Head of ICE Goes Before a Congressional Committee: Starting Line

‘Questions Need to Be Answered’

Despite making deportation a priority, President Donald Trump hasn’t nominated anyone to be in charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The official summoned to Capitol Hill today to answer questions from a House committee is a temp: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons.

Lyons signed a May 2025 internal memorandum authorizing ICE officers to enter a person’s home to make a civil immigration arrest using only an administrative warrant, a move critics say sidesteps Fourth Amendment protections. He’s also the one who faced the threat of contempt proceedings over detention policies.

House Homeland Security Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) previewed a tough line of questioning for today’s hearing, Angélica Franganillo Diaz reports, saying on SiriusXM that “questions need to be answered.” Read More

See Also: Enforcement of California’s ICE Agent Mask Ban Blocked by Judge

Funding Talks

The deaths in Minneapolis also were a turning point for Democratic sentiment toward allowing the Department of Homeland Security’s fiscal 2026 funding to move ahead. Now lawmakers have to figure out what to do to keep funds flowing to the agencies under DHS’s umbrella.

“We’ll sit down with anyone, anytime, anyplace, but our demands for dramatic ICE reform are clear,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Maeve Sheehey. “This is on Republicans right now.”

With stopgap money appropriated through Friday, Ken Tran reports that Senate Majority Leader John Thune is talking about a second short-term continuing resolution if negotiations progress well enough. Ken has more in today’s BGOV Budget.

House Republicans’ immigration enforcement focus is on requiring voters to prove they’re citizens. In today’s Congress Tracker, Maeve looks at the dynamics of that effort.

Climate Rollback Ahead

The EPA plans this week to repeal a policy that provides the legal foundation for a raft of rules regulating greenhouse gas emissions, Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Zahra Hirji report.

A move to scrap the Obama-era endangerment finding, a 2009 scientific determination that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare, is expected as early as Wednesday. The policy underpins rules including federal emissions standards for cars and trucks. “This amounts to the largest act of deregulation in the history of the United States,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin was quoted as telling the Wall Street Journal. Read More

Also Read: Fears of EPA Enforcement Dip Spurs Groups to Act as Legal Hounds

Trump’s Track Record

A new Bloomberg News analysis checks the receipts on Trump’s attempts to yank federal money from out-of-favor programs, agencies, cities, or grantees. Zoe Tillman reports that judges have halted funding cuts and limits in more than half of 167 spending fights.

That total includes cases in which the government took steps to resolve issues after being sued.

A few examples: the $16 billion NY-NJ Gateway rail tunnel funding unfrozen by a judge and then temporarily refrozen while now the government appeals, as well as $10 billion for low-income childcare aid, $12 million for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and hundreds of millions for EV charging infrastructure. Read More

See Also: Appeals Court Questions Cities Over Block on Grant Conditions

Another Funding Cut

New on the administration’s do-not-pay list: California, Minnesota, Illinois and Colorado. Jessica Nix reports that about $600 million public health grants to those four states will be slashed. The reason: failure to align with Trump’s priorities.

The Public Health Infrastructure Grants to public heath departments are allocated through CDC. They were set up to pay for, among other things, data modernization and health equity programs.

Eye on the Economy

As this chart illustrates, consumer behavior last year was up and down. Today we’ll learn whether the last upward jump was the start of a two-month trend or just a blip.

One clue about what to (possibly) expect when the Commerce Department releases its retail sales numbers: Consumers spent a record-breaking amount online during the holiday season of Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, cashing in on deals and using Buy Now Pay Later to make purchases, according to Adobe Inc.

What today’s numbers won’t show: If Americans upped their spending in December, was it because they goosed the economy by buying more stuff, or was it because prices were higher? The retail data aren’t adjusted for inflation.

The numbers are worth watching in part because the retail sales report can be a market-moving economic indicator. Coming later this week are two other reports that have shown they can influence the buying and selling on Wall Street: payroll figures come out tomorrow and the Consumer Price Index gets updated on Friday.

Also Read: Trump Says Fed Pick Warsh Can Get Economy to Hit 15% Growth

You don’t need to be a large trade association or a multinational corporation to effectively lobby Congress, Andrew Goldberg of Agora Consulting writes in this week’s Business of Lobbying Insight. Smaller trade groups may not have as much money available, but they can get a lot of bang for their buck.

“By setting clear goals and expectations, establishing realistic milestones, and committing to a long-term strategy, even the smallest organization can advance its mission by engaging in federal government relations,” writes Andrew. Read More

Before You Go

Meet the New IRS Executives in a Shrunken Leadership Circle

The new IRS leadership ranks include a mix of agency veterans and those with ties to Republicans and billionaire Elon Musk.

Labor Board Regions Struggle With Understaffing as Cases Pile Up

Just two of the National Labor Relations Board’s 26 regional offices have sufficient staffing to handle their workloads of cases alleging violations of labor law and petitioning for union elections.

House Epstein Probe Amps Up Amid Document Reviews, Depositions

Key House lawmakers on Monday pushed for more information on the sex-trafficking probe of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and raised the prospect of new criminal prosecutions.

House Republicans Move to Keep Putting Off Vote on Trump Tariffs

House Republicans on Monday advanced a procedural motion to block a vote on President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda, potentially delaying a politically uncomfortable vote on his most prominent economic policy until at least July.

Housing Package With Bipartisan Backing Heads to the Senate

The House approved a slate of changes to federal housing policy Monday, taking a step toward building more homes and driving down the cost of living.

DOJ Seeks to Drop Contempt Case Against Trump Ally Bannon

Federal prosecutors took steps to end a long-running criminal case against conservative activist Stephen Bannon, who had continued to challenge his conviction for defying a congressional subpoena after he served a four-month prison sentence.

Bondi Seeks to Revive Criminal Indictments of Comey, James

US Attorney General Pam Bondi asked an appeals court to resurrect the scuttled indictments of two of President Donald Trump’s perceived enemies, former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

House GOP Turns to Business Allies to Sell Tax Bill to Voters

House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) is stepping up outreach to business lobbies and conservative groups to sell Republicans’ signature tax law to voters in the midterm messaging contest.

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