Inside the battle for control of the Library of Congress

Interview transcript: Terry Gerton There’s been a lot of conversation lately about the Library of Congress. And you’ve written about the current clash between the Trump administration and Congress and the library itself. Can you just give us a quick history of how the Library of Congress came to be and what its relationship normally is? Kevin Kosar The Library of Congress was born about 225 years ago. It was established by an act of Congress: Members realized that if they were going to legislate and legislate intelligently, it would…

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Results of the first review initiates battle over budget rules

During the confirmation hearings of the Office of Management and Budget director and deputy director for budget earlier this year, lawmakers pressed Russ Vought and Dan Bishop about whether they would comply with the Impoundment Control Act. The budget rules of the road require Congressional approval if OMB decides not to spend money appropriated in law. While both Vought and Bishop promised to comply with the law, a new decision by the Government Accountability Office casts further doubt on whether OMB will follow the Impoundment Control Act of 1974. GAO…

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The political battle takes shape: What it could mean for basic governmental operations

Conventions over, the politicians are hammering away at one another. With the election looking close, questions arise over the next fiscal year budget and the timing for getting it actually enacted. WTOP Capitol Hill Correspondent Mitchell Miller shares details on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Interview transcript: Tom Temin Well, we know there’s a CR; that’s a given. Both parties say that, but the shape and tone and timing of it could be really different depending on who wins. Mitchell Miller Yeah, this is going to be a kind…

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MoveOn Activists Celebrate Victory in Debt Ceiling Battle

(Photo by Sean Zanni/Getty Images for MoveOn) After months of MAGA Republicans’ holding our economy hostage, the Biden administration and Congress have finally reached a deal to raise the debt ceiling, prevent a national default, and preserve critical federal programs. The budget deal that President Biden secured isn’t perfect, but it protects jobs, veterans’ benefits, historic climate change investments enacted in 2022, and lifesaving health care benefits, while mostly preserving the social safety net. Together, MoveOn members’ activism stopped Republicans in Congress from dragging all of us into a catastrophic…

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Abortion Pills Will Be the Next Battle in the 2024 Election

The next front is rapidly emerging in the struggle between supporters and opponents of legal abortion, and that escalating conflict is increasing the chances that the issue will shape the 2024 election as it did last November’s midterm contest. President Joe Biden triggered the new confrontation with a flurry of recent moves to expand access to the drugs used in medication abortions, which now account for more than half of all abortions performed in the United States. Medication abortion involves two drugs: mifepristone followed by misoprostol (which is also used…

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News Roundup: Senate battle for voting protections; Supreme Court rejects latest Trump gambit

In the news today: Tonight saw the latest Senate battle to protect voting rights even as Republican-held state legislatures pass unprecedented rollbacks targeting those rights. What’s next is unclear, but Democratic leaders organized the vote tonight as a move to force the two Senate Democratic holdouts—as well as all Senate Republicans—on record for blocking the urgently needed protections. Also this evening, the Supreme Court rejected a Trump demand that the National Archives refuse a congressional request for administration records pertaining to the violence on January 6. Justice Thomas was the…

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