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

Maine State Auditor Matt Dunlap applauds during a May Day rally organized by local unions outside Portland City Hall. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)

Matt Dunlap wins Democratic primary for battleground Maine seat

Fireworks are seen over the National Mall after the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House early Monday morning. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Photos of the week | June 12-16, 2026

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee markup on Wednesday.

Sovereign wealth fund tax on AI companies unveiled by Sanders

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., arrives for a vote in the Capitol on Wednesday. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

AI deepfakes bill advanced by Senate Judiciary Committee

At the Races: Artificial interference

Senate Intelligence ranking member Mark Warner and other Democrats conduct a news conference in the Capitol on Wednesday, after President Trump tapped the brakes on Jay Clayton, his nominee for director of national intelligence.

Wrapup: Senate hits spy powers snafu