CQ Budget

House Republicans face a showdown vote this week over health care affordability as enhanced insurance subsidies are set to expire at the end of the month. And Senate leaders are holding out hope for taking up a major spending package despite objections from GOP conservatives. CQ Roll Call's Sandhya Raman, Aidan Quigley and David Lerman assess the challenges on health care and appropriations in the...

A new compromise defense authorization bill calls for a higher level of defense spending than President Donald Trump requested for the current fiscal year. CQ Roll Call's John M. Donnelly, Aidan Quigley, and David Lerman assess the new bill and what it means for the defense appropriations process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As appropriators aim to finish the nine remaining fiscal 2026 spending bills ahead of the Jan. 30 deadline, CQ Roll Call's Aris Folley and Aidan Quigley discuss two recently released Senate spending bills and the two chambers' competing approaches.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now that the partial government shutdown is over, can Congress make up for lost time and get long-delayed appropriations bills moving again? CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Aris Folley and David Lerman assess the political and logistical obstacles of passing appropriations by the Jan. 30 funding deadline. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enough Senate Democrats finally broke ranks with their party to clear a path for ending the longest partial government shutdown in history. CQ Roll Call's Aris Folley, Aidan Quigley and David Lerman assess the political fallout of the shutdown, what it means for the Democratic Party, and the steps still required to finally reopen government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adc...

The Senate is under growing pressure to find a way out of the partial government shutdown that is set to become the longest in history. But President Donald Trump signaled no willingness to negotiate with Democrats on health insurance concerns until the government is reopened. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Jacob Fulton and David Lerman assess the state of shutdown negotiations and whether there is...

The largest union of federal employees has called on Congress to pass a "clean" continuing resolution as crucial Nov. 1 deadlines for the start of health care open enrollment and food stamp funding near. CQ Roll Call's Aris Folley, Jacob Fulton and Aidan Quigley discuss the prospects of stand-alone legislation to pay federal workers and provide food aid and the chances of the shutdown reaching its...

President Donald Trump's decision to divert Pentagon research and development funds to pay the troops during the partial shutdown has ignited a fierce debate among budget and legal analysts over whether the move is legal. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak, Aidan Quigley and David Lerman explain the arguments on both sides and what the decision may mean for the "power of the purse" that the Constituti...

Neither party shows any sign of blinking in the standoff over a partial government shutdown that enters its third week. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Aris Folley and David Lerman assess how long the shutdown could last, which party may have the upper hand, and whether any pressure points remain that could force a resolution.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A partial government shutdown enters its second week with both parties dug in for a protracted fight and congressional leaders unwilling to negotiate. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Peter Cohn and David Lerman assess the roadblocks to a deal that could reopen government and how long it might take to break the logjam. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A partisan divide over extending health insurance subsidies that expire at year's end threatens to trigger a partial government shutdown next week. CQ Roll Call's Sandhya Raman and David Lerman explain what the fight is about, why it's been so intractable, whether a compromise is in sight and what it might look like.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With barely three weeks to spare, Congress and the Trump administration are struggling to settle on a strategy for a funding extension that would avoid a partial government shutdown next month. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman discuss the competing interests at play, the status of appropriations markups, and the ongoing court battle over a White House attempt to claw back previously a...

Democrats are warning that Republicans risk a partial government shutdown next month if they don't resist President Donald Trump's plan to claw back $4.9 billion in foreign aid through a so-called pocket rescission. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman explain how the White House push to cancel funding without congressional approval could derail work on a bipartisan stopgap funding exte...

The effort to avert a partial government shutdown next month could be uglier than usual after Congress left town for its August recess with partisan tensions at a fever pitch. As the Trump administration seeks to claw back funding, fights over Senate confirmations and the files of convicted sex offender Jefrrey Epstein all threaten to create a toxic brew that could derail the bipartisan appropriat...

The appropriations process is under threat from a poisonous political climate as Republicans seek cooperation from Democrats while pursuing partisan reconciliation and rescissions measures. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman discuss the state of the appropriations process at a recent webinar conducted for CQ subscribers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate will take up a bill to claw back $9.4 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funds that Democrats warn would blow up the bipartisan appropriations process. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman assess the political importance of the Trump administration's rescissions package, the outlook in the Senate, and what it could mean for an already shaky appropri...

President Donald Trump's new budget reconciliation law is already starting to define next year's midterm elections. CQ Roll Call's Daniela Altimari and David Lerman assess the political repercussions for both parties of the mammoth legislation and what it took to get the package across the finish line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate parliamentarian has been busy throwing out key provisions in the GOP's reconciliation bill, ruling against measures affecting food stamps, immigration policy, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and more. CQ Roll Call's David Lerman and Aidan Quigley assess the latest condition of the reconciliation package and the fiscal 2026 appropriations process. Learn more about your ad choice...

The release of the biggest portion of the Senate GOP's reconciliation bill triggered internal party clashes over the scope of Medicaid cuts and the size of the state and local tax deduction known as SALT, among other disputes. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Sandhya Raman and David Lerman outline the sticking points in the Senate Finance Commitee's draft text and what they mean for the effort to pa...

Senate Republicans are struggling to produce text of their reconciliation package this week despite disputes over Medicaid, food stamps, tax policy, Medicare and more. CQ Roll Call's Peter Cohn, Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman outline the big fights that could tie up the bill and look ahead to the fiscal 2026 appropriations process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican senators want changes to the "big, beautiful" House reconciliation bill, from Medicaid to tax cuts and more. And House appropriators begin writing their fiscal 2026 spending bills while the Trump administration tries to claw back already approved funding. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman outline the fissures in the GOP reconciliation debate and the constitutional fight ov...

The House-passed reconciliation bill containing most of President Donald Trump's agenda won't clear the Senate in its current form. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Peter Cohn and David Lerman outline the changes that could be on the table and the competing demands among Senate Republicans that will make final passage a tough slog. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House Energy and Commerce Committee has proposed Medicaid cuts to help pay for the GOP's budget reconciliation bill, though the cuts are less deep than some party moderates had feared and hard-right conservatives had sought. CQ Roll Call's Sandhya Raman, Jessie Hellmann and David Lerman outline the major changes to Medicaid that Republicans have proposed, the major cuts they omitted, and wheth...

President Donald Trump's preliminary fiscal 2026 budget request, which takes a meat ax to domestic programs and foreign aid, is getting a frosty reception from Senate GOP appropriators and Democrats alike. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman provide an early outlook for this year's appropriations process and the likely next steps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...

Vague promises from GOP leaders to seek deep spending cuts put down a rebellion from conservative holdouts and secured the adoption of a budget resolution this month. But now Republicans must begin writing a reconciliation bill enacting much of President Donald Trump's agenda with little sign of any resolution of the key conflicts that have divided GOP lawmakers for months. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin...