April 2026 gave us a Congress that took a two-week vacation, came back to vote on war powers, Israel weapons sales, FISA surveillance, DHS funding, and whether Minnesota’s clean water should be protected from mining. This episode tracks what Congress actually did — including the votes, scandals, resignations, deaths, new members, and laws that tell you far more than campaign ads ever will.
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Background SourcesRecommended Congressional Dish EpisodesCD334: Untrained and Unwarranted
CD283: A Federal Reserve Digital Dollar (CBDC)
TMZ D.C.“30 Members Of Congress In Scotland On Our Dime!!!” April 1, 2026. TMZ.
DHS FundingH.R.7147 – Homeland Security and Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2026
“Nancy Mace Responds to Video of Her ‘Skipping’ TSA Airport Security Line.” Jenni Fink. March 24, 2026. Newsweek.
Trump Madness“Republicans win, but Democrats see big shift in Georgia.” Jamie Dupree. April 8, 2026. Regular Order on Substack.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again…” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). April 7, 2026. Truth Social.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran…” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). April 5, 2026. Truth Social.
Iran WarS.J.Res.184 – A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress
S.J.Res.114 – A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress
H.Con.Res.40 – Directing the President, pursuant to section 5© of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran
S.J.Res.123 – A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress
Military Sales to Israel1,000 Pound BombsS.J.Res.138 – A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Israel of certain defense articles and services
Arms Sales Notification, [Transmittal No. 26–32] Office of the Secretary of the Department of Defense. April 15, 2026. Federal Register Vol. 91, No. 71.
BulldozersS.J.Res.32 – A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed foreign military sale to the Government of Israel of certain defense articles and services
Arms Sale Notification. March 3, 2025. Congressional Record Vol. 171, No. 40.
ResignationsTony Gonzales“Tony Gonzales asked campaign aide for nude photos, sex in 2020, new texts show.” Bayliss Wagner. April 6, 2026. San Antonio Express-News.
“Autopsy: Tony Gonzales staffer was intoxicated when she set herself on fire in Uvalde.” Darian Trotter. March 1, 2026. News4 San Antonio.
“‘She was texting Tony’: Husband of Tony Gonzales aide breaks silence about affair.” Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson. February 18, 2026. San Antonio Express-News.
“Tony Gonzales had affair with aide who set herself on fire, ex-staffer says.” Bayliss Wagner and Nancy M. Preyor-Johnson. February 17, 2026. San Antonio Express-News.
Eric Swalwell“Investigation Opened Into Sexual Assault Allegation Against Swalwell.” Chris Hippensteel. April 11, 2026. The New York Times.
“Four women describe sexual misconduct by Rep. Eric Swalwell, including a former staffer who says he raped her.” Allison Gordon et al. April 10, 2026. CNN.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick“The House Ethics Committee with a handy list of the 25 ethics violations in the case of Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick D-FL.” Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree). April 20, 2026. X.
United States v. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Edwin Cherfilus, Case 1:25-cr-20500-DPG (S.D. Fla. 2025), Indictment.
Cory Mills“D.C. police sought to arrest Rep. Cory Mills after assault call, records show.” Paul Schwartzman and Kadia Goba. April 18, 2026. The Washington Post.
David Scott“Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat seeking his 13th term in Congress, dies at age 80.” Bill Barrow et al. April 22, 2026. AP News.
Tom KeanMember Activity by Thomas H. Kean, Jr.
“Absent GOP congressman says he’s dealing with ‘medical issue’ in vague statement.” Anna Liss-Roy and Maegan Vazquez. April 27, 2026. The Washington Post.
“Kean will miss votes once again this week.” Joey Fox. April 20, 2026. New Jersey Globe.
FISA ReauthorizationS.4465 – A bill to amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and for other purposes
H.R.8322 – To amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through April 30, 2026, and for other purposes
H.R.8035 – To amend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 to extend the authorities of title VII of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 through October 20, 2027, and for other purposes
S. 1884: Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2025S. 3971: Small Business Innovation and Economic Security ActHouse Roll Call Vote – March 17, 2026
H.J.Res.140 – Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Bureau of Land Management relating to Public Land Order No. 7917 for Withdrawal of Federal Lands; Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties, MNSenate Roll Call Vote – April 16, 2026
House Roll Call Vote – January 21, 2026
“Senate Votes to Strip Minnesota’s Boundary Waters of Protection from Mining Pollution.” Timna Axel. April 16, 2026. EarthJustice.
“More Than 30 Groups Oppose H.J. Res. 140 and Other Abuses of the Congressional Review Act.” Coalition for Sensible Safeguards et al. February 3, 2026. Coalition for Sensible Safeguards.
Pete StauberPete Stauber: Industries, 2026. OpenSecrets.
Pete Stauber: Industries, 2024. OpenSecrets.
AntofagastaAntofagasta plc (ANTO.L). Yahoo Finance.
Antofagasta plc: Lobbyists, 2026. OpenSecrets.
Kate Gonzales. OpenSecrets.
Luke Johnson OpenSecrets.
William Mcgrath. OpenSecrets.
Audio SourcesHouse FloorApril 30, 2026
Jen’s Highlighted PDF
Clips6:58:11 Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): What does FISA stand for? Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. This, when it was originated, was never meant to be used to surveil Americans or to search through databases for their information. It was intended for foreign intelligence. But now it is used on Americans without a warrant. FISA databases have been used to query political activists, journalists, Members of Congress and their staff, and random romantic interests of FBI agents. We are told: Oh, don’t worry. It is not being abused anymore. Maybe that is because they changed the definition of a query. So when they use the program anymore and abuse it, it is not a query by their definition so they don’t have to tell you when they have violated the law. They are interpreting it differently. As a matter of fact, there is a secret interpretation of how this law is used by the FBI, so secret that you have got to go three floors underground to read about it. We can’t tell the American public exactly how they are being spied on, but it is a particularly nefarious way. I think it is also unconstitutional. I know it is also unconstitutional. For this and many other reasons, I oppose this FISA reauthorization, and I reserve the balance of my time.
7:03:12 Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX): The reason I rise in opposition is because this body, this House, spoke and sent a bill to the Senate that has reforms that our Intelligence Committee chair worked on and a number of people worked on. We had reforms on there to stop the central bank digital currency. We sent it to the Senate, and they didn’t even give it a vote. They didn’t even put it on the floor for consent. They just said: Stuff it. We are going to send you a 45-day extension.
House FloorApril 16, 2026
Jen’s Highlighted PDF
ClipsRep. Jim McGovern (D-MA): Mr. Speaker, are you kidding me? Who the hell is running this place? A 5-year reauthorization—5 years—and Republicans threw it together on the back of a napkin in the back room in the middle of the night. There have been real bipartisan discussions about adding civil liberties and safeguards. Some Members support them, and some oppose them. Just about everyone agrees that this is serious stuff, the kind of debate that Congress ought to have in the open. Instead, Republican leadership just jammed us. Does anybody actually know what the hell is in this thing? It is 11:30 at night. The bill was changed just minutes ago—just minutes ago—and they had to post a corrected version already. That is how sloppy all of this is. Let me be crystal clear to my colleagues across the aisle. This is too damn important to do it this way, way too important—no hearings, no markups, no real process, no transparency, no time to read it, no time to vet it. Yet, we are told that there are major reforms in this bill. There is no real explanation, no real accountability, and basically no time for anybody to figure out what the hell is going on. Now, we are all supposed to act like this is normal. Give me a break. We will have to live with this for 5 years. The American people have to live with this for 5 years. Democrats and, quite frankly, a whole lot of Republicans, too, have barely had enough time to read the text, let alone understand any of its implications. I bumped into a handful of Repulicans on the way up here. They asked me: What is going on? What changes have been made? What is in this bill? Your own Members don’t know what the hell you are doing.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD): The first thing that they do is they change the terms of the length of the legislation, a 5-year authorization with the fraudulent warrant requirement not kicking in for 2 years. Let’s look at the much-vaunted warrant requirement, which appears on page 3. Let’s start with this in trying to understand the gobbledygook here. ‘‘The Federal Bureau of Investigation may not ingest unminimized information acquired under this section into its analytic repositories unless the targeted person is relevant to an existing, open, predicated full national security investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. If the subject of such predicated, full national security investigation is a United States person, for purposes of this paragraph, the investigation must be supported by probable cause.’’ This is supposed to be the big concession to the people who were saying that the Constitution governs and the Fourth Amendment is still alive, right? Well, what is the first thing that I notice as someone who spent 25 years as a constitutional law professor? Well, the operative part of it is the last eight words there: ‘‘the investigation must be supported by probable cause.’’ It doesn’t say it has to be supported by a search warrant, much less does it say it has to be supported by a search warrant or probable cause determined by a judge, by a court. That is not in there. Who is going to figure out whether it is supported by probable cause? We are not talking about evidence of a crime. We are talking about a predicated, national security investigation. If you flip the page, you find out that the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence shall jointly establish procedures and standards for officers and employees of the United States Government to determine the existence of probable cause. Well, there goes the requirement, the constitutional requirement of an independent magistrate issuing a warrant. The FBI will be the judge of its own warrant.
Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA): Mr. Speaker, there are significant changes here. One of the other changes that they have not mentioned is that any query against a United States person by the FBI—and this is a new accountability measure—must be reported to the Civil Liberties Protection Officer within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Any query that the FBI does on a United States person must be reported with a justification for the query, not to the Justice Department but to the Civil Liberties Protection Officer within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA): Mr. Speaker, this is all so damned frustrating because, basically, what the gentleman has done is kind of restated current law. The big reform that he is bragging about is that the administration has to report something to the administration. I mean, give me a break.
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA): Let me just say to my friends on the Freedom Caucus: I don’t know. You know, I disagree with you on most things, but every once in a while, we find areas of agreement, oftentimes on issues of privacy protection and protecting and upholding civil liberties. I appreciate when we can come together on that. I thought that that is what we were doing. That is what we were trying to get to. I am looking for some of my Freedom Caucus friends to defend this, so maybe there is some- thing here that I don’t see, but they are not here defending this.
Senate FloorApril 15, 2026
Jen’s Highlighted PDF
Clips6:50:30 Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): As recently as March 31, Israeli Defense Minister Katz said: “All homes in Lebanese villages near the border will be destroyed—in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza.” Well, colleagues, I visited Gaza. I visited the Gaza crossing—the Rafah crossing—twice, along with my colleague Senator MERKLEY, first in January 2024, when Gaza’s population had quadrupled from prewar levels to more than 1 million people who had been displaced within Gaza, from northern Gaza.
And then we traveled to the Rafah crossing, in August 2025, after the IDF’s offensive against Rafah, one that the Biden administration claimed that they tried to stop. And on that visit, Senator MERKLEY and I climbed a rooftop, and you could look into Rafah— obliterated, reduced to absolute rubble. And as we were told by former IDF soldiers—eyewitnesses who had the courage to speak with us—Israel has systematically dismantled essential infrastructure and brought near-total destruction of civilian sites throughout Gaza, including through the use of these bulldozers and 1,000-pound bombs.
And now the Israeli Minister of Defense says they are going to do the same thing in southern Lebanon.
6:56:15 Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): Now, colleagues, I want to focus for a moment on the portion of the Sanders resolution that bans the transfer of bulldozers to the IDF. These are the bulldozers that helped raze Rafah in Gaza to the ground. For those who don’t remember, I ask them to recall the case of Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American peace activist who was killed by an Israeli bulldozer while trying to block the razing of buildings in Rafah over 20 years ago. Rachel Corrie has never gotten any justice, and her family will tell you that today. In fact, just since January of 2022, at least nine more American citizens have been killed by extremist Israeli settlers or security forces in the West Bank. Not one of them—not one—has gotten justice, just like Rachel Corrie—no accountability. There is no piece of equipment that has helped Israel and the Netanyahu government destroy civilian infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza and now Lebanon more than the bulldozer. Just look at the titles of some of the reporting coming from what is happening in southern Lebanon. The Guardian title: ‘‘ ‘Everything is gone.’ Israel destroys entire villages in Lebanon.’’ And you can see it for yourself. I really encourage my colleagues just to look at the videos. Some of them have been shared by members of the Israeli military themselves. They showed controlled detonations and destruction of entire villages.
This isn’t new. During the last war in Lebanon, Amnesty International documented how the Israeli military carried out extensive and deliberate destruction of civilian property across almost the entire Lebanese border with Israel, including 10,000 structures, primarily through the use of manually laid explosives and bulldozers. In the West Bank, as we speak, we are seeing violent Israeli settlers kill Palestinian citizens with impunity. We are also seeing the use of these bulldozers to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank and other civilian infrastructures. Again, you can see it for yourselves in the videos. This is all part of a slow-motion ethnic cleansing effort in the West Bank and de facto annexation of the West Bank. Indeed, the New York Times in September 2024 spoke about raids in the West Bank villages of Tulkarm and Jenin. The headline is this: ‘‘Israeli Bulldozers Flatten Mile After Mile in the West Bank.’’ In total, since the Gaza war started, Israeli authorities have demolished at least 4,900 structures in the West Bank and displaced 9,000 Palestinians there.
7:04:40 Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR): Let’s be clear. Bulldozers are not defensive weapons. Recent satellite images of southern Lebanon show the Netanyahu government flattening towns, destroying bridges, cutting off civilian movement, and cutting off humanitarian access in a replay of the destruction we saw in Gaza, not to mention the Netanyahu government has supported settlers in their expansion, massive expansion, of outposts and settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank, in their mass increase in construction of homes and villages, and most disturbing of all, supporting the settlers in their violent attacks on Palestinian communities—all of this in the goal of creating a greater Israel by destroying any prospect of a Palestinian state.
House FloorJanuary 21, 2026
Jen’s Highlighted PDF
Clips5:25:06 Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN): The district I am proud to represent, Minnesota’s Eighth Congressional District, is blessed with an abundance of mineral wealth. On the Iron Range in northern Minnesota, we have been responsibly mining for 145 years. We mined the iron ore that won us two world wars and currently mine the taconite that is used to make 80 percent of this country’s domestically produced steel.Before Biden’s mining ban, we had the opportunity to mine the copper, nickel, cobalt, and other critical minerals that are necessary for this country to compete and win in the 21st century. That is because northern Minnesota is home to the Duluth Complex, the largest untapped copper-nickel deposit in the entire world. It is home to one-third of our country’s copper reserves, 95 percent of our nickel reserves, 88 percent of our cobalt reserves, and 75 percent of our other platinum group metals. Public Land Order 7917 locked up the Duluth Complex and ended this opportunity that we had. This PLO withdrew 225,504 acres—that is nearly a quarter of a million acres—in the Superior National Forest, which is a working industrial forest where timber harvesting and mining are desired activities. This ban was a 20-year ban, where, I will note, again, the Forest Service plan states mining and timber harvesting are desired activities. This PLO sacrificed thousands of good-paying union jobs that would sup- port families for generations, along with billions of dollars of revenue for our schools, State and Federal governments, and, most importantly, our Nation’s mineral security. It didn’t only block our access to precious critical minerals, Mr. Speaker, it also cut us off from one of the largest and most concentrated deposits of helium, a gas that is necessary in every- thing from medical and manufacturing equipment to state-of-the-art defense systems. Just like our critical minerals, we are blocked from responsibly accessing the helium, making the United States more dependent on foreign imports and increasing Russia’s share of global helium markets.
5:31:20 Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN): The BWCA is a huge reserve of the most pristine water in the United States, so clean you can directly drink from its lakes or streams. This water is under threat once again. In 2017, the Obama administration applied for a mineral withdrawal of theRainy River Watershed—the watershed is up here—which is the headwaters that flows into the Boundary Waters Wilderness and Voyageurs National Park. It started a 2-year environmental study, which included extensive public input and scientific review. While the Rainy River Watershed wasbeing studied, Paradise Valley in Montana and Methow Valley in Washington State were going through the same exact process. All three of those water- sheds were threatened by sulfide-ore mining. In Montana and Washington, those studies were able to be completed, and their mineral withdrawals happened in 2018, protecting their waters, but the Rainy River Watershed was left unfinished. When President Trump took office, his administration initially promised to complete the study. Instead, President Trump honored his promise from a campaign rally and did not protect the watershed. His administration canceled the study for Minnesota’s watershed without releasing any of the scientific findings. This is what we received in the committee instead, and it is an entirely redacted study—no information, nothing scientific in it, nothing, all blank. Now, I serve on the Defense Committee. If we needed to go in a SCIF, I would have been happy to go in the SCIF and get this if it was so classified it had to be redacted. The protection of the headwaters of the BWCA was abandoned. The Biden administration decided to finish the study, and they followed the scientific recommendations and the public input. In 2022, a comprehensive environmental assessment was finally completed. The Forest Service recommended a mineral withdrawal to protect the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, just as it had for the waters in Montana and Washington.
5:33:40 Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN): In January 2023, almost 3 years ago, the mineral withdrawal was completed. It was noticed under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act. The law was followed. The Department of the Interior notified the Congress of the withdrawal on January 26, 2023, and as my colleague, the ranking member from the committee, just pointed out, we all received those letters. I received one. Mr. STAUBER received one. The chair of the committee received one. Everybody got a letter. Then Congress had 90 days to adopt a resolution of disapproval. Republicans have tried to disapprove of the withdrawal, but they weren’t able to bring it to the floor. Congress didn’t ask, and the window of disapproval closed. Now they are trying to use the Congressional Review Act to get a do-over. The CRA wasn’t created to overturn a public land order, especially one that is nearly 3 years old. CRA resolutions are for rules, which public land orders are not, and they are to be used within 60 days of the congressional notice, not 3 years later.
5:34:55 Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN): I am the ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. There is no immediate national security interest that would be advanced by mining in this watershed. How do we know this? We know this because Antofagasta, as has been pointed out, is a Chilean mining company who owns Twin Metals. It is lobbying to undo the current mineral withdrawal and restore their leases to extract the copper. Here is what Antofagasta does with the extracted copper, and we can’t say this enough: They send it to China where it is smelted and then it is sold on the open market or it is used for its own defense weapons.
MusicTired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito
EditingPro Podcast Solutions
Production AssistanceClare Kuntz Balcer