Congress returns following the two-week Easter recess with a focus on the Department of Homeland Security which remains  unfunded; continued military action in Iran; looming expiration of Section 702 of FISA; and a host of other issues and nominations. Much has transpired on several of these fronts over the recess, informing what we should expect both during the upcoming work period […]

Operation Epic Fury experienced its first official pause via an announced two-week ceasefire entered into by the U.S., Israel, and Iran less than 90 minutes before President Trump’s 8:00 p.m. Tuesday deadline. Markets reacted favorably, with oil falling more than 16% on Wednesday. For the week, the S&P 500 finished up 3.68%—its best week since […]

Operation Epic Fury enters its sixth week, bumping up against two self-imposed public deadlines repeated by the Trump Administration: an approximate 4-to-6-week military operation and the President’s revised deadline to Iran of 8:00 p.m. tomorrow evening. In addition to the President’s Easter Sunday Truth Social post updating the deadline to Iran, the weekend was dominated […]

Trump Demands “Skinny” Reconciliation 2.0.  President Trump began his day as the first sitting president to sit in the audience as the Supreme Court conducted oral arguments over the Administration’s attempts to end automatic birthright citizenship. This evening, President Trump is slated to address the nation for the first time since military action began February […]

Operation Epic Fury is now in its 30th day. The week’s dominant variable has been the simultaneous pursuit of a diplomatic off-ramp and an escalating U.S. ground force posture. Signs are trending towards the latter as Iran rejected the Trump Administration’s 15-point peace plan and launched its most serious attack yet on a U.S. base […]

At approximately 2:30 AM this morning, the Senate passed via voice vote a bill to fund all of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), sans funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and certain components of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). While there was some thought earlier today that the House would accept this package, […]

“Reconciliation 2.0” is a live exercise for the immediate future, fueled by the Congressional Republicans’ search to restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security, the emerging need for supplemental appropriations, and a desire to require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Whether 2.0 is real by the time the House and Senate return from the […]

SENATE UPDATE The Senate convenes at 3:00 p.m. today, having invoked cloture Sunday afternoon on Senator Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to serve as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. If no post-cloture time is yielded back, Sen. Mullin will be confirmed this evening at roughly 7:45 p.m. The Senate will also invoke cloture on Colin […]

Operation Epic Fury is now in its 23rd day. The war’s dominant variable has shifted from military targets alone to diplomatic and economic negotiations. A coalition to secure the Strait of Hormuz remains a stated goal for containing the energy shock hitting markets, but questions are now turning towards possible U.S. troop deployment. USMCA talks […]

Earlier today, the White House released its National AI Legislative Framework, providing the clearest signal to date of how the Administration intends to shape congressional action this year. A notable shift in both tone and substance from the “AI Moratorium” push we saw during the reconciliation debate, today’s proposal seeks to establish a national regulatory framework governing both […]