Speaker Johnson, in reversal, cancels House votes, leaving few days in session before midterms
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) (C) speaks to members of the media on Sept. 2, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — With government funding in the rear view, the House on Thursday canceled votes for the last two weeks of September, leaving just four days of legislative business before the Nov. 3 midterm elections — a reversal from Speaker Mike Johnson’s comments on the matter earlier this week.
After a vote series Friday morning, lawmakers will fly home for a district work period over the Labor Day holiday, as well as the Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas.
The House is scheduled to return on Sept. 14 for four days of legislative business — leaving on Sept. 17 for six full weeks of campaigning ahead of the midterm elections.
The sparse floor schedule is not particularly unusual for an election year — but is a reversal of Johnson’s position earlier this week when he told reporters that he did not intend to cancel any scheduled legislative business this month.
“Republicans are here to work,” Johnson told reporters on Tuesday when pressed if GOP Rep. Thomas Massie’s prediction of a schedule change might come to fruition. “We have a schedule, a calendar that’s been out for a year. We are abiding by that calendar. We are going to work all the way through September and every day that’s on the calendar, so long as people like him don’t stop the progress.”
But earlier this week, the House passed government funding through Dec. 11 — clearing the speaker’s top legislative priority ahead of the election.
Lawmakers will return again for a lame duck session on Nov. 9 — scheduling five more weeks of legislative business before the end of the 119th Congress.
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 27, 2026, in Washington, DC. Republican senators gathered to introduce legislation to fund construction of a White House ballroom as a secure alternative event space following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, DC Saturday night. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — National political leaders and prominent figures from around the globe will remember South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham with a ceremony on Capitol Hill and a funeral service in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Graham is first being recognized with a ceremony in the Capitol rotunda. His casket was brought to the Capitol, where he is being honored by his fellow senators.
The ceremony includes remarks from Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Vice President JD Vance, according to the program.
Graham served more than two decades in the Senate, becoming one of the chamber’s most recognizable Republicans and one of President Donald Trump’s closest friends and advisers. He advised the president on foreign matters, including the recent war in Iran, and was a prominent fixture of the Senate’s powerful Judiciary Committee.
He died suddenly and unexpectedly on July 11 at the age of 71. Preliminary findings from the Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia said that the senator died due to “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
Later Tuesday, there will be a funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump is expected to speak at the service, according to the office of Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister who was sworn in earlier this month to finish out the rest of his term.
The cathedral funeral is expected to be attended by a number of world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Graham worked closely with both men as a staunch ally to both nations. Graham spent some of his final days in Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy just before he died.
Graham’s casket will return to South Carolina on Wednesday, where further memorial services are set for Columbia, the state’s capital, and Pickens County, where Graham grew up and part of the district he represented.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) talks to reporters as he heads for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on June 01, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego is under federal investigation for suspected campaign finance violations, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
According to multiple reports, Gallego, a Democrat, used campaign funds to fly his family to the Caribbean, Miami, Nantucket and Puerto Rico. He also allegedly used funds to pay for childcare.
Campaign funds may be used to pay for a candidate’s childcare expenses that are incurred as a direct result of campaign activities, according to the Federal Election Commission.
On Monday, the Senate Ethics Committee closed its inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations after finding no evidence that Gallego violated Senate rules or applicable law, according to a letter released by his office.
In regards to the federal investigation, a Gallego spokesperson told Axios that “it’s the least surprising news of the week that this comes immediately after the Senate Ethics Committee cleared Senator Gallego of right-wing smears pushed by the administration.”
ABC News has reached out to Gallego’s office for comment on the investigation. The Department of Justice has not yet commented on the probe.
Former President Barack Obama speaks with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts in an interview at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on June 13, 2026. (ABC News)
(NEW YORK) — Former President Barack Obama is sharing his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran, saying recently that he is skeptical that real progress will be made.
Obama spoke with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts on Saturday, one day prior to Trump’s announcement that the United States and Iran had reached a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the U.S. naval blockade.
The exact points of the deal remain unclear. A senior administration official told reporters Friday that it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lead to “the dismantling” of Iran’s nuclear program and the U.S. getting Iran’s highly enriched
The expected deal comes eight years after Trump withdrew the U.S. from a previous nuclear agreement with Iran – led by the Obama administration in 2015 – that Trump described at the time of withdrawal as the “worst deal ever.”
In the interview Saturday, ahead of the new deal being announced, Obama told Roberts that he was “doubtful” any deal with Iran put forward by the Trump administration would be “significantly different” from the 2015 deal that his administration put in place.
“It is doubtful that any agreement that arises is going to be significantly different or a significant improvement from the deal that we had in the first place and had worked for, for a long stretch of time before we, the United States, pulled out of it,” Obama told Roberts in the interview, which took place at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.
Obama also expressed hope that the fighting in the region would come to an end and urged policymakers to prioritize diplomacy over military action.
“I’m hopeful that bombing stops and ordinary people are no longer suffering as a consequence of the war,” he continued. “Then in retrospect it’s a reminder that on a lot of difficult foreign policy problems — the notion that we can just bully our way or bomb our way to solutions — may sometimes seem appealing, but the fact of the matter is that taking the time to explore diplomacy and exhaust the possibilities of coming up with deals that don’t solve 100% of the problem but solve 80%, 90% of the problem while avoiding the necessity of going to war.”
“You’d think we would’ve learned that lesson by now,” he continued. “But it seems like every so often we have to relearn that lesson again.”
Trump first announced “major combat operations” against Iran on Feb. 28, with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.
After an initial ceasefire and unsuccessful U.S.-Iran talks in Pakistan in April, negotiations continued as the ceasefire was extended.
Following Trump’s June 14 announcement on social media that a new deal had been reached, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi confirmed the deal had been finalized and said it would be signed in Switzerland on Friday.
“All of our positions and important issues are included in the draft understanding,” Gharibabadi said in a statement to Iranian state media.
Tune into “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, June 17, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. on ABC for more of Robin Roberts’ interview with former President Barack Obama.
