Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that Elon Musk is “terribly wrong” after the tech billionaire blasted the GOP megabill as a “disgusting abomination.”

“With all due respect, my friend Elon is terribly wrong about the one big, beautiful bill,” Johnson told reporters.

Johnson said he spoke over the phone with the former chief of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative for what he described as a friendly conversation of more than 20 minutes Monday about the “virtues” of the bill. “And he seemed to understand that,” Johnson added.

Johnson said he discussed with Musk the accelerated repeal of many green subsidies in the House version of the bill, something Musk has voiced opposition to in recent days.

“But for him to come out and pan the whole bill, to me, is just very disappointing — very surprising in light of the conversation I had with him yesterday,” Johnson said.

“It’s not personal,” the speaker added. “I just deeply regret that he’s made this mistake.”

House GOP leaders are aiming to move a widely anticipated $9.4 billion package of spending cuts through the House next week, eyeing a Rules Committee vote Monday followed by floor action, according to three Republicans granted anonymity to relay private discussions.

Some GOP appropriators are still not completely thrilled with the “rescissions” package, but there are no current plans to alter or mark up the legislation in the Appropriations Committee before it heads to the floor, the people said.

The White House plans to send the package rescinding funding for PBS, NPR and foreign aid programs to the Hill Tuesday afternoon.

Some House Freedom Caucus members want a vote this week. But Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership circle is planning for a vote next week, barring any other issues. One reason is they want to follow the 72-hour-notice rule for legislation though they are still discussing what particular day it could head to the floor.

“My objective is to move it as quickly as our rules allow us,” Johnson said in a brief interview Tuesday, nothing that discussions are ongoing.

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett officially kicked off a bid to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, making her the fourth contestant in a crowded race to succeed the late Rep. Gerry Connolly.

“Our country is in an existential crisis driven by an out-of-control Executive with a flagrant disregard for our Constitution, our way of governance, and our very way of life as citizens of a democratic republic,” she said in a letter to Democratic colleagues obtained by POLITICO. “We must pull back the curtain on the unmitigated chaos under Trump 2.0 and translate our findings to the American people in a way they can digest.”

The vacancy opened by Connolly’s death has kicked off a hotly contested race to lead a panel likely to take a bulldog approach to President Donald Trump and his administration if Democrats take the House majority in next year’s midterms. Three other Democrats have declared bids: Reps. Robert Garcia of California, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland.

The contest has set up a generational clash among Democrats amid a broader reckoning with seniority and age in the caucus. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), opted against a bid, leading many Democrats to see the secret-ballot caucus election scheduled for June 24 as wide open.

Crockett told her Democratic colleagues she saw the committee leadership position as one to respond to Trump and make the case for a Democratic majority.

“From the pulpit of the Oversight Committee, the Ranking Member must lay out our case against Trump 2.0 and his accomplices, the Republicans in the House, and discharge this message across the nation,” she wrote, adding that “our work cannot be solely reactive.”

Crockett, who is 44 and serving her second term, is seen as a rising star among House Democrats. She’s earned plaudits from other Democrats for her tough questioning and viral moments on the committee — and criticism from Republicans for recent verbal missteps. She challenged Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan to lead the caucus’ messaging arm and came up short in a previous leadership bid.

Connolly designated Lynch, 70, to serve as an interim ranking member. Garcia, 47, has been running on his record as mayor of Long Beach, California, and his position in House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ extended circle. And Mfume, 76, has touted his experience leading an Oversight subpanel overseeing government operations.

In her letter to colleagues, Crockett cited her experience as vice ranking member of the committee — a largely ceremonial title — and her background as the child of a federal worker from St. Louis, Missouri. She also praised former President Joe Biden, saying he “saved the world economy,” at a time when the former president and his inner circle have come under fire for failing to disclose concerns around the octogenarian politician’s fitness for office.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this report misspelled Gerry Connolly’s name.

Rep. Mike Quigley lost his plum committee post earlier this year, and the Illinois Democrat hasn’t forgotten.

Speaking in an episode of the Pro Politics podcast published Monday, Quigley issued a sidelong rebuke to a pair of former top House Democratic leaders who claimed committee leadership roles after leaving Democratic leadership in 2022.

It’s personal for Quigley: He served as the ranking member on the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation-HUD until 84-year-old Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) gave up his leadership position earlier this year and bumped Quigley off of the panel.

It also comes amid an increasingly open debate over age and leadership inside the Democratic Party; Quigley, who is 66, was among the first House Democrats to call on President Joe Biden to step aside as presidential nominee in 2024.

”If you’ve been one of the top three leadership spots, you should hesitate wanting to come back and say, ‘I want to be a ranker or chair,” Quigley, a nine-term veteran, told Democratic pollster and podcast host Zac McCrary. “At some point you’ve had your moment, and it’s time to let someone come in and have an opportunity to be on one of those select committees and being a ranker or chair.”

Another senior appropriator who later joined leadership, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, assumed the ranking member role on the Financial Services subcommittee in 2023 after exiting as majority leader at age 83, bumping Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, who is 25 years younger. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has not claimed any committee assignments since returning to the rank-and-file that same year.

Virginians are set to vote for the late Rep. Gerry Connolly’s successor in a special election on Sept. 9.

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Tuesday called for a special election to fill the northern Virginia seat left vacant after the longtime lawmaker’s passing on May 21.

Virginia’s 11th district is deep blue and will almost assuredly elect another Democrat.

The special election will be the third this fall to fill vacancies left by the passing of Democratic lawmakers. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, set a Nov. 4 special election to replace Rep. Sylvester Turner in April, following consternation among statewide Democrats, who threatened to sue the governor over the monthlong delay in setting the date.

Arizona voters will also wait to find a successor for Rep. Raúl Grijalva, with Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, setting a Sept. 23 special election date after Grijalva’s March 13 passing. Arizona state law generally requires a longer timeline for a special election than many other states.

Connolly, who had battled with esophageal cancer, had announced on April 28 that he would not seek reelection to represent the heavily Democratic D.C. suburb in 2026. In early May, the Virginian endorsed his former aide, James Walkinshaw, for the job. But the field is already getting crowded, with five other Democrats and two Republicans also tossing their hats in the ring.

Senate committees will start rolling out their portions of the GOP megabill as soon as Tuesday, providing a first look at how Republicans in the chamber plan to address some of the House’s most controversial proposals.

Here’s the draft-text timeline POLITICO reported Monday night, though it could change:

— Armed Services plans to release its text Tuesday

— Environment and Public Works is pushing for Wednesday

— Commerce is aiming for Thursday

— Banking is expected Friday

The scheduling logic: Just as the House sequenced its megabill markups from least-to-most controversial to buy lawmakers more time to resolve their stickier policy debates, the Senate will have committees release their least-contentious draft bills first. Finance, which has jurisdiction over tax cuts and changes to Medicaid, is widely expected to be among the final Senate panels to release text, if not the last.

The massive tax-and-spending package will “most likely” hit the Senate floor the last full week of June, ahead of the July 4 recess, per Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

It could come even sooner — but that depends on how conversations go with the Senate parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough. Committee staffers started vetting the megabill with MacDonough last week and will continue their talks this week and next. MacDonough’s job is to recommend which House-passed provisions and policy priorities must be dropped to comply with the strict rules governing the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process.

Thune signaled Monday that Republicans won’t seek to override their referee if they don’t like her rulings but said he hoped MacDonough could be convinced to green-light inclusion of the so-called REINS Act “in some fashion.” The longstanding conservative proposal would give Congress more authority to approve agency regulations.

The chamber’s lightning-fast turnaround nods to the weeks of behind-the-scenes work by GOP senators and their aides to prepare for the domestic policy bill’s arrival from across the Capitol. It also shows the immense pressure they’re under from the White House to get moving on advancing President Donald Trump’s sweeping legislative agenda.

The president is starting to play his own hand. Trump met separately Monday at the White House with both Thune and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who wants deeper spending cuts but told POLITICO “we all want to get a bill done.” Trump also spoke by phone with Sens. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who’s pushing a return to pre-pandemic spending levels, and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who’s opposed to some of the Medicaid changes endorsed by the Republican House. And the president will likely meet with Thune and Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) either this week or next to talk through the details of the tax portion of the bill.

One key fight to watch this week: Look to see if the Senate backs away from the House’s plan to re-up government auctions of federally controlled spectrum. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) has drawn a red line on it, saying Monday that “we’ll have to take out the spectrum language that’s in the bill right now. That simply is a non-starter for me.”

What else we’re watching:

— Rescissions incoming: The White House plans to send up a package Tuesday outlining $9.4 billion in spending cuts, asking Congress to nix current funding for NPR, PBS and foreign aid. House Republican leaders helped shape the so-called rescissions request over the last few weeks in a back-and-forth with the White House. But Senate Republicans are exploring options for amending the package.

— Billy Long is back: Senate Finance members will vote Tuesday to advance the nomination of Billy Long, Trump’s pick to lead the IRS, six months after the president announced the selection. In his confirmation hearing last month, Long sought to distance himself from his promotion of certain tribal tax credits that turned out to be nonexistent.

Jordain Carney, Benjamin Guggenheim and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s pledge to return the Senate to “regular order” is about to face a major test, with one of President Donald Trump’s top financial policy priorities on the line.

After months of chaotic negotiations in the Senate, landmark cryptocurrency legislation that would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins finally appears to have the votes to clear the chamber. But a contentious battle over credit card swipe fees — what processors like Visa, Mastercard and American Express charge merchants for the ability to use their payment networks — is now threatening to blow the effort up.

Thune’s promise to allow an open amendment process has raised the possibility of an amendment vote on divisive legislation that seeks to force payment networks to compete on swipe fees.

The credit card measure, long championed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), is a fraught policy battle that pits two powerful lobbying forces — the financial sector and major retailers — against one another.

Crypto supporters, who are within spitting distance of their biggest win ever in the Senate, are scrambling to prevent the credit card provision from derailing their stablecoin bill. It is unclear how a vote on the Durbin-Marshall provision would go: Most senators haven’t taken a position on the matter.

But the fear for pro-crypto lawmakers is that it could garner enough support to be adopted as an amendment with backing from most Democrats and some Republicans — and then tank the underlying stablecoin bill by peeling off GOP senators who oppose the credit card amendment.

“It’s a deal-killer,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who supports the stablecoin legislation but said he will try to “kill the bill” if the credit card legislation is attached. “If it goes in it, the value out of the stablecoin components would not outweigh the damage done by [Durbin-Marshall].”

It is uncertain if the swipe fee crackdown will ultimately get a vote. The issue is likely to come to a head this week as GOP leaders look to move the bill toward final passage. Further procedural votes could come this week, but the timing of a vote on final passage will depend on whether they can get a deal on amendments.

“I’m hoping that we can finish up this legislation in the very near future,” Thune said Monday.

The credit card provision is the biggest outstanding question. Durbin and Marshall have been pushing for years to force a vote or attach it to must-pass legislation, and they have failed every time.

Marshall has filed his bill as an amendment to the stablecoin legislation. But asked prior to Congress’ Memorial Day recess whether he will seek to force a vote on the measure, he said he has “not decided what to do.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune signaled on Monday that Republicans won’t move to overrule the chamber’s parliamentarian during an upcoming debate on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

“We’re not going there,” Thune said when asked by reporters about overruling Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who will play a special role in vetting the bill for compliance with the strict Senate rules allowing Republicans to bypass a Democratic filibuster.

Senate staffers met with MacDonough during last week’s recess to vet the House-passed megabill and talk through their own ideas, conversations first reported by POLITICO. Thune said that committee staffers tasked with drafting the legislation will continue conferring with her this week and next week. At the end of the process, MacDonough will make rulings on whether various policies comply with the chamber’s rules.

The question about the fate of the parliamentarian comes after Senate Republicans sidestepped her in a recent fight to nix waivers allowing California to set its own emissions standards.

At least one of Thune’s members is already publicly floating that his party should be willing to directly overrule MacDonough on the megabill. In a tweet last month, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) wrote on X that “disagreeing with the Senate parliamentarian may be warranted if the parliamentarian gives bad advice, and it’s wrong to suggest otherwise.”

Several significant pieces of the House-approved bill are at risk of falling out of the legislation as it moves through the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Monday that Democrats will challenge one House provision that places limits on the ability of federal judges to enforce contempt citations. He predicted it will get booted from the bill.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, added that Democrats are looking at challenging some immigration provisions, as well. He added that it was his understanding that conversations with MacDonough were just getting started.

The U.S. Capitol Police will be led by Assistant Chief Sean Gallagher on acting basis while a search continues for a new permanent leader, the department confirmed Monday.

Gallagher’s appointment by the Capitol Police Board comes after Chief Thomas Manger retired last month after about four years on the job. Gallagher is seen by some in the department as a strong contender for the permanent position after having held a variety of roles within the department over the past two decades.

Gallagher, who oversees uniformed operations as one of three assistant chiefs, has been with the department since 2001. He has previously served as the assistant commander of the Investigations Division and as the assistant commander of the Dignitary Protection Division and the Capitol Division.

Capitol Police employees and even some on Capitol Hill with oversight responsibilities over the department were unclear Monday morning who Manger’s temporary successor was, stoking some confusion about who was at the helm of the department. Two people granted anonymity described the decision to POLITICO before the department confirmed the appointment.

The job of choosing Manger’s long term replacement will fall to the Capitol Police Board, composed of House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland, Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Jennifer Hemingway and Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin. All three came to their positions during Manger’s tenure, and this will be their first time working together in a search for the top Capitol Police official. Top congressional leaders choose the board members and are expected to have some influence in the pick.

“If they pick someone from the inside, they’re going to know what our mission is,” Manger said in a recent interview before leaving the department. “They’ll have that — that’s good. If they pick somebody from the outside, they’re going to have to learn about our mission, the uniqueness of it, but the structure of oversight as well, and there is a learning curve there.”

It’s megabill crunch time in the Senate.

Arm-twisting over what to change in the House-passed version of the “big, beautiful” bill will largely play out behind closed doors the next few days. Strategy huddles include Senate Finance’s meeting tonight and Wednesday’s “Big Six” confab between Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Speaker Mike Johnson, their tax committee chairs and lead administration officials.

One of Thune’s biggest challenges to pass the bill by July 4 will be winning over the “Medicaid moderates” — an ideological cross-section of members who are aligned against the cuts passed by the House and have the numbers to force changes. Among them: Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Thune can lose only three GOP senators to pass the megabill.

Thune and Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), who is juggling Medicaid and tax conflicts in the bill, are talking to key members in anticipation of difficult negotiations. Crapo told Jordain he personally supports the House’s Medicaid work requirements, which some GOP senators wary of benefit cuts say they could also support. But beyond that, they’re steering clear of public commitments.

One potentially major sticking point: The House-passed freeze on provider taxes, which most states use to help finance their share of Medicaid costs. Sen. Jim Justice, the former West Virginia governor, called it a “real issue,” and Hawley has also raised concerns. But other GOP senators, including Kevin Cramer (N.D.), want to go even further in reducing, not just freezing, the provider tax.

Republicans got a glimpse of the political minefield surrounding Medicaid while back home last week. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst’s (R-Iowa) “we’re all going to die” response to town hall pushback about the cuts — and her decision to double down on the comments — generated days of negative headlines and ad fodder for Democrats.

Mehmet Oz, the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns in the debut episode of her podcast “The Conversation” that the Medicaid work requirements in the bill would “future proof” the program.

Then there are the deficit hawks. President Donald Trump over the weekend warned Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) to get behind the megabill, with Paul vowing to vote against it over an included debt-limit hike.

But it’s not just Paul making noise. Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) is calling for a line-by-line budget review to find places to slash more spending, and Sens. Mike Lee (Utah) and Rick Scott (Fla.) are also pushing for more cuts.

Paul hinted at hard-liners’ leverage Sunday on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” saying: “I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction.”

What else we’re watching:

— Senate Dems make a move: Senate Democrats are preparing to challenge parts of the GOP megabill with the parliamentarian, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter Sunday. He highlighted a specific House provision that critics say would weaken judges’ power to enforce contempt orders.

— Trump’s budget request faces first tests: The House Appropriations Committee will begin marking up the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Agriculture portion of Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget request this Thursday. Trump’s request includes 22 percent cuts in non-defense spending and sweeping cuts that Democrats don’t appear interested in supporting (and their votes will be critical in September to avoid a government shutdown).

— Hitting the Hill: Trump administration officials will testify this week in defense of the president’s fiscal 2026 budget. That includes Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Tuesday, Acting FAA Administrator Chris Rocheleau on Wednesday and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday and Thursday.

Jordain Carney and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.