Good Tuesday evening. In this edition: Swalwell resigns as new accuser comes forward; and Republicans push forward with reconciliation process.
Plus, Israel–Lebanon talks, FISA and war powers.
Swalwell
Another woman came forward with sexual assault accusations against Eric Swalwell, the California Democrat who resigned from the House on Tuesday amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct.
The former congressman's resignation was made official at 2pm ET, staving off a likely vote to expel him from the chamber, but the fallout continues and could possibly end up in a courtroom.
Lonna Drewes, a woman from Southern California, alleged that the then-congressman drugged, raped and choked her in a West Hollywood hotel room in 2018 after promising to take her to a political event.
"I did not consent to any sexual activity. Although I did not undergo a rape kit at the time, I disclosed the assault to the people closest to me."
Ms. Drewes is now the fifth woman to accuse the congressman of sexual misconduct and comes on the heels of allegations published Friday by the San Francisco Chronicle and CNN.
"My delay in taking action against Eric was driven by fear, not doubt — fear of his political power, his background as an attorney and his family law enforcement ties," she said.
"I have never doubted what happened. I stand with the other women who have come forward, and I will be making a report to law enforcement shortly."
Mr. Swalwell, who had been seen as a leading Democratic candidate to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) in California, was forced to withdraw from the primary over the weekend after political backers, donors and campaign staff abandoned him.
On Monday evening, he announced that he would also resign from Congress as he stared down the prospect becoming just the seventh member to be expelled from the House.
The former congressman denies the "serious, false allegations," but apologized to his family, staff and constituents for "mistakes in judgment" he had made in his past.
"I will fight the serious, false allegations made against me, however, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make," he said in his resignation letter.
Sara Azari, a lawyer representing him, said that he "categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation of sexual misconduct and assault that has been leveled against him."
"These accusations are false, fabricated, and deeply offensive — a calculated and transparent political hit job designed to destroy the reputation of a man who has spent twenty years in public service," she said in a statement.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the former House speaker and former ally of Mr. Swalwell, said it was a "smart decision" for him to resign.
"If you have a challenge that you have to address, it's best addressed not as a candidate for governor and not as a member of Congress."
Rep. Pelosi also said it was "absolutely not true" that Democrats had turned a blind eye to his behavior and denied having any prior knowledge of any accusations.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), facing his own sexual misconduct scandal, also announced on Monday evening that he would be resigning from the chamber, with his departure set to take effect at 11:59pm ET.
The Texas Republican admitted to having an affair with a staffer who later died by self-immolation.
Lawmakers returned from their two-week recess with a lot on their plate, including resolving the Homeland Security Department shutdown, which has become the longest federal funding lapse in history, now in its 60th day.
Some of the immediate pressure has been taken off Congress by President Trump's directive to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin to pay employees, easing TSA staffing concerns.
But it's unclear how long the payments can be made, or whether they are even legal, and lawmakers will need to approve full funding one way or another.
The Senate left town two weeks ago after approving a bill that would fund the entire department except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which would then be funded through the reconciliation process.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) initially rejected the plan, calling it a "joke" and demanding that all of DHS be funded through the same bill, but he backed down over the recess and agreed to the Senate proposal.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Senate Republicans plan to move quickly on the two-track plan, which would provide ICE and CBP with three years' worth of funding, preventing a similar fight with Democrats over the duration of the Trump administration.
"We are going to move quickly, decisively, and hopefully, in a very focused way on ensuring that those important law enforcement agencies — contrary to the Democrats' 'defund law enforcement' efforts — are funded not only today, but well into the future," he said at a press conference.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), the Budget Committee chair, is crafting a narrow budget resolution that, if approved, would pave the way for a future reconciliation bill that can skirt the Senate's 60-vote filibuster threshold and pass on a party-line basis.
President Trump has set a June 1 deadline for the measure to reach his desk, but the process is cumbersome, with a marathon vote-a-rama and strict limits on what can be included in a reconciliation bill.
Republicans went this route after failing to reach a compromise with Democrats on possible immigration enforcement reforms following the killings of two American citizens by federal agents in Minneapolis earlier this year.
"All of the things that the Democrats made this about, which was supposed to be about reforms to the way that ICE and CBP operate, they got none of it, zero," Sen. Thune told reporters. "The only thing the Democrats got out of this was they now own the issue of open borders and defund law enforcement."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Democrats presented "commonsense, bipartisan reforms" but that Republicans refused to budge.
"They're dragging the Senate through a painful, arduous, and partisan reconciliation process — not because it's the best path, but because they cannot and will not rein in ICE and Border Patrol or stop the violence," he said on the floor.
"They want less accountability, not more, because Donald Trump and Stephen Miller told them so. That is disgraceful, dysfunctional, a disservice to the American people."
The U.S. hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades, as representatives of the two countries sat down for a meeting at the State Department to try to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group in Lebanon over which the country's government has no direct control. "This is about bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah's influence in this part of the world — not just the damage that it's inflicted on Israel, but the damage that it has inflicted on the Lebanese people," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the start of the meeting. Both countries appear to have found common ground and agreed to hold more talks. "This is a process, not an event," Secretary Rubio said. "This will take time. But we believe it is worth this endeavor, and it's a historic gathering that we hope to build on."
President Trumpcalled for Republican to "stick together" on upcoming votes in both chambers to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), a key spy power that's set to expire Monday. "I am asking Republicans to UNIFY, and vote together on the test vote to bring a clean Bill to the floor," he wrote on Truth Social. "We need to stick together when this Bill comes before the House Rules Committee today to keep it CLEAN!" The House is set to vote Wednesday on an 18-month extension of the provision, followed by the Senate later this week. CIA Director John Ratcliffe is expected to attend the House GOP Conference meeting ahead of the vote to help whip support for the extension.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said Democrats will force votes on war powers resolutions each week until the Iran war is over, branding the conflict "Operation Epic Failure." The Democratic leader said Congress had failed to uphold its responsibility to hold hearings and conduct oversight and that Democrats would now force the issue. "Starting this week, we will bring a war powers resolution to the floor. And if Republicans block it, we will vote again, and again, and again," he said. "Republicans have a choice: stand with our troops or keep them in harm’s way without a plan; stand up as a senator, or rubber-stamp Trump's disastrous and failed war policies."
For your radar…
Russell Vought, the White House's budget director, testifies Wednesday on President Trump's 2027 budget request before the House Budget Committee. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 at 10:15am ET.
Justice Clarence Thomas speaks Wednesday at the University of Texas at Austin. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN3 at 4:30pm ET.
