Congress struggles to keep up with the Trump cavalcade of action

The Trump-DOGE-Musk fast-moving agenda prods Congress into action. This week, members reacted to several of the latest administrative executive orders and other moves. Loren Duggan, deputy news director of Bloomberg Government, joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to give the rundown. Interview transcript: Tom Temin: And Loren, there is a House vote this week on nationwide injunctions. What’s going on there? Loren Duggan: Right. This is a reaction to what some judges have done in the Trump administration. He’ll put forward an executive order or other action and a…

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How to keep the courts out of administrative decisions

Attorney Domenic Powell worked for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau until today, when the Trump administration sort of canceled it. Ironically, this CFPB attorney wrote about how to court-proof administrative branch decisions. That was in December, before the onslaught of Trump-DOGE activities that have mostly ended up in court. Powell joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss. Interview transcript: Tom Temin: And we should also point out that you are a fellow of the American Bar Association, specializing in regulatory affairs and administrative procedures. First of all, tell us…

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Congress labors to keep the budget deal alive

The continuing resolution funding the government runs out Friday at 11:59 p.m. So far the spending limits Republicans and Democrats agreed to, a week or so ago, have not translated into bills for full 2024 appropriations. That means neither a long-term continuing resolution nor a shutdown is off the table. For the latest, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin spoke with WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller. Interview Transcript:    Mitchell Miller Right now things are looking better, but things were not looking good heading into the weekend. But during…

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White House asks Congress to pass short-term funding bill to keep government operating

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House said Thursday that Congress should pass a short-term funding measure to ensure the government keeps operating after the current budget year ends Sept. 30. An official with the Office of Management and Budget said lawmakers would very likely need to pass a temporary spending measure in September to prevent a potential partial shutdown. The official was not authorized to discuss the administration’s plans and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Without such congressional approval, parts of the federal government could shut…

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McCarthy and Complicit Caucus Republicans Keep Choosing to Stick with Admitted Fraudster Santos

Washington, D.C. – In response to House Republicans failing to expel Representative George Santos from Congress, MoveOn Political Action Executive Director Rahna Epting issued the following statement: “George Santos belongs in a courtroom—not in Congress—and he needs to be removed from office immediately. Kevin McCarthy is trying to hang on to his razor-thin majority by dragging out and delaying his responsibility to expel George Santos from Congress. Kicking this responsibility over to the Ethics Committee at this point is just a delay tactic to preserve MAGA Republican power and continue…

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VBA sees automation tools as ‘game-changer’ to keep up with record workload

The Department of Veterans Affairs broke a productivity record for processing benefits claims last year. But that’s just the start of what it needs to do. The VA needs to keep breaking new records for claims processed, if it hopes to keep pace with a workload surge under the burn-pit toxic exposure legislation signed into law last summer. The Veterans Benefits Administration completed a record high of 1.7 million total claims in fiscal 2022. VBA processed over 390,000 total claims for benefits in fiscal 2023 so far, about a 13%…

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