HILL LETTERS | 22-25 Jan. 2025
- proxenospartners
- Jan 25
- 16 min read
Updated: Jan 25
Letters from Capitol Hill that Members of Congress have written and signed on to lately.
In D.C., pork is usually a topic reserved for concerns on unnecessary additions to funding bills.
In Germany - this week, anyway - rancid pork is causing disruption to the world’s supply.
A border over in Switzerland, little piggies at the World Economic Forum are leaving Davos with more uncertainty than with which they arrived, as President Trump’s tariff road show is sending attendees crying wee wee wee all over the world.
Trump is continuing to set a new tone for his second Presidency, one of American First and a golden new age for the U.S. - fitting, as gold hit a near-all-time-high this week.
The nationalist sentiment is one on trend with many of the country leaders who attended Davos, and, as much chaos as his ideas may be producing, Trump’s video message was clear: bring your business to the U.S., or face the possibilities of tariffs.
Trumpers are rejoicing for this approach, with some marking it as a means to end the global minimum tax deal ratified by the Biden administration that they’ve indisputably marked as unfair and disservice to America’s people and economic future.
Never one shy to miss a moment on the world stage, Trump opted to stay in D.C. during this year’s Forum, continuing to work on his cabinet, shape a federal funding bill and plan with his party in Congress, and showing no signs of stopping the executive order train.
The orders, announcements, rules, Tweets, posts on Truth Social, messenger pigeon decrees, etc., span everything from rescinding Biden-era rules on AI and cryptocurrency, to declaring only two official genders, and everything between.
Trump’s energy permitting overhaul is one of the more closely watched orders, with great interest in new LNG export permitting.
Ironically, yet, somehow on par with the tone of things this Congress and so far into Trump 2.0, as the U.S. looks to expand its oil and gas production, Saudi Arabia - the crown jewel leader of OPEC - has committed more than $1 trillion in royal sovereign funds to diversify its economy away from energy.
This is an additional $1 trillion to the $600 billion Trump announced from Saudi’s High Ruler MBS for American investment during his term.
Trump may not be able to order MBS to do so, but he did say he would ask him to round up his American investment pledge another cool $400 billion.
Several of Trump’s orders and executive actions are related to immigration, including an announcement ending long-standing policy providing pathways to citizenship for children born to parents in the U.S. illegally. This rescission is already facing action from some 22 states, not to mention, a temporary injunction issued by a federal court judge.
However, the public, press, and even several Democrats are showing more support for the decisions to secure the border than the crucial months following previous general elections, with no real contest to Trump’s decision to send an additional 1,500 U.S. troops to South Texas.
These 1,500 join another 2,500 already stationed there, dealing with a new policy of straight up denial of entry instead of asylum interviews, alongside additional demand for large planes to accommodate resumed flights of deportees. Very early 2000s.
For some context on the cost of immigration, Texas wants $11 billion in federal dollars to reimburse its efforts to secure the border, and this is just one piece of the elephant to be eaten.
Acutely focused on providing expanded authority for state prosecutors to charge and punish persons in the U.S. illegally who commit crimes, including permissions for deportation, the House and Senate did agree to passing the Laken Riley Act, which is advancing to the President’s desk.
Riley was a college-aged nursing student in Georgia slain by a Venezuelan in the U.S. illegally who had committed a number of crimes leading up to her murder, including returning unauthorized after a previous deportation.
For her brunette, southern, and caucasian facility, Riley became an easy media story and the catalyst for quick action from Congress for this specific case. Far from comprehensive, stories, like Riley’s horrific ordeal, and fear from the idea of militarized scenes of migrants seeking refuge in a promised land where white, Christian voters are ready to defend what they believe they are born to be entitled to, are fast drivers for Washington to respond to what voters say they need to see the most.
Immigration reform has long been a "priority" issue for Congress, at least the last three sessions, but, if Members couldn’t come up with a practical, full-fledged plan in six years, chances are, they won’t have much means of countering the executive decision - at least not within Trump’s first 100 days.
So far into these precious first days, Congress has, however, shown its support for Trump by introducing a number of bills to immortalize Trump. From re-namings of D.C.-area airports, to bills suggesting an Amendment to the Constitution to permit service of a third term, the honeymoon period continues on Capitol Hill.
In Trump’s realm, several states are reigniting the fight for the right to display the Ten Commandments in public schools.
There is much to cover that has accumulated in such a short time, and enclosing deadlines are just adding to the palpable energy returned to D.C. with reinstatement of Trump.
One deadline is the debt limit threshold that is due to be hit in early March, extension of which is required for the U.S. to repay its sovereign debt and foreign financial obligations.
Another is March 14, when federal funding is due to expire. For the importance of this funding authorization that keeps government employees paid and agencies open, there’s big talk of jockeying terms of negotiations to achieve party policy goals.
Republicans are eyeing a procedural mechanism known as reconciliation to move a funding bill through the Chambers without the need to negotiate with Democrats, with some ideas floating around to tie fire disaster funding to the bill in order to ensure its passage.
Related to the fires, this week, the House considered a Republican bill to expand forest management. There are 43 Democrats from Cali in the House - more than half of whom crossed the aisle to vote for the bill’s passage, with another four abstaining, which is as good as a ‘yea’ vote for the 219 other Members who voted to advance the legislation. A pathway to passage in the Senate is less than clear, however.
At any rate, time to spend prospective funding for FEMA and other Federal Emergency Management Agencies this bill may provide may be short, with the President this week announcing his dissatisfaction with FEMA’s response from flooding in the Carolinas to fires across California.
On a tour of the East and West Coast epicenters, Trump says states may be more equipped to design and deploy disaster response plans, and the President may be better named Donald Jump for how high Congress asks it needs to go when a new idea is bounced on the proverbial political policy trampoline.
That said, Senators are voicing some resistance to the President expressing concerns with some of his cabinet appointees, but the hesitancies have largely to do with personal indiscretions, like Secretary of Defense Nom. Pete Hegseth having to face fallout from an affidavit of an ex-sister-in-law testifying to his abuse of his second ex-wife.
Ultimately, Hegseth came up a few votes short from Republicans, but was confirmed early Saturday morning. Stories of infidelity and other frat boy indiscretions of days’ past don’t appear to be insurmountable, securing the votes he needs for confirmation by the full Senate, 51-50.
The Vice President is the long-standing tie breaker vote in the Senate.
Lest we forget the cigar and intern 90s proclivities of one Bill Clinton that ended up having little effect on his ability to lead the country.
Power in secrets and control over who knows those things others would rather have left unsaid is a fundamental pillar of American politics - any politics - and any human dynamics or relationships, for that matter.
Until leaders are able to accept that they are not omnipotent and start educating voters the same, constituents will continue to impart unrealistic expectations on elected officials and react by voting them out of office rather than accepting change from policy adjustments simply take time.
Trump capitalized on some of this position in his second run for the Oval by vowing to welcome and celebrate outsiders, and this basis proved to be enough to help Hegseth and his merry band of fellow cabinet noms skip over any concerns for lack of credential or experience.
So far, anyway.
Trump’s cabinet from last administration was demolished nearly as soon as it was installed, and, for those who didn’t face demo day publicly, 45’s second favorite move to a spectacular display is an ice out.
Smirnoff’s punk-out was ahead of its time, but, as Trump’s shown, there’s no better time to make a comeback.
The real controversy with Hegseth is how the Senate voted to confirm him while they’re working for the weekend. Wheels up on Thursday by 4:30 p.m. was a signature move of the Senate of Sessions past, but no more under the eager new Majority Leader Thune (R-SD).
The story goes that Members like to be home in their District and State offices to spend time working on constituent matters. Regardless of whether Members are handling voter casework or attending family weddings, or dealing with whining wives and kids over the weekends when they go home, casual Fridays are a saving grace for House and Senate staff during long stretches of working periods.
Out of the frying pan Senate and into the State Department dumpster fire, the newest Secretary of State Little Marco is making big moves. Mirroring the President’s efforts to shake things up, former Senator Rubio (R-FL) has already had talks with Egypt on resources of the mighty Nile, formally designated the Houthis as a terrorist group in Yemen, planned a trip to Panama, and had some phone calls with China.
Leaders in Panama are certain Trump is posturing on his promise to repatriate the Canal away from China, but, just in case, officials called for an audit of canal traffic p&l.
On the China front, with Trump extending the divestiture deadline for TikTok and China signaling some willingness to remove sanctions against Rubio for his hawkish record, as well as the President showing tremendous restraint by settling for the mere threat of tariffs on a Feb. 1 deadline, things were looking up.
China is reportedly prepared to work with the U.S. to curb Putin’s advancements in Ukraine, and Trump is floating ideas for U.S. buyers, including First Buddy Musk, that TikTok says do not Byte.
Of course, panda diplomacy is going great in Washington, with return of two cubs born in the zoo while on loan the first time. You know things are really frosty when China takes its bears and goes home.
However, despite China proving itself a good broker of global peace by securing a recent peace deal for Myanmar, the Dance has turned into a bit of tango: Rubio reportedly mentioned the South China ‘Sea’ word during one of his PRC long-distance calls this week, after which, tensions rose again.
But is it a productive day in geopolitics if there isn’t any screaming? Just to cover the quota, call readouts show Trump had a red hot call with the Danish Prime Minister regarding Greenland.
China, Denmark, the EU, Canada, and Mexico are all countries on the receiving end of Trump’s threats. Whether the paddle has holes to inflict more pain remains to be seen.
On the subject of masochism, Ukraine continues to get spanked by Russia, calling for the U.S. to remain in the region to serve as peacekeepers once (if) Ukrainian troops withdraw.
Understandably, even for the proximal U.S. involvement in Ukraine of allowing American weapons to be purchased and used by defenders against Russia, it would be in ill form for the U.S. to simply exit and wipe hands - a tried and failed method the U.S. has committed to more than one too many times. Afghanistan. Vietnam. Iraq. The list goes on.
However, in this instance, the United States is only as strong as Ukraine wants it to be: relying on global funds to sustain a country is not a long-term solution to last forever, and there’s a 90-day Trump freeze in federal aid to allow study of where the resources are most needed.
Progress of Trump’s nominees facing confirmation hearings and votes in the Senate next week:
Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears before the Finance Committee on Wednesday and then heads to the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on Thursday.
Howard Lutnick’s nomination to be commerce secretary gets a hearing in the Commerce Committee Wednesday.
Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi gets a vote in the Judiciary Committee Wednesday.
Gabbard’s nomination to be director of national intelligence is slated for a Thursday hearing in the Intelligence Committee.
FBI director nominee Kash Patel is scheduled for a hearing Thursday, according to a notice from Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).
The Foreign Relations panel plans a Thursday vote on Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to be US ambassador to the United Nations.
Sanctions related to the International Criminal Court could get a vote in the Senate. Thune teed up a procedural vote on a House-passed bill (H.R. 23) that would require sanctions on individuals involved in ICC prosecutions against Americans or citizens of U.S. allies — including Israel — who haven’t consented to the court’s jurisdiction.
House Republicans gather at the Trump National Doral near Miami for their annual issues retreat starting Monday.
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Jan. 24 | Markey Wants Receipts
Sen. Ed Markey is trying to fix the TikTok standoff a new way — by declassifying the intelligence lawmakers relied on to pass their bill forcing the app’s sale or ban in the first place. “I’m calling for the government to declassify the classified intelligence and present its case to the American people,” the Massachusetts Democrat said in a statement
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Jan. 23 | Congress Says to Kill Congestion Pricing
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), along with a bipartisan group of lawmakers representing the outer boroughs of New York City at the city and state levels, wrote to President Trump urging him to explore legal options to reverse New York City's Congestion Pricing scheme that was implemented by the state with approval from the Biden Administration’s Federal Highway Administration without an Environmental Impact Statement which is required by federal law.
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Jan. 23 | Congress for Small Business
Congressman Roger Williams, Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business wrote to President Trump expressing support for the appointment of Casey Mulligan as the Chief Counsel of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy.
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Jan. 23 | An Unbarred Letter from Congress
Following President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Collete Peters from her position as Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Congressman Pete Stauber (MN-08) sent the President a letter requesting that he overturn Peters’ decision to close the Federal Prison Camp, Duluth (FPC Duluth).
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Jan. 23 | Campaign and Champagne Problems
Congressmen Steve Cohen (TN-9), David Schweikert (AZ-1), and Tim Burchett (TN-2) wrote to President Trump urging him to act on a campaign promise to release the remaining records associated with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK) in 1963.
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Jan. 23 | EBSA Abuse Warnings
Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Inspector General (IG) Larry D. Turner renewing the Committee’s request that the IG investigate the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) for serious abuses of authority following reports that it shared confidential information with a plaintiff’s attorney for use against employee benefits plan fiduciaries.
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Jan. 23 | Senators Seek Sense of Tragedy
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) are calling for answers in the aftermath of the tragic New Year’s Day attacks in New Orleans and Las Vegas.
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Jan. 22 | Round and Round on Immigration Reform
U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper and 12 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune urging Republicans to pursue bipartisan immigration solutions to solve the crisis at the southern border.
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Jan. 22 | Gold Medal, Golden Era America
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today led 15 of his colleagues in urging House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to quickly authorize a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony to commemorate the Women’s Army Corps unit, the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion.
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Jan. 22 | Ports in a Storm
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), and Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) sent a letter to Acting U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, requesting information on the Coast Guard’s actions to mitigate risks posed by a state-owned enterprise from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), COSCO SHIPPING, and its operations within the U.S. Maritime Transportation System. The Chairmen are joined on the letter by Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD).
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Jan. 22 | Hulu Streams C-SPAN Down by the C-Shore
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said that he and U.S. Representative Mike Flood, R-Neb., are urging FuboTV, Hulu, and YouTube to carry C-SPAN on their pay TV live streaming services. Their bipartisan letter to the streaming service companies notes that C-SPAN has been a part of packages sold by cable and satellite providers for more than 40 years yet major live TV streaming services have unfortunately failed to carry C-SPAN as they’ve entered the market.
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Jan. 22 | Bipartisan Options for the Border
U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) joined 11 of their Senate colleagues, led by U.S. Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in sending a letter to Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune stressing the importance of working together on pressing border security and immigration needs. Along with Shaheen, Hassan and Kelly, U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Warner (D-VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Chris Coons (D-DE) signed this letter.
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Jan. 21 | Polluter Problems
Washington, D.C. – House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Rep. Jared Huffman and the leaders of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), including Co-Chairs Reps. Doris Matsui, Mike Quigley, and Paul Tonko and Vice Chairs Reps. Don Beyer, Suzanne Bonamici, Sean Casten, Mike Levin, and Chellie Pingree, released a letter in response to day one of Donald J. Trump’s presidency that saw him issue a slew of executive actions that benefit polluters at the expense of hardworking everyday Americans.
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Jan. 21 | Escribiendo de Puerto Rico
In response to actions taken by the legislature and governor of Puerto Rico, Congressman Pablo José Hernández, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, informed all members of Congress about voter disenfranchisement in Puerto Rico’s November 2024 status referendum.
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Jan. 21 | Republicans Want Life-Affirming Reinstatements
U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), and James Lankford (R-Okla.) have issued a letter to President Trump that encourages reinstatement and broadening of life-affirming pro-life policies in the early days of his administration.
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Jan. 21 | Rx Rejections
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and member of the Senate Committee on Finance, Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance, and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, wrote to President Trump urging him to reject pharmaceutical companies’ push to stop Medicare drug price negotiations.
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Jan. 21 | Rural and Remote but Important
Congresswoman Harriet Hageman signed a letter to President Trump, led by Congressman Jack Bergman (MI-01), calling on the President to suspend the USPS’s “Delivering for America” (DFA) plan, citing its harmful impact on rural and remote communities. Hageman and her colleagues expressed serious concerns over how key elements of the plan have created significant delays and inefficiencies, particularly for rural Americans who rely heavily on USPS for essential services.
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Jan. 17 | Congress Cares x3
Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) sent a letter to the Defense Health Agency expressing concerns about the transition of TRICARE West Region’s contract from Health Net Federal Services (HNFS) to TriWest Healthcare Alliance. After Strickland’s letter was sent, the Department announced that servicemembers would get a second payment update extension, now until February 28.
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Jan. 17 | No DeJoy for Jack
Representative Jack Bergman penned a letter to United States Postal Service (USPS) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, citing a recent decision which adversely impacts the mail processing for the Iron Mountain VA. In his letter, Rep. Bergman demanded answers for why the location’s outbound mail is now being routed to the USPS Processing and Distribution Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, instead of the Green Bay center, as had previously been the case.
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Jan. 17 | March for Life
Ahead of the 2025 National March for Life in Washington, D.C., U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are leading an effort to ensure that the First Amendment rights of pro-life Americans are respected while they visit our nation’s capital.
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Jan. 17 | Congress Taking Charge on Colorado Immigration
Congressman Gabe Evans is leading an effort to apply pressure on Governor Jared Polis to seek answers on what exactly Polis plans to do about the state’s immigration problems.
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Jan. 14 | Red Hot Congress
Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03), and Reps. Alma Adams (NC-12), and Greg Casar (TX-35) led 52 House Members in submitting a comment letter in support of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) proposed rule to protect workers from occupational exposure to extreme heat.
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Jan. 13 | Congress Wants Fact-Checking
Congressman Pablo José Hernández, Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg questioning the company’s decision to roll back its fact-checking program.
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Jan. 06 | Not that Dr. Mark Green
House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) sent a letter to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, demanding an updated briefing on Shamsud-Din Jabbar, the suspect in the deadly New Year’s Day terrorist attack in New Orleans. Representative August Pfluger (R-TX), chairman of the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence in the 118th Congress, cosigned the letter.
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