The upcoming appropriations cycle faces some rough headwinds, as the Trump administration tries to freeze funding, fire thousands of public employees and gut federal agencies, while Republicans pursue a partisan reconciliation package that will further antagonize Democrats. Aidan Quigley, Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman discuss the challenging political climate for fiscal 2026 spending bills and how the reconciliation process could interfere with that work.

Show Notes:

• Budget timeline moves up in Senate as GOP preps flexible targets
• Vanished earmarks in stopgap law pose challenge to local projects’ return
• Trump signs stopgap spending measure, averting shutdown