June 2026
Timeline at risk for next GOP reconciliation package
While lawmakers had been hoping to work this month on a third budget resolution that would set the framework for another filibuster-proof reconciliation bill, some suggested Wednesday that a budget blueprint might slip into July. “I don’t think we’ll do a markup before July,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the Budget Committee. […]
No peace deal for Trump and GOP at Senate lunch
Republicans on Capitol Hill had been hoping to spend the summer touting a rare bipartisan legislative feat, but Donald Trump and his growing anger toward Senate Republicans torched that effort Wednesday. And more trouble could lie ahead, if a tense in-person meeting was any indication. Trump descended on the Capitol for a Senate GOP lunch, […]
‘They’ll know something about who we were’
As political battles raged elsewhere around the Capitol, lawmakers temporarily buried their differences Wednesday in order to get ready to bury a time capsule marking America’s semiquincentennial anniversary. The project is the result of bipartisan legislation signed into law in February 2026 directing the Architect of the Capitol to create and prepare a congressional time […]
House panel advances partial prediction market ban
As concerns grow over insider trading on prediction markets, a House panel advanced a bill Wednesday that would curb how lawmakers can use them. House Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., described his proposal as a narrow but important “step in restoring public trust.” With the midterm elections approaching, congressional approval ratings are hovering near record […]
RFK Jr.’s moves on animal testing spur Capitol Hill action
In his first two years on the job, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has become a polarizing figure on Capitol Hill, largely because of his vaccine skepticism and distrust of the status quo. But one of his quieter pushes — ending animal testing in medical research — has earned him accolades among […]
Trump halts bipartisan victory lap on housing
Hours before President Donald Trump was scheduled to sign comprehensive housing legislation into law from the Capitol on Wednesday, he abruptly canceled the event, saying he won’t sign it until Congress passes a separate election security measure. “Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed […]
Battleground House primary in Colorado poses test for Democratic voters
Since its creation before the 2022 election, Colorado’s 8th District has been won once by a Democrat and once by a Republican, each time by a narrow margin. Now Democrats are pressing to flip America’s swingiest seat once again. The effort will kick into high gear next week, when voters select the Democratic nominee to […]
How Crank got a stack of political cartoons and a ‘great name’
Jeff Crank points to a framed photo hanging in his office, signed by his boss at the time. “Great baby! Great name! Great family!” wrote then-Rep. Joel Hefley in silver ink. In the photo, Hefley is holding Crank’s son — also named Joel — in front of the Capitol. He wasn’t named entirely after the […]
Rep. LaMonica McIver urges appeals court to toss charges
New Jersey Democrat Rep. LaMonica McIver urged a federal appeals court Wednesday to throw out the three-count indictment against her, arguing her arrest outside a federal immigration detention center last year interfered with her legislative duties. In challenging the charges, McIver has argued that Trump administration officials have targeted her for her opposition to the […]
Housing bill cleared for Trump’s signature after winding journey
Comprehensive housing legislation won overwhelming bipartisan support in the House on Tuesday, as lawmakers sent President Donald Trump a package both parties hope will help lower costs for what the Bureau of Labor Statistics says is the single largest expense U.S. households face. The House voted 358-32 to clear the bill under suspension of the […]