Start of a Busy Month on Capitol Hill
Beginning today, that overused comparison about trying to drink from a firehose isn’t going to be hyperbole on Capitol Hill. A lot is about to be squeezed into a little time.
Let’s begin with money.
In this morning’s BGOV Budget, Jack Fitzpatrick and Ken Tran outline the magnitude of the task ahead for appropriators and leaders — work that gained a new degree of difficulty when the White House decided to unilaterally rescind previously agreed-to funding.
It’s one thing to have members of the president’s party agree to do what he wants. It’s something else altogether to not even ask, and that’s what’s happening with fiscal 2025 money at the same time that lawmakers are trying to work out the numbers for fiscal 2026.
The Government Accountability Office has said the maneuver’s illegal, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) issued a statement calling it “a clear violation of the law,” and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) may have summed up the sentiment of the minority party when he wrote on X that “any budget deal with Republicans isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.”
That’s the backdrop against which any talks have to progress on next year’s spending and on avoiding a government shutdown if appropriations aren’t signed into law by Sept. 30.
Big Picture
If appropriation bills were the only major legislation in motion, that would be plenty.
But there’s more to prepare for, including the first military policy bill under the watch of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the possibility of a change in Senate rules to help Trump get his team confirmed without having to pause so long for deliberation — or Democratic delay, depending on your point of view.
“Senate Republicans are determined to confirm Mr. Trump’s qualified nominees one way or another,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), the GOP’s second-ranking senator, wrote in the Wall Street Journal.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) responded thusly: “Historically bad nominees deserve a historic level of scrutiny.”
A nomination that’s on track to move pretty fast is for a Federal Reserve opening. The Senate Banking Committee is planning a hearing this week for nominee Stephen Miran, who was tapped to fill the expiring term of Fed Governor Adriana Kugler.
The annual National Defense Authorization Act generally stands out as major legislation enacted with bipartisan backing, though it’s never fast or easy.
When it comes up in the Senate this week, leaders will sort through almost 700 proposed amendments on topics including border issues, Taiwan security, and counter-drone technologies.
Roxana Tiron reports that senators are proposing to authorize more for the military than the administration requested, and they’re not just saluting and saying yes to every detail. For instance, senators propose rejecting the Pentagon’s plans to curtail the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
And you already know that there are slices of Congress that are still riled about what hasn’t been publicly released by the government about Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking operation. That dispute effectively shut down the House in late July.
Read More from Jonathan Tamari. As always, there’s more in today’s edition of Congress Tracker, and in the new edition of Hill Watch, BGOV’s legislative analysts explain the details of top-tier issues.
See Also:
- Trump Progress on Campaign Vows Stalls Ahead of Midterm Season
- Lawmakers Face Sour Mood, Senate Progress as Shutdown Date Nears
- Senators to Weigh Raising Chapter 13 Debt Limits for Consumers
- GOP Faces Headwinds on Push for Second Big Tax and Spending Bill
Eye on Tarifffs
Trump’s tariffs are starting the week in a new legal limbo. They’re in effect at least until mid-October, but a court ruling raises the possibility that they could be thrown out. That means businesses trying to adapt to a new trade landscape are temporarily on shaky ground.
“There could be a very long delay still before we actually know what’s happening,” Jennifer McKeown, chief global economist with Capital Economics, said on Bloomberg Television.
Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation, predicted “higher prices for goods and services to be paid by American consumers” as the uncertainty stalls economic growth.
Something to keep in mind is that this particular litigation has to do with Trump’s unusual use of emergency powers to impose new tariffs. There are other governmental levers that can be used to add levies, but those have built-in guard rails that limit the ability of presidents to act fast. Read More
See Also:
- Trump Says India Offered to Cut Its Tariffs to ‘Nothing’
- US, India Keep Door Open to Trade Talks Despite Tariff Tensions
- BRICS Leaders Schedule Virtual Meeting to Discuss Trump Tariffs
View From K Street
On the advocacy side of DC, regulatory matters are sharing top billing with appropriations, Kate Ackley reports.
The administration is working on the implementation of the many, many aspects of the mega tax and spending law, plus changes at Health and Human Services that affect drugmakers, insurers, medical groups and others.
“Our health care colleagues are the busiest right now,” said lobbyist Loren Monroe, a principal at BGR Group.
Gaming industry lobbyists are seeking changes to a provision from the big law that decreased the amount of gambling losses that betters can claim on their taxes. “We’re working on that and hope it will be fixed,” said Will Moschella, a lobbying practice co-leader at Brownstein.
Lobbyists also are looking to a possible second reconciliation measure and are already laying the groundwork for 2026, when the surface transportation authorization comes up for renewal. Read More
Insight: Ex-Congressmember Do’s and Don’ts
For anyone looking at life after Congress, there are a few things to do and some things to definitely not do, according to former Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos. Read More
Bustos, who announced in 2021 that she wouldn’t seek reelection to her seat in Illinois, writes in an opinion piece that she quickly got a flood of invitations for jobs, nonprofit board positions and fellowships.
In the first installment of a new series on the “Business of Lobbying,” Bustos shares advice for current lawmakers figuring out their post-Congress paths, including the four things you should do and the three things you shouldn’t. “It’s overwhelming,” writes Bustos, now a partner at Mercury Public Affairs. “But there are rules of the road to help you find your way.”
Check out our author guidelines to learn how you can share your perspective.
Before You Go
CDC Backlash: Nine former directors of the CDC jointly urged Congress to “exercise its oversight authority” and called on state and local governments and philanthropic givers to “fill funding gaps where they can” after the shakeup of top leadership showed the rift between traditional science and the views of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Read the New York Times Op-Ed
Homeland Committee: Before the congressional recess, an intra-party contest to fill the vacant chairmanship of the House Homeland Security Committee tipped to Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.). When committee members return to work today, they’ll be one colleague lighter. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.), who’d been among the chairmanship contenders, left the committee. Read His Letter
Honor Awaits: A day after former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was hospitalized for injuries suffered in a car crash, Trump said he would give his former personal lawyer the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Read More
Nadler Retiring: At 78, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) has decided not to run for re-election next year. “Watching the Biden thing really said something about the necessity for generational change in the party, and I think I want to respect that,” Nadler told The New York Times.
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