Senate prepares for SAVE America Act debate, Mullin's confirmation hearing to lead DHS amid shutdown
It's set to be a critical week in Congress as lawmakers continue to scrutinize the Iran war -- with opportunities to press the Trump administration as members of the president's Cabinet and senior military commanders are set to make appearances.
The country’s top intelligence community officials make their way to Capitol Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday, when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel as well as top officials from the Defense Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency are scheduled to appear before the House and Senate Intelligence committees for the Worldwide Threats hearings.
While these are annual hearings, this year's presentation comes amid heightened focus on the intelligence community because of the Iran war as lawmakers mull a potential emergency supplemental bill to fund the open-ended operation.
The money that has so far been spent to fund operations in Iran comes out of Pentagon funds already allocated by Congress. Congress has not yet approved any additional funding for the war with Iran.
Also on Wednesday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin will appear for his public confirmation hearing to serve as the Secretary of Homeland Security after being tapped by Trump earlier this month to take over from Kristi Noem.
He’ll be before the Senate Homeland Security Committee while the department he's seeking to lead remains shut down due to a funding stalemate, with no clear end to that shutdown in sight.
Parts of DHS -- from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the Transportation Security Administration to the Coast Guard -- are shut down amid a funding fight over Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Democrats have said they will fund the department only if changes are made to the agency in the wake of the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal law enforcement in Minneapolis earlier this year.
While Mullin is expected to be grilled by Democrats over ongoing challenges at DHS, he is ultimately expected to swiftly sail to confirmation. The Senate Homeland Security Committee is scheduled to vote on his nomination on Thursday. After that vote, his nomination will head to the Senate floor. He could be confirmed as soon as the following week.
Mullin may face questions about threats to the homeland after DHS warned of potential lone-wolf and cyberattacks amid the ongoing strikes in Iran, according to a law enforcement bulletin obtained by ABC News.
Majority Leader John Thune has signaled that this is the week that the Senate is going to attempt to move forward with votes on the SAVE America Act, which would change voter ID requirements ahead of November's midterm elections. It comes after President Donald Trump threatened that he would not sign any other legislation coming to his desk until the SAVE America Act was passed.
The showdown is expected to produce heated debate on the floor -- not only about the bill’s provisions, but also the Senate’s wonky and longstanding procedures.
Trump has mentioned the possibility of utilizing the so-called "talking filibuster" to pass the SAVE America Act. The "talking filibuster" would be a departure from the Senate's usual operating procedure that some hope would allow senators to side-step the current rules requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation. It could see lawmakers making tireless speeches on endless numbers of amendments on the floor.
Thune has consistently reiterated that there are not the votes in the Senate to support a talking filibuster or modify the chamber's filibuster rules. So while the floor debate may get heated, any vote that takes place on the bill is mostly symbolic, and all-but-certain to fail.
On Thursday, the investigation around convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues as Darren Indyke, longtime attorney and a co-executer of Epstein's will, is expected to appear for a closed-door deposition with the House Oversight Committee.
Indyke’s testimony follows accountant Richard Kahn's deposition last week, during which he told the committee that he did not know about Epstein’s crimes, according to his prepared remarks obtained by ABC News.
Chairman James Comer continues to work to schedule transcribed interviews with Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Attorney General Pam Bondi, though an aide told ABC News on Friday that neither interview has been nailed down so far.
