Catherine Leffert

reporter @punchbowlnews covering tax and trade

[Laura Weiss @LauraEWeiss16]

NEW: Senate Judiciary released new text for its piece of the reconciliation bill - the section that was giving GOP leaders lots of problems

NO funding for securing Trump's ballroom & NO money for DOJ

$13B for CBP, $31B for ICE & $2.5B extra for DHS

READ IT - https://t.co/2POECRYRzQ

[Cady Stanton @cady_stanton]

Just now in a Senate Finance Hearing:

Sen. Tillis: "Did you actually tell Pulte you were going to punch him in the face?"

Bessent: "No sir, I actually said I was going to kick his ass."

[Catherine Leffert @ccleffert]

Interesting nugget: Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith said during Tax Foundation event that he had dinner with JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon last week.

The two were in California for the Reagan National Economic Forum.

[Brendan Pedersen @BrendanPedersen]

Hill doesn’t sound pleased by Bill Pulte’s acting appointment to head of DNI, saying Pulte’s other job as a housing regulator is a big one with a lot of responsibility.

“I hope President Trump very promptly nominates a person who can lead the ODNI in the right way,” Hill said.

[Liam Scott @liamjscott]

The stars are not aligning in Washington. Via @ScottNover
https://t.co/noBKuadLSM

[Jake Sherman @JakeSherman]

🚨🚨TODD BLANCHE JUST NOW: "We're not moving forward with the fund. Period."

[Brendan Pedersen @BrendanPedersen]

**FHFA’s PULTE TO SERVE AS ACTING DNI: TRUMP

[Catherine Leffert @ccleffert]

Sanders also said, “I wish their marriage the very best,” regarding Platner and his wife.

[Ben Brody @BenBrodyDC]

And here’s Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.): “It might be a good idea if we focus on the important issues facing the working families of Maine and this country.” Sanders says he’s still planning to meet with Platner when he comes to the Hill

[Katie Robertson @katie_robertson]

Alternative headline that was killed by my editor: Hey Now, You're All 'Star'

[Laura Weiss @LauraEWeiss16]

NEW: Senate Finance Dems sent a letter to Chair Crapo today demanding a committee investigation into the Trump admin's "anti-weaponization fund" & directive against auditing Trump & his family

Dems call it "an unprecedented looting of taxpayer dollars"

Dems pressing R's on the fund amid lots of Senate GOP backlash to it https://t.co/vtP66Wre0n

[Max Cohen @maxpcohen]

New: Here's the text of Suozzi + Fitzpatrick's bipartisan bill to stop Trump's $1.8b fund

"no federal funds may be used for the payment of any claim submitted to the Anti-Weaponization Fund, established by the Department of Justice on May 18, 2026."

https://t.co/EmPQAhQqW7

[Brendan Pedersen @BrendanPedersen]

I asked Thune if the Trump administration owns this delay, given the timing of the weaponization fund rollout.

“The timing obviously is something we had no control over. So it's — they need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned”

[Richard Rubin @RichardRubinDC]

The timing of the fund was driven by the timing of the withdrawal of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS - which was done just before a federal judge’s deadline for the U.S. to explain how the suit could proceed with Trump on both sides.

[Brendan Pedersen @BrendanPedersen]

I wrote about the divide between Rep. Maxine Water (D-Calif) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) on housing policy, which has strained the relationship between two financial policy titans on Capitol Hill

[Catherine Leffert @ccleffert]

Sen. Gary Peters, former DSCC chair, says Paxton endorsement doesn’t change his thoughts on Texas race.

“I’ve always thought we had a great shot in Texas. Talarico is a really strong candidate, regardless of who wins the Republican primary.”

[Laura Weiss @LauraEWeiss16]

News from @ccleffert & me: Treasury Secretary BESSENT is set to testify in front of Finance and W&M in June

Finance hearing slated for June 3. W&M the next day, June 4, per multiple sources familiar w/ the plans

More in PM - https://t.co/VlityPw9uT

[Igor Bobic @igorbobic]

Really good, clear eyed @BrendanPedersen @LauraEWeiss16 piece on how crypto has dominated the Senate: largely by fear

And this Moreno quote jumps out

[Jake Sherman @JakeSherman]

In this case, Jeffries knows where Wilson is. The House Republican leadership has no insight into Tom Kean's whereabouts, what he's going through, etc.

[Laura Weiss @LauraEWeiss16]

THUNE on housing bill after House released its new text overnight:

“The clearest path to getting that done and on the president’s desk is just to pass the Senate bill. But I'm not going to predict what the House is going to do and so we'll wait and see. But it's been it's been sitting over there for a while, and the president’s weighed in on it.”

[Brendan Pedersen @BrendanPedersen]

News w/ @JakeSherman: Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) had an in-person meeting and phone call with Speaker Johnson today, per sources

Scott’s message: pass the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act unamended.

The House … is prepping an amended bill for next week