House Republicans are moving to rename the opera house in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after first lady Melania Trump.

House appropriators voted 33-25 on Tuesday to advance language introduced by Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) that would make most of the Kennedy Center’s funding contingent on the name change in their markup of the fiscal 2026 Interior-Environment spending bill.

The move is just the latest effort by Republicans in Washington to reshape the public face of the Kennedy Center with President Donald Trump back in the White House.

The president in February took over as chair of the iconic theater, firing members of its board and replacing longtime president Deborah Rutter with Richard Grenell, a key White House ally. He also tapped chief of staff Susie Wiles, deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino and second lady Usha Vance to serve as new trustees.

And it’s yet another example of congressional Republicans honoring the president in the wake of his political comeback. They’ve introduced legislation to rename the Washington Dulles International Airport after Trump, get his face on the $100 bill and turn his birthday into an international holiday.

Naming a theater after the first lady “is an excellent way to recognize her appreciation for the arts,” Simpson told POLITICO in a statement.

“As Chairman of the House Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee — which oversees federal funding for capital repairs and operations and maintenance at the Kennedy Center — I am proud to honor her support and commitment in promoting the arts and humanities,” he said.

The committee will likely finish marking up the spending bill on Tuesday night. It provides funding for the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, while also covering institutions including the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian.

The change is not final; any legislation would then have to pass both chambers of Congress and be signed into law by Trump.

Andres Picon contributed to this report.

Democratic leaders from both sides of the Capitol met Tuesday night to define their government funding demands — avoiding explicit ultimatums to their Republican counterparts with 10 weeks left before federal cash lapses.

Emerging from their closed-door meeting, party leaders took pains to show unity in their ranks after Senate Democrats caved in March to a government funding patch Republicans negotiated without any input from the minority party.

“House and Senate Democrats are in complete and total alignment,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters after the meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The two leaders privately huddled before bringing in a larger group of Democratic leaders.

Democrats are ready to join bipartisan funding negotiations with their Republican counterparts in good faith, the Democratic leaders said, as the Senate moves forward this week with debate on a funding bill with buy-in from both sides of the aisle. But they knocked House Republicans for forging ahead with partisan funding bills that would cut the budgets of most federal agencies.

“House Republicans are in fact marching us toward a possible government shutdown that will hurt the American people,” Jeffries said.

The leaders warned that funding negotiations could be complicated by Republicans’ embrace of clawbacks packages like the $9 billion rescissions bill Congress cleared last week and President Donald Trump’s moves to withhold funding Congress already approved.

While Democrats “want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,” Schumer said, “the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.”

Democratic leaders have privately discussed the need to focus on how government funding affects “people,” rather than how Republicans are undermining the government funding “process,” according to two people granted anonymity to discuss the private talks.

“We are all united in making sure that we’re doing the right thing for the people we represent,” Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the Senate’s top Democratic appropriator, said after the Tuesday meeting. “They’re worried about their housing, their health care, whether or not they can put food on the table. And our process here is to make sure that we are doing the right thing and funding the programs that they count on to be able to support their families.”

Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top Democratic appropriator, said this is the worst appropriations process she has seen in her more than 34 years in Congress.

“It has not been what we have experienced,” DeLauro said. “There’s always been that give and take to pass the bills.”

The Senate cleared the first hurdle Tuesday toward passing a government funding bill meant to keep federal cash flowing for several federal agencies beyond September.

The 90-8 vote was a major bipartisan overture in cross-party government funding talks strained by the GOP’s partisan moves to cut and boost federal cash without Democratic buy-in, while President Donald Trump withholds billions of dollars more that Congress approved in bipartisan votes.

Sen. Mike Lee of Utah was the only Republican to vote “no,” joined by other Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Peter Welch of Vermont. Welch’s fellow Vermonter, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, also opposed moving ahead with consideration of the package.

But the bipartisanship is not guaranteed to last. Though Democrats helped overcome Tuesday’s hurdle, they aren’t committed yet to helping pass the bill, which will at the very least contain funding for the Department and Veterans Affairs and military construction projects. And as lawmakers stare down the Sept. 30 government shutdown cliff in just 10 weeks, fiscal conservatives and the White House are again calling for Republicans to abandon funding negotiations with Democrats.

Ahead of the procedural vote Tuesday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the Senate’s veterans funding bill as containing “some important steps to reverse a number of the awful cuts” posed by the Department of Government Efficiency and White House budget director Russ Vought.

But Schumer also warned Republicans not to bank on automatically having Democratic votes to pass the bill, adding: “We will see how the floor process evolves here on the floor. Given Republicans’ recent actions undermining bipartisan appropriations, nothing is guaranteed.”

The contents of the package are also still in flux. The measure will certainly contain funding for the VA and military construction projects, but Republicans also plan to add largely non-controversial funding for federal agriculture programs, the FDA and operations of Congress.

“I’d like to make it a package of bills, and get as many bills going as we can,” Majority Leader John Thune said in a brief interview, adding that there was a “discussion” about what to do with more controversial funding for the Justice Department and FBI.

Thune could get heat from his own members. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview he objected to leadership’s desire to attach the agriculture and legislative branch spending bills to the pending package, saying he wanted to vote on each measure “separately” and that the bill funding congressional operations would cost “too much money.”

On the other side of the aisle, Schumer is trying to hone the Democratic government funding strategy after caving to Republicans’ strong-arm tactics in March. Democrats haven’t settled on what their demands should be heading into September — and there are competing factions split over how hard the party should fight against even bipartisan funding bills in the wake of Republicans green-lighting Trump’s $9 billion funding clawbacks package.

Sen. Dick Durbin, a Senate appropriator and the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said he wasn’t yet sure where the party would come down. But the Illinois Democrat said he would argue that “it’s much better to use the appropriations process on a bipartisan basis” if Democrats are “being treated fairly.”

Senate Republicans cleared a key procedural hurdle to advance Emil Bove’s confirmation to a seat on the Third Circuit.

The Senate voted 50-48 Tuesday afternoon to proceed with Bove’s nomination, after Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley’s decision to pause debate on his nomination caused a Democratic walkout in committee last week. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined with Democrats in voting “no.”

Democrats have argued that Bove is unqualified for the federal bench because of his overwhelming fealty to President Donald Trump, citing allegations from a whistleblower that Bove suggested defying court orders for the administration’s agenda. Members of House Democratic leadership devoted a large portion of their weekly press conference earlier Tuesday to bashing Bove’s nomination and record.

Bove, Trump’s former criminal defense attorney and now a top Justice Department official, has also come under scrutiny for his role in the firing of DOJ officials involved in Jan. 6 Capitol attack cases and the dismissal of corruption charges against New York City mayor Eric Adams.

If confirmed, Bove would hold a lifetime appointment on the powerful bench that hears appeals from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Virgin Islands.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune privately told Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday they should prepare to stay in town and work next weekend, according to a person in the meeting who was granted anonymity.

Thune’s scheduling announcement means the Senate would stay in town at least a few days past its current, previously-scheduled departure date of August 1 before leaving for a month-long recess.

President Donald Trump has called on Thune to cancel the summer break to confirm more of his nominees. Thune left the door open to clawing back more of the recess during a press conference on Tuesday but GOP senators also want to go back home to sell Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is signaling that Democrats will join with Republicans this week and advance an initial government funding bill for the military and VA.

Schumer told reporters ahead of a Tuesday afternoon procedural vote that the funding package would undo some DOGE cuts and that Democrats would be able to offer amendments on the Senate floor.

Schumer previewed how he’d approach his latest government funding test after discussing appropriations strategy with Democrats in a private lunch Tuesday. He’s set to dig into the issue further when he meets with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries Tuesday afternoon.

Top House and Senate Democrats are set to huddle Tuesday as they hammer out a plan for the coming government funding fight, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Tuesday. It’s part of a push for unity after descending into intraparty squabbling last March, when Schumer helped advance a GOP-led funding bill.

“I will be meeting with Leader Jeffries and immediately following that meeting will be meeting with Sen. Murray and [Rep.] DeLauro and other Senate and House Democrats,” Schumer told reporters. “Hakeem and I will be meeting to discuss the appropriations process in both the House and the Senate in the weeks ahead.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday she’ll vote against the Senate’s first batch of government funding bills, signaling early hardball by Democrats ahead of a shutdown deadline 10 weeks away.

In a statement, the Massachusetts Democrat and progressive standard-bearer cited Trump administration moves to cut and freeze VA funding as the reason for opposing bipartisan funding bills on the Senate floor this week.

Warren is the top Democrat on a subcommittee focused on military personnel. One of the funding measures on tap is for the VA and military infrastructure programs; it previously sailed through the panel in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.

“The Trump administration’s actions are disgraceful — freezing VA grants, cutting funds for veterans’ suicide prevention, stripping support for veteran homelessness, firing VA workers, gutting programs to help veterans avoid foreclosure and get mental health support in times of crisis,” Warren said. “Nothing in this bill puts a stop to those actions.”

Since January, about 17,000 VA jobs have been vacated through retirements, resignations and hiring freezes, with that number expected to grow in the coming months.

Warren is also drawing a red line that other Democrats have started to put down. Republicans shouldn’t expect Democrats’ cooperation on keeping the government open, she argues, if GOP lawmakers support President Donald Trump’s escalating attempts to take unilateral action on funding decisions traditionally led by Congress.

“I cannot in good conscience support this funding bill while the Trump administration illegally withholds funding for programs appropriated by Congress for veterans in need and Republicans unilaterally claw back bipartisan funding that Donald Trump doesn’t like,” Warren said.

Democrats are huddling for their weekly lunch Tuesday ahead of the first procedural vote on the appropriations package later in the afternoon. The “mini-bus” could include bills that would fund Capitol Hill operations, federal agriculture programs and the FDA.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to lead his caucus in a discussion about whether Democratic senators want to help Republicans shore up the 60 votes necessary to bring the minibus to the floor.

House lawmakers are getting a boost to funds they can use for their own security, including at their homes.

Speaker Mike Johnson and House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil announced an “updated Member security framework” at the closed-door House GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning.

It comes in response to growing member demands for protection when they are outside the highly-securitized Capitol grounds, as the U.S. grapples with persistent and escalating political violence.

Those calls only increased after the June shootings in Minnesota that killed a state representative and her husband; wounded a state senator and his wife; and revealed a list of other elected officials who might have also been targets.

The updated framework will double funding for residential security to $20,000 per member to “allow for a more comprehensive suite of security equipment to be installed at their residences,” according to a memo distributed to lawmakers. Members will be able to put $10,000 toward physical upgrades to their residence for security purposes under an existing program.

The funds will flow through an ongoing House Sergeant-at-Arms initiative for securitizing lawmakers’ homes and members’ office accounts will not feel the pinch.

The updates announced Tuesday also detail a massive increase to the “monitoring and maintenance allotment” under this program, from $150 to $5,000 per month through the end of September.

The short-term increase will allow lawmakers to “hire licensed and insured individuals or companies to provide personal security for the remainder of FY2025.” Members would enter into those contracts personally but would have the option of either direct payment from the House Sergeant-at-Arms or reimbursement.

Previously, members who sought personal one-on-one security largely relied on campaign funds, which the Federal Elections Commission has greenlit.

The memo outlining the security funding updates also promises an expansion of partnerships between Capitol Police and state and local law enforcement. Capitol Police has more than 100 mutual aid agreements across the country to coordinate protection for lawmakers’ in-district events, but are looking to lock in more.

The House canceled its scheduled Thursday votes after a Jeffrey Epstein-related imbroglio scrambled GOP leadership’s legislative plans. The House’s last votes are now scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, meaning the House won’t be back until after its August recess. Democrats have threatened to force votes related to the late-disgraced financier and convicted sex offender, forcing the Rules Committee to recess Monday evening without advancing a rule to the floor.

House Republicans intend to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, according to an aide for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

A House Oversight subcommittee Tuesday morning advanced a motion from Tennessee Republican Rep. Tim Burchett seeking approval of the subpoena.

“The Committee will seek to subpoena Ms. Maxwell as expeditiously as possible,” the committee aide said in a statement. “Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with the Department of Justice and Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when Committee can depose her.”

The move comes as the Justice Department is also seeking to meet with Maxwell, the associate of the late-disgraced financier and convicted sex offender. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year federal prison sentence for child sex trafficking and other crimes.

“This deposition will help the American people understand how Jeffrey Epstein was able to carry out his evil actions for so long without being brought to justice,” Burchett said in a statement.

House GOP leaders are canceling Thursday votes and sending members home early for a month-long recess as the Jeffrey Epstein crisis deepens on Capitol Hill.

The decision to move up summer recess came after Republicans lost control of the floor over bipartisan pressure to vote on releasing Epstein-related documents. House committees will keep working through the week, but there will be no further floor votes after Wednesday.

GOP leaders were talking with Trump administration officials, searching for ways to appease Republican members incensed over the lack of public information and Speaker Mike Johnson’s handling of the matter broadly.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, as he headed into a House GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning, said in a brief interview that Republican leaders and others are now trying to “expedite” the administration’s release of information over the August recess.

“I think a lot of members are frustrated that for years, Democrats covered for Epstein. But ultimately, they also know that President Trump’s in court right now trying to unseal the documents, and for whatever reason, the courts have sealed a lot of those records,” Scalise said.

“We hope they unseal those and show them to the public,” said Scalise, “and we’re trying to get that expedited.”

Johnson also addressed the issue inside the conference meeting, according to people familiar with his private remarks. He mostly reiterated what he’s been saying publicly, that President Donald Trump and the House GOP are pushing for “transparency” but some caution is needed to protect the names of victims.

He pressed House Republicans to not let Democrats score political points on Epstein, appearing to suggest they should hold the line against any Epstein-related votes for now.

At their own weekly caucus meeting elsewhere in the Capitol Tuesday morning, House Democrats were gloating.

“It is extraordinary that they’re so scared shitless over these Epstein files, that they’ve done something that I’ve never seen happen before. I mean, basically they just shut down for the week,” said House Rules Committee ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).

McGovern was referring to the events of the day before, when Republican leaders chose to cancel several floor votes for the week than allow Democrats to force a vote in the Rules Committee on bipartisan legislation from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would compel the release of Epstein documents.

Meanwhile, getting grand jury information unsealed will be a tall task, and it’s possible Republicans won’t get any of that information before lawmakers return from recess in September. Epstein was a disgraced financier and convicted sex offender who died by suicide in his jail cell in 2019.

Asked about Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell testifying before Congress, as some lawmakers are calling for, Scalise noted that Attorney General Pam Bondi was seeking to speak with Maxwell.

He added, however, that the Judiciary Committee “is looking at a number of items here.”

Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said of the Epstein documents, “We will push to get to that exposed.”

Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.

Summer break might come early for the House, as Speaker Mike Johnson faces a Jeffrey Epstein problem that just won’t quit.

Republican leaders are considering sending the House home as early as Wednesday, after a bipartisan clash over the so-called Epstein files broke the Rules Committee on Monday night. Rules recessed after Democrats threatened to force a vote on Epstein — a move that is now derailing floor action planned for this week.

Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Monday night the plan is still to stay until Thursday. The House can still work through suspension votes on relatively uncontroversial, bipartisan measures that can get two-thirds support from members.

“We’re not sending anybody home,” Johnson said.

It’s making for an awkward megabill celebration Tuesday night at the White House, where Trump is planning to host Republican lawmakers.

GOP leaders have an understanding with the White House that the House will not vote on releasing further Epstein documents before the August recess.

“The Trump administration’s petitioned the courts to release some of the sealed documents,” Scalise said in an interview. “Hopefully, the court acts swiftly. It’d be important if they got that out.”

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has a discharge petition that would require the release of Epstein-related documents, is undeterred and warning that support for his effort will only be bigger when Congress returns in September. He says at least a dozen Republicans support his proposal — and he appears to have the backing of Theo Von as well.

What else we’re watching:

— Senate Dems prepare for funding fights: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is beginning to organize Democrats around a looming government funding battle. He’ll talk Tuesday with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss the funding endgame strategy and continue his behind-the-scenes discussions with senators on how to utilize their leverage.

— Garbarino to lead Homeland: Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) will be the new chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, after the Republican steering committee approved him after two ballots Monday night. He’ll likely make the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency a top priority for the panel.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.