The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today advanced President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, Pam Bondi, paving the way for the full Senate to vote on confirming the former Florida attorney general as soon as this week. The panel approved her nomination in a 12-10 vote, Reuters reports. Bondi, who has spent decades as a prosecutor, previously represented Trump during his first impeachment trial. During her confirmation hearing earlier this month, she vowed to maintain the Justice Department’s independence, telling lawmakers she would not inject politics into criminal or civil investigations.

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn introduced two bills last week aimed at addressing illegal immigration, according to WBIR News. The "Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act" would make individuals who admit to or are convicted of sexual or domestic violence ineligible to enter the U.S. and calls for the deportation of undocumented people if they are convicted of a sex offense. A similar bill was introduced in the U.S. House last week and passed. The "Creating Obstructions Necessary to Address Illegal and Nefarious Entry Rapidly (CONTAINER) Act" authorizes border states adjacent to either the northern or southern borders to place a "movable, temporary structure" on federal land so long as the U.S. Interior Department is notified at least 45 days in advance. The structure could remain in place for up to a year unless an extension is approved. The CONTAINER Act was read twice in the Senate on Jan. 10, 2024, before being referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where it stalled.

Federal lawmakers from Tennessee announced Thursday they introduced a bill aimed at increasing music-related tourism across the U.S. The "American Music Tourism Act of 2025" was introduced by Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-TN, and Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-TN, with Rep. Nanette Díaz Barragán, D-CA, co-leading the effort, WBIR reports. The bill directs the assistant secretary of commerce for travel and tourism to facilitate incentives and conferences to boost music tourism. It also emphasizes promoting "rural and other destinations" rich in cultural heritage or ecological tourism for international meetings, conferences or exhibitions. The secretary would also be tasked with identifying key locations and events tied to music tourism and promoting them, with leaders required to report on progress.

U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, Republican of Knoxville, announced Tuesday morning on social media that he will serve on the U.S. House of Representative's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Committee. According to ABC 24, President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing DOGE to modernize "federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity." The DOGE Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate in December by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, also of Tennessee, aims to freeze federal hiring, relocate government agencies outside of Washington, D.C., and establish a merit-based salary system for federal workers.

President Donald Trump has named a number of acting leaders at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) while his nominees await confirmation. According to Bloomberg Law, James McHenry, a longtime DOJ immigration official, will serve as acting attorney general; Emil Bove, Trump’s personal lawyer, will serve as acting deputy attorney general; and veteran federal prosecutor Antoinette “Toni” Bacon will serve as acting leader of the criminal division. Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi appeared before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Bloomberg reports on the hearing, which can be watched in full on the committee’s website (watch Day 1 or Day 2). The committee is set to vote on the nomination on Jan. 29 according to Politico.

In a report released last week, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) recommended that the House Ethics Committee open a full-scale investigation into U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles over discrepancies in his campaign finance disclosures. According to Axios Nashville, the report concludes there is "substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles omitted or misrepresented required information" on his financial disclosures and found there is "substantial reason to believe that Rep. Ogles's campaign committee may have accepted excessive contributions that were reported as personal loans and contributions from the candidate."

President Joe Biden secured the 235th judicial confirmation of his presidency last week. According to AP News, Biden and Senate Democrats have focused on adding women, minorities and public defenders to the federal judiciary, with about two-thirds of his appointees being women and a solid majority being people of color. Biden has also prioritized appointing civil rights lawyers, public defenders, and labor rights attorneys to broaden the professional backgrounds of the judiciary. More than 45 of his appointees are public defenders, and more than two dozen have served as civil rights lawyers. “When I ran for President, I promised to build a bench that looks like America and reflects the promise of our nation. And I’m proud I kept my commitment to bolstering confidence in judicial decision-making and outcomes,” Biden said in a statement. The latest confirmation could be Biden’s last, leaving office with one Supreme Court justice, 45 appeals court judges, 187 district court judges and two judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade, NBC News reports.

Congress is putting another $100 billion into disaster relief funding, the Associated Press reports. The funds include $29 million for FEMA to help those recovering from recent hurricanes, $21 billion to help farmers, $12 billion for community recovery through Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants, $8 billion for rebuilding damaged roads and highways, and $2.2 billion for low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners trying to rebuild after a disaster. The funding is in a bill to keep the government operating through March 14, 2025. President Joe Biden signed it into law on Saturday.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed the Federal Judiciary Stabilization Act, which would convert temporary district court judgeships in 10 states into permanent positions, Reuters reports. The measure now heads to President Biden for his signature. The legislation was introduced in 2023 after the U.S. Judicial Conference recommended that Congress extend or make permanent nine of the 10 temporary judgeships, and create two new appeals court positions and 66 new permanent district court seats. The conference cited rising caseloads for the expansion. The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill in August to create the 66 trial court judgeships, which would be spaced out in six waves over a decade, starting in 2025. The House passed that measure last week though Biden has threatened to veto it.

Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and 10 other lawmakers sent a letter to the CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) last week, urging the federal utility to slow its expansion of natural gas plants and invest more in renewable energy. The lawmakers expressed concern that TVA may fail to meet its clean energy goals after building several large gas plants, which are subject to fluctuating fuel prices and the risk of methane leaks. According to Knox News, the letter was a response to a draft of TVA's integrated resource plan, which outlines potential pathways the utility could take to meet electricity demand by 2050. During the comment period, TVA received more than 2,200 official comments on the plan. According to the paper, a final version of TVA’s resource plan is expected to be presented to the TVA Board for consideration next spring.