Speaker Mike Johnson is delivering his most clear warning yet to senators negotiating a border deal, saying in a letter Friday that it could be “dead on arrival” in the House.

“I wanted to provide a brief update regarding the supplemental and the border, since the Senate appears unable to reach any agreement. If the rumors about the contents of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the House anyway,” Johnson wrote in the letter to his colleagues, a copy of which was obtained by POLITICO.

Johnson didn’t explicitly rule out taking up a Senate bill, as the bipartisan group of negotiators hope to unveil text next week. But following Senate drama this week that shook confidence in negotiations, he repeated a point he’s made frequently in recent weeks: if House Republicans don’t feel like it goes far enough to crack down on the border, it won’t go anywhere in the chamber.

“I am emphasizing again today that House Republicans will vigorously oppose any new policy proposal from the White House or Senate that would further incentivize illegal aliens to break our laws,” Johnson wrote.

Senators left town this week without a long-awaited agreement, which is expected to link new border funding to aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. But Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.), who are negotiating the deal along with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), said they expect to release the text of the bill early next week.

Johnson and other conservative Republicans have frequently warned that they don’t like the rumors they’re hearing about what’s included in the deal, the details of which have been kept secret. Lankford has said that certain points are being misrepresented.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spent the week combatting skepticism within his own ranks over the deal, with former President Donald Trump and some of his allies on Capitol Hill working to scuttle an agreement. Some Republicans have privately theorized it’s better to wait, so they can use the border as a cudgel against President Joe Biden heading into November.

The dynamics of passing a border-foreign aid deal are guaranteed to get tricky in the House, regardless of what the deal includes. A growing number of House Republicans are skeptical of new Ukraine cash, even if it comes with increased border security, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has threatened to try to oust Johnson if he brings it to the floor.

House Republicans have long demanded that if they are going to pass any Ukraine funding it has to be paired with stricter border measures. They passed a sweeping border bill last year that would, among other changes, overhaul the asylum system and restart the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. They’ve insisted that any new border deal needs to closely resemble that bill, a nonstarter for Senate Democrats.

The Biden administration has made its next move in an extended back-and-forth with House Republicans over Jan. 6 select committee transcripts, offering to share unredacted testimony the GOP has been seeking for months — under certain conditions.

Richard Sauber, a member of the White House Counsel’s Office, said the administration would permit Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.) — who has been leading a review of the Capitol attack and the previous committee’s work in investigating it — the chance to examine, but not keep, the unredacted transcripts.

“We will make the unredacted transcripts available to you for review in camera, provided that you agree in writing to abide by the commitments made on a bipartisan basis by the Select Committee — to maintain the anonymity of the four witnesses consistent with the conditions under which the witnesses agreed to appear before the Select Committee, and to prevent the disclosure of ‘operational details and private information,’” Sauber wrote in a two-page letter to Loudermilk, which was obtained by POLITICO.

The Georgia Republican has pushed for the administration to hand over the records for months, which he has characterized as interviews with White House employees that were in or around the Oval Office during the attack. The Jan. 6 select committee publicly released the vast majority of its evidence, but withheld a handful of transcripts of White House aides and Secret Service officials. Those were sent to the White House and Department of Homeland Security for further review and redaction under the terms of an agreement struck in order to interview witnesses in the first place.

The committee has access to the redacted White House transcripts, but Republicans have complained that key portions were blacked out, and have openly speculated that the transcripts include information that would undermine some of the Jan. 6 committee’s findings. House Republicans have repeatedly flirted with efforts to discredit the panel’s previous work and downplay the Capitol attack.

If Loudermilk accepts the offer, it will give House Republicans access to a tranche of unredacted testimony that has so far been unavailable to them and to the public. Sauber described the witnesses as individuals who “worked at the White House on January 6, 2021, during the Trump Administration, serving in non-partisan roles, including in positions with national security responsibilities.”

A spokesperson for Loudermilk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the White House’s letter. In a brief interview last week, he said his “speculation” about those interviews is they “didn’t go the way [Democrats] were hoping.”

The interviews were referenced in the select committee’s final report, using descriptors like “a White House employee with national security responsibilities” or simply a “White House employee.” One witness corroborated others who described Trump’s “heated” reaction to then-Vice President Mike Pence during their final conversation on Jan. 6. Another said they overheard top Trump lawyers lamenting that the then-president didn’t want to help stop the violence unfolding at the Capitol.

Loudermilk sent a letter to the White House last week reiterating his request that the administration hand over unredacted copies of the transcripts to the committee. If the White House didn’t hand over the records, Loudermilk warned that the committee would “have no other choice” than to subpoena the documents. In the recent interview, Loudermilk also threatened to subpoena previous Jan. 6 committee witnesses.

The batch is not expected to include some of the prominent interviews the select committee conducted with high-level Secret Service officials, which are currently held by the Department of Homeland Security. Those include transcripts of interviews with the head of Trump’s Secret Service detail, Robert Engel, and the driver of Trump’s presidential SUV on Jan. 6.

Republicans have also requested former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson — a star select committee witness who delivered a string of bombshell revelations — turn over any records she previously shared with the Jan. 6 committee.

Loudermilk has become the House’s point-man on efforts to review the work of the Jan. 6 select committee, which interviewed hundreds of witnesses connected to Trump’s attempt to retain power despite losing the 2020 election.

The Georgia Republican has at times described his role as a gatekeeper, rejecting fringe conspiracies espoused by a handful of members of the GOP conference. But he has also helped trigger some of those same misleading claims, alleging without proof that the Jan. 6 committee “deleted” evidence in a bid to stymie Republicans.

That was immediately amplified by Trump and other high-profile Republicans, sparking a rebuke from Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired the previous select committee and said the House Administration Committee already has all of its archived records.

“I cannot assist your attempts to keep the January 6th conspiracy theories alive with your subcommittee’s misrepresentations and continued fishing expeditions, all in the service of your and Donald Trump’s political interests,” Thompson said in a letter to Loudermilk about his investigation.

Conservative Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has a message for Hollywood: Honor “the victims of America’s nuclear testing” programs as it prepares to hail the critically acclaimed “Oppenheimer.”

The film, which is up for 13 award nominations at the March 10 Oscars, tells a “compelling story” of these nuclear testing programs, Hawley writes in a letter to the governors of the Academy Awards, but “does not tell the story of the Americans left behind — still reckoning with the health and financial consequences of America’s nuclear research, after all these years.”

“These victims deserve justice through fair compensation from their government — and you can help by telling their stories,” Hawley added.

The letter is Hawley’s latest attempt to gain national attention for victims of radiation exposure — including those harmed by a nuclear waste site near St. Louis — as he fights for federal compensation. He threatened last year to hold up passage of the must-pass national defense policy bill without a reauthorization of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which is due to expire in June 2024.

Speaker Mike Johnson has endorsed GOP state Rep. Derek Merrin in his bid to oust longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur from her northwest Ohio seat, taking sides in a contentious Republican primary.

“Derek is a proven conservative and demonstrated leader with a backbone who will prioritize economic growth, safer communities, and America First policies,” Johnson said in a statement.

Merrin was a last-minute recruiting win for Republicans left reeling after their initially preferred candidate, Craig Riedel, was caught on tape bashing former President Donald Trump. The other Republican in the race, 2022 nominee J.R. Majewski, lost badly to Kaptur after being accused of misrepresenting his military service record.

Senate Democrats are officially over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership.

While no senators outright called for him to resign, many pointed out significant problems with Netanyahu’s tenure Thursday, saying he’s mishandled the war against Hamas after the October terrorist attack. Their pointed comments, which include both lawmakers typically critical of Israeli governance and others normally more reserved, show how much Democratic faith in the long-time Israeli leader has eroded, even as President Joe Biden and the White House continue to tread carefully

“I’m looking forward to the time when he is no longer the leader,” Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said in an interview. “I don’t think his leadership is what’s needed right now.”

“Why do you think I ever had confidence in Prime Minister Netanyahu?” asked Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who unsuccessfully pushed for a human rights report on the Israel-Hamas war. “I think he has cobbled together the right-wing, extremist government to stay in power. And I think what he is doing in Gaza is inhumane.”

Senate Armed Forces Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) argued that Netanyahu’s tenure allowed Hamas to accumulate weapons and that his push for judicial reforms — and looming personal corruption issues — have impeded his ability to govern.

“He has so many personal issues involved, it complicates his leadership of the nation,” Reed said in a brief interview.

Other senators made clear that they wouldn’t wade into Israel’s domestic politics, even as they questioned Netanyahu’s handling of the ongoing conflict. The prime minister stirred up further ire last week after he publicly rejected a two-state solution, the longstanding U.S. policy in the region.

“Israel gets to pick its own prime minister,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). But “he’s made Israel dramatically less safe by ignoring the Palestine question and deflecting attention from it by doing everything he could, and bragging about delaying — and killing — the idea of a two-state solution.”

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said the focus shouldn’t be on Netanyahu but on the war effort itself.

“There’s a war. The war has an objective. We support that objective,” he said. “There are consequences of the war that we want to be engaged in: humanitarian needs and hostages, etc. … So that’s what we’re focusing on.”

On Wednesday, all but two members of the Senate Democratic conference backed an amendment from Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) reiterating support for a two-state solution, a rebuke to Netanyahu’s recent comments.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who’s proposed an amendment to condition aid to Israel, argued the prime minister is putting his own political interests ahead of pursuing a durable peace.

“It’s clear that Prime Minister Netanyahu is placing his own personal political ambitions over the interests of Israel and the United States and other partners,” Van Hollen said in an interview. He added that the Israeli prime minister has “repeatedly rebuffed requests from the president of the United States” on measures such as reducing the number of civilian casualties, increased humanitarian assistance in Gaza and securing the release of hostages held by Hamas.

Added Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.): “He is eroding his credibility at an astonishing rate and increasingly seeming to appear as an obstacle to progress in the Middle East.”

Joe Gould contributed to this report. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said during a private party meeting on Thursday that he still supports pursuing a border security deal linked to Ukraine funding, according to two GOP senators who attended.

McConnell caused a stir on Wednesday by outlining to fellow Republicans the challenges posed by former President Donald Trump’s dominance in the presidential primary, given Trump’s desire to avoid any dealmaking on the border before the election. The Senate GOP leader’s remarks a day later dispelled any doubts about his commitment to ongoing bipartisan border talks.

The usually snoozy Architect of the Capitol’s office has already seen its share of scandals over the past year. Now add a discrimination complaint from a former senior employee to the list.

Christine Leonard, the ex-director of legislative and public affairs for the agency that oversees operation and maintenance of the Capitol complex, filed a claim Wednesday afternoon against her former employer, accusing the agency of improperly firing her after she reported sexism and discrimination. The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights will review her complaint, a required step before a civil lawsuit can be filed in federal district court.

Leonard cited “corrupt and unjust” behavior at the highest ranks of the AOC and improper termination from her position when she attempted to report wrongdoing. As part of the claim, Leonard is demanding back pay, benefits and damages of $300,000 and that the agency reinstates her to her old job.

She said in a statement to POLITICO that she had raised concerns of sex discrimination to the AOC’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Dispute Resolution when she worked for the agency, but nothing happened.

“I hope this complaint will shine a light on the agency, bring about meaningful change, and result in a positive work environment where men and women are treated and paid equally,” she said.

The former Architect of the Capitol, J. Brett Blanton, had a host of well-known problems that culminated in his firing last February, after a watchdog report found he had engaged in the widespread misuse of official resources. His acting successor, Chere Rexroat, then purged much of senior leadership.

Leonard’s complaint involves both of those leaders, alleging that the agency had a “sexist environment” during Blanton’s time in office that Rexroat only escalated after he left. Leonard wrote that male colleagues of hers were paid more, plus given more flexibility, administrative support and work opportunities than women in the office.

She also accused Rexroat — who became Leonard’s direct boss — of chastising her for asking to telework while taking care of her dying mother-in-law, but allowing a male colleague of similar seniority to work from California for months while he was caring for ailing in-laws.

“We’re looking at some disparate treatment on the basis of gender, you know, old-fashioned sexism,” Leonard’s attorney, Ari Wilkenfeld, told POLITICO in an interview.

The Architect of the Capitol’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Like most legislative staffers, Leonard is not covered by the robust whistleblower protections that apply to other federal employees. Congressional staff, Capitol Police and others are not protected from retaliation for attempts to report wrongdoing within Congress.

The Office of Congressional Workplace Rights has urged lawmakers to extend whistleblower protections to legislative branch employees for years, but lawmakers have resisted giving employees traditional protections.

The complaint also includes some new eyebrow-raising allegations. Leonard contends that she saw Blanton drinking alcohol in his office with his wife and a friend before last year’s State of the Union, while he was supposed to be working on one of the biggest security nights of the year. The AOC is on the Capitol Police Board, which oversees the Capitol Police. Blanton did not respond to a request for comment.

Another part of the complaint involves the office of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy; Leonard said his staffers wanted gavels to be crafted from trees on the Capitol grounds for McCarthy to give away as gifts. That would’ve used agency staff time and funding, which she said reported as a violation of the Antideficiency Act to the agency’s general counsel. But Rexroat approved making the gavels regardless, Leonard said.

A former McCarthy aide familiar with the office’s dealings with the AOC said the AOC made such gavels as standard practice for congressional offices and McCarthy’s office did not request any as gifts. Employees did request on one occasion that, if possible and in line with what’s available for sale in the AOC-run Capitol Visitor Center gift shop, gavels be made from fallen tree limbs on the Capitol campus, the person acknowledged.

“Leonard’s claims are false, and it’s noteworthy that Leonard has not provided Politico any evidence about her claim of an Antideficiency Act violation, meanwhile no discussions of gifts ever took place and the AOC has full authority, resources, and dedicated staff to craft items such as gavels, frames, built-ins, plaques, and signs,” the former aide said in a statement. “The AOC has a history of using wood from fallen branches to build items.”

Leonard also wrote that members of Congress and their staffers tried to get private entities to pay for Christmas tree deliveries to dozens of congressional offices, though she does not name which members or staffers. She said she also reported those incidents as violations of the Antideficiency Act and ethics rules, but did not clarify if the lawmaker and staff requests were met.

Wilkenfeld described the pattern of permissive behavior from Leonard’s superiors in the face of pressure from lawmakers as “an erosion” of “the backstop role the agency is supposed to play against these kinds of excesses by members of Congress.”

Other employees fired in April 2023 have blamed Leonard’s allegations of sexism for their terminations in separate lawsuits filed later that year. Shortly after President Joe Biden fired Blanton, Rexroat removed former chief of staff Peter Bahm, former general counsel Jason Baltimore, former CFO Jonathan Kraft and former chief administrative officer William O’Donnell in a major shakeup.

Rep. Summer Lee is announcing she raised more than $1 million last quarter, a substantial haul as the first-term Democrat fends off competitive primary challenges potentially funded by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

She’s touting the large swath of small-dollar donations, with 90 percent of her contributions coming in at less than $250. Lee (D-Pa.), an ally of the progressive “squad” of Democratic lawmakers, also declines to take donations from corporate PACs.

“I am so proud of the multigenerational, mulitracial movement we have built in Western Pennsylvania to protect and expand our democracy — it is our greatest defense against the dark money Super PACs and corporate lobbies who seek to undermine it,” Lee said in a statement. “They have Donald Trump and Nikki Haley’s donors, we have the overwhelming power of the people.”

Pro-Israel groups have targeted Lee and other progressive lawmakers who have voiced criticism of Israel’s war in Gaza, sparking concern on the left about well-funded challengers to liberal lawmakers. But in line with previous incumbent-protecting tradition, Lee was recently endorsed by top House Democratic leaders.

Lee is facing two Democratic challengers: Edgewood Borough Council member Bhavini Patel and Laurie MacDonald, president and CEO of the Center for Victims. Patel announced a $310,000 haul for last quarter, and MacDonald only entered the race this month.

Congressional Democrats on Wednesday delivered their latest rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, aligning behind a symbolic declaration that the U.S. remains staunchly supportive of a Palestinian state as part of any ultimate resolution to unrest in the Middle East.

As the Senate prepares to take up a potential emergency spending package with funds for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and border security, a group of 49 Senate Democratic caucus members led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) offered an amendment reiterating that U.S. policy favors a two-state solution. The proposal is a clear pushback against Netanyahu’s recent rejection of that approach, giving Democrats a fresh opportunity to channel their frustration with his conservative government.

“The prime minister’s statements last week, I think, accelerated our efforts and also turbocharged our efforts,” Schatz told reporters, adding that he will offer the amendment as part of the national security package’s floor consideration but would not insist on a floor vote. Schatz indicated that future pieces of legislation on the floor may offer another chance to insist on a recorded vote.

The only two members of the 51-senator Democratic caucus to not cosponsor Schatz’s proposal are Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and John Fetterman (Pa.), who has won new conservative fans with his stalwart support for Israel’s government during its war with Hamas. Independent Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Angus King (Maine) and Bernie Sanders (Vt.), all of whom affiliate to varying degrees with the Democratic caucus, all signed on.

Fetterman “strongly supports a two-state solution in Israel and Palestine, and always has,” a spokesperson said. “He also strongly believes that this resolution should include language stipulating the destruction of Hamas as a precondition to peace.”

Schatz’s isn’t the only new effort to distance Democrats from Netanyahu’s comments, which Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described as “not helpful” to a bipartisan deal he and Sinema are spearheading with Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) that could shake loose the stalled national security spending proposal.

A group of 44 House Democrats, led by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.) and Jim Himes (Conn.), voiced their continued support for a two-state solution on Tuesday.

“We are deeply concerned by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s public rejection of a two-state solution on January 18, and respectfully request that your Administration outline a strategy to marshal international and ultimately, Israeli and Palestinian support to successfully implement a two-state solution,” they wrote to President Joe Biden.

Biden has said he still sees an eventual Palestinian state as achievable despite Netanyahu’s comments. The two leaders spoke by phone on Friday.

Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) declined to directly address Netanyahu’s comments but reiterated that “we’ve always supported two states and it is the only way forward.”

But other Democrats were less cautious. “There’s growing impatience with Netanyahu blowing off the president and just completely disregarding our support for a two-state solution,” said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), calling Netanyahu’s comments “appalling.”

Some Democrats indicated they thought a reaffirmation of the U.S. position was important given mixed signals from former President Donald Trump as he seeks to return to the White House.

“It has been consistent US policy since 1948, but President Trump raised some questions about it. He didn’t say it wasn’t our policy, but maybe it’s time: We haven’t reaffirmed it legislatively for quite a while,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.).

Added Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) of a possible Trump return to the Oval Office: “It is in some sense another example of trying to batten down the hatches and secure some basic positions before the storm, if there is one.”

There are other efforts to push back on the Israeli government by Democrats. A group of 18 members of the conference are already on board with an amendment led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) that would set certain conditions on aid to Israel.

“The Van Hollen amendment has a lot of momentum and a lot of co-sponsors,” Schatz said. “That is not a particularly radical proposition.”

But there appears to be little indication any Republicans would support Schatz’s push, despite his contention that “the two-state solution remains bipartisan” — but Republicans simply attach “more caveats to it.”

Asked about the calls to condition aid to Israel, moderate GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) said “I get it” but “one thing that we need to keep in mind is how fluid everything is.”

“None of us are unsympathetic to [the death toll] but how you [condition aid], I think, is part of the big challenge that we have,” she said in an interview.

Joe Gould contributed.