House Republicans revisited the 2017 congressional baseball shooting Tuesday, releasing a report attacking the FBI over its initial characterization of the event as a “suicide by cop.”

The report from the House Intelligence Committee incorporated FBI records released to Congress by Director Kash Patel in March. In an early morning news conference Tuesday, Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) accused the bureau of acting with “a complete disregard and lack of investigative integrity.”

As first reported by POLITICO, the FBI in November 2017 briefed lawmakers who had been present for the shooting that it had determined that the attack was “suicide by cop” rather than a politically motivated act of terrorism. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and three others were wounded in the attack.

The shooter, 66-year-old Illinois man James Hodgkinson, was killed by Capitol Police after repeatedly firing his rifle at House Republicans who were practicing for the congressional baseball game. He had espoused left-wing political opinions and opposition to President Donald Trump before traveling to Washington and opening fire.

For Republicans, the FBI’s characterization at the time was a sign of the political motivation of the federal law enforcement agency which was used to “mislead and influence public opinion” in the words of Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas). In 2021, Jill Sanborn, the executive assistant director of the FBI, testified before Congress that the shooting was “something that we would today characterize as a domestic terrorism event.”

House Republicans are preparing one of the largest overhauls to the country’s largest anti-hunger programs in decades, with a plan to limit future increases to benefits, implement new work requirements and push costs to states in a move that risks millions of low-income Americans being removed from the program.

The Agriculture bill has faced delays since last recess amid centrist backlash over the deep food aid spending cuts. But GOP leaders are targeting a markup for next week, May 13 or 14, after deciding late last week to push back this week’s expected meeting, according to four people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Republicans in the last day have altered the most controversial piece of the House Agriculture Committee’s portion of the Trump megabill: a plan to force states to pay a portion of benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for the first time. The program helps to feed more than 40 million low-income Americans.

A previous proposal the panel was pursuing would have seen the states’ share of costs reach 25 percent by the end of a10-year window, while stair-stepping in and not starting until after 2027. Several centrists, including Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.), have raised concerns about the plan. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who represents a more competitive district in Wisconsin, walked out of an Agriculture panel GOP briefing last week over the matter, slinging an insult at staff before he left. Van Orden also stood up in the closed-door House GOP conference meeting to raise concerns about the reworked cost-share proposal, arguing his state was being unfairly penalized. California Rep. Doug LaMalfa later stood up and reiterated the panel needs to reach $230 billion cuts. White House officials and other Republicans have been wary of the impact of the SNAP plans in combination with Medicaid spending cuts on deep-red states. But White House officials effectively green-lit the proposal in recent days.

The latest plan would phase in for the 2028 fiscal year and skew more of the financial burden to states with higher payment error payment rates while decreasing the percentage of the cost share on states with fewer penalties to start as low as 10 percent, as Republicans were considering amid the backlash.

A spokesperson for Agriculture Committee Republicans declined to comment.

Senior House Republicans say they need the cost-share measure to hit the $230 billion in cuts across the Agriculture panel’s jurisdiction, with the bulk focusing on spending cuts to SNAP.

But beyond the cost-share plan, Agriculture Republicans will increase the age of recipients who need to complete work requirements to receive food aid, reaching so-called able-bodied adults with children age 7 and older for the first time. That move alone is expected to save at least $40 billion, according to projections from the Congressional Budget Office.

Another piece of Republicans’ plan, which has long been panned by Democrats, is to limit future increases to families’ SNAP benefits after a recent Biden-era update created a record increase that shocked Republican lawmakers. Republicans would effectively limit future updates to the Thrifty Food Plan that serves as the basis of SNAP benefits in order to make any future updates cost-neutral and also include a cost-of-living adjustment.

The bill will also crack down on what Republicans say are largely blue-state abuses of waivers that skirt current SNAP rules, including waivers of certain layers of work requirements. And it will end a so-called internet utility loophole from the Biden administration and another loophole associated with the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program that Republicans argue allows states to skirt a standard utility deduction in the SNAP program.

The Agriculture panel is also planning to fit a raft of farm bill program funding into its portion of the megabill, with the goal to pass a smaller, slimmed-down farm bill later this year without major fights over mandatory funding.

One aim is to rescind billions in climate-focused agriculture program dollars from the Biden administration and reinvest it into the farm bill baseline. Agriculture Republicans also want to add tens of billions of dollars for crop reference prices but also trade export promotion, livestock biosecurity, additional so-called orphan programs and more pieces that represent mandatory funding to the GOP package. But some Republicans are skeptical GOP leaders will accept such a tall order, especially with hard-line House fiscal hawks deeply opposed to such spending and time running out.

“It’s still gotta math,” hard-liner Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) warned Tuesday morning. “Now they want to add more?”

Republicans will be “hard pressed” to finish their megabill by Memorial Day, a key Republican said Tuesday at a hospital industry conference.

This acknowledgment from Rep. Buddy Carter of Georgia, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee, is a significant concession that Republicans face a steep hill to climb to meet Speaker Mike Johnson’s deadline for getting the bill through the House by the end of May.

Republicans are still sorting through major divisions on how deeply to make cuts to Medicaid and issues related to state and local tax deductions. At stake is extending President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and enacting his broader agenda on tax, energy and border policy.

Johnson also suggested Monday the timeline could change as lawmakers work to resolve major policy differences, but that if it slips past Memorial Day it would be wrapped “shortly thereafter.”

Still, Carter said Tuesday at the American Hospital Association’s conference in Washington, “I’m very confident, first of all, we can get this done … [and] that we’re going to get it done in a timely fashion. Certainly we’re going to get it done before July 4.”

Carter, a former pharmacist, also revealed that the text of bipartisan legislation targeting the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, to lower drug prices is currently on tap for inclusion in the Energy and Commerce Committee’s portion of the Trump agenda bill. Carter had previously said that commercial market overhauls may not qualify for the budget reconciliation process given the Senate’s stringent rules, but changes impacting government programs like Medicaid could qualify. On Tuesday, he said Republicans are planning to include some of those provisions in the package. 

“What we’re going to do is eliminate spread pricing in Medicaid,” Carter said, referring to the policy that would prohibit PBMs from charging Medicaid more for a prescription drug than is paid to a pharmacy that dispenses the medication.

But Republicans have struggled to reach agreement over how to obtain enough savings to reach the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s target of $880 billion in spending cuts for the megabill. Democrats and some Republicans have warned that major cuts to Medicaid could threaten health care access for millions of Americans.

“What we’re trying to do is to see where we can cut waste, fraud and abuse of Medicaid, where we can stabilize that program and make it sustainable for the most vulnerable in our population, those who it was intended for in the first place,” Carter said.

Carter also hinted, as he has previously, that he might be interested in running against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) in the 2026 Georgia Senate race.

“Right now, I’m concentrating on making sure we get through this reconciliation process as chair of the health subcommittee and representing people with the first congressional district, but I want to do what’s best for our state,” Carter said. “And I believe that God has a plan, and he’ll make sure that that plan is followed.”

Ben Leonard contributed to this report.

Democratic appropriators infuriated by the Trump administration’s disregard for Congress’ power of the purse are getting their first chance to cross examine the secretaries who have aided the president’s slashing.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins are hitting the Hill Tuesday to testify on their portions of President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request. VA Secretary Doug Collins is also likely to face sharp budget questions when he appears before Senate Veterans’ Affairs Tuesday.

Democrats will push hard for answers on why Trump is unilaterally cutting congressionally approved funding — and why he’s proposing another $163 billion in nondefense cuts going forward.

“Appropriations laws are not suggestions,” Rep. Lauren Underwood, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security subcommittee, told POLITICO of the warning she’ll deliver to Noem. Here’s where things could get testy Tuesday:

The looming X-date: Expect lawmakers to press Bessent on when the Treasury Department believes Congress will have to act on the debt limit (unless Treasury drops that news before his 10 a.m. hearing). Bessent and House Republicans will need Democrats’ support to raise the debt limit if the X-date comes before the GOP can pass its party-line megabill.

Noem will have to defend Trump’s immigration policies: The president’s budget called for a 65 percent increase in funding for border security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Noem is almost certain to face scrutiny over disaster aid, with the Trump administration on track to run out of cash for FEMA this summer. The secretary plans to tell lawmakers that the agency “needs to be both reformed and reimagined,” while privately telling officials she wants FEMA to end its role in funding long-term rebuilding efforts and helping communities with disaster preparation.

But Congress will want to know whether the Trump administration has plans to fund existing disaster aid needs — and when it plans to make a formal request, kicking off what could be a contentious funding fight.

On the Senate side, expect Rollins to get questions on funding freezes and tariffs’ impact on U.S. farmers. Meanwhile, Democrats are expected to slam Collins over plans to cut tens of thousands of jobs at the VA. All in all, expect a preview of what other Cabinet secretaries will face as they parade up to the Hill for their budget hearings in the coming weeks.

What else we’re watching:

— D.C. funding fix: Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday the House will vote “as quickly as possible” on fixing D.C.’s $1 billion funding shortfall. But he also suggested it’s taking a back seat to resolving Republicans’ megabill problems. “We’re not delaying this for some political purpose or any intentionality,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “It’s just a matter of schedule.”

— Crypto bill changes: Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday he is open to amending landmark cryptocurrency legislation that GOP leaders hope to pass in the coming weeks. This comes as Republicans scramble to negotiate changes that would win over enough Democrats to overcome a filibuster.

— Sports executives on the Hill: Senate Commerce is meeting Tuesday to discuss how the rise in digital platforms is changing the way Americans watch sports. “Catching your favorite team on TV shouldn’t feel like solving a puzzle,” said Chair Ted Cruz. “Games that used to be free or easy to find are now scattered across pricey apps and exclusive deals.” Executives from the NBA, MLB and NHL are all scheduled to testify. According to Cruz, the NFL declined to send a representative.

Jordain Carney, Jasper Goodman, Meredith Lee Hill, Jennifer Scholtes and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

Speaker Mike Johnson said he still intends to hold a vote House to vote to fix the District of Columbia’s $1 billion funding shortfall, after the stopgap government funding bill he spearheaded back in March inadvertently forced the city to confront sudden budget cuts.

“I talked to the mayor and told her that we would do it as quickly as possible,” Johnson told reporters Monday evening. “Reconciliation has taken all of our energy right now, but we’re not delaying this for some political purpose or any intentionality. It’s just a matter of schedule, even at this point.”

The Senate has already approved a measure to fix what many people believe to have been a drafting error in the package Congress passed to avoid a shutdown earlier this year. That package omitted key language included in previous funding bills allowing Washington to spend its own locally raised tax dollars through the end of the fiscal year.

Congress could be running out of time to act, however, to correct its error, as the city is already looking at making dramatic reductions in local services, from scaling back law enforcement capabilities to cutting resources for public education.

President Donald Trump has called on the House to take the measure up. In the meantime, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser has presented herself as a partner to the White House, standing beside the president at a press conference earlier Monday to announce the NFL would host its draft on the National Mall in 2027.

House Oversight Chair James Comer, whose panel has jurisdiction over Washington affairs, said Monday he has also been personally pressing colleagues to rectify the funding issue, which could cause dramatic reductions in local services, from scaling back law enforcement capabilities to cutting resources for public education.

Comer, a Kentucky Republican, added that Bowser’s visit to the White House Monday was particularly helpful to the cause and their conversation about football gave the mayor an opportunity to advocate for the funding fix. Bowser recently announced plans to revitalize the long-vacant RFK Stadium as the new home to the Washington Commanders, who have been relegated to a stadium in Maryland for years.

“I’ve done everything I can to advocate for fixing it,” said Comer in an interview. “I’m willing to do everything in my committee, for the most part.”

Legislation to address the funding shortfall would likely have the votes to pass the House on a bipartisan basis, but the GOP’s most conservative flank could revolt and take procedural steps to block the chamber from considering the bill.

Some Republicans lawmakers have demanded Republican leaders include conditions like forcing Washington to reverse its policy allowing noncitizens to vote, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. Those calls could continue.

And last week, House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris of Maryland continued to defend Congress’ authority to block the capital city’s government from spending more than $1 billion of its own funding raised through local taxes.

“D.C. is complaining because they’re having their spending frozen. Come on, the average American thinks the governments are pretty wasteful, and I think they’d applaud a freezing spending,” Harris told reporters. “Read the Constitution. The federal government has the authority over the federal enclave. Period. Full stop. That’s it.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday he is open to amending landmark cryptocurrency legislation that GOP leaders hope to pass in the coming weeks on the floor, as Republicans scramble to negotiate changes that would win over enough Democrats to advance the bill.

“Changes can be made on the floor for sure,” Thune told reporters Monday. He added that he is “waiting to see what it is [Democrats] are asking for.”

His comments come as key Democrats are negotiating to get changes to the crypto legislation, which would create the first-ever U.S. regulatory framework for digital tokens known as stablecoins that are pegged to the value of the dollar.

“Democrats and Republicans are talking to each other right now,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who privately urged members last week not to commit to supporting the stablecoin legislation in order to extract additional concessions from Republicans.

Concerns from Democrats may not be the only vote-counting hurdle Republicans face in the coming days. Sen. Rand Paul said in an interview Monday he is undecided on the legislation, which could add a new headache for Republican leaders who need 60 votes to pass the bill.

“Businesses come to Washington and they say, ‘Please regulate us.’ And usually I say, ‘Well, you’ll be sorry,’” Paul said.

The Kentucky Republican added that he is “all for stablecoin,” which he said could someday compete with the payment giants Mastercard and Visa, but added: “If you place all kinds of limits on it — I don’t know enough to know whether this might harm them in their competitive ability to actually overtake Mastercard and Visa.”

Paul added that he wonders “if this is some kind of thing to build up purchase of Treasuries,” which stablecoin issuers would be allowed to hold as reserves backing their dollar-pegged tokens.

The stablecoin bill hit a surprise roadblock over the weekend when a group of nine Senate Democrats who were previously open to backing the legislation said they wouldn’t support revisions that Republicans unveiled last week.

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who voted for a previous version of the stablecoin bill when it cleared the Senate Banking Committee in March, said negotiations are ongoing and he hopes to come to a deal with Republicans ahead of a procedural vote that GOP leaders are eyeing to hold on Thursday.

“I’m hoping we could get it done by then,” he told reporters. “If we can’t then, yeah, then push back. But there’s no reason why we can’t.”

His comments are a sign that pro-crypto Democrats remain open to supporting the stablecoin legislation on the floor, despite concerns from other members of the caucus about advancing the measure as the Trump family pursues digital assets business ventures. Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who also voted for a previous version of the bill in the Senate Banking Committee, said there are “real-time meetings going on right now.”

“I think we need a regulated stablecoin regime, but we’ve got legitimate national security issues,” he said.

Republicans on the House Rules Committee moved again to block a vote on rolling back Donald Trump’s tariffs Monday in their latest effort to protect the president’s authority over global trade.

Democrats on the panel offered an amendment that would have reversed earlier Rules Committee maneuvers that effectively blocked attempts to call floor votes overturning the tariffs. One amendment offered by Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) was ruled out of order by Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.); a second amendment was voted down on party lines.

“These tariffs are tanking our economy, and the public wants us to take action,” Leger Fernández said.

Speaker Mike Johnson has given Trump immense leeway on the trade levies as the fallout continues to reverberate through the financial markets and the broader global economy. Last week, Johnson cracked the door open to congressional action on the tariffs if an “imbalance” develops between the branches. But said he didn’t believe it would become necessary.

House Republicans have planned a slew of meetings this week that they hope will resolve huge political battles over their massive domestic policy bill as they race the clock on a Memorial Day deadline.

Republicans on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee are planning to convene on 10 a.m. on Tuesday and 9 a.m. on Thursday, in addition to their weekly noon lunch Wednesday, according to a person granted anonymity to share the private plans.

The so-called Big Six Meeting — run by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, with GOP leaders and the House and Senate tax committee chairs — is slated to convene late afternoon on Wednesday at the Treasury Department.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are planning to meet from 10:15 a.m. to noon on Tuesday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday as they work through an internal fight over Medicaid spending cuts.

Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) is planning to drop by a meeting with Main Street Republicans on Monday night amid growing tensions between moderates and conservative hardliners over the scope of Medicaid cuts in the party-line bill.

The committee’s target of $880 billion in spending cuts remains a huge political flashpoint for the GOP conference.

The meetings come as House GOP leadership is racing to finalize the sweeping border, defense, energy and tax bill by Memorial Day. In order to meet that very ambitious goal, panels like the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Agriculture committees would have to vote next week on the most politically sensitive portions of the agenda.

It’s looking to be a tall order, and several key power players, such as Bessent and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, say they are now targeting July 4 to pass President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill.”

Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and a hardcore contingent of Republicans from blue states still have to resolve an ongoing fight over a proposed expansion of the state and local tax deduction. Despite a flurry of negotiations next week, the so-called SALT Republicans have yet to come to a consensus on how to expand the 10,000 cap on the deduction.

The committee must also determine how much it is able to spend on the expensive tax deduction.

Tax writers are also looking to sunset most or all of the clean energy credits implemented by Democrats’ 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which a group of 20-plus moderates have pushed back against.

The House Agriculture Committee, meanwhile, is navigating politically sensitive discussions over how to find the bulk of $230 billion in spending cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, while also adding billions of dollars in crop reference prices and other farm bill pieces.

Republicans on the panel are set to meet Tuesday as more controversial proposals circulated by GOP lawmakers have stoked private concerns from those who represent districts with many low-income families relying on the program.

Ben Leonard contributed to this report.