After a sleepy couple of weeks, by Washington standards, it’s back to business as usual with Congress back in town. Down Pennsylvania Avenue, President Joe Biden will continue his rapid rollout of legislation, including his recent FY2022 budget proposal. The Washington Week Ahead includes lots of legislation, more political wrangling and even some international insight.
BACK IN TOWN
Both chambers of Congress will stream back into the nation’s capital with very different priorities. The House of Representatives will focus on a series of workforce legislation, including the Paycheck Fairness Act. It will also begin crafting its version of the president’s $2.3T infrastructure plan. Meanwhile, in the Senate, it will be all about how to best use new budget reconciliation rules to capitalize on what the slim Democratic majority is able to accomplish.
BUDGETING WITH BIDEN
Biden unveiled his $1.52T budget and it’s full of line items focused on education, health care, climate change and housing. But as they will so often remind us, Congress has the power of the purse, and legislators write and pass the budget. Usually the final budget looks significantly different than the president's ask, but this time the Democratic government trifecta means that there’s more of a chance to work together.
TRACKING THREATS
It has been two years since the Senate Intelligence Committee heard from the directors of the intelligence community. It has been even longer for the House Intelligence Committee: nearly six years. That's about to change. Both the Senate and the House will host the new heads of the intelligence community to discuss global threats. The routine briefing fell to the wayside during the Trump administration, faced with a president skeptical of the government’s intelligence-gathering capabilities. So this hearing will put the spotlight on Biden’s intel chiefs, Director National Intelligence Avril Haines and CIA Director William Burns. Both will face tough questioning on both sides of Capitol Hill and provide insight into just what threats we face on a global scale.
SUPREME COMMISSION
As a Friday surprise, Biden announced a commission to study the current Supreme Court and make assessments. The 36-member body will be appointed by Biden and should release a report shortly after its first meeting. This fulfills Biden’s campaign promise to look into whether today’s Supreme Court truly represents the interests and needs of the American people.
A new poll finds U.S. adults are more likely than they were a year ago to think immigrants in the country legally benefit the economy. That comes as President Donald Trump's administration imposes new restrictions targeting legal pathways into the country. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey finds Americans are more likely than they were in March 2024 to say it’s a “major benefit” that people who come to the U.S. legally contribute to the economy and help American companies get the expertise of skilled workers. At the same time, perceptions of illegal immigration haven’t shifted meaningfully. Americans still see fewer benefits from people who come to the U.S. illegally.
Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue are bouncing back sharply before the opening bell a day after President Donald Trump promoted unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism. Trump told pregnant women not to use the painkiller around a dozen times during the White House news conference Monday. The drugmaker tumbled 7.5%. Shares have regained most of those losses early Tuesday in premarket trading.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Tuesday signaled a cautious approach to future interest rate cuts, in sharp contrast with other Fed officials who have called for a more urgent approach. In remarks in Providence, Rhode Island, Powell noted that there are risks to both of the Fed’s goals of seeking maximum employment and stable prices. His approach is in sharp contrast to some members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee who are pushing for faster cuts.
President Donald Trump’s efforts to reshape the American media landscape have led to the suspension of late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel.
Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield is leaving the ice cream brand after 47 years. He says the freedom the company used to have to speak up on social issues has been stifled
The Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by a quarter-point Wednesday and projected it would do so twice more this year as concern grows at the central bank about the health of the nation’s labor market. The move is the Fed’s first cut since December and lowered its short-term rate to about 4.1%, down from 4.3%. Fed officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, had kept their rate unchanged this year as they evaluated the impact of tariffs, tighter immigration enforcement, and other Trump administration policies on inflation and the economy. The only dissenter was Stephen Miran, the recent Trump-appointee.
