Director’s Desk
Kristin Nicholson | February 11, 2025
Dear Friends,
There’s a lot to keep track of these days, and a great deal of uncertainty – particularly for civil servants. We deeply appreciate the opportunity to work with so many federal personnel over the years, and we’ll continue to offer our insights and perspectives on the relationship between Congress and the executive branch.
While most of the attention on the Hill has been on nominations and Republican struggles to kick off the budget reconciliation process, we at GAI have also been watching the congressional response to the early actions of the Trump Administration and, in particular, Elon Musk’s DOGE team. It’s been a bit of a shock to see even senior appropriators – not known for being shy about protecting their turf and authority – react with a shrug to the President’s refusal to spend appropriated funds as the law requires. Will that change when cuts begin to impact a broader swath of their constituents?
In this month’s newsletter, GAI Fellow Katina Slavkova shares a piece about the decline in female representation at both the member and committee leadership level in the House Republican conference. And for more from GAI faculty, check out our recent podcast episodes.
Finally, following the huge interest in our New Congress class in January, we’ve added a half-day, online 119th Congress Snapshot on February 27. This class will feature Senior Fellows Josh Huder and Matt Glassman discussing the latest on federal funding, budget reconciliation and more. It’s a great follow-on for those who joined us in January, or a quick catch-up session for anyone who needs to understand what’s happening on the Hill right now. I hope you’ll join us.
All the best,
Kristin
Categories: Director's Desk, Media Center, Updates