauses, adding that “the simple fact is that some of the largest trade corridors in the entire world are between the United States and Canada and Mexico. Some of those largest trade routes come right through Michigan as well.”

Following Trump’s initial tariff announcement, Mexico announced that it will crack down on both fentanyl smuggling and on illegal border crossings, and the implementation of the tariffs was delayed a month; likewise Canada too announced a border deal that saw its tariffs delayed a month, despite some sabre-rattling by politicians on both sides of America’s northern border.

Huizenga is a co-chair of the Northern Border Caucus. Trump’s claims that Canada should be America’s 51st state won’t be “happening by any stretch of the imagination,” he said, even though some provinces of Canada have more in common with Idaho than Ontario.

Huizenga has also focused on issues in the Western Hemisphere during his time on the Foreign Affairs Committee — and Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s plans to reassert America in the Americas will make America “a positive force,” he said. “You're going to see a far more engaged America in the Americas. And that's a good thing. And now, with an ally like Javier Milei down in Argentina, setting the pace, there are some real positive things that could be happening all throughout Latin America, and I applaud it.”

During the Biden administration, China flexed its muscles in a major way in Latin America: it controlled ports at both ends of the Panama Canal. That is why Huizenga is reintroducing his Strategic Ports Reporting Act, which is designed to ensure that the State Department and Department of Defense have active roles in countering malign Chinese influence in strategic global ports like those in Panama.

“While the Biden administration disregarded growing concerns from House Republicans about the buildup of China and Russia in our backyard, the Trump administration has immediately taken action,” Huizenga said. “All it took was one visit from Secretary of State Rubio and Panama announced it would not renew its 2017 agreement with China’s BRI. This is a clear statement that a strong presence in the region delivers positive results for American interests.”

Trump has also pressured countries in Latin America to help curb illegal immigration; Trump even suggested housing tens of thousands of illegal immigrants in Guantanamo Bay, which Huizenga said “makes a lot of sense. This has been utilized before, whether it was with Haitian boat lifts, or other times where we have seen surges that have overwhelmed our system. We've utilized Guantanamo, and the Biden administration was clearly welcoming the previous influx. That's part of the problem.”

Exclusive: Sen. Bernie Moreno blasts County Council for caving to anti-Semitic protests, potentially threatens federal funding

by Matthew Foldi

The Lowdown:

• Sen. Bernie Moreno (R., Ohio) is demanding answers from the Cuyahoga County Council following a controversial meeting during which anti-Semitic “protesters shrieked so loudly that the Pledge of Allegiance was rendered inaudible,” according to his letter to the Democratic chair of the County Council, Dale Miller.

• Moreno accused Miller, the county council president, of failing “to maintain decorum” during the council meeting that saw speakers “spew antisemitic profanities” and where Jewish attendees were told to “go die.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, (R., Ohio) wants answers from the Cuyahoga County Council following a controversial meeting during which anti-Semitic “protesters shrieked so loudly that the Pledge of Allegiance was rendered inaudible,” as the Buckeye State’s senior senator wrote to Democrat Dale Miller, the County Council President.

In a letter first obtained by the Washington Reporter, Moreno wrote to Miller that he has “deep concerns about [Miller’s] inability to lead a public meeting without hateful harassment and disruption.”

At issue specifically is a January 28 meeting during which the County Council initially planned to vote on a resolution that would have endorsed the county’s boycott of Israel bonds, which critics noted is anti-Semitic.

Throughout the meeting, Moreno noted, Miller “completely failed to maintain decorum, allowing speakers to spew anti-Semitic profanities and for Jewish attendees to be subjected to hateful attacks such as being told to ‘go die.’”

While the council ultimately watered down the measure to refer to all foreign entities, Moreno wants more answers. “Are you aware that Cuyahoga County received approximately 13 percent of its entire budget from federal funding?” he wrote.

Moreno also wants Miller to answer whether “an attendee scream[ing] antisemitic slurs,” “an attendee's screams render[ing] the Pledge of Allegiance inaudible,” and whether an “attendee screams obscenities and profanities” violate the council’s rules.

Miller has five days to answer Moreno’s questions, but it’s not clear that much can placate Moreno’s criticisms.

“Frankly, I lost count of how many times Council Rules were violated during the January 28, 2025 meeting,” Moreno wrote. “Confoundingly, I failed to hear when you even once attempted to enforce the rules…It sure sounds like more than just [one council rule] was violated on January 28, 2025 at the expense of the safety and wellbeing of Jewish attendees.”

Heard on the Hill

• DAY ONE AT HUD: Scott Turner, the new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, spent part of his first day in office laying out plans to recognize biological sex throughout his agency’s programs; Turner’s moves following President Donald Trump’s executive order on “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

• KASH ON THE TABLE: Sen. Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) spoke at a senators’ lunch making the case for Kash Patel, arguing that Patel has shown he has the integrity, knowledge, and tenacity to be an effective, nonpartisan FBI Director. Tillis has become one of Patel's chief advocates in the Senate. The Washington Reporter previously covered the lengthy anti-Trump record of Tillis’s primary challenger.

• REVIEW SEASON: Expect Congressional Review Acts (CRAs) to first come from the House and as soon as next week. Congressional Republicans are working with the White House on which CRAs to prioritize.

• TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK: Billionaire Frank McCourt, the former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is making the rounds on and off the Hill, trying to build support for his bid to buy TikTok, following the deadline extension granted by President Trump. He spoke this week with a group of conservative reporters, including the Washington Reporter, about his bid, right off of Capitol Hill.

• BLESS THEIR HEARTS: Senate Republicans are thrilled that the Democrats are protesting budget cuts at USAID and see it as a winning issue for Republicans. One member said “I can't believe they're doing this but God bless them. Hope they keep it up.”

• GOOD READS: House Oversight Chairman Jamie Comer's, (R., Ky.), book "All The President's Money" just hit the New York Times Bestseller List for the third week in a row. The first time ever for a member of Congress.

• SOROS SLAMMED: An international research group backed in part by the George Soros Foundation claimed that the Los Angeles wildfires were caused in part by “human-induced” climate change; the reality, according to experts, is that “there's no peer review that's been done on this data,” Jason Isaac, the founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute, said.

• HELPING HAND: Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) has been reaching out to Republican senators up in 2026 with an offer to help them build up their communications functions on social media and the press. One Senate GOP political operative told the Reporter that “Blackburn is a political animal and she's all in for 2026, especially in making sure red-state senators don't get caught flat-footed. Her colleagues love her for it.”

• DEMOCRAT PIRANHA PIT: Leaderless Democrats are jockeying for their party’s next presidential nomination with their grandstanding, pandering, and protesting against President Trump and the Republican agenda, according to a Senate GOP aide.

K-STREET, 10,000 FEET: Inside the far-left Arnold Ventures’s attempts to cozy up to Republicans

by the Washington Reporter

The Lowdown:

• Arnold Ventures, a firm founded by liberal Texas billionaire John Arnold, is courting Republicans on Capitol Hill amid budget talks.

• A former House GOP leadership aide told the Washington Reporter that “Republicans should not listen to John Arnold and Arnold Ventures” as the company founder has “pushed far-left policies, masquerading as bipartisan.”

• A spokeswoman for Arnold Ventures said that “partisanship often stands in the way of solutions, and we work to help bridge these divides.”

As the second Trump administration kicks off, the symphony of ring-kissing is reaching a bellowing crescendo. This movement now features Arnold Ventures, founded by Texas billionaire John Arnold. Arnold and his wife will be on Capitol Hill this week meeting with members of Congress to discuss their new proposals outlined in media reports earlier this week.

The Arnolds are pushing a report, titled “Achieving Fiscally Responsible Tax Reform: Top 20 Proposals to Reduce Wasteful Spending, Close Tax Loopholes, and Save up to $4 Trillion,” outlining 20 proposals to address “tax loopholes” they say could lessen the blow from the costs of extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts.

Republicans, however, are unconvinced at the Arnold Ventures push to cozy up to them, especially in light of Arnold’s ties to Meta’s Board of Directors as well as his history of promoting far-left causes like “criminal justice reform” in New York and “’disinformation’ censorship operations” while positioning himself as bipartisan.

In fact, some Republican operatives are warning members against listening to Arnold or Arnold Ventures. A Senate leadership aide told the Washington Reporter that “Arnold Ventures’s priorities include censorship, rigging elections with ranked choice voting, and letting violent criminals out of prison.”

“This will be useful for Republicans to know what to avoid,” the Senate aide added.

“Republicans should not listen to John Arnold and Arnold Ventures,” a former House GOP leadership aide told the Reporter. “Arnold pushed far-left policies, masquerading as bipartisan.”

“Why would any Republican listen to a group that funded censorship and weak on crime policies?” the former aide said.

Arnold Ventures’s activities on Capitol Hill come as the second Trump administration continues to march forward. The presence of Arnold Ventures in the offices of congressional Republicans does provide an interesting signal: now that President Trump is here to stay, everyone is trying to get a piece of his influence.

A spokeswoman for Arnold Ventures told the Reporter that “Arnold Ventures follows an evidence-based approach to identifying solutions for many of our nation’s most intractable challenges.”

“Partisanship often stands in the way of solutions, and we work to help bridge these divides,” the spokeswoman said. “By leveraging data and research, we work with leaders across the political spectrum to overcome deeply entrenched special interests and implement sustainable solutions that improve the lives of American families, strengthen their communities, and promote economic opportunity.”

“Igniting robust policy debate on often difficult topics, informed by new ideas and the facts, is central to our mission, so it would be fundamentally false to suggest the organization, or its founders, do not support free speech,” she added.

Op-Ed: Rep. Dan Newhouse: How important is a strong Farm Bill? Ask a farmer

By Rep. Dan Newhouse

As a third-generation farmer in Washington’s Yakima Valley, I have always believed farmers are the best stewards of our lands. For the last two years, farmers and ranchers have been operating under an outdated Farm Bill that doesn’t meet the current needs of the industry. A strong Farm Bill protects growers from turbulent market conditions, supports incentive-based conservation programs, and expands market opportunities for our crops. Reauthorizing the Farm Bill before it expires at the end of September remains one of my top priorities.

I am excited to return to the House Agriculture Committee for the 119th Congress and to have a strong hand in crafting the upcoming Farm Bill. I will also remain on the Agriculture Subcommittee on Appropriations, where I can help ensure the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s programs receive the funding they need to deliver critical assistance. I am the only Republican in the House of Representatives to serve on the two committees with a direct impact on agriculture, and I am proud to be a strong advocate for a robust agricultural industry.

Farmers across the country, and especially in my district in Central Washington, have faced more than their fair share of challenges since the last Farm Bill was signed into law in 2018. Input costs have skyrocketed, new trading opportunities have been limited, and inflation has squeezed farm operations of all sizes. The situation is dire in farm country, and Congress must act before the damage becomes irreversible.

Op-Ed: Evan Swarztrauber: The Senate should quickly confirm Mark Meador for the FTC

By Evan Swarztrauber

In recent years, Republicans have rightly broadened their perspective on threats to liberty and to human flourishing. While expansive and intrusive government should always be seen as the primary risk, unchecked corporate consolidation and lax enforcement of consumer protection laws pose significant, though unequal, threats.

For President Donald Trump and for the Republican Congress to succeed in their goals of supercharging the economy and unleashing technological innovation, America needs a strong Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The country’s premier consumer protection authority needs leaders who understand how to take narrow, targeted actions that unlock economic potential rather than stifle growth.

Thankfully, President Trump made two excellent choices in appointing Andrew Ferguson as chairman of the FTC and in nominating Mark Meador for commissioner; Meador’s confirmation would deliver a Republican majority at the agency. The Senate would do the American people a great service in expediting Meador’s confirmation.

Meador’s impressive resume makes him the perfect candidate for the moment. As an antitrust attorney, his background includes stints in the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, and in the U.S. Senate. He also has experience representing plaintiffs victimized by anticompetitive behavior that undermines free markets and harms consumers.