2020 Senate and House outlook looks a lot like it did at the start of 2019

2020 Senate and House outlook looks a lot like it did at the start of 2019-rollcall: More than a year into the election cycle and with less than a year to go, how much has the political landscape changed? The answer: not a lot. And that’s not particularly good news for Republicans. Thus far, we know that a year’s worth of news (including impeachment) has not fundamentally altered the president’s standing. As 2019 ends, Donald Trump’s job rating stood at 44.5 percent approve and 52 percent disapprove, according to the RealClearPolitics national polling average. A year ago, the president’s standing was virtually the same.

Trump signs spending bills, averts shutdown

Trump signs spending bills, averts shutdown-rollcall: President Donald Trump signed two behemoth spending packages totaling $1.4 trillion on Friday night, preventing another year-end government shutdown with an hour and a half to spare. The existing stopgap funding law was set to expire at midnight.

Wine caves, health care clashes and age attacks: Biggest debate moments

Wine caves, health care clashes and age attacks: Biggest debate moments-politico: The sixth and final Democratic presidential debate of 2019 began with near-unanimity about the impeachment vote in the House a day earlier, and within an hour careened into a spirited battle over transparency and money in politics. The long-awaited confrontation between Sen. Elizabeth Warren and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg materialized in the debate’s second hour, when the Massachusetts senator slammed her 37-year-old opponent for holding a pricey campaign fundraiser in a cave at a tony California winery. That cascaded into a stage wide battle, with Sen. Bernie Sanders joining the billionaire-trashing brigade.

Ding dong! The device tax is dead

Ding dong! The device tax is dead-plasticstoday: It looks like the medical device industry will get an early Christmas present from Congress and President Trump: The House of Representatives approved a $1.4-trillion spending package yesterday that includes a permanent repeal of the 2.3% excise tax on most medical devices sold in the United States. The tax is part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka Obamacare. (click "continue to site" to go to the article)

House votes to impeach Trump

House votes to impeach Trump-thehill: House Democrats took the historic step Wednesday of impeaching President Trump, a momentous move that will send long-lasting reverberations throughout the Capitol and the country, both already fiercely divided over the truculent figure in the Oval Office. The two articles, which charge Trump with abusing power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstructing Congress in their investigation of those actions, passed almost exclusively along party lines, marking the most sectarian and contentious of the three presidential impeachments since the nation’s founding, and the first to target a president in his first term.

Massive spending, tax packages headed for Senate-

Massive spending, tax packages headed for Senate-rollcall: The House approved $1.4 trillion in spending for the fiscal year that began almost three months ago, in an almost surreal business-as-usual fashion that seemingly ignored the historic articles of impeachment scheduled for the floor the very next day. Lawmakers made a show of dividing the spending measures into two bundles, in order to avoid the oft-ridiculed omnibus bill that both sides say represents the worst of the “swamp.” But the rushed nature of the vote, and in particular the late-night deal that tacked on a nearly $54 billion tax package, runs counter to promises of a more transparent process where the rank-and-file has input and time to study the legislation.

Lawmakers unveil two mega spending packages

Lawmakers unveil two mega spending packages-rollcall: House appropriators filed two mega spending packages for floor consideration Tuesday after hammering out last-minute details over the weekend. The legislation is the culmination of months of bargaining and numerous stalemates, even after a budget caps accord was reached in July. It also provides a must-pass vehicle for various policy measures that are the product of other committees.

Sources: Repealing health care taxes in play on spending deal

Sources: Repealing health care taxes in play on spending deal-rollcall: Congressional leaders were discussing a permanent repeal of three major health care taxes, on medical devices, health insurers and high-cost “Cadillac” insurance plans, as part of the final appropriations measures advancing this week, according to sources familiar with the talks. The tentative development follows some skepticism about whether leaders would even be able to agree to attach an extension of expiring tax cuts and other tax policy changes to the package, and little expectation that the costly taxes would be repealed altogether.

Appropriators reach spending agreement, fend off possibility of government shutdown

Appropriators reach spending agreement, fend off possibility of government shutdown-rollcall: Republicans and Democrats reached agreement “in principle” Thursday on $1.37 trillion in government funding, staving off the possibility of another shutdown just a week before spending is set to run out, according to Appropriations Committee leaders. The deal reached just hours after a meeting between Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, House Appropriations Chairwoman Nita M. Lowey and Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard C. Shelby, ends months of tense negotiations that revolved around border wall funding

Amid impeachment saga, a kitchen sink of legislative dealing

Amid impeachment saga, a kitchen sink of legislative dealing-rollcall: The holiday rush on Capitol Hill is in full swing, and the bipartisan legislative lethargy is showing signs of easing even as the House debates articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. Senate and House negotiators are still trying to reach an agreement on a bundle of spending bills, but there has been a relative abundance of other bipartisan deal-making and even actual legislation passing in the Senate.

House Judiciary to draft abuse of power, obstruction impeachment articles

House Judiciary to draft abuse of power, obstruction impeachment articles-politico: House Democrats will bring two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, one saying he abused the power of his office and another that he obstructed Congress in its investigation of his conduct. The Judiciary Committee plans to begin consideration of the articles, which are official charges against the president, on Thursday, and the full House is expected to vote next week.

Democrats plan campaign health care push ahead of House vote

Democrats plan campaign health care push ahead of House vote-rollcall: Democrats in battleground states are using an expected vote this week on a prescription drug bill to shift the focus on the campaign trail to health care, an issue they believe helped them win the House in 2018 and will help them defeat President Donald Trump in 2020. The effort comes as GOP super PACs and Trump have been working to portray Democrats as focused on a politically driven impeachment vendetta rather than legislation and policies that would help voters who gave them control of the House last November.

House-Senate fix could break gridlock on 'surprise' medical bills

House-Senate fix could break gridlock on 'surprise' medical bills-politico: Bipartisan efforts to protect patients from “surprise” medical bills are regaining momentum after stalling out over the summer. Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the chairman of the Senate health panel announced a deal Sunday they said would rely on “a new system for independent dispute resolution often called arbitration." The lawmakers didn't elaborate.

Trump pulled into feud between top health officials

Trump pulled into feud between top health officials-politico: President Donald Trump has personally tried to settle the long-running feud between his two top health appointees, telling his health secretary to fix the relationship with his Medicare chief, said three individuals with knowledge of the situation.

Pelosi reveals plan to proceed with articles of impeachment against Trump

Pelosi reveals plan to proceed with articles of impeachment against Trump-politico: Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House will draft articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, a historic step that signals Democrats are increasingly likely to vote to impeach Trump before the end of this year. Pelosi said impeachment investigators have uncovered more than sufficient evidence to show that Trump abused his office for political gain, violating the president’s oath to the Constitution and warranting removal.

Kamala Harris drops out of presidential race

Kamala Harris drops out of presidential race-politico: Kamala Harris ended her presidential campaign on Tuesday after months of failing to lift her candidacy from the bottom of the field, a premature departure for a California senator once heralded as a top-tier contender for the nomination.

Congress braces for chaotic December

Congress braces for chaotic December-thehill: Congress is barreling toward a chaotic end-of-the-year scramble as lawmakers return for the final work weeks of 2019. Lawmakers have up to 15 days in session to wrap up legislative items like funding the government beyond Dec. 20, while also juggling the House impeachment inquiry that has sucked up most of the political oxygen in Washington.

Clashes among top HHS officials undermine Trump agenda

Clashes among top HHS officials undermine Trump agenda-politico: President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Alex Azar, and his Medicare chief, Seema Verma, are increasingly at odds, and their feuding has delayed the president’s long-promised replacement proposal for Obamacare and disrupted other health care initiatives central to Trump's reelection campaign, according to administration officials