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Top Democrats announced late Sunday a series of changes to House rules that could eliminate causes of major instability during the previous eight years of Republican rule in Congress. "We are proposing historic changes that will modernize Congress, restore regular order and bring integrity back to this institution," said incoming House Rules Chairman James McGovern, D-Mass., in a statement explaining the changes. Romney Promises To Speak Out Against Trump On Matters Of 'Significance' Politics After Romney Says Trump Has 'Caused Dismay Around The World' Trump Hits Back When a new Congress convenes every two years, the majority party must approve...

Disaster/CR/Debt Bill Postpones Fiscal Cliff to Dec. 8, 2017 On Sept. 8, 2017 President Trump signed HR 601, an emergency measure negotiated with congressional Democratic leaders... all the “no” votes being Republican. The bill has four components: 1. Provides $15.25 billion in emergency supplemental appropriations ... 2. Extends the National Flood Insurance program... 3. Suspends the debt ceiling through December 8, 2017, temporarily avoiding a Treasury default on U.S. obligations; and 4. Provides continuing appropriations

In his surprise deal with the Democrats to raise the debt ceiling last week, President Trump went one step further: He proposed getting rid of the debt ceiling entirely. It's not a bad idea, but only if you control future spending. "The president encouraged congressional leaders to find a more permanent solution to the debt ceiling so the vote is not so frequently politicized," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Her comments came as the Senate voted 80 to 17 to approve the deal that would raise the debt ceiling and keep the government running until Dec. 8,...

Since Trump’s taken over the White House, Republicans have fought tooth and nail to keep the Democratic agenda alive. Witness: Obamacare. Where’s the repeal? Oh yes, that’s right. There is no repeal. So goes the fight with the border wall — nothing, nada, except headlines like this one, from Politico in July: “House Republicans seek to dodge border wall vote.”

Republicans on Capitol Hill are surprised and "confounded" that the leader of their party, President Trump, sided with top Democrats in the debt ceiling debate this week, hiking it for three months. He even earned a bit of rare praise from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.Then, Trump twisted the knife even further by taking the advice of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in regards to DACA. At her urging, the president tweeted out a rather compassionate message for illegal immigrants who currently benefit from the program. They don't have to worry during the six-month delay, Trump told them.What gives, the...

President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) have agreed to pursue a deal that would permanently remove the requirement that Congress repeatedly raise the debt ceiling, three people familiar with the decision said. Trump and Schumer discussed the idea Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting. The two, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.), agreed to work together over the next several months to try to finalize a plan, which would need to be approved by Congress. One of the people familiar described it as a “gentlemen’s agreement.” Senate Democrats hope they will be able to...

Top congressional Democrats said after a closed-door meeting at the White House on Wednesday that President Trump has agreed to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling through December 15 — despite a statement from Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) earlier in the day calling the idea "ridiculous." "In the meeting, the President and Congressional leadership agreed to pass aid for Harvey, an extension of the debt limit, and a continuing resolution both to December 15, all together," Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement. The announcement comes after...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday the nation’s debt ceiling will be raised in September and that after talks with congressional leaders from both parties everyone is “on the same page.” “My strong preference is that we have a clean debt ceiling (increase), but the most important issue is the debt ceiling will be raised in September,” Mnuchin told reporters at the White House, indicating an interest in legislation that did not stray into unrelated territory. “I have had discussions with the leaders in both parties in the House and Senate and we are all on the same...

I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which just passed) for easy approval. They…— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017 …didn't do it so now we have a big deal with Dems holding them up (as usual) on Debt Ceiling approval. Could have been so easy-now a mess!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2017 Answer: Half-true! According to a Wall Street Journal story from mid-July, the White House was indeed looking to stitch a debt-ceiling hike onto the popular, must-pass VA reform bill as a way of...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Thursday congressional leaders could have avoided a legislative "mess" if they had heeded his advice on raising the U.S. debt ceiling, renewing criticism of fellow Republicans whose support he needs to advance his policy agenda. Trump said he had advised Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan to link passage of legislation raising the debt ceiling to a measure on veterans affairs that he signed on Aug. 12. "I requested that Mitch M & Paul R tie the Debt Ceiling legislation into the popular V.A. Bill (which...

The amount of money the government spends on programs and the amount it collects in taxes could change from the budget office projections, so the office warns that the Treasury could run out of funds even earlier. Currently, the federal deficit stands at $693 billion, which is an increase of $134 billion than what it projected in January. The federal government has an outstanding debt of $19.8 trillion, which includes $14.3 trillion in public debt and $5.5 trillion held by government accounts. Spending on major government programs such as Social Security and Medicare causes the amount of borrowing to increase....

Even members of his own party were quick to declare President Donald Trump’s budget plan dead on arrival in Congress last month. And in fact, lawmakers are facing a burst of overdue budget-related work this summer. Most of what’s on the budget agenda probably won’t bear much resemblance to Trump’s spending plan, which promised deep spending cuts on domestic programs, rapid economic growth, and a balanced federal ledger in a decade. Instead, they’re confronting an increase in the government’s borrowing cap, serious problems in advancing annual spending bills, and a smaller set of curbs on domestic benefit programs. […] Atop...

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney says the administration is likely to tell lawmakers they'll need to act earlier than expected to increase the government's borrowing cap. Mulvaney told the House Budget Committee that "receipts currently are coming a little bit slower than expected." He says Congress may soon hear from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (mih-NOO'-shin) about a change in the deadline to raise the debt ceiling.

The federal government once again hit the debt ceiling. The ceiling limits the amount of money the federal government can borrow — a number that was set at $20.1 trillion. Although the issue should have been dealt with in 2015, then-Speaker John Boehner capitulated to President Obama and postponed the debt limit until March 16, 2017. Since then, the federal debt has grown by $1,414,397,000,000 — more than one trillion in less than two years. President Trump promised during his campaign to bring back American prosperity and make Washington work for everyone — not just for the small group of...

The White House said Thursday that it wants to see money for President Trump’s border wall included in the spending bill Congress must pass next week — a demand Democrats said sours negotiations and makes a government shutdown more likely. The demands mark a reversal for the administration, which had been saying it found enough money to build prototypes this year and wouldn’t need a major infusion of cash until next year.

March 15th (or the Ides of March) was a bad day for Julius Caesar, but history aside, is something big going to happen on the Ides? As it goes, there are actually already several fairly momentous things taking place, and as the saying goes “a big news day is the best time to bury bad news”. The main stories we will be reading about are: The debt ceiling In November, 2015, the Obama administration set a date for the debt ceiling to run to, and from this day forward, unless there is an almost immediate agreement, the US will not...

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has called on Congress to raise the United States debt limit "at the first opportunity." In a letter to congressional leaders dated Wednesday, Mnuchin said the Treasury will stop issuing certain state and local securities on March 15, when the most recent suspension of the debt limit expires. Mnuchin said the Treasury will likely start taking "extraordinary measures" the next day, when the U.S. will be at its statutory limit, to prevent default. "As I said in my confirmation hearing, honoring the full faith and credit of our outstanding debt is a critical commitment. I encourage...

Ten U.S. states still have not regained all the jobs they lost in the Great Recession, even after six and a half years of recovery, while many more have seen only modest gains. […] Wyoming had 3 percent fewer jobs last month than it did in December 2007, when the recession began, the Labor Department said Friday. That is the biggest percentage decline among the states. Alabama's job total trails its pre-recession level by 2.7 percent, followed by New Mexico, where job totals are 2.6 percent lower. Some larger states are also still behind. New Jersey has nearly 1 percent...

President Barack Obama responded to reports of slow job growth Friday by blaming Republicans who have opposed parts of his economic agenda. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report found the economy added 242,000 new jobs in February. The latest number highlights a long-running trend of slow, yet positive, economic growth. Obama credits the growth to his agenda but its slowness to Republicans for their opposition to his plan. “The plans that we have put in place to grow the economy have worked,” the president declared in the Oval Office. “They would work even faster if we did not have...

When you were a rowdy teen, your parents were the Establishment. Now that you're a parent, what are you? The anti-establishment, cool parent? Not likely. Rather, you're a grownup who tries to keep the peace in your discordant household; who tries to negotiate among self-interested, imperfect family members who have competing goods and goals; and who tries to instill a long-range vision for the future in your desire-ridden family who wants instant self-gratification. Welcome to the Establishment. You're a bona fide member now. Here's a defense of the amorphous, notional Establishment, as I see it, if it even exists in...