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DC Download - May 5, 2025

Lawmakers are back in Washington and diving into budget hearings. Key military leaders and top Trump administration officials—from Homeland Security, Treasury, Agriculture, Energy, FEMA, and the FBI—are testifying before appropriators in response to Trump’s newly released budget proposal for fiscal year 2026. The House Natural Resource Committee is also pushing out a plan to slash $15 billion by gutting climate investments and selling off public lands for drilling.

Meanwhile, today, senators are expected to vote on rolling back a Biden-era rule regulating tire emissions. Republican senators are also closely monitoring reconciliation efforts as the House preps its massive bill—complete with tax cuts for the wealthy and potentially devastating rollbacks in funding for basic needs—to send their way as soon as Memorial Day.

Read on for more of what Congress is up to this week.

Table of Contents:

Grassroots Action Toolkit

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House Floor

The House will vote on 12 suspension bills from the Committees on Natural Resources and Energy and Commerce. Suspension bills require a ⅔ majority to pass. For a list of all suspension bills being considered, click here.

This week the House will also consider the following bills, subject to a rule:

H.R. 881 – DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act (Sponsored by Rep. Pfluger / Homeland Security Committee) This bill restricts funding to an institution of higher education that has a relationship with international educational or technological programs funded by the Chinese government, unless a waiver is granted.

H.R. 276 – Gulf of America Act of 2025 (Sponsored by Rep. Greene (GA) / Natural Resources Committee) This bill renames the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and directs federal agencies to update their documents and maps to incorporate the new name.

House Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:

Tuesday Hearings

Joint Hearing: Federal Corrections in Focus: Oversight of the Bureau of Prisons (Committee on the Judiciary)

Oversight Hearing of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Committee on Appropriations)

U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, is testifying

Oversight Hearing – U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Committee on Appropriations)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, is testifying

Oversight Hearing – The United States Air Force and Space Force

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff, General David W. Allvin, is testifying
Department of the Air Force Acting Secretary, Gary A. Ashworth, is testifying
U.S. Space Force Chief of Space Operations, General B. Chance Saltzman, is testifying

Oversight of the Operations of the Library of Congress (Committee on House Administration)

Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, is testifying

Beijing’s Air, Space, and Maritime Surveillance from Cuba: A Growing Threat to the Homeland (Committee on Homeland Security)

Reconciliation Markup (Committee on Natural Resources)

Wednesday Hearings

Budget Hearing - U.S. Department of Energy (Committee on Appropriations)

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary, Chris Wright, is testifying

Budget Hearing - U.S. Department of Agriculture (Committee on Appropriations)

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, is testifying

Oversight Hearing – The United States Army (Committee on Appropriations)

Department of the Army Secretary, Daniel Driscoll, is testifying
U.S. Army Chief of Staff, General Randy George, is testifying

Budget Hearing – Fiscal Year 2026 Request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Committee on Appropriations)

FBI Director, Kash Patel, is testifying

Oversight Hearing – The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Committee on Appropriations)

FEMA Acting Administrator, Cam Hamilton, is testifying

The Annual Testimony of the Secretary of the Treasury on the State of the International Financial System (Committee on Financial Services)

U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, is testifying

Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses (Committee on Education and Workforce)

Unfair Play: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)

Thursday Hearings

Oversight Hearing – The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Committee on Appropriations)

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Acting Director, Bridget Bean, is testifying

Information Technology and Artificial Intelligence Posture of the Department of Defense (Committee on Armed Services)

Spread Freedom, Not Woke Values: An American Agenda for Democracy and Human Rights (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

Floor Action

H.J.Res.61 - Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing." (Sponsored by Rep. Morgan Griffith)

This bill nullifies an Environmental Protection Agency rule regulating emissions of hazardous air pollutants stemming from rubber tire manufacturing.

Nominations

The Senate this week has teed up votes on the following nominees:

Jonathan McKernan, to be Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection
Michael Rigas, to be Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources
David Fotouhi, to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Aaron Szabo, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Catherine Hanson, to be Chief Financial Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency
William Briggs, to be Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration
Casey Mulligan, to be Chief Counsel for Advocacy, Small Business Administration
Frank Bisignano, to be Commissioner of Social Security Administration
Paul Atkins, to be a Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Marcus Molinaro, to be Federal Transit Administrator
Jonathan Gould, to be Comptroller of the Currency
Luke Pettit, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Reed Rubinstein, to be Legal Adviser of the Department of State
Keith Bass, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defense
Troy Meink, to be Secretary of the Air Force
Emil Michael, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering
Michael Duffey, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment
Monica Crowley, to be Ambassador and Chief of Protocol of the U.S.
Scott Kupor, to be Director of the Office of Personnel Management
Eric Matthew Ueland, to be Deputy Director for Management, Office of Management and Budget
James Danly, to be Deputy Secretary of Energy
Katharine MacGregor, of Florida, to be Deputy Secretary of the Interior
Samuel Brown, to be Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs
James Baehr, to be General Counsel, Department of Veterans Affairs
Richard Topping, of Ohio, to be Chief Financial Officer, Department of Veterans Affairs
Sean Donahue, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Jessica Kramer, to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
Brian Nesvik, to be Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
Arielle Roth, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
Patrick David Davis, to be an Assistant Attorney General
Kenneth Kies, to be an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
William Kimmitt, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade
Joseph Kent, to be Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
Aaron Lukas, to be Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence
Jared Isaacman, to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Olivia Trusty, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission
Brian Burch, to be U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See
Nicole McGraw, to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Croatia
Thomas DiNanno, to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security
Allison Hooker, of Georgia, to be an Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
Sarah Rogers, to be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy
Dario Gil, to be Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy,
Preston Griffith, to be Under Secretary of Energy
Brandon Williams, to be Under Secretary for Nuclear Security
Bradley Hansell, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security
Dale Marks, to be an Assistant Secretary of Defens
Earl Matthews, to be General Counsel of the Department of Defense
Brett Shumate, to be an Assistant Attorney General

Senate Committee Highlights

Monday Hearings

To Consider Nominations of Stephen Vaden, to be Deputy Secretary, and Tyler Clarkson, to be General Counsel, of the Department of Agriculture (Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry)

Tuesday Hearings

To Consider Nominations of Anthony Tata, to be Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness, and Katherine Sutton, to be an Assistant Secretary, of the Department of Defense (Armed Services)

Legislative Hearing to Review S. 1462, Fix Our Forests Act (Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry)

To Consider Various Nominations (Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs)

A Review of the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Requests for the Library of Congress and the Architect of the Capitol (Appropriations)

Architect of the Capitol, Thomas Austin, is testifying
Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, is testifying

A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Agriculture (Appropriations)

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary, Brooke Rollins, is testifying

Field of Streams: The New Channel Guide for Sports Fans (Commerce, Science, & Transportation)

Veterans at the Forefront: Secretary Collins on the Future at VA (Veterans’ Affairs)

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary, Doug Collins, is testifying

Thursday Hearings

To Consider the Nominations of Michael Obadal, to be Under Secretary of the Army; and Mr. Sean D. O’Keefe to be Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (Armed Services)

A Review of the President’s Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Appropriations)

FBI Director, Kash Patel, is testifying

A Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request for the Department of Homeland Security (Appropriations)

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem

To Consider the Nominations of James O'Neill, to be Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Janette Nesheiwat, to be Medical Director and Surgeon General of the Public Health Service (Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee)

Winning the AI Race: Strengthening U.S. Capabilities in Computing and Innovation (Commerce, Science, & Transportation)

To consider the nomination of Brandon Judd, to be U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Chile (Foreign Relations)

Reconciliation Rolls Through

Speaker Mike Johnson has proposed an ambitious Memorial Day timeline to advance a sweeping reconciliation bill packed with GOP priorities. The current proposal includes deep cuts and rolls back critical programs, from limiting Pell Grant eligibility to eliminating Inflation Reduction Act climate investments. The next tranche of bills are expected to slash funding for Medicaid and SNAP, endangering millions of Americans’ health care and food assistance. The Speaker has also floated defunding Planned Parenthood, though such provisions are unlikely to survive reconciliation rules in the Senate. Moreover, internal GOP tensions are surfacing in the attempt to make drastic cuts to Medicaid and SNAP and other contentious issues, like lifting the SALT deduction cap. With key negotiations delayed until next week and policy divisions widening, it remains to be seen whether Johnson will be able to deliver on his promises by his own deadline.

More on this:

Republicans eye ‘per capita caps’ in Medicaid savings search (The Hill)

House education committee advances sweeping higher ed bill (Higher Ed Dive)

Trump’s Skinny Budget

Over the weekend, Trump signaled support for sweeping funding cuts across federal agencies as part of his 2026 budget wishlist, which slashes $163 billion from non-defense discretionary programs, targeting areas like education, housing, and public health. Notably, it eliminates funding for programs like Head Start, TRIO, and the LIHEAP, which support low-income families, and proposes cuts to DEI initiatives, foreign aid, and environmental programs. Instead of investments in people and communities, the budget blueprint proposes a record-breaking $1 trillion in defense spending, including funding a new "Golden Dome" missile defense system that scientists have called unworkable.

More on this:

Here’s what Trump’s budget proposal cuts by agency (Washington Post)