Key officials from Donald Trump’s administration will face a series of congressional hearings Tuesday as they plead for funding while facing a firestorm of criticism over the president’s agenda.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche are all testifying in budget hearings amid heightened scrutiny over the war in Iran and the administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Blanche is also expected to face questions about the president’s much-maligned $1.8 billion compensation fund for his political allies and how the Department of Justice is handling investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, former Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers during a close-door deposition that she delegated oversight of the so-called Epstein files to her now-former deputy, who is also the president’s former criminal defense attorney.
A nearly $72 billion budget bill — which largely includes funding for immigration enforcement funding — faces an uphill battle in Congress thanks to the administration’s push for what critics are calling a taxpayer-funded “slush fund” for Trump’s allies.
The Justice Department has backed off the fund — for now — while a legal challenge plays out.
Rubio set to give first public testimony since Iran war began
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to testify publicly today for the first time since the Iran war began on Feb. 28.
Rubio will appear before two congressional committees today, where lawmakers are expected to grill him on the conflict.
Katie Hawkinson2 June 2026 14:14
Mullin’s testimony will be the first since his confirmation hearing
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s testimony will be his first since his confirmation hearing in March, when he replaced Kristi Noem, his scandal-plagued predecessor.
His appearance on Capitol Hill comes after multiple DHS insiders complained that the former Oklahoma senator is “barely in the building,” according to The Daily Mail.
“Mullin seems to think DHS requires less work than a senator, and it shows,” one told the outlet.
When reached by The Independent, a DHS spokesperson dismissed the report’s claims as “complete garbage.”
Brendan Rascius2 June 2026 13:50
Rubio expected to be grilled on Iran war
Rubio’s back-to-back hearings are supposed to be focused on the State Department’s budget request, but lawmakers are expected to spend much of their time grilling him over the war with Iran, Politico reports.
The war, launched in February by the U.S. and Israel, remains ongoing following a series of failed diplomatic talks.
On Monday, Iran announced it was suspending peace talks over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, which have reportedly hampered U.S.-Israeli relations.
President Donald Trump reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “You’re f***ing crazy…You’d be in prison if it weren’t for me. I’m saving your ass. Everybody hates you now. Everybody hates Israel because of this,” according to one U.S. official who summarized the call to Axios.
Brendan Rascius2 June 2026 13:30
Here’s the schedule for today’s hearings
It’s a busy day on Capitol Hill, with a trio of senior Trump officials set to testify before lawmakers. Here is the schedule for today’s hearings:
10 am ET: Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
2 pm: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifies before the Senate Committee on Appropriations
2 pm: Rubio testifies again before a House Appropriations subcommittee
4 pm: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee
Brendan Rascius2 June 2026 13:15
Blanche’s hearing comes as ‘anti-weaponization’ fund faces setbacks
During his hearing today, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is expected to face questions about Trump’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, though the fund appears dead in the water.
After bipartisan backlash in Congress and a federal judge’s ruling on Friday that blocked the fund on a temporary basis, the Justice Department announced it will “will abide by the Court’s ruling.”
A White House official told Politico that the fund “is no more.”
Brendan Rascius2 June 2026 12:54