Director’s Desk: December 1, 2016
Kenneth Gold | December 1, 2016
Welcome back! In case you hadn’t noticed, the GAI On the Hill Newsletter has been on hiatus since Congress adjourned in July. Although they reconvened for the lame duck two weeks ago with the same Members of Congress in both chambers, Donald Trump’s surprise election victory has altered much of the landscape in Congress as well.
The wave that swept over the presidential election also affected the congressional results: prior to November 8, it was predicted that Democrats would likely gain as many as 25 seats in the House, and narrowly regain the majority in the Senate – neither occurred. Instead, Democrats picked up only six seats in the House, and only two in the Senate. Beginning January 21, Republicans will control the White House and both chambers of Congress for the first time in a decade.
We’ll be publishing a series of Newsletters in the upcoming weeks covering congressional issues that we think are most important to our readers. Today’s looks at two critical national security issues: the defense budget and intelligence oversight. In the coming weeks we’ll be looking at budget and tax policy, reconciliation, and other issues that will be central in the 115th Congress.
Oh, and by the way, as of today they have until the end of next week to figure out how to fund the government for the remainder of FY17. We’ll be looking at these and other issues important to the executive branch in our upcoming New Congress classes, with the first one scheduled for December 14 on Capitol Hill. I hope to see you there. Also feel free to contact me about conducting a tailored version of the class for your department or agency.
Categories: Director's Desk, Media Center, Updates