Leadership
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 –
Debt Limit Déjà Vu? What Can We Learn from the Close Calls of 2011 and 2023?
Laura Blessing | June 7, 2023
Normally, we remember what we were doing when great triumphs or tragedies take place on the world stage. Fiscal policy is not typically on that list of events. And yet, I remember clearly what I was doing in the lead up to Treasury’s “X date” in 2011. I was in grad school, and I had
The Presidency: Bending Institutions to Save Them? By Professor Julia Azari
GAI | July 22, 2022
By Professor Julia Azari, Marquette University Presidential power is a bit at odds with democracy. Presidency scholars have noted this for years, suggesting that “greatness” is often uncomfortably close to the kind of norm-busting, authoritarian action that our constitution is supposed to avoid. Presidents also face a dilemma about who they represent.
Democrats and the Debt Ceiling
Josh Huder | October 7, 2021
Debt ceiling politics is front and center in Congress as the US is scheduled to default on its accrued debt October 18. (For a good explainer on the debt ceiling I recommend my colleague Laura Blessing’s piece.) So far, Senate Republicans have filibustered Democrats’ attempts to raise the debt ceiling. Instead, Minority
Democrats in disarray? The surprisingly normal politics of infrastructure negotiations
Matt Glassman | September 8, 2021
On August 24th, the House adopted S.Con.Res.14, the congressional budget resolution for Fiscal Year 2022 previously adopted by the Senate on August 11th, setting up consideration of a $3.5T package of spending under the reconciliation process. The budget resolution was adopted 220-212 in the House and 50-49 in the Senate, with every Democrat
The Importance of the Congressional Calendar
Katina Slavkova | July 7, 2021
Halfway through its first session, the 117th Congress finds itself in familiar territory, one that past Congresses know all too well. The crush of ambitious and unfinished legislative business is threatening to overwhelm Capitol Hill’s notoriously tricky and fickle schedule. Call it the tyranny of the congressional calendar. Here we’ll consider
Stretching Processes and Avoiding Reform: Senate Reconciliation and Filibuster
Josh Huder | April 8, 2021
News dropped Monday the Senate Parliamentarian would allow Democrats to “revise” the budget resolution for fiscal year 2021. This is an important guidance because it would enable Democrats to pursue another round of reconciliation – a process outlined in the 1974 Budget and Impoundment Control Act allowing for Senate passage of budget-related
Three dynamics to watch in the 117th Congress
Matt Glassman | February 1, 2021
The 117th Congress began in earnest on January 20th with the swearing-in of President Biden. Here are three political dynamics to keep an eye on in the coming weeks. Party government vs. bipartisanship. The 117th Congress begins with the Democrats having majorities in both the House and Senate. This makes President Biden the fifth President
Norms, Precedents and Senate Confirmation
Josh Huder | October 2, 2020
The Supreme Court vacancy created by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing has thrust the Senate’s constitutional confirmation function into an already chaotic 2020 election cycle. Senate Majority Leader McConnell appears poised for a pre-election rush to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett—in direct contravention of his previous statements about confirming Supreme Court nominees in election years and
Social Movements and Policy Change
Laura Blessing | September 8, 2020
How should we understand the fire this time? In the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, a movement has re-ignited for civil rights in general and against police brutality specifically. August 28 saw a March on Washington, 57 years after the original march with MLK’s famous “I have a dream” speech to crowds