The Latest on the Government Shutdown

Last night, congressional negotiators reached an agreement on a spending bill that will provide government funding through the end of the 2017 fiscal year. The $1 trillion deal includes increased funds for border security and defense, two Republican priorities, as well as a permanent extension for a program that provides health benefits to coal miners. […]

The Week in Review Congress enjoyed the second week of its two-week recess for the Easter and Passover holidays. Spending negotiations remained in the headlines as lawmakers planned for a funding bill to govern federal spending for the remainder of the 2017 fiscal year, and both parties prepared to battle over the decision of whether […]

The Week in Review Lawmakers left Washington to start a two-week break in honor of the Easter and Passover holidays. As with a previous recess in February, numerous Republican lawmakers faced hostile receptions in town hall meetings over the American Health Care Act (AHCA) and other Trump Administration policies. The Republican plan to overhaul the […]

The Week in Review With Easter recess calling, policymakers in Washington had a noteworthy week on both the domestic and international fronts. Starting in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “went nuclear” to confirm Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch as Democrats rallied the votes to maintain a futile filibuster. With 45 Democrats opposed to […]

The Senate is set to go nuclear today as the partisan confrontation over Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court reaches its seemingly inevitable conclusion. A cloture vote on the nomination – which would require 60 votes to be approved – is set for this morning and is expected to fail, with as many as […]

Our Take If you believe that America’s greatness was built on the concept of incremental policy movements built on compromises – then you are likely troubled that as of late it seems like both sides of the political spectrum consistently retreat to their respective wings and therefore seem to perpetually advocate binary choices (i.e., you’re […]

The Senate took one more step towards going nuclear yesterday after Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) became the 41st  Democrat to commit to filibustering the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court. With the minority’s votes secured, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will likely file cloture today to begin the formal […]

Jet fumes are in the air as lawmakers eye the end of a six-week stretch in Washington with the beginning of a two-week recess this Friday. The impending battle over Neil Gorsuch’s nomination to the Supreme Court will be the week’s highlight, but ongoing negotiations on funding the government beyond the expiration of the current […]

The Week in Review It was a relatively quiet week in Washington compared to the American Health Care Act (AHCA) related chaos of the week prior. The most notable floor action came from the House as the chamber advanced a controversial Senate-passed disapproval resolution (S.J. Res. 34) that would nullify a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) […]

Our Take From the ashes of the of the failure of the Obamacare repeal on Friday might still rise the Phoenix of President Trump.   It also clearly shows that Senator McConnell continues to be one of the shrewdest political minds in town.  

The dust will continue to settle in Congress as lawmakers slide back into regular business following last week’s excitement. House lawmakers will consider a Senate-passed resolution (S.J. Res. 34) today that would undo privacy rules for internet service providers enacted under the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last year. Specifically, the rules require providers to receive […]

Late in 2016 – right after President Donald Trump was elected president and Republicans gained full control of Congress – many beltway-watchers were quick write about the inevitable demise of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).  But as Thorn Run’s Billy Wynne wrote in a December 2016 article for Health Affairs Blog, “the repeal and replace […]