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May 22, 2026

MJL Morning Briefing — Fri, May 22

MJL Morning Briefing
From Matt Leonard · Friday, May 22, 2026
TOP STORY
Senate GOP rebellion forces Thune to punt ICE/Border reconciliation bill
Majority Leader John Thune abruptly punted the party-line ICE/Border Patrol reconciliation package Thursday after Acting AG Todd Blanche spent nearly two hours being grilled by about 25 GOP senators over Trump's $1.776B "anti-weaponization" fund; Sen. Lisa Murkowski said the White House "dropped a bomb."
Punchbowl News
National Politics
House GOP yanks Iran war-powers resolution mid-vote
House leaders pulled Rep. Gregory Meeks' Iran war-powers resolution mid-vote-series Thursday after roughly 10 GOP absences and defections from Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1), Tom Barrett (MI) and Thomas Massie (KY); a prior version failed 212-212 last week, with the next vote expected in June.
Punchbowl News
Trump adds 5,000 troops to Poland, reversing planned European drawdown
Trump on Thursday reversed plans to pull U.S. forces from Europe and sent 5,000 additional troops to Poland as Secretary Rubio met NATO counterparts in Sweden; House Republicans the same day cancelled an Iran war-powers vote that was on track to pass.
Politico Playbook
PA & NJ Politics
Fitzpatrick leads bipartisan push to kill Trump's $1.8B anti-weaponization fund
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-1), a day after Trump publicly attacked him for a dissenting vote, announced Thursday a bipartisan effort to block DOJ's $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund and demanded Acting AG Todd Blanche provide records, arguing the fund was created without congressional appropriation.
PoliticsPA
Federal walkback unlocks PA broadband buildout for 130,000 unserved homes
Pennsylvania can resume its BEAD broadband deployment after the federal government backed down from a wage-rules dispute that had stalled the program, clearing the way to connect roughly 130,000 PA homes and businesses still without service.
Spotlight PA via PoliticsPA
Fetterman loses third chief of staff since 2023
Cabelle St. John, Sen. John Fetterman's chief of staff since June 2025, resigned Wednesday, becoming the third COS to leave his office in three years amid leaked staff texts showing Fetterman increasingly siding with Republican positions.
PoliticsPA / Daily Beast
Energy Industry
⚡FERC Commissioner Chang: "not thinking about" breaking up PJM
FERC Commissioner Judy Chang told Utility Dive she is "interested in the successful continued operation of PJM" and wants to help the RTO "get through this period," tamping down speculation about a FERC-driven breakup as PJM-RTO real-time LMP sat at $30.05/MWh and Western Hub at $33.20/MWh on 84.1 GW of load this morning.
Utility Dive
New Mexico regulators scrutinize Blackstone-TXNM stock trade in merger review
Consumer and renewable-energy advocates told New Mexico regulators Thursday that a stock transaction gave Blackstone an early stake in TXNM Energy before the PRC could negotiate acquisition-related customer protections; both companies deny wrongdoing as the merger review continues.
Utility Dive
Pittsburgh Sports
Pirates beat Cardinals 6-2 behind Ashcraft's nine-strikeout gem
Braxton Ashcraft struck out nine over seven innings of one-run ball at PNC Park on Thursday as Brandon Lowe homered and Marcell Ozuna drove in two to lift the Pirates over St. Louis 6-2.
ESPN
Aaron Rodgers tells Pittsburgh media this is his final NFL season
At Steelers OTAs on Wednesday, quarterback Aaron Rodgers confirmed his one-year contract with Pittsburgh will be his last NFL season, telling reporters "Yes. This is it" as DK Metcalf, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Zach Frazier also participated in workouts.
CBS Pittsburgh / Yahoo Sports
Market Snapshot
PJM West Hub (RT)$33.20/MWh
PJM AEP-Dayton (RT)$31.59/MWh
PJM Capacity 26/27$329.17/MW-day
Henry Hub$3.07/MMBtu +6.2%
TETCO M3 (PA/NJ)n/a
WTI Crude$97.52/bbl +1.2%
As of May 22, 8 a.m. ET
Curated by Matt Leonard. Numbers from real endpoints only.

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