Dear Friends,
First, I want to make sure you know about our Congressional Update, coming up on February 10. This is a one-day, online session led by Senior Fellow Matt Glassman that will get you up to speed as the second session of the 119th Congress gets underway. We’ll cover everything from appropriations and oversight to intraparty dynamics and the upcoming elections. This will be the only time we offer this class in 2026, so I hope you’ll join us.
As Washington preps for a major winter storm (we’re not very good at this), Congress is in its own flurry of activity – more reminiscent of the typical pre-holiday rush than mid-January. The House has now passed all twelve FY2026 appropriations bills – yes, it’s four months late, but more than a few Hill observers are still a bit surprised it happened at all. The Senate is now set to consider a package of the final five bills next week. The big question will be how many Democrats support it given their concerns over Department of Homeland Security funding, but it is expected to pass nonetheless. One other wild card: how the weather might impact the tight timeline for the Senate to tie things up in time to beat the January 30 expiration of the current Continuing Resolution.
On to our January newsletter feature, which is an excellent piece by Senior Fellow Josh Huder. Josh takes a deeper look at the challenges that have plagued Mike Johnson’s speakership, from political to personal to long-term structural changes. It’s a fascinating time to be observing House leadership dynamics, and Josh offers an insightful guide.
With that, I hope everyone in the path of the storm stays safe and warm this weekend!
Best,
Kristin
