CQ Budget

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 appropriated foreign aid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 extension needed by month's end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 appropriations process. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman outline the challenges facing Congress this fall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 appropriations process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 pass a reconciliation bill by the July Fourth recess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 over the power of the purse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 whether the package will have enough political support to reach the finish line.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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/adchoices

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 Reilly, Aidan Quigley and David Lerman assess the deal cut between leadership and Republicans rebels and what it could mean for the drafting of a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker Mike Johnson faces a rebellion within GOP ranks over a budget blueprint that squeaked through the Senate. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman assess the outlook for final adoption of a budget resolution and the big fights over Medicaid cuts and whether to pay for extending tax cuts --- two key disputes that could trip up a GOP reconciliation bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The upcoming appropriations cycle faces some rough headwinds, as the Trump administration tries to freeze funding, fire thousands of public employees and gut federal agencies, while Republicans pursue a partisan reconciliation package that will further antagonize Democrats. Aidan Quigley, Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman discuss the challenging political climate for fiscal 2026 spending bills and how the reconciliation process could interfere with that work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The six-month continuing resolution that avoided a partial government shutdown left Democrats deeply divided. CQ Roll Call's Mary Ellen McIntire and David Lerman explain the nature of the rift, whether it's likely to heal, and what it means for the party's ability to govern and combat the Trump administration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House GOP leaders must rally their razor-thin majority to pass a stopgap funding measure this week, while Senate Democrats must decide whether to vote against a bill they dislike and trigger a partial government shutdown. CQ Roll Call's Peter Cohn and David Lerman assess the prospects for a fiscal 2025 continuing resolution and discuss the state of play on the GOP's budget reconciliation process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices