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Browse major news stories and see what officials have said.

Sep 27, 2026· Updated

Five Days Before the Fiscal Year Ends and With the House Gone Until After the Midterms, Russ Vought Sends Congress an $810 Million "Pocket Rescission" — the Republican Chair of Senate Appropriations, Susan Collins, Calls It "a Clear Violation of the Law," Patty Murray Calls It "Theft From the American People," and the White House Says Trump Will Use "All Possible Tools"

On the night of Friday, Sept. 25, 2026, the Office of Management and Budget sent Congress a roughly $810 million package of "pocket rescissions" — a request to cancel bipartisan, already-enacted appropriations timed so close to the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year that the money expires before Congress can act on it. The House is out of session until after the November midterms. About $567 million of the package targets Health and Human Services programs serving refugees, asylees and other noncitizens; the rest hits migrant education, international education, a Justice Department community-relations office, minority business development, HUD counseling and HHS research grants. The Government Accountability Office has concluded pocket rescissions are not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act. OMB Director Russ Vought argues the law does not forbid them, and the administration used the same maneuver on foreign aid in 2025. The White House said "President Trump is committed to utilizing all possible tools to cut wasteful and harmful government spending that does not benefit American citizens." Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Republican, called the move unlawful and said OMB "does not get to decide which programs are worth funding"; Democratic appropriations and budget leaders called it theft and an illegal line-item veto.

“I love Susan like a taco, but she's wrong. First, Congress didn't approve this stuff. … I'm glad that Russ Vought's doing it.”
John Kennedy (R-LA) · Sep 27, 2026

Sep 27, 2026· Updated

Hegseth Pitches His $1.5 Trillion Defense Budget on Capitol Hill and Locks Democrats Out of Every Classified Briefing — and It Is Senate Republicans Who Tell Him to Stop

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made at least two closed-door trips to Capitol Hill in early August 2026 to sell President Trump's record $1.5 trillion defense budget, and lawmakers in both parties said he excluded Democrats from every session. The sharpest criticism came from Republicans on the Armed Services Committee, who warned that the appropriations portion of the package cannot pass without Democratic votes. Sen. Thom Tillis said Hegseth "calls himself the secretary of war" but will not "go to war and win the argument with nearly half the members of the Senate." Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the briefings "need to be bipartisan," and Sen. Mike Rounds said Democrats "need to be brought up to speed," while adding that classified material must stay classified. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on Foreign Relations, said the pattern extended past the Pentagon to routine committee-staff briefings. Senate Democrats threatened to withhold support from defense spending bills over the exclusions. The Pentagon said it "remains fully committed to working with Congress."

“[The administration has got] to communicate that better. … You've got to come up here and sell your vision to the board of directors of America, which is us. Everyone has every right to be skeptical … [the Pentagon's] been almost a symbol of bureaucratic dysfunction. It's not quite Somali fraud in Minnesota, but it's been some pretty dumb sh*t we spent money on.”
Tim Sheehy (R-MT) · Sep 27, 2026

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Sep 25, 2026· Updated

Democrats Introduce Bill to Block Trump's 250-Foot Triumphal Arch in DC

In late May 2026, approximately two dozen House Democrats introduced the Arlington National Cemetery Viewshed Protection Act to block federal funding for President Trump's proposed 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. The bill, led by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), argues the project violates the Commemorative Works Act, which requires congressional approval for new memorials on federal land in Washington, D.C. Trump officials have argued they do not need congressional authorization because Congress authorized a similar structure more than a century ago. A Trump-packed Commission of Fine Arts approved a modified design on May 21, 2026, despite more than 600 public comments submitted — 99.5% in opposition. The project has drawn criticism from historic preservation groups including the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the DC Preservation League. Republicans including Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN) have defended the arch as a sign of the administration's commitment to classical architecture. With Republicans controlling Congress, the Democratic bill faces long odds of passage.

“[Letter to Hegseth and the FAA on plans to house drones and military equipment in the arch:] The FAA and DoD must reject this foolhardy plan and instead focus on increasing the safety of the airspace.”
Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) · Sep 25, 2026

Trump Orders Russ Vought to Draft an Executive Order Giving a White House Board Veto Power Over NIH Grants — Susan Collins Calls It "Contrary to Congressional Intent," Patty Murray Calls the Board "a Panel of Lackeys," and Two Days Later Collins Says "the White House Listened"

After NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya declined to cut off funding for Harvard researchers, President Trump directed OMB Director Russ Vought to draft an executive order creating a review board — including Vought and Bhattacharya — that would have to unanimously sign off on National Institutes of Health grant awards, including grants already selected through peer review. The plan drew immediate objections on September 21, 2026 from the top appropriators of both parties: Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and House Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). Collins followed with a September 22 letter to Vought and Bhattacharya urging the administration to send Congress a legislative proposal instead. On September 23, Semafor and The Hill reported the administration was backing off the order; Collins said White House chief of staff Susie Wiles shared concerns and that "the White House listened." The stopgap funding law already bars a similar government-wide political review of grants through December 11.

“We should not have a politicized process for awarding research and biomedical grants to institutions. It needs to be merit-based, and I'm glad that the White House listened to those of us who were making that argument. … What we're hearing — and I've been weighing in with the White House — is that [chief of staff] Susie Wiles is also concerned about what the impact of this would be. And I am hoping … that the executive order won't be issued.”
Susan Collins (R-ME) · Sep 23, 2026

U.S. Pauses Iran Bombing Campaign as Military Leaders Warn Trump About Dwindling Munitions Stockpiles

The United States paused its bombing campaign against Iran on the night of Friday, July 24, 2026, after nearly two weeks of consecutive nightly strikes, with operations placed "on a hold" according to a Defense Department source. On July 25 the military announced no new strikes for the first time in two weeks. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine had raised concerns in a White House meeting about the state of U.S. munitions stockpiles, telling Trump the military could execute the available options but warning of the implications. President Trump publicly dismissed the concerns, acknowledging the U.S. would like more of "the more sophisticated stuff" while insisting the military has what it needs and blaming the Biden administration for transfers to Ukraine. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz conceded "a lot of stockpiles are depleted." The pause landed in the middle of a budget fight: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Caine asked senators to approve an $87.6 billion supplemental, including roughly $40 billion to expand production of solid rocket motors, precision-guided bombs, hypersonic weapons and counter-drone systems, while House Republicans advanced a separate $95 billion reconciliation framework. Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) said the services' munitions stockpiles are "under extreme strain," and Democrats including Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) argued the depletion showed the war lacked a coherent strategy.

“Munitions have been depleted. The stockpiles are very low, contrary to what Donald Trump wants us to believe.”
Jason Crow (D-CO) · Sep 6, 2026

Trump Says He Will Bill Europe for the Weapons the United States Already Gave Ukraine — "We Will Be Asking for That Money, Though Somewhat Belatedly" — and Halts Munitions Sales to Allies While He Denies the Iran War Has Drained the Stockpile

On September 3, 2026, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that the United States would seek retroactive payment from European countries for the munitions and military aid sent to Ukraine under the Biden administration. "Hundreds of Billions of Dollars was given to Ukraine and NATO, free of charge, that Europe would have paid for — If they were only asked, but we will be asking for that money, though somewhat belatedly!" He did not name which countries he meant, or identify any legal mechanism for collecting. The post was also a rebuttal. Reporting through late August had described U.S. precision-munitions stockpiles heavily depleted by six months of war with Iran, and combatant commanders had formally objected to extending the campaign. Trump wrote that the United States has "virtually unlimited amounts of Mid to High Grade Ammunition" and is producing at "levels never seen before" — while simultaneously confirming a pause in sales to allies: "We are taking them for ourselves, the U.S.A., rather than selling them to others, but the sales to allies will soon again, begin." The demand landed as European governments were already refusing to join the Iran campaign. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at the G20 finance meeting in North Carolina, described a global energy shock driven by both the Ukraine and Iran wars. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, had just returned from a bipartisan congressional delegation to Ukraine. She called the president's demand "outrageous" and said she would increase Ukraine funding if Democrats win the House.

“This is extraordinary… it's outrageous. It's an outrageous commentary. I don't believe he even knows or understands what he's speaking about. I really don't think he understands or he gets it.”
Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) · Sep 4, 2026

The Pentagon Quietly Signs a Ten-Year Agreement Letting It Draw on the NIH’s Infectious-Disease Budget — Up to $2 Billion, Close to a Third of the Institute’s Money — and the Top Appropriations Democrats in Both Chambers Say It Was Done Behind Congress’s Back

On Thursday, September 3, 2026, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the ranking Democrat on House Appropriations, disclosed that the Department of Defense had signed an interagency agreement with the National Institutes of Health that "facilitates the transfer of funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War." The agreement runs to 2036 and names no dollar figure. People familiar with it estimated that as much as $2 billion could move out of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — close to a third of an institute whose annual budget is roughly $7 billion, and the money Congress appropriated for research on HIV, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and Ebola. The stated purpose is "the advanced development of medical countermeasures against pandemic influenza, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) threats, and emerging infectious diseases." The Pentagon posted a redacted copy of the agreement on September 4. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, and DeLauro both demanded the agreement be terminated outright, and both tied it to the Pentagon’s cash crunch: the department is six months into the Iran war, the Navy has been raiding its own payroll accounts, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s $350 billion reconciliation request has gone nowhere in either chamber. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya publicly defended the deal as a research partnership rather than a diversion, saying the work would be led by NIAID and would be "100% aligned with our public health mission." A White House spokesman said no money was being transferred to the Pentagon at all, calling it "a project-by-project research partnership." As of this writing no congressional Republican had publicly weighed in.

“NIH funds should be used to improve the health of Americans. Far from siphoning money away from research, this partnership between @NIH and @DeptofWar focuses on research projects that will drive discoveries to improve the health of American citizens and members of the military. Led by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, all work will be 100% aligned with our public health mission.”
Jay Bhattacharya (R) · Sep 4, 2026

After Two Record-Breaking Shutdowns in Ten Months, the Senate Votes 90-6 to Fund the Government Past the Midterms — and Pushes the Real Fight to December 11

Government funding was set to lapse at midnight on September 30, 2026, which would have opened a shutdown on October 1 — four and a half weeks before the November 3 midterm elections. On Sunday, August 2, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) released the text of a continuing resolution holding most agencies at current levels through December 11. The Senate passed it 90-6 in the early hours of Saturday, August 8, before leaving for the August recess. The bill is a stopgap, but it is not a clean one. Democrats won three things House Republicans' version did not contain: language closing a transfer loophole that would have let the administration move money appropriated for other programs into Border Patrol; a temporary block on a proposed OMB rule giving senior political appointees a larger role in reviewing and cancelling federal grants; and rejection of the White House's request for $1 billion to begin work on the new "Trump-class" battleship. It also carries adjustments for WIC, shipbuilding and the Disaster Relief Fund. The six no votes were an unusual left-right pairing — Cassidy, Paul, Kaine, Markey, Warren and Sanders — with progressives objecting to funding the administration's agenda at all and fiscal conservatives objecting to another stopgap. Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said voting yes would be "signing a check for President Trump to continue his illegal, reckless agenda." The politics behind the 90-6 margin are straightforward: the country has already been through three funding lapses in a year, including a four-day shutdown from January 31 to February 3 and a record 76-day DHS lapse from February to late April. Neither party wanted a fourth one running through the campaign. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) framed it as owing the public predictability. What the vote does not do is settle anything. It moves the deadline to December 11 — after the election, into a lame-duck session, with the OMB grants rule, immigration enforcement funding, hemp-derived THC products and the unfinished full-year appropriations bills all still live. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), asked what it would take to finish a budget by then, listed "whiffs of frozen hell, donkeys flying." The House still has to pass the measure when members return in September before it reaches the President's desk.

“House Republicans are in charge here, and we’re continuing to do the grown-up thing and make sure we get the job done. And we’re happy that we just passed that continuing resolution to fund the government through early December, and then we’ll continue through the process after the election.”
Mike Johnson (R-LA) · Sep 1, 2026

A Pentagon Memo Says the Navy Is "Raiding" Its Own Payroll Accounts to Pay for the Iran War — and the Chief of Naval Operations Says He Needs $8 Billion More Just to Stay Solvent

On August 27, 2026, the Guardian reported, based on internal documents and interviews, that Operation Epic Fury — the war with Iran — has pushed the US Navy into a severe financial crisis. One Pentagon memo on Navy funding warns of "shortfalls in payroll" accounts because the department has been "raiding" them to cover combat operations, backfilling with money not yet spent elsewhere. Equipment and facility maintenance accounts are being drained the same way, and exercises and training have been limited or canceled to bridge the gap until the 2027 fiscal year begins on October 1. A Navy spokesperson disputed that pay is at risk, saying the department "is actively managing its resources to meet current pay obligations on time." The next day, August 28, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle used his State of the Navy address in Norfolk to put a number on it: the Navy needs $6 billion to $8 billion above what was budgeted "to be whole and solvent for [Fiscal Year] 26." More than 27,000 sailors and two dozen ships supported the Iran campaign. Asked about the size of the administration's proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget, Caudle said he was not offended by it — "I need my money." Caudle had warned Congress in May that the Navy could run out of money by July: "The FY '26 budget didn't bake in Epic Fury." The White House has asked Congress for an emergency infusion of $67 billion; House Republicans floated $73 billion through reconciliation. At a July 21 Senate Appropriations hearing, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she had been told "some military services face near-term solvency challenges." House Armed Services member Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC) told colleagues to "get rid of the complacency," and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN), the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations panel, said Congress needs "to know what we're purchasing and why."

“I need my money. I don’t think we should be offended by $1.5 trillion.”
Daryl Caudle (O) · Aug 28, 2026

A Federal Judge Blocks the Trump Administration From Scrapping the FBI’s Greenbelt Headquarters and Diverting the Money to a Building Across the Street From the White House

On August 17, 2026, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang permanently enjoined the FBI and the General Services Administration from moving the Bureau's future headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, ruling that the agencies "exceeded their authority" and acted unlawfully under the Administrative Procedure Act. The dispute goes back to 2023, when GSA — running a competition Congress had structured in 2022 and 2023 appropriations laws — selected Greenbelt, Maryland, over sites in Springfield, Virginia, and Landover, Maryland, for a new FBI headquarters to replace the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building. In July 2025 the FBI and GSA announced they were abandoning that selection and would instead move the Bureau into the Reagan Building, blocks from the Hoover site. Maryland and Prince George's County sued, arguing the administration could not override a congressionally structured site selection or redirect the construction money Congress had appropriated for it. Judge Chuang agreed, holding that the statutes required GSA to pick from the three short-listed sites outside Washington. Maryland's Democratic officials — Gov. Wes Moore, Attorney General Anthony Brown, Prince George's County Executive Aisha Braveboy, and all eight Democrats in the state's congressional delegation — cast the ruling as a rebuke of an administration that treated a congressional appropriation as optional. The county has estimated the project at more than 7,500 jobs and roughly $4 billion in added GDP. The FBI pushed back hard in a statement, saying "the court has chosen to impermissibly intervene for political reasons" and that "this is not the first time courts have tried to undermine the administration in its goal to make government more cost-effective."

“Maryland and Prince George's County committed more than a decade of work to earn the FBI headquarters and pledged hundreds of millions of dollars. By blocking the Trump Administration's unlawful attempt to move the FBI to the Reagan Building and divert the funds Congress set aside for this project, the Court has cleared the path back to Greenbelt.”
Anthony Brown (D-MD) · Aug 17, 2026

Senate Leaders Strike a Bipartisan Stopgap to Fund the Government Through December 11, Sidestepping Trump and House Republicans

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) released the text of a continuing resolution on August 2, 2026 that would hold federal funding at current levels through December 11 — pushing the next shutdown deadline past the November midterm elections. The Senate voted 89-4 on Monday, August 3 to limit debate on the measure, an unusually early move given that the fiscal year does not end until September 30 and Congress normally waits until the final hours of a funding deadline. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said the predictability was worth it after two lengthy shutdowns, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the bill preserved room to keep negotiating a budget. The measure includes adjustments for WIC, shipbuilding and the Disaster Relief Fund, and both Collins and Murray highlighted a provision blocking a proposed OMB rule on federal grants for the duration of the CR. The bipartisan deal cut against demands from President Trump and House Republicans, whose own CR had taken a different approach; the House was on recess and not scheduled to return until August 31. Murray, while backing the bill, criticized fellow senators for not doing more to check the administration.

“After three unnecessary lapses in funding during the fiscal year 2026 cycle, putting the possibility of yet another harmful shutdown off the table should be a priority for each and every one of us.”
Susan Collins (R-ME) · Aug 8, 2026

Administration Admits in Court It Canceled $7.6 Billion in Clean Energy Grants Based Solely on Recipients’ States Voting for Harris

In a July 15, 2026 filing in a class action lawsuit, the Trump administration acknowledged that the Department of Energy sent the Office of Management and Budget a list of more than 600 grants recommended for cancellation drawn from recipients in states that Kamala Harris won in 2024 and that are represented by two senators who caucus with Democrats. OMB terminated 284 of those grants in October 2025, totaling roughly $7.6 billion across hundreds of clean energy projects. The filing stated the terminations were made "based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient's state." Affected projects were located in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. The admission contradicted repeated public assertions by Energy Secretary Chris Wright that the cuts were routine "business decisions" about whether projects were a good use of taxpayer money. Democrats seized on the filing when it was reported on July 25, accusing the administration of weaponizing federal spending to punish voters in states that opposed the president.

“Money "to fuel the Left’s climate agenda is being cancelled."”
Russell Vought (R-VA) · Jul 25, 2026

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