CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics

Rachelle Bernstein of the National Retail Federation and a long time voice on tax policy around Capitol Hill explains what businesses, large and small, are looking for in the tax overhaul and the lessons learned from the Bush-era tax cuts.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special episode of The Week Ahead and Budget Tracker Extra podcasts, CQ journalists Shawn Zeller, David Lerman and Peter Cohn take a deep dive into the new tax bill and explain what it would mean for corporations, small businesses and individuals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A bipartisan cast of lawmakers, including Sen. Ron Wyden, plan to curtail the government's surveillance powers that must be renewed by the end of the year, says CQ intelligence reporter Gopal Ratnam.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ foreign policy reporter Rachel Oswald and Kelsey Davenport of the Arms Control Association explain why Congress is in no rush to change the Iran nuclear deal. And CQ defense reporter John M. Donnelly argues the Pentagon does not necessarily need more money to prevent deadly accidents.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Foiled in Congress, President Donald Trump made far-reaching changes to the 2010 health care law that could make insurance more affordable for some, while dramatically raising costs for others, says CQ Health Editor Rebecca Adams. She explains how Trump's moves could affect the insurance marketplace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump, the candidate, pledged to withdraw from foreign conflicts. As president, he has done the opposite, taking on North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Afghanistan. CQ Defense Editor Patrick Pexton and Reporter Patrick Kelley unpack what's at stake at a time when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's future is also uncertain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ legal affairs writer Todd Ruger drills down on the cases before the Supreme Court this new term and the justices who may tip the scales. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sen. John McCain's opposition to the latest Republican bill to repeal Obamacare may well kill it, says Roll Call Senate reporter Niels Lesniewski. CQ health reporter Mary Ellen McIntire explains what's in the bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ immigration editor Catalina Camia explains why President Trump and Democrats are working on a deal to help 800,000 young, undocumented immigrants stay in the country, and why that angers many of Trump's biggest Republican supporters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ's budget editor David Lerman and Senate leadership reporter Niels Lesniewski explain the policy and political impact of the deal struck between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders to resolve several thorny government spending issues simultaneously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump will meet with top House and Senate leaders after Labor Day in an effort to reach consensus on tax legislation. After a bruising defeat on health care, he’s counting on a tax bill to revive his presidency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump’s speech in Phoenix on August 22, in which he threatened a government shutdown and criticized Republican lawmakers, isn’t going to help Congress, which has struggled to pass legislation, get back on track in September. Lindsey McPherson, who covers the House for Roll Call, explains how Trump complicated matters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S., Mexico and Canada started renegotiating the trade deal that candidate Donald Trump said had to be torn up or renegotiated. Lawmakers want him to first do no harm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump’s fiery rhetoric over North Korea’s nuclear program should not be taken seriously just yet, says CQ Roll Call’s foreign policy reporter Rachel Oswald, adding that Congress may take further action against Pyongyang in September. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senators are heading home for summer break, after a health care implosion highlighted the partisan ill will that’s festered all year. Ed Pesce, who edits CQ’s Senate coverage, explains how hardline GOP procedural tactics have taken the chamber to a new low, and what could get civil deliberations back on track. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The demise of the Republican health care bill has added to a growing list of disagreements between President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress, from the future of Attorney General Jeff Sessions to Russia sanctions to transgender people serving in the military. Is the relationship breaking down? CQ Roll Call White House reporter John T. Bennett and Defense reporter John M. Donnelly explain....

Lawmakers will likely hear from three key figures in the Russia investigation next week, Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his son, Donald Trump Jr., and his former campaign manager, Paul Manafort. CQ Roll Call Legal Affairs Reporter Todd Ruger previews what figure to be blockbuster hearings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republican lawmakers, by keeping two Obamacare taxes on the wealthy, hope to mute Democratic arguments that their health care plan would take away benefits from the poor to help the rich, say CQ Roll Call health reporter Kerry Young and tax reporter Alan K. Ota. But that doesn't mean that the wealthy won't get their tax cuts in legislation yet to come.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit meg...

Lawmakers are debating legislation that would put air traffic control into private hands, provide protections to airline passengers and regulate drones, says CQ's transportation reporter Jacob Fischler. He and transportation editor Randy Walerius explain what's at stake. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call reporters Dean DeChiaro and Gopal Ratnam explain the latest on President Donald Trump's travel ban, which went into partial effect June 29 following a Supreme Court decision. They explain who is now allowed into the United States and who is not and discuss the legal and policy debates to come.         Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ's health reporter Kerry Young and magazine editor Shawn Zeller explain the consequences of the draft health care bill crafted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who can cement his legislative legacy by slashing Medicaid — a program that helps almost 70 million people who live in or near poverty or have disabilities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Capping Medicaid payments is just one of several ideas Republican senators are kicking around as they struggle to fashion a health care bill to overhaul Obamacare, says CQ Roll Call health care reporter Kerry Young, who provides the latest developments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawmakers could be in for more drama in the days ahead as they are expected to question other Trump administration officials following the testimony of former FBI director James Comey on the ongoing Russia-related investigation. CQ Roll Call's intelligence reporter Ryan Lucas, White House reporter John Bennett and legal affairs writer Todd Ruger explain why it all matters. Learn more about your ad...

Ex-FBI Director James Comey is scheduled to testify on June 8 at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about the conversations with President Donald Trump that led to his firing last month. CQ Roll Call's legal affairs writer Todd Ruger and intelligence reporter Ryan Lucas preview what Comey could say and whether it might implicate Trump in obstructing the FBI’s Russia investigation. Trump could...

President Donald Trump's first budget calls for mammoth cuts to programs that benefit everyone from farmers to the poor to offset a boost to the Pentagon. Even Red State Trump supporters aren’t spared, say CQ Roll Call’s agriculture reporter Ellyn Ferguson and environmental reporter Elvina Nawaguna. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices