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.