Following last week's Memorial Day recess, the Senate is back in session today (Monday, June 1) with a vote scheduled on a judicial nomination at 5:30 p.m. Prior to the recess, the Senate had to postpone the "vote-a-rama" process of limitless amendment votes and a final vote on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Reconciliation 2.0 bill over internal Republican disagreements regarding the Justice Department's proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund.

The fund, which is subject to a legal challenge, has drawn opposition from some Republicans and — because it falls under the purview of the Senate Judiciary Committee that contributed to the reconciliation bill — it would be a target for vote-a-rama amendments on the floor that could pass by simple majority vote. Additionally, Punchbowl News reported May 25 that "some Republicans are concerned that even voting for restrictions on the fund would be seen as voting to authorize it."

A story in the May 30 Wall Street Journal, "Trump Aides Weigh Killing Fund," said that "more than a dozen senators have privately urged Trump aides to drop the fund since its creation last week," and that doing so was under consideration at the White House in the interest of moving the ICE/CBP reconciliation bill. A story in the May 31 Washington Post, "What Congress can and can't do to rein in Trump's $1.8 billion payout fund," said, "Senators are talking about a range of options from ending the fund altogether to putting clear guidelines in place on who can receive payments." If the White House doesn't back away from the plan, "senators are likely to attach measures to restrict the fund to the budget package they are still considering, which Trump has called a priority, making it harder for him to veto the measure."

It has also been reported that, more broadly, the President's anti-incumbent position in some primaries — against Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and John Cornyn (R-TX), and in events last year that resulted in Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) not running — may sap some of the Senate GOP's enthusiasm to advance the Administration's agenda. That is one factor, cited in multiple press reports, influencing questions about how much Congress can get done before the elections.

A May 26 Semafor report, "Republican Congress faces major pileup before midterms," said the anti-weaponization fund complicating consideration of the reconciliation bill is "one problem on a longer list of challenges that the GOP has dwindling floor time to address. The Senate is scheduled to be in just eight weeks until the August recess, then just three weeks in the fall before the midterms, while the House will be in for 10 weeks ahead of the election."

Politico said May 31 that "how much of the GOP's wishlist gets done — and how long lawmakers stay in town until they return to their districts to campaign — will depend largely on the personalities in play. Speaker Mike Johnson can't afford more than a couple of defections in the House, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune's margins aren't such a sure bet anymore, either."

Must-pass legislation facing lawmakers includes a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization due June 12, when a temporary 45-day patch runs out, and government funding by September 30, along with a farm bill and highway bill or temporary extensions by the same date.

The House isn't holding votes until Wednesday (June 3) of this week, when members will vote on a series of suspension bills under the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Committee, including some addressing geothermal energy. A Ways and Means Committee-passed bill, The Preventing Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in TANF Act (H.R. 8872) by Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH), is also on the schedule for the week.

Treasury — Secretary Scott Bessent is appearing before both congressional tax-writing committees for the annual hearings on the President's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget for the Department: on Wednesday, June 3 at the Senate Finance Committee, and June 4 at the House Ways and Means Committee, both at 10 a.m.

Issues that members may raise with the Secretary were previewed in a Fox Sunday Morning Futures interview yesterday during which he was asked about the anti-weaponization fund, reconciliation, and tariffs, and he also offered an update on the uptake of President Trump's new tax cuts that Administration officials have touted throughout the spring. "So I am very confident that the energy prices are going to come down very quickly, that we had record tax refunds, and, I have told you before, 44% of filers, 62 million forms we had filed, they applied for one of the President's four signature tax policies [including] no tax on tips, no tax on overtime."

The Secretary said, "We also want to get the Clarity Act done to make us the digital asset capital of the world … If we bring it onshore, have U.S. best practices, a great regulatory framework, like we do with securities, like we do with commodities, then that will be very important for crypto."

Trade — On tariffs, Secretary Bessent said, "So what's going to expire is what's called the Section 122. It's an emergency five-month authority that was put on. It's a 10% global tariff. And along with that, we have existing 301s and 232s. But right now, to go back to the tariff structure, the deals that we struck with countries around the world … whether it's Japan, China, Europe, the whole E.U. is willing to pay 15% tariffs and take down the tariffs on us. It's an incredible deal."

He continued, "So what's happening now is Ambassador Jamieson Greer, U.S. Trade Representative, is doing studies, Section 301. And if those studies are successful, those 301s will get recalibrated to the exact level of the trade deals we had with the countries."

Elections — In the May 26 Texas primary, state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) defeated Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) in a runoff — following an endorsement by President Trump — and will face state Rep. James Talarico (D) in the general election. Rep. Al Green (D-TX), a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, also lost his primary to Rep. Christian Menefee (D-TX) in a race affected by the Texas redistricting effort. Rep. Julie Johnson (D-TX) lost her primary to former Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) for representation of a newly drawn district. Texas was at the forefront of the GOP's redistricting push.

While there continued to be new developments in multistate redistricting efforts in the wake of the April 29 Supreme Court decision striking down aspects of the Voting Rights Act and the Virginia Supreme Court's ruling on May 8 nullifying that state's redistricting plan, Republican efforts have been dealt some blows. A federal court May 26 blocked a Republican-drawn redistricting map from being used in Alabama, where the delegation currently comprises five Republicans and two Democrats, including Ways and Means member Terri Sewell (D-AL). Republicans wanted redrawn maps to eliminate one or both Democratic seats. Also on May 25, South Carolina state lawmakers declined to support a redistricting plan as well as legislation to delay the state's June 9 primaries until August to allow redrawn districts to be set. Members ultimately failed to reach the two-thirds supermajority for doing so. Redistricting plans will instead be considered during a later session.

A development in favor of Republican efforts was Louisiana lawmakers' May 29 vote to give Republicans an increased advantage in one district represented by a Democrat, while eliminating another Democratic-represented district in the delegation that currently stands at four Republicans — including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) — and two Democrats.

There are primaries on Tuesday, June 2 in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Dakota. Much of the attention in California is on the Governor and LA Mayor races, though the congressional districts have also been redrawn with five new districts that favor Democrats. In the Iowa race to succeed retiring Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), the June 2 primary is between former State Sen. Jim Carlin (R) and current Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) on the Republican side, and Democrats State Rep. Josh Turek (D) and Iowa State Sen. Zach Wahls (D). Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) was endorsed by President Trump over the weekend in the Republican primary for Iowa governor.

Tax — On May 28, the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) released explanations and effective dates of provisions enacted by the 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA). The so-called "Blue Book" provides the JCT's explanations of the provisions as well as suggested technical corrections, addressing:

• the senior deduction treated as a personal exemption
• the $40,000 state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap's phasedown based on the taxpayer's Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI)
• the amount that may be excluded from an employee's income for Trump Accounts
• application of syndication rules for the original use requirement under the 100% depreciation allowance for qualified production property
• the 10% haircut for net CFC tested income (NCTI, formerly GILTI) applying to distributions of previously taxed earnings and profits (PTEP) made after June 28, 2025
• a deduction allowance for total charitable contributions of up to 9% of taxable income under the corporate contribution limit (aggregate of contributions exceeds a 1% floor but not a 10% limit)
• the correct section number regarding the expansion of qualified small business stock gain exclusion
• the enactment and termination of the credit for amounts paid or incurred for home energy audits in relation to the termination of the energy efficient home improvement credit
• correcting a subsection for the energy efficient home improvement credit
• treatment of payments to certain individuals who dye fuel

Bill introductions — On May 22, House Ways and Means Committee members Reps. Carey and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) introduced the Affordable Housing Credit Carryback Act (H.R. 9012) to allow five-year carrybacks for the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC). "This bill expands the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) carryback period from one year to five years, bringing it in line with other tax credits that already receive more favorable treatment under the tax code," they said in a release.

On May 29:

• Ways and Means member Kevin Hern (R-OK) introduced a bill (H.R. 9060) to treat income received by a regulated investment company from precious metals as qualifying income
• Ways and Means member Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) introduced a bill (H.R. 9064) to temporarily increase the capital gains exclusion for any qualifying senior who sells a principal residence during a qualifying year
• Ways and Means member Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) introduced a bill (H.R. 9081) to amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to allow health marketplace pools to be deemed an employer under section 3(5) for purposes of offering a group health plan or group health insurance coverage

"By reforming ERISA — the federal law governing employee benefits — the bill removes constraints put in place under Obamacare and levels the marketplace playing field long tilted in favor of corporations," said a Van Duyne news release. "It allows independent workers and small shops to wield the same massive purchasing power as the government, labor unions, and Fortune 500 companies."