The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday revealed new trips and flights that Justice Clarence Thomas took on Republican billionaire Harlan Crow’s dime — including some that Thomas has not previously disclosed.

The documentation is the result of a November subpoena issued to Crow by the panel’s Democrats and includes three private jet trips that Crow provided for Thomas.

The most recent unreported private jet travel was in June 2021 when Crow flew Thomas between Washington D.C. and San Jose, Calif. Other private jet trips occurred in May 2017 between St. Louis, Mo., Kalispell, Mont. and Dallas Texas and March 2019 flights between Washington D.C. and Savannah, Ga.

The documentation also includes travel that Thomas disclosed in records that were made public last week, including private jet and yacht travel for a July 2019 trip to Indonesia.

“As a result of our investigation and subpoena authorization, we are providing the American public greater clarity on the extent of ethical lapses by Supreme Court justices and the need for ethics reform,” said Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in a statement.

Crow said Thursday that he reached a deal with the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Democrats on the committee agreeing to close the case against him if Crow provided seven years worth of information related to his connections to Supreme Court justices. Thomas justice has faced criticism for accepting lavish trips from Crow without proper disclosures. Thomas has referred to Crow as a longtime close personal friend.

“Despite his serious and continued concerns about the legality and necessity of the inquiry, Mr. Crow engaged in good faith negotiations with the Committee from the beginning to resolve the matter. As a condition of this agreement, the Committee agreed to end its probe with respect to Mr. Crow,” Crow’s office said in a statement.

The deal follows two years of intense scrutiny of both Crow specifically and the Supreme Court’s ethics practices generally. Democrats in Congress, ethics experts and court reform advocates have cited reporting on Crow as they put a spotlight on the financial and personal ties of Thomas and other the justices. They have also heavily scrutinized Justice Samuel Alito and the controversy surrounding an upside-down flag flown at one of his residences.

Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a bill to protect access to in vitro fertilization, the latest in a series of votes Democrats are holding to box in the GOP ahead of the election.

Half a dozen Senate Democrats said it won’t be the end of the story, vowing additional votes in the reproductive rights space ahead of a November election where Democrats see the issue as a key wedge against Donald Trump and other Republicans.

“There’s going to be at least one more vote,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who’s up for reelection, told POLITICO. “It’ll deal with Dobbs and Roe but exactly the format, I don’t think the leadership has decided yet.”

Echoing last week’s showdown on contraception, only a couple of Republicans — Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) — broke with the GOP to vote with Democrats. But that was still short of the necessary 60 votes to advance the legislation.

Most Republicans said they opposed Democrats’ legislation either because it threatened religious liberty and states rights or because they felt it was unnecessary.

And several GOP senators instead offered a separate bill, which Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) tried to bring up under unanimous consent on Wednesday. Democrats blocked that effort, saying it amounted to mostly symbolic protections.

It further signals that Republicans know they can’t cede the narrative to Democrats on IVF, as President Joe Biden’s party seeks to portray the GOP as wanting to limit reproductive rights at every turn. Democratic campaigns and progressive groups have already teed up ads to hit vulnerable GOP lawmakers on their votes.

The same pattern will likely play out several more times in the coming months as Democratic leaders work to highlight what they see as Republicans’ greatest weakness in the leadup to the November election.

“I’m not rooting for failed votes, but sometimes you need to take votes that don’t pass in order to eventually get something done,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told POLITICO. “That was our strategy on guns.”

Democrats this week insisted these are not “show votes,” but rather attempts to educate voters on where members stand on key issues as the parties fight for control of Congress. They did not involve GOP senators in drafting their IVF bill, and Collins, a long-time supporter of reproductive rights protections who supported the legislation, said she received no outreach from Democrats ahead of the floor vote.

“America, this is not a show vote — it is a ‘show us who you are’ vote,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor Thursday.

The full GOP conference released a statement on Wednesday stating they “strongly support continued nationwide access to IVF.” Yet there are real divisions among conservatives about the practice.

On Wednesday, the nation’s biggest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, passed a resolution opposing IVF because it facilitates “the destruction of embryonic human life.” The resolution called on the nearly 13 million Southern Baptists across 45,000 churches to “only utilize reproductive technologies” that affirm “the unconditional value and right to life of every human being,” or consider adoption as an alternative.

Some anti-abortion activists are also lobbying for restrictions on IVF and attacking members of both parties who vote to protect it. They’ve even run ads in Alabama accusing Republicans of giving doctors a “license to kill” after they voted to give IVF clinic staff civil and criminal immunity.

Conservatives have expressed disappointment in their party for rushing to support IVF after an Alabama Supreme Court ruling earlier this year granted legal personhood to frozen embryos — prompting several providers in the state to suspend services. Influential groups, including the Heritage Foundation, Live Action and Family Research Council, say lawmakers are missing an opportunity to impose restrictions on IVF, but expressed confidence that they can chip away at the issue over time, as they did with abortion access.

Many elected Republicans, meanwhile, have been wary of the issue or eager to declare their support, as IVF is politically popular and widely used.

Cruz, one of several Southern Baptists in Congress, attempted to call up a bill Wednesday that he and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) drafted as an alternative. Their legislation would strip federal Medicaid funding from states that ban IVF services but allow restrictions on how embryos are stored, implanted and disposed. When Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) objected, scuttling the vote, Cruz accused Democrats of preferring to “play politics” rather than pass meaningful protections.

“It is ridiculous to claim this bill protects IVF when it does nothing of the sort,” Murray retorted. “Under this bill, there are a million ways Republican-led states can enact burdensome and unnecessary requirements and create the kind of legal uncertainty to force clinics to close their doors.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the lead sponsor of the bill who herself had two children through IVF, said her party is “going to keep working on protecting IVF because American families need it.”

House Democrats are attempting to force their own vote on IVF, using a mechanism called a discharge petition that can sidestep GOP leadership’s control of the floor if it gets 218 signatures. But it would need some GOP support to move forward in the narrowly divided chamber.

So far, four Republicans running for reelection in districts that voted for Biden in 2020 have signed onto the effort: Reps. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Anthony D’Esposito (R-N.Y.).

In a press conference Thursday morning, House Democrats said Republicans who claim to support IVF need to “put their money where their mouth is.”

“It’s time for Americans to see where all members of the House of Representatives stand,” said Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.), the lead sponsor of the House bill. “Americans need action, not empty promises.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former President Donald Trump set aside their years-long cold war during a private meeting with Republicans Thursday, a gathering McConnell described as “really positive.”

The Kentucky Republican, who had not spoken directly with Trump since December 2020, is trying to win back the Senate majority for his successor while also working with a presidential nominee who he strongly criticized after the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.

“We had a really positive meeting, he and I got a chance to talk a little bit, we shook hands a few times, he got a lot of standing ovations, it was an entirely positive meeting. Mitt Romney was there, as well, and I can’t think of anything to tell you about it that was negative,” McConnell said.

Trump praised McConnell for counting votes and said the party needs to be unified and not trashing each other to win in November, according to one attendee, granted anonymity to speak candidly. Trump was also asked if he would help beat incumbent Democrats, and he responded that he would help defeat Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), criticizing them for opposing his agenda when he was president.

The confab at the National Republican Senatorial Committee on Capitol Hill was both a legislative and political strategy session aimed at uniting the GOP ahead of the convention this summer. Even several senators who do not yet support Trump opted to attend.

And Trump told the Senate GOP, relegated to the minority for four years, that he is optimistic about retaking the majority this fall, according to another attendee. Trump campaign adviser Susie Wiles also got a round of applause for running the campaign.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), a McConnell critic, said the Senate GOP leader and Trump shook hands and Trump spoke to McConnell. Hawley said Trump acknowledged that Republicans have had differences in the past, but the Missourian added the meeting was “gracious and warm.” It did not include the kind of fireworks that Trump sometimes set off in past meetings over his intra-party critics, Hawley added.

Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), one of those frequent Trump critics, declined to say anything after the meeting. And Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he’s still not quite committed to endorsing Trump; he’s said positive things about candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in addition to Trump. But Paul did seem to have a positive view of the meeting.

“There was a lot of unity. A lot of people think we’re going in the wrong direction now,” Paul said, adding the discussion was “mostly policy.”

Trump took several policy questions on defense, inflation and energy, according to Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who Trump has criticized previously. Trump also praised Israel’s Iron Dome system, suggesting a similar system could protect America, and advocated removing taxes from tipped wages, saying he got the idea from an overtaxed waitress, one of the attendees said. Republicans also discussed leaving abortion policy to the states, a point Trump had made in his previous meeting with the House GOP, according to several attendees.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said Trump’s message was “all positive” when talking to the conference and centered on keeping Republicans unified headed into the fall elections. Tuberville sat next to Trump antagonist Romney (R-Utah) but said the former president didn’t take aim at the senators who have not endorsed him — nor did they criticize him.

“I haven’t seen that Republican group as strongly united on all of those policy issues in a long, long time,” Rounds said.

Frustration is boiling over among rank-and-file House Republicans with leaders’ practice of trying to mollify critics by bestowing plum posts and other perks.

The latest example: Speaker Mike Johnson’s appointment of Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) to the prestigious House Intelligence Committee. Given the former Freedom Caucus chair’s tendency to cross his own party leaders – not to mention his role in a federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election – his rise to the panel infuriated colleagues who see it as a sign that the party’s incentive structure is broken.

Many Republicans, including those on the Intelligence panel, had viewed Perry as ineligible before Johnson’s announcement in light of his polarizing history. But when the speaker blindsided the panel’s chair and GOP members with the appointment, shock quickly gave way to rage.

“It upends the meritocracy that has long been the defining practice on Intel,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) said in an interview.

He followed with a warning other Republicans have echoed more privately: that rewarding behavior like Perry’s will only encourage more antics among hardliners, like tanking procedural votes, blocking bills or even future moves to oust a speaker.

Crenshaw, a member of the Intelligence panel, added: “The speaker needs to remember that there isn’t only one group that can threaten them. … Just do not teach the lesson that the only way for us to be effective here is threatening, because I’ll take the lesson and I’ll do it.”

Johnson handed the committee spot to Perry, a retired Army National Guard brigadier general with nearly 40 years of service, after heavy lobbying from the House Freedom Caucus. Some in the conference have speculated that the GOP leader capitulated to threats from the right-leaning group that it would cause further trouble if he did not agree.

The announcement, however, was happily received by Perry and his allies, some of whom have tried for years to get Perry on the panel that often deals with highly sensitive national security-related materials.

More broadly, some argued that the Intelligence panel, which tries to rise above partisan infighting, didn’t have full representation across the GOP’s ideological spectrum. (Notably, Democrats have not named more pugnacious progressives to the panel, either.)

Perry responded in a statement: “My 40 years of experience and service to our Nation speaks for itself.”

Beyond Crenshaw, a person familiar with the sitdowns said two separate groups of Republicans met with Johnson this week to share their frustrations about Perry’s appointment. That includes members of the Intelligence Committee who plan to meet with him on Thursday.

One Republican, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said no previous committee assignment has sparked as much internal anger as Johnson’s decision about Perry.

Another GOP member added that Perry’s appointment “was the talk for a day or two” among Republicans during their recent trip to France because of how “angry” lawmakers are.

“There’s a lot of pissed people. A lot of angry people. …It’s a coveted spot, and a lot of people who have worked hard to be good team players feel like they are getting passed over,” the second GOP member said, adding that Republicans feel like Johnson is “rewarding bad behavior.”

It’s also a matter of the Republicans whom Johnson passed over along the way.

Reps. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) and Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.) were both viewed as in the running for the Intelligence Committee spot — both viewed within the conference as “team players” but now leapfrogged over. Reps. Blake Moore (R-Utah) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa), who was promoted to rank of Air Force colonel this week, were also passed over.

Republicans are further fuming over Johnson’s failure to notify Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) as well as other GOP members about his decision to appoint Perry.

The second GOP member called the move “not acceptable.” A third GOP lawmaker, also granted anonymity to speak candidly, said that Turner privately indicated he wasn’t consulted on Perry’s appointment.

Johnson’s office has also defended Perry, arguing that he will serve the panel well.

Another senior Republican member expressed surprise about the decision to put Perry on the Intelligence Committee but added that the Pennsylvania Republican had been “pretty helpful” at navigating divisions within the GOP conference at key moments.

“Perry’s got a good background for the committee,” this member added.

Donald Trump made a small peace offering Thursday to the remaining House Republicans who voted to impeach him after the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, according to three members in the room.

“He referenced that there was one person left in the room that had voted for impeachment and that he is staying and that’s good. We need a bigger Republican majority,” said Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), describing Trump’s comments in a wider speech to the conference Thursday morning.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.) agreed that the comments were “forward thinking” and “about winning the election.”

It’s a flip from Trump’s previous behavior. Since that second impeachment vote in early 2021, Trump had habitually attacked the 10 House Republicans who supported it, including backing some of their primary challengers. There are two GOP members left in the chamber who voted for that impeachment: Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.). Trump seemed to be referring to Valadao, who had skipped the meeting.

Newhouse had attended, but dismissed Trump’s comments when reporters asked if he read them as a dig at him, saying “he didn’t mention me at all.”

Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.

Donald Trump delivered a campaign-trail message to House Republicans on abortion during their Thursday meeting: Lean into it as an issue for the states.

According to a person in the room who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, Trump urged fellow Republicans to hit Democrats as too radical on the issue, which he acknowledged hurt GOP candidates in 2022 after conservative Supreme Court justices ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Trump’s recommendation to his party: Talk about abortion access as a state issue, not a federal one, now that Roe’s reversal ended the national right to abortion — and try to turn it into a positive for the GOP.

The former president told lawmakers that “it’s left up to the states and that he supports the states’ handling of it,” Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.) told reporters.

That view “didn’t land one way or the other” among lawmakers who were “respectfully listening,” Hill added.

Broadly speaking, several GOP members said Trump didn’t go too deeply into policymaking specifics as he touched on issues.

“I didn’t hear any agenda talk,” said Rep. Mark Amodei (R-Nev.), describing the private club confab as “a pep talk.”

Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) agreed: “He talked about politics. … It was about winning.”

According to Carter and Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), however, Trump did touch on taxes — specifically, support for a change to how tipped workers’ wages are taxed.

It wasn’t a given that Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) would show up to Thursday’s House GOP meeting with Donald Trump. After all, the Freedom Caucus chair is fighting for his political life against a Trump-backed primary challenger.

But Good showed up. And Trump responded with what sounded to at least one person in the room like a subtle jab at him.

Discussing his participation in tele-town halls during campaign season with House Republicans, Trump said: “There’s a couple in this room who aren’t so happy with that statement,” according to this person in the room, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Trump is holding one of those tele-town halls with Good’s GOP challenger, John McGuire, on Monday — one day before the Virginia GOP primary — per a second person who was granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Outside the private club just steps from the Capitol where Donald Trump met with House Republicans on Thursday, protesters hollered invective at GOP lawmakers who entered.

Inside the room, the mood was downright jovial.

Republicans handed the former president and presumptive 2024 nominee the game ball from their victory in Wednesday night’s Congressional Baseball Game, according to a person in the room who was granted anonymity to candidly share details. Trump added his own feel-good sentiment, praising Speaker Mike Johnson for “doing a great job,” per that person and a second in the room.

And Trump later made a wry reference to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) ongoing feud with Johnson, according to a third person in the room, pointing at the speaker and asking the MAGA firebrand: “Are you being nice to him?”

After his meeting with House Republicans, Trump is scheduled to address the Business Roundtable and then meet off the Hill with Senate Republicans.

Members of Congress try to create some fireworks with their play on the field every year at the annual Congressional Baseball Game. But this year’s edition saw some dramatic moments beyond the game itself.

Eight climate protesters at Wednesday night’s game stormed the field, prompting some momentary havoc. Jumping over the stands, the protesters donned shirts calling for an end to fossil fuels while galloping into the outfield. But few made it far — and none made it even close to the infield. All eight were swiftly tackled and arrested by police officers who’d been manning the perimeter.

The group Climate Defiance claimed credit for the disruption, boasting on social media that gameplay had paused.

“Congress sends billions of public $$ to subsidize deadly fossil fuels — but the police are tackling us instead,” the post read. “This Chevron-sponsored game cannot continue. This is unconscionable.”

Some climate protesters were also spotted outside a handful of entrances to the field, waving posters and chanting.

But aside from the momentary disruption, the game itself quickly descended the expected Republican rout.

The GOP team trounced their Democratic colleagues 31-11. Hardly a score you’d see in any professional baseball game, it was a striking run total for the GOP team, far surpassing scores from years past. For instance: Republicans won last year 16-6. Democrats have not won a game since 2019.

Still, the game lived up to its brand. Members of Congress donned their best baseball pants and surely not-so-broken-in gloves. Wednesday night, Republicans wore matching ruby-red jerseys while Democrats sported a mix of attire, including jerseys for other MLB teams. Staffers flocked to the stands and sat in split sections for Republicans and Democrats.

Surely, there’s going to be some gloating around the Hill on Thursday.