PSW Weekly Round-Up - 7/7

Legislative Update

Senate. The Senate will continue to consider nominations this week.

House. The House schedule was upended when Members returned to town in the middle of last week’s recess to vote on the reconciliation bill. House leadership then made the decision that the House will not be in session this week and will return July 14.

Reconciliation. As the House and Senate considered the reconciliation legislation that the President signed on July 4, they set several records. First, the Senate’s vote-a-rama that began Monday morning around 9:30 and ended Tuesday after 12 noon set a new record for duration – some 26 ½ hours, besting the previous record of 25 hours and 20 minutes for the 2021 reconciliation bill. After the all-night session, Vice President Vance broke a 50-50 tie vote on July 1, sending the Senate version to the House for consideration.

The House Rules Committee then met from 1:30 p.m. on July 1 until 1 a.m. on July 2 to approve a rule for floor debate. However, there was a drafting error with the rule, and the full House needed to vote to fix the error. That vote, which started at 2:08 p.m. on July 2, was held open for 7 hours and 23 minutes, a new record for the longest roll call vote in House history, beating the 2021 record of 7 hours and 6 minutes. The vote on the amended rule was then held open for almost six hours, but after House leadership and President Trump negotiated with holdout Republican members, the House approved the amended rule at 3:30 a.m. on July 3, clearing the way for a final vote on the reconciliation measure.

However, it was time for one more record to be set. Once the allotted time for debate was concluding, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was recognized for one minute. House custom allows the speaker, majority leader, and minority leader to speak as long as they wish, and this “magic minute” was recently used by Democrat Nancy Pelosi (8 hours, 7 minutes in 2018) and Republican Kevin McCarthy (8 hours 32 minutes in 2021) to speak for record-lengths of time. Jeffries took the floor at 4:53 a.m. on July 3 and spoke for 8 hours and 44 minutes, concluding at 1:37 p.m. and setting a new record.

After Jeffries’ remarks and relatively brief remarks by Speaker Mike Johnson, the House voted 218-214 at 2:30 p.m. on July 3 to give final approval to the reconciliation bill that was titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” until the title was stripped from the bill following a Byrd rule challenge on July 1 by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The official title of the bill is now “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14. “

House Resignation. The House will have one fewer member on July 20, when Rep. Mark Green’s resignation is effective. Green (R-Tenn.) formally notified the Speaker of his resignation in a letter on July 3. Green had said last month he would resign once the reconciliation bill was approved. With Green’s resignation, there will be 219 Republicans and 212 Democrats in the House, with three Democratic vacancies and one Republican vacancy.

E&C Changes. Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), who is running for the Senate, announced July 2 that he will step down as chair of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce panel. E&C Chair Brett Guthrie then announced new subcommittee leadership. The new subcommittee heads will be Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Health; Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Ala.), Environment; and Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.), Oversight and Investigations. Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) will be Vice Chair of the E&C Committee, and Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) will be Vice Chair of the Health Subcommittee.

Committee Action of Note

Tuesday, July 8

• Senate Armed Services closed subcommittee markups of FY 2026 NDAA provisions, with respect to:
  • Subcommittee on Airland;
  • Subcommittee on Seapower; and
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces

Wednesday, July 9

• Senate Environment and Public Works markup to consider pending nominations, including:
  • Usha-Maria Turner to be an Assistant Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
  • David Wright to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing: “A Future Without Type 1 Diabetes: Accelerating Breakthroughs and Creating Hope”
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing: “Securing the Future of Health Care: Enhancing Cybersecurity and Protecting Americans’ Privacy”

Thursday, July 10

• Senate Appropriations Committee FY 2026 Budget Markup:
  • Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
  • Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
  • Legislative Branch Appropriations Act
• Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing to examine the President’s FY 2026 Budget Request for the U.S. Forest Service

Recent Executive Actions of Note

On June 30, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum that aims to streamline the application process for domestic energy and mineral production projects. This and other recent executive actions include:

• Establishing The President’s Make America Beautiful Again Commission - July 3, 2025
• Making America Beautiful Again By Improving Our National Parks - July 3, 2025
• Authorizing Junction Pipeline Company, LLC To Construct, Connect, Operate, And Maintain Pipeline Facilities At Toole County, Montana, At The International Boundary Between The United States And Canada - June 30, 2025
• National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-5 - June 30, 2025
• Providing For The Revocation Of Syria Sanctions - June 30, 2025
• Presidential Permit Authorizing South Bow (USA) LP To Operate And Maintain Pipeline Facilities At Cavalier County, North Dakota, At The International Boundary Between The United States And Canada - June 30, 2025
• Presidential Permit Authorizing Steel Reef US Pipelines LLC To Operate And Maintain Pipeline Facilities At Burke County, North Dakota, At The International Boundary Between The United States And Canada - June 30, 2025
• Simplifying the Funding of Energy Infrastructure and Critical Mineral and Material Projects - June 30, 2025

Tariff Update

August 1 Tariffs. The White House said Monday, July 7, that President Trump will delay the reciprocal tariffs that were set to take effect July 9 until Aug. 1. Tariffs on imports from Japan and Korea, the President announced, will be 25% unless negotiations yield a trade deal before then. The President also issued tariff notices for other countries, including South Africa, 30%; Malaysia, 25%; Laos, 40%; Myanmar, 40%; and Kazakhstan, 25%. The rates are very similar to what he announced on April 2 and then suspended for three months on April 9. In all cases, Trump said any retaliatory tariffs imposed by a country would be matched by an equal increase in U.S. tariffs.

Vietnam. On July 2, President Trump announced that the U.S. had reached a trade agreement with Vietnam. Under the deal, Vietnamese imports will face 20% tariffs, which will rise to 40% for goods shipped through Vietnam. In return, Trump said that Vietnam had agreed to drop all levies on U.S. imports. The U.S. will gain additional market access in Vietnam for goods such as autos, with the president citing SUVs in particular.

Canada. The U.S. and Canada will restart negotiations after Canada announced on June 29 that it would not impose a digital services tax on major technology companies such as Apple, Amazon, and Google. Canada’s decision followed President Trump’s statement on June 27 that he was terminating all trade discussions with Canada, effective immediately, and would announce new tariffs on Canada within the next seven days. The two countries hope to agree on a trade deal by July 21.

www.psw-inc.com