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After months of negotiations, Republicans took formal steps this week toward enacting President Donald Trump’s agenda. The House Budget Committee appears set to approve its budget resolution on Thursday, a day after its Senate counterpart approved one of its own.
But adopting a budget resolution, which would unlock the reconciliation process that would allow Senate Republicans to pass a bill with 51 votes and bypass the filibuster, is just the first step. For one thing, the House and Senate committees are working on different plans.
Republicans are eyeing Medicaid reductions to pay for tax cuts and other priorities, arguing that the federal health care program that insures more than 70 million low-income Americans is ripe for an overhaul. But some GOP moderates are already warning about the potential impacts that deep cuts could have in their states, our colleague Jessie Hellmann reports.
Democrats, meanwhile, are forecasting how they’ll go after GOP incumbents as the negotiations over a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill advance: by portraying them as working for the wealthy at the expense of average Americans.
“House Republicans are scheming to steal tax dollars from hardworking Americans so they can pay for tax breaks for their billionaire donors and big corporations,” Justin Chermol, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a Thursday statement. “Americans can see this plan for what it truly is: a Republican rip off.”
Expect Democrats to continue with this message as Republicans look ahead to potentially more difficult negotiations over the content of a reconciliation bill. But Republicans, fresh off victories in November, could also try to exploit Democratic divisions over how to respond to a GOP with full control.
Starting gate
Smith eyes the exits: Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith won’t seek a second full term next year, becoming the second Senate Democrat to announce retirement plans as the party faces a challenging map this cycle.
Cabinet campaign paying off: Senate Republicans confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary on Thursday, approving a nominee who initially had a question mark around his confirmation. It’s a win for conservatives, who have pressured key Republicans to support Trump’s nominees as they prepare for reelection next year.
Haaland is in: Deb Haaland, a former Democratic House member and Interior secretary under Joe Biden, launched a run for New Mexico governor this week. She is the first former Biden Cabinet secretary to formally announce a 2026 campaign, but at least two others are considering bids.
Show me the votes: Health issues and campaign-related absences drove a slight drop in overall vote participation on Capitol Hill last year. According to CQ Roll Call’s annual vote studies, that was especially true in the House, where voting attendance was again down from the record highs of the pandemic era, when members could vote by proxy. Paul V. Fontelo and Ryan Kelly have more.
Bynum Q&A: Our colleague Jim Saksa sat down with Democratic freshman Rep. Janelle Bynum, who flipped a purple district in Oregon last year. Bynum shares her goals in Congress; her thoughts on the Republican she beat, Lori Chavez-DeRemer; and her love of Teddy Pendergrass.
ICYMI
NY special status: New York Democrats backed off a bill meant to delay a special election to succeed GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik, who is expected to be confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul pressured state legislators to call off a vote as she holds separate discussions with Trump over the future of the state’s congestion pricing program, The New York Times reports.
The speech and its fallout: South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace delivered an extraordinary floor speech Monday night, accusing multiple men of sexual assault and saying state Attorney General Alan Wilson ignored the allegations. Wilson, the son of Mace’s fellow Republican colleague, Rep. Joe Wilson, called her claims “categorically false.” Wilson and Mace are both mulling a run for governor of the Palmetto State next year.
Tennessee shuffle: Sen. Bill Hagerty said he’ll run for a second term next year, putting an end to rumors that the Tennessee Republican could run for governor, an office that fellow Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn has said she’s interested in.
State of play: Democrats are targeting 18 state legislative chambers across 11 states in the 2026 elections, according to a Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee memo first shared with NOTUS.
Barr decision: Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr is planning a Senate bid if fellow Republican Mitch McConnell retires. In the event of such a move, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports that there are several potential candidates who could succeed the seven-term congressman in the Central Kentucky-based 6th District.
Guv roundup: In Florida, first lady Casey DeSantis is “seriously considering” running to succeed her husband, Gov. Ron DeSantis, NBC News reports. In Georgia, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene hasn’t ruled out a run for governor or Senate, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. And in Arizona, Republican Karrin Taylor Robson has launched a second gubernatorial run, this time highlighting the endorsement she received from Trump. Meanwhile, in South Carolina, former state treasurer and reality show contestant Thomas Ravenel’s bid for the state’s top elected position ended just four days after it launched. Ravenel, the single father of three, said he was leaving the race because it was “much more important to raise my young family than to run for political office.”
Put me in, governor: Republican Gov. Mike DeWine named former Ohio State University football coach Jim Tressel as his lieutenant governor. Tressel, who quickly won confirmation by the state legislature, succeeds Jon Husted, who took JD Vance’s seat in the Senate last month.
VA Dems: Virginia Democratic Party Chair Susan Swecker will step down from leading the state party next month after 10 years.
Nathan’s notes
More than a dozen members of Congress are running, exploring or seriously considering bids for governor of their home states, CQ Roll Call elections analyst Nathan L. Gonzales of Inside Elections writes. And the open seats they’d leave behind could have an impact on which party controls Congress after the 2026 midterm elections.
Thirty-eight states are holding gubernatorial elections this cycle, including New Jersey and Virginia this year. Inside Elections currently rates 11 of those governorships as battlegrounds; eight are currently held by Democrats and three by Republicans.
What we’re reading
Familiar playbook: Republicans in Virginia are dusting off their 2021 campaign playbook, retooling its parents’ rights message for this year’s governor’s race, NBC News details.
Public praise, private cautions: The Bulwark looks at Republicans in Congress who have privately expressed concerns about Elon Musk’s federal cost-cutting mission despite publicly praising his efforts.
Youth whisperer: The New York Times Magazine traces Charlie Kirk’s journey from a Rush Limbaugh-loving high school student to a member of Trump’s inner circle.
Return on investment: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent $4.2 million last year to help send Maryland Rep. Sarah Elfreth to Congress, but Jewish Insider reports that the group is wary of one of the first votes the Democrat took opposing a bill that would impose sanctions on International Criminal Court officials for issuing an arrest warrant against Israel’s prime minister and other top officials.
Losing strategy: Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde continues to falsely cast doubt over his loss to Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin last fall. But as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel observes, Hovde has not disputed Trump’s win in the battleground state.
The Count: 61 percent
That’s the participation rate of Speaker Mike Johnson on House floor votes in 2024, the eighth-lowest participation score in the GOP conference, according to CQ Roll Call’s annual vote studies. While that figure might seem low, it’s actually the highest rate by any speaker since Congressional Quarterly began tracking vote participation in 1947.
Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, voted on 51 percent of House votes during his short stint with the gavel in 2023. Nancy Pelosi’s high-water mark was 15 percent in 2020, while Paul Ryan’s was just 2.4 percent in 2018.
Current House rules state that a speaker “is not required to vote in ordinary legislative proceedings, except when his vote would be decisive or when the House is engaged in voting by ballot.”
And speakers have generally followed tradition of remaining above the fray and allowing the rank and file to do the work of legislating. According to CQ’s studies, noted speakers such as Sam Rayburn and Tip O’Neill had completely blank spots in the tables where annual vote participation rates were reported.
Fun fact: Johnson could be on track to break his record in 2025. With Republicans holding only a paper-thin majority in the House, Johnson’s rate this year through Wednesday was 79.5 percent.
— by Roll Call’s Ryan Kelly
Coming up
The House is out next week, while the Senate is set to return to the Capitol on Tuesday after observing Presidents Day. Several senators are also expected to attend the Munich Security Conference this weekend. Later next week: Republicans head to the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, just outside D.C.
Photo finish
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The post At the Races: Talkin’ ’bout a Resolution appeared first on Roll Call.
