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IN THIS EDITION

Tick-tock: The CR is still under wraps, as a House vote slips to Thursday

The Vault: Brown’s nomination gambit looks shaky

RFK Jr. wades slowly into confirmation fight

Trump allies start making impoundment moves

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Tick-tock: The CR is still under wraps, as a House vote slips to Thursday

Happy Tuesday morning.

Remember when congressional leaders said the CR would be out by now? Us too.

Federal agencies run out of money at midnight on Friday night, and as of now, there’s no text available for a funding bill needed to avert a shutdown.

Congressional leaders spent the day wrangling over the farm bill extension and other key elements of the CR. One of the most difficult issues to solve has been a direct payment program to farmers. As we explained in Monday’s edition, Speaker Mike Johnson disagreed with the way the program was funded, leading to a scramble to get the package into shape. Democrats have Johnson in a corner and are demanding all sorts of policies in return.

There had been widespread anticipation that a CR package would be unveiled Monday afternoon, meaning Congress had an outside shot of going home on Thursday.

But as the day wore on, it became clear that no agreement was going to be released. With Johnson adamant that he’ll honor the 72-hour rule, that pushes a House vote into Thursday night. Meaning the Senate may not vote until Friday or even Saturday. That’s right up against the shutdown deadline, although OMB always gives Congress and the White House leeway for weekend maneuvers.

Johnson has continued to insist that a deal was expected shortly, even when it was clear it wasn’t. Johnson said last week a bill would be released Sunday. On Monday morning, the speaker said the text would be out within an hour. None of this came to fruition. Yet Johnson is nothing if not endlessly upbeat.

We caught Johnson on his way out of the Capitol Monday night. The speaker was carrying what appeared to be a box of holiday desserts. Johnson told us he thought the CR text would be out imminently.

“I think we’re very close to the drafting process right now,” Johnson said. Of course, the drafting could take a day to finish.

Johnson also made his pitch to the House Freedom Caucus on Monday night. HFC members were unhappy with the process of crafting the CR package and laid into Johnson over both his plan and the delay in releasing text, according to several sources. Johnson was asked by one HFC member what Democrats got in the bill. He dodged the question, according to sources in the room.

Spoiler alert: Democrats got a bunch of stuff because Republicans are relying on them to vote for the bill.

Here’s what we do know: The CR will run until March 14, House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told us. That gives Hill leaders and incoming President-elect Donald Trump time to reach an agreement on the FY2025 spending bills before the automatic sequester kicks in during April. Those cuts are mandated under the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act, the brainchild of President Joe Biden and former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The cuts would run into the tens of billions of dollars for defense and non-defense if they’re not turned off first.

The CR package will also contain a health care component that we first told you about on Friday. One provision would require PBMs to pass through 100% of rebates to health plans. That would mean patients would see lower drug costs. Other PBM-related provisions would boost transparency in pricing. Reauthorization of the opioid-fighting SUPPORT Act, Medicare telehealth flexibility extensions and an extension of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act would all be addressed.

House Republicans are expected to discuss the CR this morning at their weekly conference meeting. If Johnson doesn’t have the bill out by the 9 a.m. meeting, the GOP leadership will catch a lot of flack. Top House Republicans point out that those members who complain about the short turnaround between a bill’s release and a floor vote are usually the ones who vote no anyway.

Democrats debate. This morning’s Democratic Caucus meeting will feature a fascinating moment: 74-year-old Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.) will face off against 35-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) over who’ll be the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee next year.

Connolly won the backing of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on Monday, but AOC thinks she can win a full caucus vote. There’s precedent for this; Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) defeated Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) for the ranking member spot on Energy and Commerce a decade ago under similar circumstances.

Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) and Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) will speak on Connolly’s behalf. The Connolly camp feels good about where they are.

For her part, AOC’s allies feel she’ll fare better in the broader Democratic Caucus than in Steering. Connolly won that vote 34-27, which is closer than some had anticipated. Reps. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.), Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) and Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) will be AOC’s speakers.

The Connolly-AOC matchup is the latest in Democrat-on-Democrat committee challenges during the post-election period. It’s been a generational war, and the younger members are winning.

Democrats chose Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) to replace ailing Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) at the Agriculture Committee on Monday, although Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) will try to supplant Craig in the full caucus. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will replace Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) at the Judiciary Committee, while Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) will take over for Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) at Natural Resources.

– John Bresnahan, Jake Sherman and Mica Soellner

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The Vault: Brown’s nomination gambit looks shaky

Senate Banking Committee Chair Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) insists that the Senate still has time for two Biden banking nominees to receive a floor vote before senators leave town for the year.

“There’s no drop dead date that we have to leave on Thursday,” Brown told us Monday night. “People should stay and do their jobs.”

Right now, that would require the Senate to stay in town later than expected for a delayed CR vote.

But beyond the Banking Committee, there’s a growing sense that floor time isn’t the only problem. There may also be a shortage of Democratic support for the nominees, according to senior Senate Democrats and aides.

The main controversy here revolves around the crypto industry and Caroline Crenshaw, who was renominated to serve on the Securities and Exchange Commission this summer. Crenshaw was first approved for the position via unanimous consent in 2020, but the crypto industry has since launched a political campaign against her.

Democrats are now treating the Crenshaw nomination like it may be the last opportunity for the party to get representation on the SEC’s five-member commission during the upcoming Trump administration.

“This will be a commission with no Democrat on it if she’s not confirmed,” Brown said, referring to Crenshaw. “The Securities and Exchange Commission is too important to allow one party, particularly the one party that’s so captured by industry, to move forward on it.”

The outgoing Banking chair’s reelection bid was unsuccessful partly thanks to a deluge of crypto spending.

Staff and members say they’re watching three senators whose support could make or break the Crenshaw nomination — again, assuming the noms make it to the floor.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is seen as a crypto ally and has yet to say how he’ll vote. Independent Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.) are also viewed as risks after killing a President Joe Biden nominee that would have maintained Democratic control of the National Labor Relations Board until 2026.

Sinema declined to say how she’d vote on Monday night. Sinema, though, indicated she was following the process closely. “I know the whole thing,” Sinema said.

Also, on Social Security: The Social Security Fairness Act is heading for a Senate vote this week. The legislation — which would allow higher Social Security benefits for public employees with government pensions — is riding a political wave following pressure from teachers, cops, firefighters and other public workers who would benefit from it becoming law.

Advocates are feeling good about getting the 60 votes needed for cloture. But there’s still wariness about resistance from senators concerned the bill is too costly and would drain Social Security’s trust funds faster.

Senate Finance Committee ranking member Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) pointed to those issues. “What I’m hearing is there are problems,” Crapo told reporters, adding there should be a chance to amend the bill.

— Brendan Pedersen, John Bresnahan and Laura Weiss

NOMS, NOMS, NOMS

RFK Jr. wades slowly into confirmation fight

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s unorthodox pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, kicked off his Senate meetings with a friendly reception from supportive senators.

But in a sign of how his controversial views may throw up roadblocks, Kennedy spent Monday reaffirming he doesn’t want to do away with the polio vaccine.

RFK Jr. entered Monday on the proverbial back foot, seeking to play defense after a New York Times report from last week disclosed that Kennedy’s lawyer, Aaron Siri, had sought to strip FDA approval for the polio vaccine, a triumph of U.S. public health efforts in the post World War II era.

Upon entering the Hart Senate Office Building, Kennedy told waiting reporters “I’m all for the polio vaccine.”

Nevertheless, in initial meetings with pro-Trump Republican Sens. Rick Scott (Fla.), Ron Johnson (Wis.), Markwayne Mullin (Okla.) and Tim Scott (S.C.), Kennedy heard from a receptive audience.

“Bobby’s going to get confirmed,” Mullin predicted.

“I’m supportive of his nomination. He’s going to do a great job,” Johnson added.

Things, however, will get harder from here for Kennedy. More skeptical GOP moderates may bristle at the former Democrat’s views on vaccinations.

Kennedy continued to discuss his controversial view that a link exists between childhood vaccinations and autism. Mullin recounted how Kennedy noted the increased rates of autism in American kids and brought up that Ireland — which “has the same style of vaccination” — also has a similar rate of autism.

Mullin said that Kennedy was simply asking questions about a potential linkage. But other senators may not view the topic as charitably.

What’s next for RFK Jr.: Incoming Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) said he wants to hold Kennedy’s confirmation hearing during the first two weeks of January.

Crapo only had positive things to say about the HHS nominee, praising Kennedy’s views on healthy living. Crapo declined to weigh in on Kennedy’s vaccine takes until after he has a chance to sit down with the nominee on Tuesday.

Other nominees: Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee to be defense secretary, will meet with Sen.-elect Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Kennedy (R-La.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.).

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), Trump’s pick to be the director of national intelligence, will meet with Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine).

— Max Cohen, Jake Sherman and Laura Weiss

CHECKS AND BALANCES

Trump allies start making impoundment moves

President-elect Donald Trump’s congressional allies are emerging in advance of his expected effort to gain more power over government spending.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) introduced legislation Monday that would repeal the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the law that presidents must follow if they want to delay or rescind funds that Congress has appropriated.

To be clear, this bill is unlikely to ever pass, in this Congress or the next. Democrats are strongly opposed, and a lot of Republicans will see the move for what it is — a dramatic shift in the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches.

And this is an important point — if Trump succeeds in doing this, the next president, whether Republican or Democrat, will do the same thing too.

Trump will need all the allies on the Hill he can get for this showdown. Lee and Clyde are now at the top of that list, as are the 17 House Republicans who cosponsored the bill. Lee took to X on Monday to argue that congressional appropriations “should be seen as the spending ceiling, not a floor.”

Russell Vought and Mark Paoletta, who Trump picked for the top jobs at the Office of Management and Budget, have spent years pushing the arguments now embraced by Lee and Clyde.

Impoundment, the idea that presidents don’t have to spend all funds appropriated by Congress, also has the backing from Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, leaders of Trump’s “Department of Government Efficiency.” Supporters believe that if given the chance, the Supreme Court will be on their side, too.

Any moves to impound funds will draw the ire of appropriators and other lawmakers. It will also be another test for Republicans to see how much control they’re willing to yield to Trump.

Top Senate GOP appropriator Susan Collins (R-Maine) told us she doesn’t want to see the ICA weakened.

Other Republican appropriators are taking a more cautious approach. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said to ask her again in February, and Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.) said he’s just trying to get through 2024.

There’s an argument to be made that presidents shouldn’t have to spend money they feel is being wasted, Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) told us. But the veteran lawmaker added that he wouldn’t take it too far.

“I understand what they’re trying to do,” Simpson said. “Just to go ahead and not spend it because you don’t like that program that Congress has passed, and probably that you’ve signed as a president, I think that gives a little too much power to the presidency.”

— Samantha Handler and Melanie Zanona

… AND THERE’S MORE

The Conference. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) has told House Republicans that she won’t accept committee assignments in the 119th Congress and would not attend GOP conference meetings. Spartz will remain a Republican.

Confused? Us too. Spartz has always cut her own image in the Capitol. But practically, we’re not sure what this means. Will she vote for Speaker Mike Johnson on the floor in January?

Spartz wanted a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee and the House Republican Steering Committee did not give her one — despite Johnson’s efforts.

Downtown Download. KC2026, which is supporting Kansas City’s efforts in hosting a World Cup game in 2026, has hired Monument Advocacy to lobby for “[i]ssues related to safety and security, transportation, and budget and funding.”

Walgreens, the pharmacy giant, has hired Zirkelbach Strategies to lobby on “pharmacy and retail issues.”

– Jake Sherman

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