Members are coming back to Washington, DC, today after a two-week recess for Easter. This four-week stretch will take us to Memorial Day and will be largely focused on getting the reconciliation package across the floor.

The Senate held a marathon vote session on Friday night, ending with the early Saturday passage of a budget resolution that advances President Trump’s widespread agenda.  The measure, as passed, departs from the House version in a few key areas and has sparked criticism from deficit hardliners.

A week-long recess for the House and Senate passed last week with no shortage of activity from the executive branch to keep everyone busy. As lawmakers return to the Hill this week, conversations will continue on a joint budget resolution and strategy to proceed with reconciliation. 

Last week, following a lengthy vote on the floor, House Republicans passed their budget resolution, setting up a challenging reconciliation process in the coming week.  Speaker Mike Johnson managed to hold his conference together, losing only one Republican vote. 

Last week, the Senate passed their budget resolution after an all-night session of amendment debate.  Meanwhile, the White House weighed in again to push the more comprehensive House resolution, and the House returns to Washington this week to take up their version on the floor. 

This past week has seen a fast and furious array of announcements impacting the functioning of numerous agencies, and in some cases, court decisions countermanding those orders.  We will attempt to itemize and unpack these updates.

President Trump announced tariffs against Canada and Mexico (25%) and China (10%) over the weekend, triggering a tumble in the stock market and a range of strong reactions from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.  Democrats were quick to contrast the tariffs with Trump’s claim that he would lower grocery prices. 

Last week saw the certification of the 2024 election results and the finalizing of most Committee rosters.  Operations in Washington also paused last week for the ceremonies honoring the late President Jimmy Carter, who, at 100 years of age, was the oldest of all U.S. presidents.

In what is now the last week of scheduled session, negotiators are working to reach a government funding agreement before the expiration of funds later this week.  House Republican Steering named Committee leaders last week, and cabinet nominees for the upcoming Trump Administration 2.0 are making the rounds in the Senate this week.

We are well into the end-of-the-year scramble, with lawmakers working through negotiations on the few (in number) but significant packages yet to be passed.  Chairmen Patrick McHenry (R-NC) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) are both preparing to leave their respective chambers and turn over their committees to new leadership. 

After a weeklong recess for Thanksgiving, Congress returns this week in hopes of tackling the few remaining must-pass items before the end of the year.

Lawmakers failed to move forward with a spending deal last week, so will return this week still working to provide funding continuity when appropriations expire at the end of the month.  Meanwhile, a second failed assassination attempt against President Trump took place yesterday in West Palm Beach.