Congress Resists Trump’s Preferred Path to Avoid a Shutdown

The flag flies at half-staff in front of the White House.
Reuters
By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

Good evening. The nation was shocked Tuesday by another incident of political violence. We've got some details on that and more on today's D.C. developments.

Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Assassinated

Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed today while speaking at an event at a college in Orem, Utah. He was 31.

Kirk was a close ally of President Trump and an influential leader in the MAGA movement as the founder of Turning Point USA, a political organization that advocates for conservative causes on school campuses. Kirk also stirred controversy, spreading false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election that Trump lost and drawing accusations of antisemitism and bigotry by pushing the unsubstantiated "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, which alleges an organized effort to replace white people of European descent with nonwhite people.

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," Trump wrote on his social media site. "No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us." Trump ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until sunset on September 14.

Democrats and Republicans quickly denounced the shooting and decried it as the latest example of political violence to shock the nation, though some on the right responded by blaming Democratic rhetoric and "liberal hate."

The shooting suspect is now in custody, FBI Director Kash Patel announced in an evening post on X.

Congress Resists Trump's Preferred Path to Avoid a Shutdown

The White House yesterday requested a stopgap spending bill that would push the September 30 deadline to avoid a government shutdown until the end of January. But key congressional Republicans and Democrats aren't exactly lining up behind that plan.

Some Republicans reportedly fret that a January deadline would result in a full-year continuing resolution that keeps funding at current levels, which are themselves a continuation of 2024 levels set under President Joe Biden.

"I just think that we get into January, get into the new year, that it's less likely we'll do any appropriation bills and we'll have a yearlong CR," Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas told The Hill on Tuesday.

Republican appropriators reportedly prefer a shorter-term extension into November to buy time for further negotiations on a bipartisan, full-year spending deal. Sen. Susan Collins, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is reportedly pushing for the new deadline to be the Friday before Thanksgiving.

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, an Oklahoma Republican, has also proposed a November deadline. "I think that sentiment is probably still leaning toward something shorter, and that's pretty much on both sides, and it's basically with the idea to keep a sense of urgency," Cole told reporters Tuesday.

Trump's suggestion of a January deadline, which GOP hardliners also want, could undercut any potential deal to extend the premium Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. Those enhanced credits could form the core of a bipartisan funding deal that wins the votes of Democrats but loses some GOP hardliners.

Congressional leaders and appropriators are also still looking to cement a potential funding deal that would see Congress approve a trio of annual spending bills by the end of the month while keeping the rest of the federal government running via a stopgap measure.

Any potential deal remains clouded by uncertainty. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Tuesday that he will insist on a "clean" stopgap funding bill this month, with any deal on the Obamacare subsidies potentially coming later.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Wednesday that the proposals floated by Republicans so far can't garner the Democratic support needed to pass the Senate. "What the Republicans have proposed is not good enough to meet the needs of the American people and not good enough to get our votes," Schumer said.

Trump Appeals After Federal Judge Blocks His Firing of Fed Governor

The Trump administration on Wednesday appealed a federal judge's ruling late Tuesday blocking the president from firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.

Judge Jia M. Cobb of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Trump cannot remove Cook while her lawsuit seeking to prevent her firing is still in progress. The ruling dealt a blow to Trump's effort to populate the Fed board with allies more favorable to his preferences on monetary policy.

Trump attempted to fire Cook on August 25, notifying her by letter that he had sufficient cause to do so following allegations from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte that she committed mortgage fraud by claiming more than one property as her primary residence. Cook responded with a lawsuit on August 28 challenging the firing, which marks the first time a U.S. president has tried to remove a sitting member of the central bank.

In her ruling, Cobb said that although the conflict is still in its preliminary stages, "Cook has made a strong showing that her purported removal was done in violation of the Federal Reserve Act's 'for cause' provision." Cobb noted that "for cause" typically applies only to behavior when one is in office, not before, suggesting that Cook's alleged mortgage discrepancies would have no bearing on her Fed service.

Cobb also said there is a public interest in maintaining the independence of the Federal Reserve.

As the legal maneuvering continues to play out, Cook will likely participate in the Fed's next meeting on September 16 and 17, when the central bank is expected to cut interest rates for the first time this year.

Trump ally moves forward: The Senate Banking Committee voted Wednesday to advance the nomination of Stephen Miran, Trump's pick to occupy a recently vacated Fed seat, to the floor for a full vote.

Miran, who currently chairs the White House Council of Economic Advisers, would fill a seat that expires at the end of January 2026. Some lawmakers expressed concerns about Miran's plan to return to his White House position once his term at the Fed expires, raising questions about his independence from the administration.

Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said that although he supports Miran for this position, he would not do so if Trump nominates him to serve again, as some expect. "When he goes back, he needs to stay there," he said Monday. "I wouldn't support him for a longer term."

Trump Orders Crackdown on Pharma Advertising

In a memorandum released late Tuesday, President Trump ordered the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies to crack down on prescription drug advertising that directly targets consumers.

Echoing language used by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the memo says the current generation of pharmaceutical ads can mislead consumers, encourage the use of medications over lifestyle changes, interfere with the relationship between doctor and patient, and promote expensive name-brand drugs over cheaper generics.

Trump directed his administration to ensure that the ads are accurate and follow the rules requiring "materially complete information that fairly balances both the benefits and the risks" of a given drug.

The administration will reportedly send 100 cease-and-desist letters and thousands of warning letters informing companies that the FDA will take steps to more stringently enforce existing rules.

The administration has also reportedly proposed to reverse a regulatory change that allowed for television advertising for drugs starting in 1997.

"Pharmaceutical ads hooked this country on prescription drugs," Kennedy said in a press release. "We will shut down that pipeline of deception and require drug companies to disclose all critical safety facts in their advertising."

A formal change in the regulations would likely take time to develop and roll out, with FDA rulemaking typically taking years. Any such change would also likely be fought tooth and nail by the pharmaceutical and television industries, which have profited enormously from the flood of advertising unleashed in 1997.

"Truthful and nonmisleading [direct-to-consumer] advertising is protected under the First Amendment and has documented evidence of advancing patient awareness and engagement," PhRMA, the drug industry's leading trade group, said in a statement Wednesday.

Correction: This newsletter originally misspelled Orem. 

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