Some rank-and-file Senate Democrats are open to a short-term funding bill if it includes additional money to protect lawmakers, they told us tonight.

Why it matters: Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are daring Democrats to vote against a 50-day spending stopgap.

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer appeared to reject Johnson's latest offer today, calling it a "total partisan proposal."
• Thune is bringing in the Senate's sergeant at arms and the Capitol Police chief to brief GOP senators tomorrow to address lawmakers' deep concerns about their own safety after the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the recent killings of Minnesota Democratic state lawmakers, we scooped today.
• "Given all the recent events and the level of anxiety and understandable fear and the increase in threats, I think the case could be made for putting money in the CR," Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters.

What they're saying: "Many members, including myself, have advocated for funding, not just for judges, but for members," said Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.).

• He told us: "There's all kinds of talk about what they're going to put in [the CR], but if there's going to be a conversation about security, I'm open to having a conversation about that."
• Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) told us: "I think members need to be safe, and I think the American people have an interest in their elected leaders being safe. ... I haven't had a chance to look at whether that [the CR] is the best vehicle. Let me, let me think about that."
• Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) told us, when asked about voting for a CR that included new money for member security: "We need bipartisan engagement this week. We'll see where things go."

The other side: Some Democratic senators are deeply skeptical of the latest GOP offer.

• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told us: "It sounds like a prescription to just push the can down the road and do nothing to try to stave off this health care crisis that's coming for Americans and the democracy crisis that we're in the middle of."
• "No blank checks," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). "The issue remains that you have the president violating the law, withholding funds that have been appropriated, so we need to put up safeguards."

— Hans Nichols and Stephen Neukam

Some House Democrats are ready to play hardball if the Senate's short-term talks fall apart.

• Majority Democrats, a group led by Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.) and Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), says it will demand the reversal of huge parts of President Trump's agenda in exchange for stopping a shutdown.

Why it matters: It's the kind of hardline negotiating stance that some in the Democratic grassroots have been demanding for months, and it comes from a group whose modus operandi is upending the party's status quo.

Its list of demands includes:

1. Reverse the Medicaid cuts in the "one big, beautiful bill" that was signed into law.
2. Replace the law's tax cuts with a "tax cut for the 99% of America."
3. Eliminate the Trump administration's tariffs.
4. Restore COPS grants that provided funding for anti-crime efforts.
5. Release the Jeffrey Epstein files and ban members of Congress from trading stock.

Share this story

— Andrew Solender

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) will ask FBI director Kash Patel to give an update on the Charlie Kirk fatal shooting investigation during tomorrow's hearing, according to excerpts of Grassley's opening statement.

Why it matters: Parts of the MAGA base are in uproar over the FBI chief's handling of the investigation, though Trump has rallied behind Patel.

• "Kash's job is safe. The president is happy," a senior administration official told Axios' Marc Caputo yesterday.

Between the lines: Patel faced widespread criticism when he posted on social media that a subject in the shooting was "in custody" hours after the shooting, only to have investigators release that person.

• Patel says he doesn't regret the post.

The intrigue: Grassley also intends to question Patel on the Epstein investigation, according to a committee aide.

• The committee includes several Republicans who have called for the Trump administration to be more transparent and release the Epstein files, including Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.), Thom Tillis (N.C.) and John Kennedy (La.).
• Patel will also likely face questions about the top officials he fired from the bureau.

The bottom line: After all that, Patel gets to face a House committee on Wednesday.

— Stef Kight