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The Week in Review Buzz in Washington focused last week focused on President Trump’s performance in a press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral summit in Helsinki, Finland. Political commentators and a number of politicians on both sides of the aisle criticized President Trump for appearing too conciliatory to his Russian counterpart, […]

Looking Ahead Near Term The House will take up two bills of importance to the financial services industry. First, they continue to move forward with another minibus spending bill. This one comprised of the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) measure. Second, on Tuesday, the full House, under the suspension calendar (i.e., non-controversial) will take […]

The Week in Review The domestic news highlight of the week was President Trump’s primetime announcement of D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh as the nominee to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh, who will likely start his lifetime term at age 53, comes with the sterling credentials expected of Supreme Court nominees having […]

The Week in Review Both chambers were in recess this week in celebration of Independence Day. For the White House, the main action came on Thursday, as tariffs went into effect against $34 billion worth of Chinese imports. Despite world markets’ concerns over the looming trade war, President Trump has continued to insist that the […]

Our Take Wednesday marks the 242nd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.   As anyone who has seen or heard “Hamilton” knows, people most frequently quote the document’s most famous lines, about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  But those are the start of the Declarations’ second paragraph.   As any good history […]

The Week in Review The week’s biggest headline came out of the Supreme Court on Wednesday when Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he will retire on July 31 after three decades on the nation’s highest court. The 81-year-old has been the Court’s most important figure in recent years, acting as the critical swing vote in […]

The Week in Review Last week, a planned focus on immigration bills in the House of Representatives escalated when the Trump Administration’s “zero tolerance” policy was exposed for its forced separation of thousands of immigrant families seeking asylum and the resulting bipartisan backlash. On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order that will keep families […]

Our Take One of the hot topics percolating around DC is what will happen in November.   While we are still months away from the elections, and still really two months until Labor Day when the majority of voters have traditionally started to focus on them, it does not prevent all kind of prognostications.  While we […]

The Week in Review Although it feels like a month ago, the first ever meeting between the active heads of state of North Korea and the United States occurred last Tuesday when President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met for a summit in Singapore. The two leaders formalized the signing of a […]

Looking Ahead Near Term The House is taking up a series of bills designed combat the continuing opioid epidemic.  The House Financial Services Committee will hold two hearings, including one Comptroller Otting this week.   The Committee is also scheduled to hold another mark-up on Thursday. The House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark-up the Financial […]

The Week in Review A busy week in Washington came to a close as the House wrapped up its work last Friday on an appropriations “minibus” (H.R. 5895) that would authorize FY 2019 funding for Energy and Water Development, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, and Legislative Branch (MilCon-VA) appropriations. House GOP leadership also worked to move forward […]

The Week in Review Both chambers enjoyed a week-long recess for the Memorial Day holiday, and return this week for a month-long work period.