News about Punchbowl News. Everything we do at Punchbowl News is done with you in mind. Every morsel of news, every word in every newsletter, every text alert, every special product and every event is aimed at informing and engaging those obsessed with legislative politics.
Now we have something new for you: The Portal with Enbloc AI.
Since Punchbowl News launched in 2021, we’ve heard consistently from our readers, friends, sources and partners that they aren’t happy with their data subscriptions. They pay thousands of dollars for confusing platforms that aren’t designed with the end user in mind.
That gave us — Jake, Anna, Bres and Rachel — an idea: Let’s create a data platform that changes the way Washington works, made with Washington in mind.
At the end of last year, we bought Electo Analytics, a congressional data startup. We then redesigned the entire platform, using our deep knowledge of what Capitol Hill and K Street need every single day. This became The Portal, which will include integrated news, congressional directories, legislative text, regulations, real-time alerts and much more. The Portal members will also receive a weekly Monday newsletter and a mid-week update to keep them ahead of the game when it comes to legislative news. (You can check out this week’s The Portal newsletter here.)
We also want to give you a sneak peek of Enbloc AI. Enbloc AI is a Punchbowl News-designed AI platform embedded in The Portal that brings together all of the databases that you use every day in Washington, overlaid with our news and proprietary Washington data. You can search within databases, across databases and more.
Looking for every time a certain member said a certain word on the House floor or in committee? How about a lobbyist who has given $20,000 to Democrats, $15,000 to Republicans and has lobbied on a certain bill? Or what if you need help surfacing potential donors for your boss in a certain city? Or do you want to know every time a certain progressive Democrat voted with a conservative Republican on a bill?
Enbloc AI uses natural language searches to help you do your job more quickly and efficiently. This will save you time, money and make you smarter and sharper.
Come January, Enbloc AI’s searches will be embedded in Punchbowl News newsletters. For example, at the end of an item, subscribers will be able to click a button and find out who donates to every person mentioned in the article. Or find key staffers who deal with an issue we’re reporting on. These rich data integrations will bring our news to life while opening up new insights into how the federal government really works.
Enbloc AI was designed by all four founders, with critical help from Dave Clarke and the entire newsroom. Underlying this whole effort is to use our combined knowledge of how Washington works and put that to work in an AI platform.
The great thing about this is we designed it for you. We know you. And we know how you work. You see us in the Capitol, downtown and everywhere you go. The Portal with Enbloc AI will be an evolving platform. Built for you. At a price you can afford.
This will change the way Washington works. Get started here.
On Johnson and Democrats. We have two issues we want to discuss this morning.
No. 1: Speaker Mike Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday” that he prefers a short-term, three-month CR to fund the federal agencies into next year. This is a minority position on Capitol Hill, although we telegraphed Johnson’s preference previously. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise wants a series of minibuses to fund the government through September, as do House and Senate GOP appropriators.
But Johnson said his approach would give President-elect Donald Trump and Hill Republicans a greater say over FY2025 spending bills.
For Trump, this could turn into a repeat of 2017. Hill Republicans dragged their feet on a spending deal at that time, and the appropriations bills weren’t finished until May. The delay could also impact Trump’s “100-day” agenda. Although that’s already in jeopardy on the Hill anyway.
Johnson, however, wants to avoid the messy floor fight spending bills with his conservative flank in late December. Especially when he faces a floor vote over serving as speaker on the opening day of the 119th Congress, a vote that the Louisiana Republican will need Trump’s help for anyway.
No. 2. Trump is facing a huge public uproar over his nominations of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), Robert F. Kennendy Jr. and Pete Hegseth for top administration posts. Even as Senate Republicans have raised objections to some or all four Trump picks, top Senate Democrats have largely kept “strategically silent” on the controversies.
With Trump heading toward a possible collision with Senate Republicans over these nominations and recess appointments, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats see no reason to wade into the fight. The same goes for government funding. “Republicans have made this mess, they have to clean it up,” said one Democratic insider.
