Media Center
Second Verse, Same as the First: 2024 Appropriations Watch
Katina Slavkova | January 10, 2024
After a chaotic and historically unproductive first session, the 118th Congress appears to be off to a more hopeful start in the new year. Recent news indicating congressional leaders have finally secured an agreement on the top-line numbers for funding the federal government for the remainder of FY24 is certainly
2023 Year in Review & What’s to Come in 2024
GAI | January 3, 2024
Congress and appropriations reporter Jenn Shutt joins Laura to wrap up the year: appropriations, international supplemental funding, NDAA and what’s unprecedented, unusual -and usual- about this year. Shutt notes that the House has been “building the rollercoaster as they’re riding it”.
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | October 3, 2023
Dear Friends, Well! After one of the craziest weekends any of us can remember witnessing on the Hill, I’m certainly relieved to be writing a very different note this week than I had expected. As everyone knows, a last-minute about-face by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Saturday afternoon teed up easy passage of a
We Barely Averted a Shutdown- Now What?
Josh Huder | October 3, 2023
Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown Saturday when Speaker McCarthy shocked Capitol Hill and expedited a clean continuing resolution on the House Floor, funding the government at current levels for 45 days, against the wishes of hardliners in his conference. The bill passed easily on bipartisan lines, was quickly taken up in the Senate,
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | September 7, 2023
Dear Friends, It has become commonplace for us to greet September with a long congressional to-do list and some degree of concern over whether the federal government will be funded come October 1. The main difference this year, unfortunately, is the intensity with which the shutdown speculation is ramping up. There are stark differences
Does the Highest Court Have the Lowest Standards?
Susan Sullivan Lagon | September 7, 2023
In Federalist 78, published in the spring of 1788, Alexander Hamilton famously referred to the judiciary as “the least dangerous” branch of the federal government. A fair question 235 years later is whether it has become the least accountable branch, at least at the top level. Unlike lower-court judges and employees in the executive and
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | August 1, 2023
Dear Friends, As the House and Senate settle into August recess, let’s take a quick look at where things stand on the Hill and what looms ahead in September. Despite a lot of promises from both sides of the Capitol, the appropriations process is barely inching along, raising fears of a possible shutdown.
The Worst Job in Washington: Kevin McCarthy and the Challenge of the Speakership
GAI | August 1, 2023
By Matthew Green, Professor, Department of Politics (The Catholic University of America) The past seven months have made it abundantly clear that the House speakership is one of the most difficult jobs in Washington. In January, for the first time in a century, the majority party’s nominee for speaker – Kevin McCarthy of California –
Why Congress with Philip Wallach
GAI | June 13, 2023
Matt and Josh are joined by special guest Philip Wallach from the American Enterprise Institute to discuss his new book, Why Congress.
Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | June 7, 2023
Dear Friends, Washington may be starting June with wildfire haze and sonic booms, but thankfully at least not a debt default. I hope you’ll read on for Senior Fellow Laura Blessing’s fascinating look at the many similarities between the debt limit negotiations of 2011 and 2023, and some important cautions for the