The Look Ahead

The Look Ahead – January 2024

Balance of Power  Senate: 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans, 3 Independents Caucusing with Democrats House: 220 Republicans, 213 Democrats, 2 Vacancies** Rep. George Santos (R-NY) was expelled; his seat will be filled by a special election on February 13th. The DCCC and Dem aligned House Majority PAC have already announced nearly $6 million in expenditures to […]

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The Look Ahead – December 2023

Top Line Take Aways: For the first time in what feels like forever we won’t have any budget brinksmanship threatening your holiday travel plans. HOWEVER, the House still has five bills it can’t garner 218 votes for and there’s no indication House and Senate Leaders are anywhere near agreeing on top line spending levels. However, […]

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The Look Ahead – November 2023

Balance of Power Senate: 48 Democrats, 49 Republicans, 3 Independents Caucusing with Democrats House: 221 Republicans, 212 Democrats, 2 Vacancies Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) resigned his seat June 1st, to become CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. The special election will be on Tuesday, November 7th. This is a safe Democratic seat. Rep. Chris Stewart […]

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The Look Ahead – Special Speaker Election Edition

How Did We Get Here? Pretty much everyone involved in this fiasco did just about everything in their power to ensure the Office of the Speaker of the House would be vacated, like a bizarre Congressional version of the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) crew clearly thought Speaker McCarthy would cut a deal […]

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The Look Ahead – October 2023

Balance of Power Senate: 47 Democrats, 49 Republicans, 3 Independents Caucusing with Democrats, 1 Vacancy* Governor Newsom appointed EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to serve out the remaining 15 months of the late Senator Diane Feinstein’s term. House: 221 Republicans, 212 Democrats, 2 Vacancies* Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) resigned his seat June 1st, to become […]

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Fall 2023

Top Line Take Aways: The potential for a full government shutdown will dominate all discourse in Washington and drown out pretty much everything else that needs to get done in September. Speaker McCarthy is currently floating a 30-day Continuing Resolution (CR) to his members, while Senate Republican Leader McConnell has said he expects a CR […]

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July 2023

Top Line Take Aways: House and Senate Leadership are trying to cram an awful lot of legislation into three weeks before recessing for the summer. It’s inevitable that something will slip until Congress returns in September. We unpack everything we hear will see floor action in July below and you’ll get a sense of what […]

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June 2023

Top Line Take Aways: ·         We have a deal! Improbable as it may seem, a Congress whose two chambers are separated by six votes and the White House came forward for a major bipartisan bill with major repercussions for federal spending. Will this kind of deal-making last? We doubt it. ·         The debt limit negotiations […]

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May 2023

Top Line Take Aways: We are barreling toward a debt ceiling standoff with no realistic end in sight. Readers should not count on an extraordinary procedural process like a “Discharge Petition” to solve the problem, as we outline below. The House Calendar is getting tight with only twelve legislative weeks before programs and spending authority […]

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