Fellow Conservative,

The Senate has been keeping their foot on the gas this week by confirming five more Cabinet nominees. That brings the total of Cabinet positions filled to thirteen. As you know, Heritage Action has been heavily involved in rallying support for Trump’s nominees facing the most resistance: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. Thanks to the flow of grassroots support for these two, both have been favorably voted out of committee making their final confirmation extremely likely.

Cabinet Update

Here is where the confirmation process stands.

Confirmed

• NEW: Attorney General - Pam Bondi
• NEW: Secretary of Energy - Chris Wright
• NEW: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Former TX State Rep. Scott Turner
• NEW: Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs - Former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins
• NEW: Director of the Office of Management and Budget - Russell T. Vought
• Secretary of State - Sen. Marco Rubio
• Director of the Central Intelligence Agency - Former Rep. John Ratcliffe
• Secretary of Defense - Pete Hegseth
• Secretary of Homeland Security - Gov. Kristi Noem
• Secretary of the Interior - Gov. Doug Burgum
• Secretary of Transportation - Former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy
• Secretary of the Treasury - Scott Bessent
• Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - Former U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin

Out of committee and awaiting confirmation vote

• NEW: Secretary of Health and Human Services - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• NEW: Director of National Intelligence - Former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard
• NEW: Secretary of Agriculture - Brooke Rollins
• NEW: Administrator of Small Business Administration - Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler
• Ambassador to the United Nations - U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik
• Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs - U.S. Rep. Doug Collins

As fantastic as this is, the Senate must not rest until President Trump’s entire Cabinet is confirmed, they must remain laser focused on confirming each of the nominees as fast as possible.

For an even more comprehensive list, check out our >>>Blog Post<<< where we detail the process and the status of nominees in real time.

Reconciliation Update

This past week, Republicans in both chambers have been working to come to a consensus on budget reconciliation details. Remember: Reconciliation offers a unique way to pass and sign into law major conservative legislation while only requiring a simple majority vote in both chambers of Congress. This process bypasses the 60-vote threshold needed to clear a Senate filibuster and only requires a simple majority.

Two pathways are emerging and Heritage Action is encouraged by the developments but there still remains a divide between the chambers:

SENATE Proposal: Two bills with policy priorities divided between the bills

• Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) introduced a budget reconciliation resolution yesterday that includes border security/ immigration enforcement/ deportation funding; defense funding; some energy permitting reform; and some initial spending cuts.
• The Senate Budget Committee aims to advance this resolution on Wednesday.
• Senate Republican leadership is alluding to additional spending cuts and Trump tax cut extensions to be included in a future, separate reconciliation bill.

HOUSE Proposal: One bill with all policy priorities included

• Speaker Johnson announced yesterday that they will need to work through the weekend to wrap up their budget blueprint. He said they are aiming for the Budget Committee to mark up the bill Tuesday. As with everything in D.C., this could change!
• The House wants one bill with border security/ immigration enforcement/ deportation funding; defense funding; energy permitting reform; Trump tax cut extensions; spending cuts amounting to at least $1 trillion.

As the reconciliation process unfolds, we will make sure to keep you up to date with the latest on the process and dynamics between both chambers.

A Win for Athletes

On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order that would strip any school of its federal funding if they allowed men into women's sports, locker rooms, bathrooms, and private spaces.

This is the complete opposite of President Biden, who threatened to defund schools that insisted on keeping men and women’s sports separate.

Now that this executive order has been signed and the House passed their bill to protect women’s spaces, the Senate should follow the President’s lead and pass the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to codify his actions, ensuring no future President could easily undo them.

This bill would consider it a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for federally funded education programs or activities to allow men to participate in programs or activities designated for women or girls.

Because of your work, this bill passed the House and must now pass the Senate.

>>>Call your Senators and tell them to support the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.

States

Kansas

The Kansas Senate passed SB 6, an election integrity measure that would ban the use of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV). Heritage Action’s Director of State Advocacy and Former Kansas Assistant Secretary of State, Catherine Gunsalus wrote:

“Ranked-choice voting is a confusing, inefficient system that disenfranchises voters and unfairly elects candidates. Voters in the Sunflower State deserve to have confidence in the integrity of their elections.”

Kansas is also considering legislation to ban foreign funding of elections within its borders. Other states should look to the work that Kansas is doing and follow suit.

In Case You Missed It

Heritage Action’s Executive Vice President, Ryan Walker penned an op-ed with Rep. Michael Cloud from Texas’s 27th District about the need to dismantle DEI.

Yes, President Trump has already terminated thousands of DEI positions in the federal government and he actively continues to root out this divisive ideology in the federal government. However, to deliver a true one-two punch, Congress will need to follow up Trump’s jab with the legislative equivalent of a right hook: the Dismantle DEI Act.

>>>Read the full op-ed<<<

Executive orders are useful, but laws passed by Congress can have a far greater and lasting impact. Like the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, this bill would codify the President’s actions against DEI so that they can’t simply be undone by another executive order.

Second, the Dismantling DEI Act, would end DEI requirements for federal contractors and grant applicants, giving everyone a fair shot at serving their communities.

Finally, this bill would save millions of taxpayer dollars. Biden’s DEI initiatives spent $83 million in 2023 on the State Department alone. Eliminating these kinds of expenditures will reduce the burden of federal debt and ensure taxpayer’s dollars are spent on appropriate functions of the federal government.

Momentum is on our side. Your dedication is what makes the difference.

Thank you for your work.

- Ryan and the Heritage Action team

Join the fight to advance the conservative agenda.