Immigration Politics in Funding Bill: What to Know in Washington

House Republicans are using a shutdown deadline at the end of the month to lean hard into election-year politics . But first, you should know:

• Lawmakers investigating the assassination attempt on Donald Trump face a tight timeline to turn around solutions.
• Trump won a sentencing delay in the New York hush money criminal case until after the election.
• The last congressional primaries get underway in New Hampshire, Delaware, and Rhode Island tomorrow.

House GOP Funding Stopgap Targets Voting

House Republicans seized October’s government shutdown deadline to bludgeon Democrats with one of their weakest election-year vulnerabilities, pairing an emergency funding bill with a divisive immigration-related policy.

The continuing resolution includes the SAVE Act — a House Republican bill requiring proof of citizenship to vote. The move all but guarantees the legislation won’t survive, and sets the stage for a tense back and forth with only weeks to avert a shutdown.

Leaders plan votes on the bill this week. The proof-of-citizenship rider is considered a messaging maneuver destined for rejection by the Democratic-controlled Senate. House Republicans may try to pass the bill with few Democratic votes before negotiating a bipartisan measure.

The stopgap keeps government funding level through March 28, nearly six months into the 2025 fiscal year — a victory for hard-line conservatives who pushed for a deadline into next year, when they hope to take control of the Senate and White House while maintaining their House majority.

Lawmakers may eventually compromise on a shorter CR that drops the voting bill rather than risk a shutdown ahead of the November election. Read More

• BGOV Bill Analysis: House GOP Fiscal 2025 Stopgap

Over in the Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) emphasized the importance of avoiding a government shutdown in a letter to his Democratic colleagues on Sunday. Schumer said his party favors a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution, and called on Republicans to support a bipartisan effort.

• “We will not let poison pills or Republican extremism put funding for critical programs at risk,” Schumer said in the letter released by his office. Read More

Read BGOV’s Congress Tracker for the complete breakdown of lawmaker’s weeklong legislative agenda and the politics driving it.

Trump, Harris Eye Pennsylvania as Main Battleground of 2024

Pennsylvania is emerging as the top battleground in the White House race with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump increasingly focusing their attention and resources on the Keystone state.

The most populous of the swing states, Pennsylvania — with its 19 Electoral College votes — saw close contests in 2016, when Trump carried it by less than three-quarters of a percentage point, and 2020, when President Joe Biden narrowly flipped it.

The race there is a microcosm of the presidential contest at large. Trump and Harris have been barnstorming the state, seeking to address economic anxiety driven by high prices and worries about jobs and wages – particularly among blue-collar workers in western Pennsylvania – and to court suburban and independent voters in vote-rich suburbs around Philadelphia.

The state’s importance will be further highlighted Tuesday when Philadelphia hosts what could be the only debate between Harris and Trump.

More Election Headlines:

• Harris, Walz Plan Post-Debate Tour of Swing States in Tight Race
• Walz to Headline Dallas Fundraiser With Big Law Co-Hosts
• Falling Pump Prices Blunt Trump’s Inflation Attacks on Harris
• Warren Buffett’s Nebraska Becomes Sudden Political Battleground
• Musk’s Pro-Trump PAC Ramps Up Advertising: ‘We Must STOP Kamala’
• Harris Donors Privately Urge Firing of FTC’s Khan, SEC’s Gensler

BGOV Hill Watch: Spending Deadline Dominates Short Work Period

The latest edition of BGOV’s Hill Watch goes into detail about fiscal 2025 funding and the other issues that could find legislative life in the rest of this Congress.

Also on lawmakers’ agenda: Annual defense policy, farm bill programs, water resources projects, rail safety, cryptocurrency, AI and online safety, and expanding insulin cost caps.

Looming elections could mean votes on messaging bill issues like reproductive health, and the outcome could determine what gets done this fall or slips to next year, when key provisions from the 2017 GOP tax overhaul expire.

• Download BGOV Hill Watch for all the details.

House Trump Assassination Probe Faces Tight Timeline

House lawmakers investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump have just a few months to assess how to prevent future security breakdowns.

They’ve got a Dec. 13 deadline to comb through documents, host public hearings, question witnesses, and craft solutions for what went wrong at the rally, while juggling their own election campaigns and a pressing deadline to fund the government. “We want to make sure that we have a robust and accurate accounting of what happened and what went wrong, but that alone is not going to make sure that it doesn’t happen again,” the task force’s top Democrat, Rep. Jason Crow (Colo.), said in an interview.

The panel’s first hearing is set for late September, focused on collaboration between federal and local law enforcement, Crow said. The panel aims to question key Pennsylvania law enforcement officials this month and is seeking the coroner’s report and autopsy for alleged shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks. The group is also working to dispel unfounded conspiracy theories about the attempted assassination by releasing the most thorough and accurate information it can, Crow said. Read More

Republicans Accuse Biden Team of Lying About Afghanistan Pullout

Republican lawmakers accused the Biden administration of lying to Americans and sacrificing the safety of US soldiers during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, in a report that sought to implicate Vice President Kamala Harris before the presidential election.

Timing: The findings are the culmination of a two-year investigation by House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas), who has long criticized Biden’s handling of the withdrawal. The report was released two days before Harris is set to debate former President Donald Trump, whose campaign has said the withdrawal weakened the US standing in the world and emboldened Russia to invade Ukraine.

No Democrats signed on to the report, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), the top Democrat on the foreign affairs panel, said it was a partisan effort to tarnish Harris. Read More

• House Republicans will extend their investigation until “well after the election” in November, McCaul said, as questions remain such the lack of protection for US troops and limited video evidence. “We have a lot of unanswered questions regarding the DoD,” he said Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation”. Read More

Editor’s Picks

Time Running Out to Confirm Remaining Biden Judicial Nominees

President Joe Biden’s timeline for appointing judges to the federal bench is shortening amid the pressures of an election year and a narrowly-divided Senate.

New Mental Health Rule Introduces Employer Benefit Parity Test

The Biden administration is poised to issue a final rule toughening mandates for employer-sponsored health plans to provide mental health and substance abuse coverage on par with their traditional medical benefits.

Immigration Parole Challenges Must Overcome Standing Roadblock

Before they can overturn a Biden program offering immigration relief to spouses of US citizens, GOP states will have to show whether they have grounds to challenge the Keeping Families Together program.

Biden Aides Working on Proposal for US Sovereign Wealth Fund

Top aides to President Joe Biden have been crafting a proposal to create a sovereign wealth fund that would allow the US to invest in national security interests including technology, energy, and critical links in the supply chain, according to people familiar with the effort.

Trump Wins Delay in Hush Money Sentencing Until After Election

Donald Trumpwill not face sentencing in his New York hush money trial until after November’s presidential election, clearing a major legal and political obstacle for the Republican presidential nominee before voters head to the polls.

Last Congressional Primaries Tee Up Conflict, History

One of the year’s last congressional primaries gets underway in New Hampshire on Tuesday, where Democrats are dividing between the outgoing incumbent’s pick and a rival with Washington and military experience.

Tuesday’s marquee race is for Rep. Annie Kuster’s western-northern 2nd District, and endorsements may matter in the choice between Democrats who agree on policy: Maggie Goodlander, a former White House aide and Justice Department official, and Colin Van Ostern, a former member of New Hampshire’s Executive Council and the 2016 Democratic nominee for governor.

Van Ostern is Kuster’s former campaign manager. He highlighted close ties to the state and endorsements from Kuster, unions, mayors and state legislators. New Democrat Majority, a super PAC funded partly by Kuster’s campaign committee, aided Van Ostern with a direct-mail campaign.

Goodlander, a former intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve, got more than $900,000 from the group VoteVets. The super-PAC of Emily’s List, which aids Democratic women who support abortion rights, also boosted Goodlander.

Delaware and Rhode Island join New Hampshire on Tuesday in setting the final Nov. 5 general-election matchups that’ll determine control of Congress. Read More

What Else We’re Reading

Cook Report Moves Several House Race Ratings in Democrats’ Favor

Races for House seats in Iowa, Florida, California, Nebraska, Ohio and Texas were moved in Democrats’ favor by Cook Political Report.

Senator Rick Scott in Close Race in Florida, Poll Shows

In Florida’s Senate race, 46% of likely voters support Republican incumbent Rick Scott and 45% support Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, according to an Emerson College Polling/The Hill poll.

Biden Administration Highway Chief Bhatt Leaving Role This Month

Bhatt’s last day at the Transportation Department will be Sept. 10.

Texas Expands Push to Halt Democratic Voter Registration Bid

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) filed a second suit to block a blue county’s bid to boost voter registration Friday, expanding his push to thwart what he says are attempts by local officials to identify likely Democratic voters.

Alito Reports $900 Tickets, a Loan, No Trips in Disclosure

US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito reported in a new financial disclosure that he took no trips in 2023 paid for by another person or organization, but revealed he failed for years to report a loan and did accept concert tickets from a German socialite.

US Warns Russia’s Election Meddling Advanced and Widespread

Russia’s efforts to influence the US election are more sophisticated than in past cycles, a US intelligence official said, warning the country’s activities go well beyond an alleged plot revealed in a Justice Department indictment this week.

Barrett Describes ‘Difficult’ Transition to Increased Security

Justice Amy Coney Barrett said adjusting to having a security detail has been “one of the most difficult” parts of joining the US Supreme Court, including some incidents involving her children.

Upcoming Webinars: Elections Q&A, Tax 2025 Preview

Elections Q&A with Greg Giroux: Join us for a webinar with BGOV elections expert Greg Giroux at 11 a.m. on Sept. 25. The event will provide an in-depth analysis of how the presidential race is affecting congressional races, ballot measures, and other key aspects of the electoral landscape. Register Here

What to Watch as Tax Breaks Expire: Next year will be pivotal for tax policy. The next Congress and president will need to negotiate key provisions from the 2017 tax overhaul that expire at the end of 2025, and the presidential campaigns are pitching significant tax policy changes. Join our senior reporters and analysts at 11 a.m. on Sept. 18 for a detailed breakdown of how tax policy will likely shake out, including key players, major areas of dispute, and how the election could shape the outcome. Register Here

To contact the reporter on this story: Giuseppe Macri in Washington at gmacri@bgov.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeannie Baumann at jbaumann@bloombergindustry.com; Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com