Tag: January 6

Filter:
AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Security, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for September 18, 2023: The Ladder of Chaos

By DanielSchuman September 18, 2023 21 min read

TOP LINE Happy belated Constitution Day to those who celebrate. This week both chambers are in session Monday through Thursday, with the Senate remaining so Friday. The House has scheduled some sort of continuing resolution vote for Wednesday or later that contains greater than 8% cuts below FY 2023 levels and authorization text on immigration and border-related stuff. […]

Tags: , , , , , ,
Continue Reading
AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for September 11, 2023: Hackathon and HH Thursday

By DanielSchuman September 11, 2023 13 min read

TOP LINE Welcome back to the mess that is the appropriations process. We’re also considering this week how the Senate’s rules contribute to much of the action at the top of the news as Congress returns from recess. This week, the Senate is in session Monday through Thursday. The House returns from its recess on […]

Tags: , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Continuity and Resiliency, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for September 5, 2023: Back to work

By DanielSchuman September 5, 2023 15 min read

TOP LINE The political and institutional dynamics that have defined the 118th Congress are building to a crescendo as recess comes to an end and the new fiscal year looms. This week we consider: How the far-right faction of the House GOP continues to maneuver successfully because of the procedural landscape it shaped at the […]

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading
AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for August 28, 2023: One more week

By DanielSchuman August 28, 2023 11 min read

TOP LINE With only 12 working days after recess to avert a federal government shutdown, the interfactional dynamics of the House remain unchanged. Last week, the House Freedom Caucus once again saber-rattled about a government shutdown and declared their objection to being jammed in December. The Senate also has conceded that this year’s farm bill will be late, too, […]

Tags: , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Congressional Security, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for August 7, 2023: Debt, Trump, and the Capitol Police

By DanielSchuman August 7, 2023 17 min read

TOP LINE It’s still recess. This week, we cover: The credit rating downgrade and how to get out of that hole Lessons from the federal Trump insurrection prosecution The bicameral hearing into problems at the Capitol Police And a smattering of other issues. CREDIT DOWNGRADE Our political leaders have managed to talk the markets into downgrading the […]

Tags: , , , ,
Continue Reading
AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for May 1, 2023: Analyzing CRS

By DanielSchuman May 1, 2023 17 min read

TOP LINE Last week’s House vote garnered a lot of attention but changed nothing. We see little room for Speaker McCarthy to maneuver to stay at the top of his conference while simultaneously negotiating a deal that avoids default on our nation’s debt. Prior Republican speakers have cut loose part of their conference to avert […]

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for April 24, 2023: Norms and power

By DanielSchuman April 24, 2023 11 min read

TOP LINE Countermajoritarianism defined the week, as it has this Congress. House leadership unveiled an unserious debt limit proposal designed to hold their factions together while they hope Dems make an unforced error. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, stand athwart majority rule in the Judiciary Committee. Senate Democrats can reclaim their power, but only if they stick […]

Tags: , , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for March 13, 2023: House Unions Can Continue

By DanielSchuman March 13, 2023 17 min read

TOP LINE We have to hand it to the Committee on House Administration for roaring out of the gate in the 118th Congress. Last week, it garnered reform ideas from members, held the first Modernization Subcommittee hearing, and allotted committee funds with significant increases nearly across the board. The Legislative Branch Subcommittee on Appropriations, meanwhile, […]

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for March 6, 2023: Members Request Staff Funding

By DanielSchuman March 6, 2023 13 min read

TOP LINE Money decisions figured prominently in a shortened work week for the House. Committee leaders followed suit with Senate counterparts in requesting more funds for their staff in the coming fiscal year, while appropriators established tighter controls over the earmarks process. CHA, meanwhile, has grabbed the spotlight early in this Congress. This week … The […]

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading
AI and Emerging Technology, Appropriations, Congressional Security, Ethics and Influence, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for February 27, 2023: Videodome

By DanielSchuman February 27, 2023 13 min read

TOP LINE Speaker Kevin McCarthy interjected himself into the debate over US Capitol Police openness and transparency in a major way by releasing the entirety of video recorded by its cameras on January 6, 2021 to Tucker Carlson at Fox News. The how and why of this decision are going to distract from the what […]

Tags: , , ,
Continue Reading
Congressional Security, Rules, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for December 5, 2022: The Second Triumvirate

By DanielSchuman December 5, 2022 14 min read

TOP LINE Congress had some of its most substantive conversations about its rules in years last week. Although the results mostly fiddled around the edges of larger institutional problems, time and opportunity remain to continue the negotiations, at least in the House. The stasis within the Democratic caucus, however, was notable. Meanwhile, things that need […]

Tags: , , , , ,
Continue Reading
Accountability and Oversight, Congressional Security, Congressional Workplace Fairness and Inclusion, Modernization, First Branch Forecast, Blog posts

First Branch Forecast for October 17, 2022: Looking Ahead

By DanielSchuman October 17, 2022 16 min read

TOP LINE Abby Livingston has had enough. After carving out a successful career as a Capitol Hill journalist – becoming a one-woman DC bureau for the nonprofit Texas Tribune – she quit. The trigger, she shared last week, was realizing a corridor in the Capitol that had felt like the safest place in the world to […]

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Continue Reading