Patty Murray

On the first day of the new Congress, representatives will vote for the speaker of the House as Mike Johnson fights to keep the job.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will unveil on Wednesday his list of Senate Democrats who get top committee positions, Axios has learned.Why it matters: These Senate Democrats will Schumer's top lieutenants to fight against Republican nominees and legislative priorities starting next year.The assignments:Sen. Amy Klobuchar, AgricultureSen. Patty Murray, AppropriationsSen. Jack Reed, Armed ServicesSen. Elizabeth Warren, BankingSen. Maria Cantwell, CommerceSen. Martin Heinrich, EnergySen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Environments and Public WorksSen. Ron Wyden, FinanceSen. Jeanne Shaheen, Foreign RelationsSen. Bernie Sanders, Health, Education, Labor and PensionsSen. Gary Peters, Homeland SecuritySen. Mark Warner, IntelligenceSen. Dick Durbin, JudiciarySen. Kirsten Gillibrand, AgingSen. Jeff Merkley, BudgetSen. Maggie Hassan, Joint EconomicSen. Alex Padilla, RulesSen. Ed Markey, Small BusinessSen. Richard Blumenthal, Veterans' AffairsSen. Chris Coons, EthicsSen. Brian Schatz, Indian Affairs

Gov. Jay Inslee recently released an executive order that reemphasizes his administration’s support for the state’s salmon recovery efforts as his term enters its final days.

Congressional leaders have unveiled a stopgap spending bill that will keep the federal government funded through March 14 and provide more than $100 billion in emergency aid to help states and local communities recover from Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters.The measure would prevent a partial government shutdown set to begin after midnight Friday. It would kick final decisions on this budget year's spending levels to a new Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump. The continuing resolution generally continues current spending levels for agencies.Passage of the measure is one of the final actions that lawmakers will consider this week before adjourning for the holidays and making way for the next Congress. It's the second short-term funding measure the lawmakers have taken up this fall as they struggled to pass the dozen annual appropriations bills before the new fiscal year began Oct. 1, as they typically do.The bill will provide $100.4 billion in disaster relief, with an additional $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers struggling with low commodity prices and high input costs.“We have to be able to help those who are in these dire straits,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters.Net farm income is projected to decline 4.1% this year after falling 19.4% the year before from the record highs reached in 2022. Johnson indicated more farm aid could be delivered in the next Congress, saying “we can't do all it right now.”Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer,“Congress is doing the best it can under difficult circumstances, and I think it will be a big boost for the industry,” Johnson said.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the agreement was “free of cuts and poison pills,” and would provide money for Democratic priorities like child care, workforce training and job placement.“With this agreement, we are now on our way to avoiding a government shutdown," Schumer said.Rep. Glenn Thompson, the Republican chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he was hoping for more economic relief for farmers, but “it’s a great start.”“I think it’s going to send the right signal to the markets that most farmers and ranchers are going to be able to get eligible for the credit they need to borrow in order to plant a crop or raise a herd,” Thompson said.President Joe Biden has sought about $114 billion in disaster aid, submitting a $99 billion request in November, telling lawmakers the funding was “urgently needed.” The administration subsequently updated its request to include funding to repair federal facilities damaged due to natural disasters.The largest share of the money, about $29 billion, will go to the main disaster relief fund at the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The fund helps with debris removal, repairing public infrastructure and providing financial assistance to survivors. About $21 billion goes to help farmers who have experienced crop or livestock losses.Another $8 billion will go to help rebuild and repair highways and bridges in more than 40 states and territories. And some $12 billion would go toward helping communities recover through block grants administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. About $2.2 billion would go to low-interest loans for businesses, nonprofits and homeowners trying to rebuild after a disaster.“While this is not the legislation I would have written on my own, it is a strong, bipartisan package that provides the resources communities urgently need to recover,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the Democratic chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.Congress is expected to pass the measure just before another shutdown deadline. House Republicans generally give lawmakers 72 hours to review text of the legislation, which would push a vote on final passage to Friday if they follow through on that rule. The Senate is not known for acting speedily, but many lawmakers are anxious to adjourn for the year and make way for the next Congress.Since the bill is the last must-pass legislation of the current Congress, lawmakers have worked to get certain priorities included. On the health care front, the legislation seeks to extend coverage of telehealth appointments for Medicare enrollees and rein in how much money pharmacy benefits managers — the companies that negotiate how and what drugs are covered by insurance plans — make off those deals.The bill also includes provisions focused on countering China, including expanding on a Biden executive order that seeks to restrict investments into countries that pose a national security threat to the United States. Blocking China’s high-tech ambitions is one of the few issues that enjoys broad support in Washington from both Republicans and Democrats.There's also a provision to transfer the land that is the site of the old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia, which could potentially lead to a new stadium for the Washington Commanders.The legislation also provides full federal funding to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed when struck by a cargo ship that reported losing power just before the crash. Federal taxpayers will be reimbursed through proceeds from insurance payments and litigation.Campaign Action

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and conservative activist Vivek Ramaswamy on Thursday began in-person discussions with congressional Republicans about ways they could slash federal spending and regulations once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.Trump has tasked Musk and Ramaswamy with issuing recommendations to overhaul the federal budget and bureaucracy — a goal that many Republicans say they agree with, but also one that presidents and Congresses under both parties, as well as divided governments, have repeatedly failed to deliver on.Musk and Ramaswamy traveled to Capitol Hill for a series of meetings with House and Senate members. It was their first such trip since their appointment by Trump as outside advisers, heading up a commission called the Department of Government Efficiency. DOGE is also the name of an internet meme and a cryptocurrency.“This is a brainstorming session,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters between meetings. He said the talks are “laying the groundwork” for what lawmakers will do next year.They have their work cut out for them.Trump oversaw an increase in deficits during his first term, even before the Covid-19 pandemic. In his 2024 campaign, he promised to preserve two of the most expensive parts of the budget — Social Security and Medicare — beyond “cutting waste and fraud.” He also called for trillions of dollars in additional tax breaks on tips and overtime, in addition to extending his 2017 tax cuts, which would all add to the debt. And most congressional Republicans are determined to continue increasing military spending, another large slice of the pie.Musk, one of the world’s wealthiest people, has potential leverage over congressional Republicans because of his willingness to spend some of his vast fortune on politics, and his recent proximity to Trump. As recently as Sunday, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO has repeatedly warned Republicans to get in line behind Trump’s priorities or else face a primary challenge in 2026.Great @DOGE meeting with @elonmusk, @VivekGRamaswamy, @SpeakerJohnson, and X-Æ-12 pic.twitter.com/WRXQoz7MGY— Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) December 5, 2024 Officially, though, the roles for Musk and Ramaswamy are only advisory. They won’t be in the government and instead will be sending recommendations to the Trump White House, with a deadline of July 4, 2026.Musk’s newfound political influence follows his campaigning for Trump over the summer and fall. His super PAC, America PAC, spent more than $152 million to boost Trump and other Republicans, with much of the money coming from Musk and his friends, according to disclosure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Musk also held events for Trump in swing state Pennsylvania and turned X, which he owns, into a megaphone for pro-Trump views.Ramaswamy, a former biotech executive, ran in the Republican primary for president and lost to Trump before later endorsing him.Musk has repeatedly faced questions about potential conflicts of interest in advising on the federal budget. SpaceX is a major federal contractor, including with the Defense Department and NASA. And, according to Ramaswamy, one of their potential targets is a $6.6 billion loan to electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive, a competitor to Tesla. Musk has not said how or if he plans to resolve those conflicts.One lawmaker, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said Thursday it was too early to anticipate the priorities for cuts but that loosening regulation by administrative action and through Congress would be a good place to start.“There are tens of billions of dollars in regulatory relief that are on the table now,” Tillis said.The U.S. budget was $6.1 trillion in fiscal year 2023, according to the Peterson Foundation.Still, Tillis called the Thursday conversation an “organizational meeting” — akin to “an engagement meeting I’d have with a client.”Speaking to reporters in between meetings, Musk reiterated his support for ending tax credits to encourage electric vehicle sales, aligning with Republicans who are eying cuts to clean energy funding.“I think we should get rid of all credits,” he said in response to a reporter’s question about tax credits for electric vehicles. (Musk has previously said that EV credits help Tesla’s competitors.)Musk said little else as he walked through the Capitol’s corridors with one of his children. The billionaire was followed so closely by Capitol Hill reporters, he said, “It’s like there’s ambient press.”Once DOGE is established, Musk and Ramaswamy will have a small office of 10 to 12 staffers under the executive office of the president who will work closely with the Office of Management and Budget, a source involved in the effort told NBC News.They will also have individuals within each federal department and agency who operate as DOGE liaisons, the source said. Musk and Ramaswamy are seeking individuals with business backgrounds with an interest in “gutting bureaucracy” to fill those roles. “A lot of these folks will be lawyers or have previous experience at that agency,” the source said.Musk has shown a willingness to consider cuts to some of the federal government’s most popular programs including Social Security. On Monday, he shared a post on X from Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, advocating an overhaul of Social Security into something like individual retirement accounts. “Interesting thread,” Musk wrote.Thursday morning, Musk met with incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., while Ramaswamy met separately behind closed doors with a group of 15 Senate Republicans for a little over an hour. In the afternoon, they met with a larger group of House and Senate members.Leaving the meeting with Ramaswamy, senators told NBC News that it was a positive conversation and consisted of an “exchanging of ideas,” as Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., put it. But they would not divulge specific policies discussed inside.A source familiar with the private meeting in the afternoon told NBC News that the gathering turned into an “open mic session” featuring “an airing of grievances from House members who want Elon and Vivek to solve all their problems.”Some Democrats have expressed interest in working with Musk and Ramaswamy to reduce spending and regulations. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., posted on X on Thursday that Congress should model its efforts on a World War II-era committee led by then-Sen. Harry Truman.“Let’s look to the Truman Committee and ensure Americans get their money’s worth with DOD spending,” he wrote.While GOP efforts to reduce the size of the federal government and end wasteful spending are not new, senators did not offer much in terms of how this effort would be different or possibly more successful.“You’re way too ahead,” Tillis said when asked about budget deficits.Leaving the meeting, Ramaswamy also declined to answer reporters’ questions.In the 2024 election, Republicans won a 53-vote Senate majority and a paper-thin House majority of 220-215. Those slim margins could give Democrats some influence over the outcome, and some of them mock the new Musk-led effort as a punchline.“DOGE is not real. Just because someone says there is now a department of so and so does not mean the actual department now exists,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking member of the Budget Committee.“Republicans are total hypocrites when it comes to deficit and debt. ... Trump added more to the national debt than any president in American history,” Boyle continued. “So I have seen this movie before. I have absolutely no doubt that if Trump is able to ram through a second round of his tax cuts, then it will explode the national debt.”Veterans of past failed debt-reform efforts, including the Obama-era bipartisan “super committee” of 2011, doubt the DOGE will be more successful unless it’s willing to take on sacred cows.“If past is prologue, the DOGE faces an uphill climb. It’s not yet clear what authority or reach the DOGE has, but managing the federal budget cannot be done through talking points,” said Zach Mallove, a lobbyist who worked as a policy aide to Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., when she co-chaired the super committee.Mallove said lawmakers will have to accept some “political pain” for it to be meaningful. “In the end, the math just doesn’t add up: with a $1.7 trillion annual discretionary budget, you cannot cut $2 trillion without tapping into the country’s social safety net.”This article first appeared on NBCNews.com. Read more from NBC News here:Family of Missouri teen who fell to his death on Orlando free-fall ride gets $310 million verdictEx-Proud Boys Leader dodges questions at trial of officer charged with feeding him intelHouse votes against releasing Matt Gaetz ethics report for now

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, here at the Capitol in September, is set to succeed Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow as the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate.

Russell Vought, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, testifies during a House Budget Committee hearing in 2020.

During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had hailed what would become Project 2025 as a conservative roadmap for “exactly what our movement will do."

During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump had hailed what would become Project 2025 as a conservative roadmap for “exactly what our movement will do." Trump pulled an about-face when Project 2025 became a political liability. He denied knowing anything about...

The debate among Republicans over whether to punt government funding into the new year is heating up, as lawmakers race toward their next shutdown deadline. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) this week said lawmakers are running out of time until the Dec. 20 deadline and that passing an extension into early 2025 “would be ultimately a [...]

She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a campaign rally with Derek Merrin, Republican candidate for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, in Holland, Ohio, on Oct. 26.

The lines that have traditionally defined each party’s priorities are blurring as Kamala Harris and Donald Trump fight to expand their political coalitions in the final days of the campaign.

The conservative Heritage Foundation think tank has filed a FOIA suit seeking any communications that exist pertaining to Biden DOJ legal advice concerning use of the 25th Amendment.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pictured at a news conference on Tuesday, is preparing for his last post-election wrap-up as leader.

Senate Republicans blocked Democrats from advancing a resolution aimed at ensuring access to emergency health care, including for abortions, as Democrats keep their messaging centered on reproductive rights ahead of November. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) attempted to pass the resolution, which was introduced last week, via unanimous consent. She argued it was necessary after ProPublica reported a [...]

Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford is pictured in the Capitol during votes on July 31. Lankford on Tuesday blocked a resolution expressing a sense of the Senate that every patient should have the right to emergency health care, including abortion, regardless of where they live, saying that “there is no state in America where a woman faces prosecution for having an abortion.”

Both candidates are taking stances that would have once been anathema to their bases.

Democrats brought the bill back to the Senate floor after Republicans previously blocked the measure from advancing in June.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is warning colleagues that it would be “politically beyond stupid” for Congress to stumble into a government shutdown a few weeks before Election Day, saying Republicans would “certainly” get the blame. McConnell made his comments a few hours after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) unveiled his plan to vote this [...]

A second attempt to pass legislation guaranteeing access to in vitro fertilization for women who need it failed after Republican senators filibustered it on Tuesday.

A growing number of House Republicans say they know how the current government funding drama ends: with a clean continuing resolution (CR) that kicks the shutdown deadline to after Election Day. The question is how Congress arrives at that conclusion. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) scrapped plans for the House to vote on his conservative funding [...]

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.,'s successor, George Helmy, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy's former chief of staff, will be sworn into the Senate on Monday.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 21.

Lawmakers are returning to Capitol Hill on Monday with just three weeks to avert a shutdown.

Congress returns to Washington with three weeks to avoid a government shutdown, no plan in sight and Donald Trump urging Republicans to shut it down over a voting bill.

The White House is plotting with Democratic leaders in Congress to try to force Republicans to accept a short-term spending bill that would fund the government through mid-December, Axios has learned.Why it matters: The Biden administration's embrace of a three-month stopgap measure is an attempt to establish the terms of the spending debate with House Republicans, who are pushing for a six-month bill.If Congress and the White House can't agree on how to fund the government by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, the federal government will shut down in early October, weeks before Election Day.The December timeline Democrats want would require Congress to return to the Capitol for a lame-duck session when lawmakers — and the next president — would know who was going to control what branches of government starting in January.The new Congress begins Jan. 3, and the new president is to be sworn in on Jan. 20.Driving the news: White House officials spoke separately with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) late last week to agree on a strategy, according to people familiar with the matter.On the call from the White House's team were Jeff Zients, chief of staff; Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president; Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget and Management, and Shuwanza Goff, director of legislative affairs.Biden's team wants to be on the same page with congressional Democrats heading into the year-end funding battle to force House Republicans to accept a plan to fund the government largely at fiscal 2024 levels.Speaker Mike Johnson told his members last week to prepare to vote for his six-month plan early this week.Johnson wants a spending plan that would include a measure requiring voters to offer proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.Zoom in: This week, the White House will begin to highlight the risks of a six-month continuing resolution on military readiness, veterans care, disaster relief and other national security priorities, like competing with China.Democrats also want to avoid handing a potential President Harris a tight deadline to fund the government in the first few months of her term.A six-month timeline would set up a massive spending showdown before March 31, which for Democrats is uncomfortably close to the April 30 deadline for the Fiscal Responsibility Act to take effect.After that date, automatic cuts would kick in across the board, affecting spending levels for education, veterans, the military and border security.Zoom out: With Congress struggling to pass funding bills in a timely manner, year-end showdowns over a shutdown have become a feature of modern politics.Many conservative Republicans are willing to either shut down the government or bluff about doing so, more moderate lawmakers worry that voters will blame them for failing to keep the government open and operating."How long do we take this?," Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) asked her colleagues on a GOP call last week. "Are we going to take this to a shutdown?"What they're saying: "As we have said repeatedly, avoiding a government shutdown requires bipartisanship, not a bill drawn up by one party," Schumer and Senate Appropriations chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a joint statement Friday."This tactic didn't work last September and it will not work this year either," they said of Johnson adding conditions to a temporary spending resolution. "The House Republican funding proposal is an ominous case of déjà vu."

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Mike Johnson is heeding the demands of the more conservative wing of his Republican conference and has teed up a vote this week on a bill that would keep the federal government funded for six more months and require states to obtain proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when registering a person to vote.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) National Council 222 has taken decisive action by contacting key legislators and representatives about alarming reports of fraud, waste, and abuse within the U.S. Department of Housing and...

Congress must pass a spending package by Oct. 1 to avoid a government shutdown, but the upcoming presidential election could complicate both parties' strategies for doing so.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., seen after Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on July 30, is looking ahead to his next act.

Harris would target grocery prices, housing costs, prescription drugs and more, she said in a speech Friday.

Harris would target grocery prices, housing costs, prescription drugs and more, according to proposals released Friday.

The first round of negotiated prices of 10 drugs was unveiled by the White House amid much fanfare Thursday, as Democrats celebrated it as a crowning achievement years in the making. Administration officials touted $6 billion in savings to taxpayers, and about $1.5 billion in savings to seniors’ out-of-pocket spending in 2026. Here's [...]

The vice president is expected to more formally announce her economic platform Friday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters in the Capitol on June 28.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., participates in a news conference n the Capitol on March 14.

The conservative House Freedom Caucus is pushing to add proof-of-citizenship requirements to vote, risking a government shutdown right before the 2024 elections.

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., has survived another Trump-endorsed primary challenge in his bid for re-election, qualifying for November’s general election.

One of the last remaining U.S. House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump and a candidate endorsed by the former president have advanced to the November general election in Washington state’s 4th Congressional District race

Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Dec. 1, 2021.

Signs point to child care, paid leave and home care as priorities she takes seriously — and personally.

Washington public lands Commissioner Hilary Franz and state Sens. Emily Randall and Drew MacEwen are battling to represent the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Jerry Moran, R-Kan., are seen in the Capitol on July 8.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “total victory” against Hamas and condemned American opponents of the war in Gaza on Wednesday in a scathing speech to Congress.

Democrats quickly rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris as their likely presidential nominee Sunday after President Joe Biden ‘s ground-shaking decision to bow out of the 2024 race.

Democrats are quickly coalescing around Vice President Kamala Harris as their likely presidential nominee after President Joe Biden’s ground-shaking decision to bow out of the 2024 race