Hugging It Out
Back in Washington after being told to stay away for seven weeks, House members seemed glad to interact again.
Before the House voted to reopen the government (
September special election winner Adelita Grijalva finally, fully, and officially became a member of Congress, with Democrats adding a raucous round of applause in honor of her father, the late Rep. Raul Grijalva.
But wait! There was former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) making a beeline for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). Observers in the gallery started looking for signs of argument or tension. We couldn’t hear what was said, but in short order Pelosi, Grijalva, and Johnson were embracing in a six-armed hug.
Not long afterward, Johnson was firmly on-message and displaying no softness at all, blaming Democrats for the shutdown and saying their actions were “very difficult to forgive.”
This morning’s Congress Tracker loops you in on some lessons learned from the shutdown odyssey. Plus, today’s BGOV Budget highlights the tougher talks awaiting lawmakers.
Here’s more on what will happen next:
- Health-Care Hangover Looms for Republicans After Shutdown Win
- White House Orders Furloughed Workers to Return to Work Thursday
- Food Aid Still Faces Delay After Government Shutdown Ends
- Law to Reopen Government Throws in the Towel on the Farm Bill
- Defense Policy Bill on Track for House Vote in December
- Democrat Eyes January for ACA Fight as Republicans Add Pressure
- The IRS Has a Long List of Catchup Items After the Shutdown Ends
- Will Normal Air Travel Resume Once the Shutdown Ends? QuickTake
- Grijalva Swearing-In Paves Way for Vote to Release Epstein Files
The Post-Shutdown Agenda
The longest government shutdown in US history is officially over. Now what?
Join Bloomberg Government for a webinar, The Post-Shutdown Agenda, at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13.
Our team of Congressional journalists will discuss:
- How the deal came together.
- Whether it was worth it for both sides.
- The political implications going forward.
Don’t miss the insights you need to navigate the shutdown aftermath. Register Here!
Eye on the Economy
In less than four weeks, Federal Reserve officials will discuss whether to lower interest rates again. A big question mark hanging over that meeting will be the scarcity of the kind of information the Fed’s used to having in hand.
During the government shutdown, routine surveys on employment and inflation were suspended. “I’ve been told that some of the surveys were never actually completed, so we’ll never, perhaps, even know what happened,” White House National Economic Director Kevin Hassett told CNBC. “We’re going to be staring a little bit in cloudy, cloudy weather for a while until we get the data agencies back up.” Read More
See Also: Atlanta Fed’s Bostic to Retire When Term Ends in February
Where The Temps Are
Our Bloomberg Law colleagues noticed a Trump administration trend: on-the-job training required by many top federal prosecutors — though not the ones picked to be in charge in red states.
Celine Castronuovo describes it as a cohort with nontraditional resumes. Some have backgrounds like Trump’s personal lawyer (Lindsey Halligan, picked for US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia) and state Republican Party chair (Julianne Murray in Delaware.)
Six of Trump’s US attorney appointments are being challenged in court. All six are in states represented by Democrats in the Senate.
Appointees who lack previous relevant experience are generally “not familiar with the principles of federal prosecutions,” said Wendy Olson, partner at Stoel Rives LLP and former US attorney for the District of Idaho. “This could lead to a lower quality of work from a US attorney’s office.” Read More
See Also:
- Trump DOJ Lists Ex-Delaware GOP Chair as Acting US Attorney
- Miami US Attorney Instills Fear as Trump Enemy Probes Ramp Up
Before You Go
Unlocking Cells: A federal judge says hundreds of people detained in the Chicago-area immigration crackdown could soon be released on ankle monitors or other “alternatives to detention.” Judge Jeffrey Cummings said it was “highly unlikely” that the detainees in question “are criminal gang members, drug traffickers, or assorted ne’er-do-wells that fall under the category of what ICE has called the worst of the worst,” Megan Crepeau reports. Read More
Corruption Case: Federal prosecutors have indicted a former chief of staff to California Gov. Gavin Newsom on public corruption charges. Eliyahu Kamisher and Andrew Oxford report that Dana Williamson is accused of conspiring to divert about $225,000 from a dormant political campaign for an associate’s personal use. Read More
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