Congressional Dish

This episode looks at two very different questions surrounding the U.S. Postal Service: how the Trump administration tried to use it to impose new requirements on mail-in voting, and whether the Postal Service itself is financially sustainable. We examine the new election-mail rule and the court fight that stopped it for 2026, then dig into what's actually driving USPS's financial problems—and whe...

Twenty-five years after 9/11, America is still sliding down the slippery slope created by the War on Terror. This episode traces how the George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden administrations built, expanded, and preserved extraordinary presidential powers in the name of fighting terrorism—and how the Trump administration is now using those powers to deprive people of liberty and protections in ways tha...

Congress passed a new housing law, including an attempt to limit corporate ownership of homes. We'll also examine the Senate's summer confirmations, including Todd Blanche as Attorney General, and preview troubling provisions in the NDAA—including one that would deepen U.S.-Israeli military cooperation and another that would override California to benefit a private oil pipeline. View the show note...

The National Weather Service is one of the few government agencies that affects every American every single day. Every weather app, television forecast, hurricane warning, tornado alert, and flood prediction depends on it. In this episode, we examine what has happened to the National Weather Service under the Trump administration, from staffing cuts and delayed weather balloon launches to contract...

The Texas Hill Country flood that killed 139 people was described as a natural disaster. But after digging through state legislative hearings and Congress's oversight of FEMA, I found something else: many of the deadliest consequences weren't just caused by the weather. They were the result of policy choices. This episode follows the disaster from the storm itself to the way Congress prepares—or f...

June brought a massive expansion of ICE and immigrant detention, failed efforts to rein in the unauthorized war with Iran, a debate over U.S. support for Israel's actions in Lebanon, and the confirmation of two controversial lifetime judges. We examine what passed, what failed, and what comes next. View the show notes on our website at https://congressionaldish.com/land-grabs-and-cages-cd341 Pleas...

In CD340: No More Iran War, Congress finally pushes back against President Trump's unauthorized war with Iran as Republicans join Democrats to pass War Powers resolutions rejecting the conflict. Jen breaks down those historic votes, the few laws Congress passed in May, and the Trump administration officials confirmed to powerful positions overseeing public lands, environmental policy, prosecutions...

Children are spending more time on screens than ever before, but what is all that screen time actually doing to them? In a recent hearing, Congress heard testimony from experts who argue that social media, educational technology, and AI are reshaping childhood in ways many parents don't fully understand. This episode explores the evidence and the growing concern that we're raising a generation of...

April 2026 gave us a Congress that took a two-week vacation, came back to vote on war powers, Israel weapons sales, FISA surveillance, DHS funding, and whether Minnesota's clean water should be protected from mining. This episode tracks what Congress actually did — including the votes, scandals, resignations, deaths, new members, and laws that tell you far more than campaign ads ever will. View th...

Congress took multiple vacations during a DHS shutdown, failed to check an unauthorized war with Iran, and passed just two bills—both honoring the dead. Meanwhile, a bipartisan majority voted to keep misconduct investigations against themselves secret. This episode exposes a month of dysfunction—and the real consequences of a Congress that isn't doing its job. View the show notes on our website at...

The SAVE Act and the SAVE America Act are two of the most searched bills in Congress right now—and they're confusing a lot of people. By digging into what these bills actually do—and the long history they fit into—you'll see why they're widely considered voter suppression efforts and how they could affect your ability to vote. And more importantly, you'll learn what you can do right now to protect...

February's big accomplishment: partial government funding—months late and still incomplete. This episode breaks down the most important provisions in the law, from war powers and foreign policy to domestic policies that affect your daily life, and evaluates what Congress actually delivered. View the show notes on our website at https://congressionaldish.com/cd335-february-2026-overdue-funding Plea...

An ICE whistleblower says officers are graduating without proper training and entering homes using "administrative warrants." Hear the testimony from a shadow congressional hearing investigating immigration raids and potential violations of the Fourth Amendment. View the show notes on our website at https://congressionaldish.com/cd334-untrained-and-unwarranted Please Support Congressional Dish – Q...

January 2026 put the 119th Congress to the test—and once again, it barely showed up. This episode tracks how sudden vacancies shrank the Republican majority, why that paralysis explains one of the quietest legislative months in years, and what actually made it into law when Congress finally finished half of its long-overdue government funding. View the show notes on our website at https://congress...

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the Senate to defend the U.S. seizure of Venezuela's president—and his answers raised more questions than they settled. This episode features highlights from the testimony, discussion of possible further military action, and an examination of the Trump administration's efforts to reshape and control Venezuela's oil sector and contracts. View the show...

This episode breaks down major provisions of the newly passed National Defense Authorization Act, including how Congress quietly weakened air-traffic safety rules, expanded counter-drone authorities for law enforcement, loosened protections against toxic "forever chemicals" for firefighters, and repealed outdated Iraq war authorizations while leaving broader war powers intact. It also covers new l...

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith gave a closed-door, eight-hour deposition to the House Judiciary Committee that was later—surprisingly—made public. In this episode, hear highlights from his testimony about the investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including the fake electors scheme, key prosecutorial decisions, and why members of Congress chose to scrutinize the in...

In this episode, hear testimony that Republican leadership refused to make part of the official Congressional Record—stories from U.S. citizens who were violently arrested and jailed by agents of the Department of Homeland Security, often while clearly identifying themselves as Americans. This is not rhetoric, speculation, or partisan spin; it is sworn testimony, backed by a Senate investigation,...

In this two-topic episode, we break down what became law in November—including the shutdown deal that reopened the government and the dingleberries that were quietly slipped into it. Then we revisit the hearing on the firing of the CDC Director, focusing on a politicized vaccine advisory committee that has changed its recommendation for the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. View the show notes on...

Millions of people have trusted 23andMe with their most intimate data—but what happens when a company holding 15 million DNA profiles goes bankrupt? In this episode, you'll hear highlights from bipartisan House and Senate hearings exposing how genetic data can be hacked, shared, retained, and even sold under current U.S. law. Using testimony from lawmakers, legal experts, and 23andMe leaders, this...

In this episode, you'll hear what actually happened in Congress during October 2025, a month dominated by a record-breaking shutdown. While the House was on vacation, the Senate enacted mass confirmations of over 100 Trump-aligned nominees—many with extreme views, conflicts of interest, or industry ties—as well as the surprising bipartisan pushback against Trump's global tariff abuses. We also exa...

After months of chaos under Trump's second term, a shocking Senate hearing exposes how HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has politicized the CDC—firing scientists, silencing evidence, and demanding blind approval of vaccine changes. This episode dives into testimony from former CDC leaders and the rare moment of bipartisan oversight that could mark a turning point for accountability in Congress....

A summary of September 2025. From new laws on veterans' health, privacy, and export controls to a wave of Trump-era nominees confirmed in bulk — including several with jaw-dropping conflicts of interest — this month was a mess. In addition to new laws and confirmations, there were failed censure stunts, a delayed swearing-in that's blocking a vote on the Epstein files, and yet another avoidable go...

Congress is once again playing with fire, and this time it's the Democrats holding the match. In today's episode, I'm sounding the alarm about a looming government shutdown that could hit at midnight on September 30th. History tells us shutdowns backfire on the party that demands partisan add-ons to must-pass funding bills, yet Democrats are betting they can use that same failed strategy and escap...

Since the beginning of this Congress, there have been 24 new laws signed and dozens of confirmations shaping our government in President Trump's second term. From the Laken Riley Act's attack on immigrant rights, to the One Big Beautiful Bill's devastating effects on healthcare and the environment, to quiet but powerful confirmations of billionaires, bankers, and loyalists into positions that cont...