The Latest on the Government Shutdown

Congress returns to full strength this week as the House will reconvene tomorrow following its brief in-district work period last week. In recognition of National Police Week, the House’s docket features a series of bills on criminal justice, including two  measures scheduled to be considered pursuant to a rule later this week. One of those […]

The fallout from President Trump’s firing of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey has yet to settle as further details continue to emerge about the reasoning behind President Trump’s decision to dismiss the longtime prosecutor. Multiple media outlets have reported that Comey had requested additional resources for the Bureau’s Russia probe shortly before […]

After one of the busiest periods in the 115th Congress last week, this week features less dramatic legislative work as the Senate works to confirm additional presidential nominees and consider the last congressional disapprovals of administrative rules advanced by the Obama Administration. The House is away from Washington for a weeklong in-district work period.

After weeks of wrangling, an initial failure before the Easter recess, and the addition of two amendments to placate both the conservative and moderate wings of the party, the House is scheduled to hold a floor vote today on the American Health Care Act (AHCA) (H.R. 1628). While the vote will likely be very close, […]

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 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 […]

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 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 […]

In a relatively quiet day on the chamber floors of Congress, the Senate moves back to confirming nominations from the White House by considering President Trump’s choice for Director of National Intelligence (DNI), former U.S. senator from Indiana, Dan Coats. The DNI position was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to coordinate the work of […]

The Congressional Budget Office released its highly-anticipated score of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) – the Republican plan to repeal and replace parts of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act (ACA). Both supporters and detractors of the AHCA will find favorable information in the score; the CBO projects federal deficit savings of $337 billion over […]

The release of two separate documents – a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score for the Republican health care plan and President Trump’s budget proposal for fiscal 2018 – will drive conversation in Congress this week far more than any of the measures on the chamber floors. The first document is sure to add a wrinkle […]