FY 27 Appropriations: House Appropriations Committee advanced the Homeland Security and Labor-HHS-Education spending bills in 34-27 and 34-28 votes, respectively. The House $1.1 trillion defense appropriations bill advanced out of subcommittee on Thursday. The House is reportedly considering bringing members back to vote on Energy-Water and National Security-State bills next week. While the Senate was initially scheduled to mark-up spending bills for Agriculture-FDA, Commerce, Justice, Science, and Legislative Branch this week, the Appropriations Committee delayed action until next week due to partisan disagreements over defense and non-defense topline spending levels.
Reconciliation 2.0 Passes: After House lawmakers passed the second reconciliation bill in a 214-212 vote, President Trump signed the bill into law on Wednesday, June 10. The measure provides $38.5 B for ICE; $26 B for CBP; and $5 B for DHS.Senate Republicans added a last-minute provision, Section 202(9), to the bill. The provision allocates $350 million for ICE to carry out enforcement actions in cities and states that do not have 287(g) agreements with ICE or do not meet DHS “compliance” standards.
Transportation Reauthorization Update: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is reportedly optimistic about the surface transportation bill’s prospects for passage and is working to find floor time for it. However, he has acknowledged several potential challenges for the legislation, including the $580 million topline number, the continued need to fund the depleted Highway Trust Fund, the $130 annual registration fee for electric vehicle owners, and rail safety provisions that would mandate two-person crews on the biggest freight railroads. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) also said this week he wants a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles (AVs) included in any final bill.
Housing Package: Members of the House Financial Services Housing and Insurance Subcommittee on a bipartisan basis pushed back on the Senate proposal to permanently authorize the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds, citing issues with administering and conducting oversight of the funds. While the Senate-passed housing affordability package includes a provision to permanently authorize the CDBG-DR program and establish the Office of Disaster Management and Resiliency, the House-passed housing package strips that provision from the bill. Still, the Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott reported that he was “optimistic” that the House and Senate could reach an agreement on a bicameral housing affordability bill “in the next week or so.”
House Committee Introduces Outdoor Act Reauthorization Bill: On Wednesday, June 10, the House Committee on Natural Resources introduced the Great American Outdoors Act 250, legislation to invest almost $2 billion over the next five years in national parks and public lands. The bill does not allow for new federal land acquisition and targets “high priority deferred maintenance projects” within each federal land management agency.
FISA to Expire: The House failed to extend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a key spy authority, in a 218-198 vote, ensuring it will expire on June 12. President Trump’s decision to appoint Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence sparked bipartisan backlash and undermined support for the measure.
Trump Administration:
Webinar on OMB Rule: Members of NACo, NLC, USCM, GFOA, ICMA, and IMLA are invited to a webinar on the new OMB rule on Wednesday, June 17 from 2:00 – 3:00 PM. The proposed OMB rule, published on May 29, affects every federal grant, cooperative agreement, and pass-through award by introducing new substantive policy requirements, modifying the termination framework, integrating federal grants administration with the Treasury Do Not Pay system, reclassifying 2 CFR Subtitle A from guidance to binding regulation, and revising cost principles, audit requirements, and pass-through entity responsibilities. Comments on the proposed rule are due July 13, 2026.
Letter on HUD Mixed Immigration Status Proposed Rule: On June 10, 20 Senate Democrats sent a letter to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Scott Turner expressing opposition to HUD’s proposed rule that would eliminate federal rental assistance for households with mixed immigration eligibility statuses. Signatories argued the rule would cost taxpayers an additional $251 million annually while increasing evictions of low-income renters.
FTA Announces Public Transit Dashboard: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) released a Request for Information (RFI) on its new public dashboard that measures key family-friendly metrics on transit systems nationwide. FTA is requesting input on five key performance measures: safety and security, cleanliness, universal accessibility, real-time service data availability, system reliability. Comments are due by August 3, 2026.
Nominations: The White House nominated Todd Blanche, the acting Attorney General, for Senate consideration. It also withdrew Bill Pulte’s nomination for Director of National Intelligence and signaled plans to nominate Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton instead.
Grants:
DOJ Announces COPS Office Grants: The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has released nearly $700 million in grant NOFOs through seven programs: COPS Hiring Program, COPS Anti-Heroin Task Force, COPS Anti-Methamphetamine Program, Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act, School Violence Prevention Program, and Preparing for Active Shooter Situations.
The Week’s News:
Trump endorses a third $350 billion reconciliation bill (The Hill)
Lawmakers are looking to advance permitting reform legislation this summer (E&E)
Senate panel approves Department of War name change (POLITICO)
