Yesterday (Tuesday, May 19) was a big primary day in Georgia and Kentucky, and President Trump endorsed state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) over Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in the upcoming Texas Senate primary runoff on May 26, another instance of him stepping away from the incumbent after opposing Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy (R-LA) in his primary last Saturday (Cassidy lost).

In Kentucky, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has consistently voted in opposition to GOP leadership in this Congress, lost in his primary to Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL endorsed by President Trump. In the Georgia Republican Senate primary to challenge Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) and former football coach and attorney Derek Dooley, who had the endorsement of Governor Brian Kemp (R), advanced to a June 16 runoff. President Trump did not give an endorsement in the primary.

Punchbowl reported May 18 that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) "told top donors Monday in D.C. that he believes Republicans will net seven to eight seats from mid-decade redistricting." This follows several developments in multistate redistricting efforts in the wake of the April 29 Supreme Court decision concerning aspects of the Voting Rights Act and the Virginia Supreme Court on May 8 nullifying the state's redistricting plan.

Reconciliation — The Senate continues processing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Reconciliation 2.0 bill, with the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee approving their portion Tuesday. The Senate Budget Committee is set to meet today (Wednesday, May 20) to approve parts of the assembled bill. There may also be steps taken to proceed to full Senate consideration, which leaders want completed this week before the one-week Memorial Day recess. Under the rules for reconciliation, floor consideration will entail another late-night "vote-a-rama" of amendments, with Democrats looking to highlight affordability issues.

Axios on May 18 reported that Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) "has told his colleagues in unequivocal terms that he will not vote for the budget reconciliation bill if the Senate considers it this week," potentially hindering efforts to get a simple-majority vote in favor of the package, with security enhancements around President Trump's proposed White House ballroom remaining a complicating factor. Semafor reported, "The White House's security money for the East Wing and ballroom are clouding the bill's future: Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., wouldn't commit to advancing the bill as the Judiciary Committee tries to write Secret Service funding that doesn't run afoul of the Senate's budget rules."

Tax — The House May 19 approved by voice vote Rep. Nathaniel Moran's (R-TX) Taxpayer Due Process Enhancement Act (H.R. 6506), addressing collection due process (CDP) proceedings. "This legislation advances fairness and accountability in our tax system — guaranteeing no one loses their day in court over arbitrary deadlines or IRS overreach," Rep. Moran said. "By protecting taxpayer rights, extending filing windows, and strengthening Tax Court jurisdiction, we are delivering real, lasting safeguards for every American."

The bill would suspend the period of limitations for filing a claim for credit or refund during a CDP proceeding to give taxpayers more time to receive their refunds, block the IRS from applying a taxpayer's overpayment to any tax they are currently disputing, and expand the Tax Court's CDP jurisdiction.

There have been rumblings in recent weeks that the Senate Finance Committee would soon mark up the Taxpayer Assistance and Service Act (S. 3931) introduced in February by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), with provisions to digitize more tax returns, upgrade "where's my refund" functions and IRS online accounts, strengthen standards for paid tax preparers, and allow the U.S. Tax Court to hear cases relating to refunds. Punchbowl News reported May 18 that the markup is likely to be scheduled for mid-June.

Following last week's closed-door Ways and Means Committee roundtable on digital assets tax issues with academics and private-sector tax experts on May 14, Reps. Max Miller (R-OH) and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) released an updated version of their Digital Asset PARITY Act on cryptocurrency tax issues. The bill would apply wash-sale and constructive-sale rules to digital assets, allow mark-to-market elections for digital asset traders and dealers, and provide a de minimis rule for stablecoin transactions.

Ways and Means — Today (Wednesday, May 20) at 10 a.m. is the Ways and Means Tax Subcommittee hearing, "Your Paycheck, Returned: How the Working Families Tax Cuts Delivered for Americans." Witnesses:

• Clark Saunders, Adoptive Parent of Two and Public School Teacher
• Sultan Stipho, Server, Buck and Rider Restaurant
• Darcy Michalek, Owner, Michalek Properties
• Jason Alexander, Mechanical Maintenance Worker, Optimus Steel
• Donald Schneider, Deputy Head of U.S. Policy, Piper Sandler
• Kahryn Anne Edwards, Ph.D., Labor Economist and Public Policy Consultant

The Ways and Means Committee has noticed a markup of the following bills for Thursday, May 21:

• H.R. 3164, the Ensuring Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act
• H.R. 8163, the Provider Reimbursement Stability Act of 2026
• H.R. 8875, the Improving Home Dialysis Act of 2026
• H.R. 8883, the Protecting Seniors and Stopping Fraudsters Act
• H.R. 8871, the DME Scammer Prevention Act of 2026
• H.R. 8884, the Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act
• H.R. 8873, the Recover COVID Unemployment Fraud in Banks Act
• H.R. 8872, the Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act
• Views and Estimates Letter to the Committee on the Budget

Financial services — On May 19, President Trump "took decisive actions breaking barriers for financial technology innovation and strengthening the integrity of America's financial system" through an Executive Order to "streamline regulations and promote financial innovation and collaboration between financial technology (fintech) firms, federally regulated financial institutions, and Federal financial regulators."