Week of May 18, 2026  Recap and Look Ahead 

Weekly Recap:

  • Appropriations: The House Appropriations Committee advanced its FY27 Commerce-Justice Science appropriations bill and is holding a subcommittee markup of its Energy & Water appropriations bill today. When the committee returns next week, it will hold full committee markups of its Energy & Water and Legislative Branch bills. The Transportation-HUD and Interior-Environment bills will receive subcommittee-level markups on May 21.
  • Reconciliation: Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough found three provisions in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s title in Republicans’ reconciliation bill violated strict rules the GOP hopes to leverage to circumvent the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. MacDonough found sections related to U.S. Customs and Border Protection outside of the Homeland Security Committee’s jurisdiction. Republicans will need to rework the three sections to ensure the bill remains compliant with rules and can therefore move forward with reconciliation.
  • Housing Legislation: House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-AR) and Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) released an update to the Senate’s 21st Century ROAD Act, with a House floor vote potentially coming as soon as next week. Hill and Waters released legislative text quickly after President Trump endorsed the Senate version, which includes stronger language cracking down on institutional investors in the housing market. HUD Secretary Scott Turner issued a letter to House and Senate leadership detailing his concerns with the House’s new version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. Specifically, with how the bill addresses institutional investors and establishes a tenant hotline.
  • Surface Transportation Reauthorization: The surface transportation bill markup that was expected on May 20 has been pushed back due to a House schedule change, with no new date set yet. Rail safety provisions and top-line funding remain unresolved, but Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Graves maintains that House negotiators are close to a final agreement.
  • Trump Administration:
  • Bridge Investment NOFO: Transportation Secretary Duffy announced $3 billion available to invest in aging bridge infrastructure across the country. Two types of grants are available:
    • “Planning” grants support planning, feasibility analyses, and revenue forecasting associated with the development of a future BIP-eligible project. Due June 15, 2026.
    • “Bridge Project” grants support bridge replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, and protection projects with total eligible costs of $100 million or less. Due June 29, 2026.
  • WaterSMART: The Bureau of Reclamation released new NOFOs for the WaterSMART Program:
  • FEMA: President Trump formally nominated Cam Hamilton to lead FEMA on May 11. Hamilton previously served as Acting Administrator but was let go after clashing with former DHS Sec. Noem.
  • The Week’s News:
  • Kevin Warsh confirmed as Fed chair, succeeding Jerome Powell (CNN)
  • Senate Banking approves crypto market structure bill (Roll Call)
  • The New Boss at DHS Is Trying to Clean House After Kristi Noem (WSJ)

Week ahead:

  • The House and Senate are in session.
    • The Senate returns today to consider the President’s nominees. Later this week, the Senate is expected to consider Republicans’ budget reconciliation measure.
    • The House returns tomorrow to consider legislation on student athletes, veterans’ benefits, and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum.
  • FY27 Appropriations: The House Appropriations Committee will mark-up two more annual funding bills: the Energy and Water bill, along with the Legislative Branch measure on Wednesday. The committee will also release its Transportation-HUD and Interior-Environment funding bills on Wednesday morning, with a subcommittees marking up on Thursday.  The Senate Appropriations Committee will be holding a number of hearings with Administration leaders on the President’s budget request as outlined below. The Senate is expected to begin their mark-ups the week of June 8.
  • Budget Reconciliation: Congressional Republicans are working to pass their $72 billion reconciliation bill for immigration enforcement before their Memorial Day recess next week and meet President Donald Trump’s June 1 deadline. Republicans are rushing to rewrite several provisions, including funding for a Presidential ballroom, after the Senate parliamentarian ruled them ineligible for inclusion in reconciliation. Senate Republicans are planning to mark up the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee’s title tomorrow, and the Senate Budget Committee will meet on Wednesday to report the final bill out of the panel before it goes to the Senate floor.
  • Surface Transportation Reauthorization: The House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee has released bill text for the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, titled the BUILD America 250 Act. The bill includes $580 billion in highway and infrastructure funding, with increases in the Surface Transportation Block Grant program and a $3.5 billion annual increase in the Bridge Formula Program. The bill includes an annual fee for electric / hybrid vehicles that will serve as a revenue stream for the Highway Trust Fund ($130 for EVs; $35 for hybrid vehicles) and extends the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) grant program. The House T&I Committee will mark up the bill on May 21. Senate committees have not released their versions of the reauthorization bill. Bill text and a section-by-section summary of the bill are included below. The Manatt team will be providing a more in-depth summary before the mark-up.  
  • 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act: The House will vote on updated housing legislation this Wednesday. The updated 21st Century ROAD Act revised Senate-passed language on build-to-rent housing and restrictions on institutional investors’ role in the housing market. Upon its release, HUD Secretary Scott Turner issued a letter to House lawmakers requesting changes to how the legislation addresses institutional investors and establishes a tenant hotline.
  • FEMA Fire-Related Funding Opportunities: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released the following funding opportunities to support fire safety infrastructure and personnel:
    • FY 2025 Assistance to Firefighter Grants (AFG) Program: The AFG Program provides financial assistance directly to eligible fire departments, nonaffiliated emergency medical service (EMS) organizations, and State Fire Training Academies (SFTAs) to equip and train emergency personnel to recognized standards, outfit responders with compliant personal protective equipment, provide funding to retrofit or modify facilities to protect personnel from known health hazards, acquire emergency response vehicles, design and implement health, wellness and resiliency programs that prepare responders for incident response, enhance operational efficiencies, foster interoperability, and support community resilience. ($291.6 million in total funding; applications due by June 22, 2026).
    • FY 2025 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Program:  SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase frontline firefighters. SAFER offers grants to support activities in two activities: Hiring of Firefighters and Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters. ($324 million in total funding available; applications due by June 22, 2026).
    • FY 2025 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grant Program: The purpose of the FP&S Program is to enhance the safety of the public and firefighters with respect to fire and fire-related hazards. The FP&S Program offers grants to support activities in two categories: (1) activities designed to reach high-risk target groups and mitigate incidences of death and injuries caused by fire and fire-related hazards ("Fire Prevention and Safety Activity") and (2) research and development activities aimed at improving firefighter safety ("Firefighter Safety Research and Development Activity"). ($32.4 million in available funding; applications due by June 22, 2026).
  • Workforce Pell: The Education Department released its final regulation outlining the implementation of the new Workforce Pell Grant program.
  • Hearings and Markups:
    • Surface Transportation: On Thursday, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee will hold a markup of the BUILD America 250 Act.
    • DOT: On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy on the Department of Transportation’s FY27 budget request. Duffy will testify before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday.
    • DOL: On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling on the Department of Labor’s FY27 budget request.
    • DOJ: On Tuesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on the Department of Justice’s FY27 budget request.
    • Navy: On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from Navy leadership on their FY27 budget request.
    • Army Corps and Bureau of Reclamation: On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee will hear testimony from the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation leadership on their respective FY27 budget requests.

Top stories:

  • U.S. creates $1.7B ‘lawfare’ fund in exchange for Trump dropping $10B IRS suit (CNBC News)
  • Cassidy Loses His Primary in Louisiana, as Trump Vanquishes Another G.O.P. Foe (NY Times)
  • NextEra to Buy Dominion Energy in $67 Billion Deal (WSJ)
  • Democrats on the brink of war powers breakthrough (The Hill)