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Amid a growing pandemic where social interaction could threaten health, many questions have been raised about the continuity of operations on Capitol Hill. Not for the first time, remote voting is among the ideas being floated. It has been more frequently mentioned in congressional discourse since smartphones became commonplace. Over
Welcome to appropriations season on Capitol Hill. With the President’s budget officially submitted last month it is now up to Congress to decide what to keep, what to discard, and what to enhance. I want to focus on the third category, and I offer these thoughts from the perspective of
“Polarization” is used as a near blanket explanation for anything political, from congressional dysfunction and lack of compromise to disdain for the opposite party. And now, it is also to blame for the impeachment, the trial, and the impending acquittal of President Trump. Except it isn’t, at least not entirely.
The dawning of a new decade brings the expected retrospectives. While algorithms compute our most listened-to songs and pundits connect the latest torrential news cycle to a loose historical pattern, finding the signal amidst the noise can be elusive. Periodization schemes can be difficult to pin down. But arguably, a
Women’s representation has made significant gains in politics. Women are major contenders for the Presidency and are increasingly winning office at the national, state, and local levels. Women comprising a quarter of Congress may be small in an absolute sense, but it is truly historic. Yet within the legislative branch,
Here we go again. To keep the government funded past the start of the fiscal year on October 1st, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that lasts until November 21st. Over the last decade, during non-election years, it has taken, on average, SIX months into the fiscal year before all
Anyone who watched School House Rock knows how bills become law. From a numbers standpoint, it is straightforward. It needs 218 votes in the House, 51 votes in the Senate (60 to cut off a filibuster), and a presidential signature. Given this math, some wonder why Speaker Pelosi is hesitating
Last week, following a whistleblower complaint about certain foreign affairs actions taken by the White House, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that the House was beginning an “official impeachment inquiry” into President Trump. Pelosi directed six House committees to put together their case for potential impeachment and forward
Congress is back in session, and all eyes are on the impending budget negotiations. The past month has not provided a respite from significant news. A number of mass shootings, border developments, and the clattering of the 2020 presidential aspirants reminds us that while Congress may have escaped the Potomac’s
In politics, we often learn the lesson of the last time. When President Obama came into office, he and his advisors read Gordon Goldstein’s Lessons in Disaster, which covered mistakes made in Vietnam, to apply them to Afghanistan and Iraq. The enduring legacy of these conflicts is the power vacuum
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