Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is preparing legislation to lift the debt ceiling by $1.1 trillion, enough to cover borrowing through the end of 2014. The move would push the next debate over the debt limit until well after the
The media and most pundits frame the current budget and debt showdown as a fight between President Obama and Speaker John Boehner. The question on their minds is, which one of the leaders will blink first. A closer look at
Rep. Darrell Issa, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, recently informed the IRS that the committee’s investigation has revealed that senior IRS officials were using their private emails to transmit confidential tax information. The investigation was sparked by the agency’s
Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, Chairman of the House Rules Committee, suggested possible GOP support for a tax hike as part of a deal to end the stalemate on government spending and debt. As the government shutdown enters its second week,
As the government shutdown enters its second week, House Republicans are pushing for another “supercommittee” to negotiate a deal to restore government funding and raise the debt ceiling. The House is set to vote on the proposal Tuesday and send
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appeared Monday night on “The Daily Show” and said she didn’t know how many people had signed up for ObamaCare. “Fully enrolled?” Sebelius told host Jon Stewart. “I can’t tell you. I don’t know.” Someone ought
The sitting President is usually the titular leader of his party. This role can diminish late in a second-term, when possible successors take the national stage. President Obama, it seems, however, has been dethroned early, just months after having won
Speaking Monday morning in Washington, Obama’s top economic advisors shot down the idea that President Obama could unilaterally raise the debt ceiling if Congress fails to act. “Only Congress has the authority to borrow,” Jason Furman, Chair of Obama’s Council
On Saturday, the House voted, unanimously, to give furloughed federal workers back-pay when the government re-opens. The 800,000 “non-essential” workers who are currently prohibited from working will be compensated for their non-work. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid dismissed the measure
The latest Gallup tracking poll finds that just 41% of Americans approve of President Obama’s job performance. A solid majority, 52%, disapprove of Obama. This latest Gallup poll is the first in which all the interviews were conducted after the
Just before the weekend, the National Park Service informed charter boat captains in Florida that the Florida Bay was “closed” due to the shutdown. Until government funding is restored, the fishing boats are prohibited from taking anglers into 1,100 square-miles
The media and the DC establishment are abuzz with reports that Senate Republicans recently lashed out at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz over the government shutdown. New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte confronted Cruz with copies of ads run by an outside
Since the government shutdown on Tuesday, House Republicans have pushed legislation to reopen selected parts of the federal government. They have proposed legislation to reopen National Parks, the Veterans Administration and fully fund the National Guard, among other measures. To
The media and the left are agitated that Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell were caught on a “hot mic” discussing the utter lack of a White House strategy to navigate the government shutdown fight. Paul notes, in his conversation
While House and Senate Republicans attempt to reopen specific federal agencies, Senate Democrats have formed a united block against what they call a “piecemeal” approach. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has slammed Republicans for trying to “cherry-pick” which parts of
Since the government shutdown, House and Senate Republicans have proposed restoring funding to specific agencies or government functions while the parties seek consensus on the larger issues. The House has proposed legislation to reopen the National Parks, the National Institutes
A plurality of Americans, 44%, say Republicans deserve more blame for the government shutdown, according to a new CBS poll. But, a surprising 35% believe President Obama, who has publicly refused to negotiate with the GOP, deserves more of the
As the federal government enters day three of a partial shutdown, talk in Congress is turning increasingly to a “grand bargain” that would include entitlement and tax reform as a way to resolve the current fiscal impasse. Rep. Steve Stivers,
Washington DC is a company town. As LA is dominated by the entertainment industry, the DC area is dominated by the federal government. When the government shuts down, furloughing hundreds of thousands of workers, there is going to be a
On Monday, just hours into a government shutdown, the Park Police tried to block access to the WWII memorial. The memorial, which is basically a landscape feature in a public park, was temporarily cut off from veterans of World War
The Obama Administration has decided to block access to public memorials on the National Mall as a result of the government shutdown. Like its decision to end White House tours when the sequester cuts took effect, there is no rational
Payroll firm ADP reported Wednesday that the economy gained just 166k jobs in September, far below economists’ expectations of a 180k gain. ADP also revised down its estimate of August job gains from over 170k to just 159k. Because
On Tuesday, the House GOP proposed legislation to restore funding for the National Park Service, the Veterans Administration and DC local government, but a united block of Democrats, with the White House’s blessing, blocked the funding. The GOP was trying
The House first tried to defund ObamaCare. Then, it tried to delay the whole law and then just the individual mandate. In the final hours before the midnight deadline, the House ended with a simple proposal. It would agree to
Voyager 2, a space-probe first launched in 1977 and now nearing interstellar space, has a twitter feed. I learned this because, as a result of the government shutdown, the space-probe has informed the planet that it can no longer keep
Late Monday, as the government neared a midnight deadline triggering a shutdown, the House voted to appoint conferees to negotiate a solution to the funding crisis. These conferees would form the House contingent of a “conference committee” of Reps and
As I write this, the U.S. is just hours away from its 18th government shutdown over the last 35 years. Beyond expectations, House Republicans are sticking to their guns and insisting that President Obama and Senate Democrats make changes to
On Monday, the House announced that it would pass a third Continuing Resolution to keep government open past Monday’s midnight deadline. The announcement came soon after the Senate rejected the House CR that would delay ObamaCare for one year. The
Worried that Republicans would get most of the “blame” from a government shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is quietly gauging support for a one-week stopgap spending measure that would buy Congress more time for talks. With Democrats and President
Democrats and the media are convinced that the public will “blame” Republicans for the looming government shutdown. This is predicated on memories that Republicans were “blamed” for the last government shutdown, in 1995-96. The media certainly did “blame” the GOP
If the government shuts down at midnight on Monday, it will largely be the result of a strategy pursued by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Democrats have lined up so squarely behind Reid’s strategy that President Obama cancelled planned
With all eyes trained on the fight over government spending and Obamacare, the House is scheduled to take up a non-controversial land-swap bill that would trade 2000 acres of federal land in Arizona for 5000 acres of pristine land owned
Having defeated President Obama’s quest to shoot holes in the Second Amendment, a GOP Leadership aide recently told the Huffington Post the House would soon spend time examining the link between link between video games and violence, essentially kicking off
UPDATE: The House voted 231-192 to keep the government open and delay Obamacare. Harry Reid has said that the Senate will reject the measure. ** On Saturday, House GOP Leadership announced plans to take up the Senate stop-gap spending bill and
A new poll released by Public Policy Polling on Friday finds Sen. Ted Cruz now leading the pack of possible candidates for the 2016 Republican nomination. Garnering support from 20% of Republican voters nationwide, he edges out Sen. Rand Paul
On Friday, Sen. John McCain indulged in his favorite pastime–going to the media and criticizing his fellow Republicans. Speaking to CBS, McCain said the GOP was “dysfunctional” and blamed Sens. Cruz and Lee for driving wedges between Republicans over their
The consequences of three of the biggest political battles of the last four years are all converging over the next two weeks. With a polarized Congress and an intransigent Obama Administration, there is no clear path to settle the current
On Friday, the Senate voted 79-19 to invoke cloture and end debate on the House-passed Continuing Resolution. The vote paves the way for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to offer an amendment to restore funding for ObamaCare. Funding for the
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie taped an interview with CBS News’ “Sunday Morning,” and said “there’s gotta be a solution other than” shutting down the government over ObamaCare. The interview will air on Sunday, just a day before the government
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has scheduled four votes Friday afternoon to complete the Senate’s work on the Continuing Resolution. Once the Senate passes the CR and sends it back to the House, Senators will leave DC for the weekend.
