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Author: shailender

$174B spending package to avert shutdown clears key hurdle in Senate

4B spending package to avert shutdown clears key hurdle in Senate

The Senate advanced a three-bill spending package through its final procedural hurdle on Thursday, teeing up a final vote later in the day. Lawmakers are in a mad dash to avert a partial government shutdown after just exiting the longest closure in history a few short months ago, and they have a deadline on Jan. 30 to beat. Thursday’s first vote was a key test of whether the warring parties could come together or again fall victim to political divisions as they did in September. The overwhelmingly bipartisan vote proved, for now, that Senate Republicans and Democrats have a truce in the government funding battle. DHS FUNDING FIGHT DRIVES SENATE SCRAMBLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN The roughly $174 billion package, which cruised through the House last week, includes funding bills for commerce, justice, science and related agencies; energy and water development and related agencies; and interior, environment and related agencies. If passed later on Thursday, it’ll mark six total spending bills that lawmakers have put on President Donald Trump’s desk. But it’s only halfway to the magic dozen that are needed to fund the government. Many lawmakers acknowledge that given the short amount of time left before the deadline, and lingering issues with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), will be needed to prevent a shutdown. DHS AT CENTER OF PROGRESSIVE REVOLT AS HOUSE ADVANCES $80B SPENDING PACKAGE Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was hopeful that another round of funding bills brewing in the House could solve the DHS issue. But he didn’t shut down the possibility that lawmakers may need to use a CR just for that agency as political divisions bubble up. “That will be the hardest one for sure,” Thune said. “And I can’t predict what happens, but I think you have to, you know, reserve some optionality.” Congressional Democrats have put their foot down on the DHS funding bill, demanding restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the wake of the shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent. SENATE ADVANCES $174B PACKAGE AS MINNESOTA ICE SHOOTING FUELS DHS FUNDING FIGHT But it’s unlikely Republicans will play ball with that request, meaning the bill will stay in limbo for the time being. That divide won’t be an easy mountain to climb, and the Senate is gearing up to leave for a week, returning to Washington, D.C., the week of the funding deadline. Senate Democrats also don’t want to turn to a year-long CR, a good sign that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus are serious about finishing the work of funding the government. Earlier this week, Schumer lauded Democratic negotiators who worked on the package, and noted that it was full of their own spending priorities meant to push back against Trump. “Their leadership stopped the worst of Donald Trump’s devastating cuts, protected investments that millions of Americans depend on, from education to housing to jobs,” Schumer said. “Though this isn’t the finish line, it’s a good step in the right direction.”

Congress has two dozen lawmakers 80 or older; more than half seeking re-election in 2026: report

Congress has two dozen lawmakers 80 or older; more than half seeking re-election in 2026: report

While some prominent elderly members of the House of Representatives and Senate have announced that they will not pursue re-election, others in the 80 or older age bracket are aiming to keep their jobs even longer. Out of 24 figures from the Silent Generation serving in Congress, 13 have opted to run again in 2026, according to a review by NBC News. The outlet appears to be including Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, of Washington, D.C., in that tally of 13.  NBC News assesses that the 119th Congress is the third-oldest in U.S. history. A few of the senators in the batch of two dozen lawmakers have terms that stretch beyond this year, so they have time to decide on their political futures.  REPUBLICAN SENATOR CONDEMNS ALLEGED SYRIAN ARMY ABUSES AS CEASEFIRE FOLLOWS ALEPPO FIGHTING It seems to remain unclear whether Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., will run again. The congressman has said he will decide in the coming weeks, according to NBC. “I don’t know what the Silent Generation is. I didn’t know that we were silent,” Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho quipped, according to the outlet. “You got to like the job, and you got to have enough time to spend with your family, and you got to have your health, and if you’ve got your health, and you’re doing what you want to do, why not?” The senator will turn 83 later this year and would be 89 by the end of another six-year Senate term. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., will turn 88 later this year prior to Election Day. REP. MAXINE WATERS CALLS FOR USING THE 25TH AMENDMENT TO FIND OUT WHAT’S ‘WRONG’ WITH DONALD TRUMP “My work is not finished, and I don’t know if it will ever be finished,” the congresswoman told the outlet. NBC News reported that 88-year-old Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., noted, “As long as I can be helpful to the constituents I represent, I’ll keep working.” NANCY PELOSI WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION, ENDING DECADES-LONG HOUSE CAREER But some longtime congressional figures, like Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a former House speaker, have announced that they will not run for re-election.