The Speaker of the House, currently Mike Johnson (R., Louisiana), is one of the most powerful elected positions in the federal government, the only position in Congress named in the Constitution, the second in line to the presidency after the vice president, and the point person for the legislative branch’s fundamental role in originating and Read more
Government and Policy
Tariffs — What’s Next ?
There has been a lot of talk about tariffs over the last eight years, and in this election year, you are likely to hear even more. This is not anything new – debates in American politics over tariffs go back to the nation’s beginning. Alexander Hamilton, the nation’s first treasury secretary, asserted that tariffs were Read more
Our Legislators Try to Avoid Shutdown by Taking the CR, Then Making Two Steps to Stay Off the Omnibus
Though Congress appeared headed for another government shutdown soap opera when the then-current continuing resolution (CR) expired on Nov. 17, we have avoided a closure. The proposal from Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) for a “clean” (no cuts, no amendments) two-part CR passed through Congress on a bipartisan basis and was signed into law by Read more
The Debt and the Deficit Are Not the Same
The perennial political drama over raising the United States’ debt ceiling continues, with consequences of failure just being default and global financial catastrophe. So … same old, same old. Still, though politics has seemingly decided to regard fact-checking (and, maybe, facts) as outdated, this fact is important to remember: despite the bloviating, the debt and Read more
Mind Your Head: Debt Ceiling Crisis Looms Again
We are now in the early stages of the perennial political melodrama over raising the debt ceiling. If this debate goes as usual, it should look like this: demands will give way to threats and lead to a fiscal cliff and government shutdown and the specter of default and global catastrophe before – whew! – Read more
Midterm Elections Roundup: Political Theater
In the 2022 midterm elections, Republicans picked up nine seats to take a 222-212 majority in the House. (Due to the post-election death of a Democratic incumbent, there is a vacancy in a Virginia district that is considered safe for Democrats, pending a special election on Feb. 21.) In the Senate, Democrats picked up one Read more