RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesOn Capitol Hill, time is starting to run short for Congress as the midterm elections loom. The House is on summer recess, but the Senate is in Washington trying to handle a packed, complicated agenda. That includes a first vote on President Trump's pick as the Director of National Intelligence. Lisa Desjardins reports. Geoff Bennett: On Capitol Hill, it is a split screen. The House is out for summer recess, but the Senate is very much in session, working through a packed and complicated agenda that includes a first vote tonight on President Trump's pick as the national director -- the director of national intelligence. Our Lisa Desjardins is here with more. So, Lisa, let's start with the action tonight, this key vote on President Trump's pick for DNI. Tell us more about it. Lisa Desjardins: Right. This vote for the director of national intelligence is about the position created after 9/11 to coordinate intelligence. So it is a very big deal. The past four months, this agency has been run by an acting and controversial selection who really has focused on just shrinking the agency. Let's talk about the permanent nominee. That is Jay Clayton. He right now is the U.S. attorney for Manhattan. And if you look at the Senate floor right now, you can see the vote under way. This is seen as an experienced nominee, and he has just gotten enough votes to advance. We expect his final confirmation tomorrow. But, until then, Geoff, Bill Pulte remains the acting DNI. He is controversial for a few reasons, but one is he's continuing to make major decisions even now. Last night, he posted on X -- quote -- "As of this evening, we just finished a fourth round of thoughtful, measured layoffs." The agency didn't respond to my request for exact numbers, but sources familiar tell me that Pulte has laid off some 200 or more people just in the few weeks that he's been acting director. If Jay Clayton is confirmed tomorrow, this will be Pulte's last full day on the job. Geoff Bennett: Another thing we're watching, Lisa, is President Trump publicly criticizing the Senate Republican leader, John Thune. That isn't entirely new, but the fact that Thune is pushing back, that is unusual. Lisa Desjardins: Right. This whole situation is a bit rare, except for the Trump factor, when you have these public airings that are unusual. Now, this tension is in part because Thune is a defender of the Senate, but he also can count, Geoff. He knows there are not 60 votes for much of the Trump agenda. So let's dial back to what we have seen back and forth. Trump had some important jockeying this morning. He wrote on TRUTH Social: "I can't believe how lucky the Democrats got with this Senate leadership." That's a jab. But Thune has responded consistently to me and to others. He has said, if President Trump wants the votes, he needs to work the phones and try and get the votes. Which sounds normal, but that's unusual to say something about President Trump that way. It's interesting. Late today, Trump had a different tune on Air Force One when he was asked about his relationship with Thune. President Donald Trump: It's fine. It's fine. He's got to get his job done. It's fine. I have a good relationship with John Thune. He's just got to get his job done. Lisa Desjardins: Good relationship. Got to get his job done. The truth is that Trump knows he can't get the 60 votes himself. And why? Because he himself is responsible for some of those senators' careers ending because he attacked them. Geoff Bennett: So what's at stake here? What are Republicans trying to do exactly? Lisa Desjardins: I'm excited to talk about this. It can look like a big blurry picture. The Senate has a stacked agenda, not much time. The Senate's here just this week and next. But let's take a look at what's on the to-do list and try and simplify things. First, these are some six items that are on Republicans' to-do list, fund government by October, fund the Iran war at some level, reauthorize spy powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, FISA, pass the key defense bill the NDAA, a farm bill, the elections bill the SAVE Act. That's a lot. Let's organize things, shall we? Let's put them in three columns so I can help people understand where things stand. There on the left you see what's really possible when I talk to Republicans. They think they can get a bipartisan funding deal. They think somehow they can figure out an Iran war funding formula. But those middle three, they are in limbo. That's FISA, the defense bill, and the farm bill, probably until after the election. What's least likely is the SAVE Act. And what's amazing, Geoff, that's the thing President Trump says has to pass or he won't support anything else. Geoff Bennett: Right. Lisa Desjardins: So Trump is really the threat to a lot of the Republican agenda. The question is, how far will he go? Geoff Bennett: And Senate Republicans have another issue, and this is the prolonged absence of Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell. There was an update today on his health? Lisa Desjardins: That's right. There was. First of all, he is needed for the farm bill to move forward out of committee. This is the update. We got a new photo from his team. It shows him again, they say, in rehab. The statement from McConnell said he's intensely working through rehab, trying to work when he can. Interestingly enough, the Capitol's attending physician also sent a statement, saying again the rehab is due to his fall and McConnell's related childhood polio. But something I hadn't seen before from the attending physician of the Capitol, they noted that McConnell has doctors from the Capitol visiting him every day. There's no word on when he will return. Geoff Bennett: Lisa Desjardins, thanks, as always. Lisa Desjardins: You're welcome.
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