Skip to content
RollCall logo

Podcasts

So you want to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget

Political Theater, Episode 353

Sen. Max Baucus is questioned by reporters outside the Senate Foreign Relations room in the Capitol, where members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also know as the “super committee,” were holding a meeting on Nov. 17, 2011.
Sen. Max Baucus is questioned by reporters outside the Senate Foreign Relations room in the Capitol, where members of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, also know as the “super committee,” were holding a meeting on Nov. 17, 2011. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
By Jason Dick, Peter Cohn and David Lerman
Posted January 8, 2025 at 4:11pm

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: when Washington says it will cut the federal deficit. Easier said than done! Just ask the 2011 super committee, which had a mandate and bipartisan support yet failed spectacularly. For this podcast, we combine the powers of the Political Theater podcast with sister podcast CQ Budget and its illustrious host, the Budget Tracker, as well as his long-suffering editor.

Show Notes:

Recent Stories

At the Races: Party’s (not) over?

Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing in on July 29.

Republicans revive false miscarriage statistic, twist Fauci’s texts about COVID-19 shots

Police officers secure the crime scene at E Street NW on Thursday morning. (Jason Dick/CQ Roll Call)

Commuter chaos: Police chase adds to Grand Prix traffic woes

President Donald Trump speaks to the press on Wednesday next to ongoing construction of a helipad on the South Lawn of the White House. His top legislative affairs aide, James Braid, is leaving that post later this month.

White House legislative liaison’s exit comes ahead of tricky pre-midterms session

Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap is the Democratic nominee for the state's battleground 2nd District.

DCCC adds Maine’s Matt Dunlap and 4 others to ‘Red to Blue’ program

Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan, a Democrat running for New Hampshire's 1st District, recites the Pledge of Allegiance during a candidate “speed dating” event at City Hall in Dover on Aug. 13. Candidates spoke with different groups of voters in 15-minute rounds. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Roll Call on the Road: New England