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rollcall Everything about Werner Herzog becomes theater. Talk to the iconic German filmmaker about his documentary "Meeting Gorbachev" and he might just end up scolding you about your interpretation of Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov. Scroll through historic footage of the fall of the Iron Curtain, and you could end up learning how much beer garden slugs […]
rollcall In his first public statement after his two-year probe, Robert S. Mueller III, the former special counsel, said this week that he had never considered charging President Donald Trump with a crime as he investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election. That’s emboldened those in Congress who say representatives must read Mueller’s report, which […]
 The 2010 health care law has left tens of millions uninsured, leading to a groundswell of support from the left for a single-payer system, or "Medicare for All." Health care reporter Mary Ellen McIntire explains why progressives are ready to move on, what it would take politically to get there, and how they would […]
RollCall The Senate has changed its rules again, and it will result in less debate on many judicial and executive nominations. Who cares? The public should, if it wants a responsive government at least. James Wallner of the R Street Institute and Roll Call’s Niels Lesniewski discuss the ramifications. Subscribe to this podcast below Â
RollCall Under pressure from a bipartisan group of senators, the Homeland Security Department last month increased the number of visas available for foreign guest workers seeking to toil in America’s seasonal industries, from seafood processing to resort housekeeping. Two critics of the decision, Daniel Costa of the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that supports […]
rollcall Before the late Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings was elected to what would become a distinguished congressional career, the South Carolina Democrat reversed himself on the defining issue in Southern politics: segregation. Running for governor in 1958, Hollings opposed integration, a keystone battle in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education […]
RollCall President Donald Trump’s $4.7 trillion budget plan for fiscal 2020 would increase defense while cutting nondefense programs and intensifying the fight over a border wall. He’s in for a big fight, as CQ’s tax and budget reporter Doug Sword explains.  Show Notes: Spending cuts, growth outpace tax cuts, military increases Trump’s budget assumes […]
RollCall Democrats love it. Republicans hate it. K Street really hates it. The White House wants to veto it. Everyone’s talking about HR 1, House Democrats’ overhaul of campaign finance, election and lobbying laws. CQ Roll Call’s Kate Ackley says Democrats argue HR 1 will restore confidence in a political system viewed as skewed toward the […]
rollcall The House and Senate are poised to consider legislation that could end the partial government shutdown — if the competing bills had any chance of passing both chambers, explains CQ budget and appropriations reporter Kellie Mejdrich. Listen for the latest details on how lawmakers are greeting President Donald Trump’s immigration-related offer. Show Notes: Senate […]
RollCall Congressional negotiators are working to reach bipartisan agreement on a Homeland Security spending bill that can fend off another shutdown and thwart President Donald Trump’s threat of declaring a national emergency, CQ appropriations reporter Kellie Mejdrich tells co-host Jennifer Shutt. Show notes: Shutdown or national emergency? Trump plays coy in pre-Super Bowl interview Trump teases […]
RollCall Take one congresswoman from Hawaii, one tech entrepreneur and one South Bend mayor, add in 7 percent of the U.S. Senate and you still don’t have even half of the potential Democratic field of presidential candidates. Why is everyone running for president? And what kind of effect will that have on down-ballot races for […]
rollcall There is no plan at the moment to prevent a partial government shutdown at the end of the week over President Donald Trump’s insistence for $5 billion for a border wall, explains CQ budget reporter Jennifer Shutt. She games out what the options are to fund the government as lawmakers try to guess Trump’s […]
 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls climate change "an existential threat" and has established a committee to look for solutions. CQ energy & environment reporter Elvina Nawaguna explains what’s likely to come from the Democratic House, while Brad Johnson, a board member with the group End Climate Silence, says that activists will look for increased regulation while also pushing for an […]
rollcall This is a special edition podcast to bring you an interview with a key lawmaker, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, about how Democrats will respond to Republican tax cuts. "When it comes to the tax breaks for millionaires that will definitely be revisited," the Maryland Democrats tells CQ’s budget and tax editor Peter Cohn. Van Hollen […]
ROLLCALL Just when lawmakers thought they had breathing room to hammer out a year-end spending deal, President Donald Trump drops a request for an extra $4.76 billion, technically referred to as anomalies. CQ’s budget and appropriations team, Kellie Mejdrich and Paul M. Krawzak explain what’s at stake for government spending with co-host Jennifer Shutt. Subscribe […]
CQ Health reporter Sandhya Raman explains what’s in the sweeping opioids bill that Congress cleared on Oct. 3 – just in time for lawmakers to campaign on the issue before the November midterm elections. rollcall  Show Notes: Senate Clears Big Aviation, Opioid Legislation Under Shadow of Brett Kavanaugh and FBI House Democrats, Republicans Unite Behind […]
Shawn Zeller recaps the results of CQ’s Capitol Insiders Survey, a poll of congressional staffers about the midterms and other topics, with expert analysis from two former aides to top congressional leaders, Lisa Camooso Miller, who was a spokeswoman for former Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, and Brendan Daly, a onetime spokesman for Nancy Pelosi when […]
Will appealing to Whataburger partisans get out the vote? What about a new Willie Nelson song? These are but some of the questions that will be answered by the Texas Senate race between Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic Rep. Beto O’Rourke. That’s because some of the Lone Star State’s favorite sons, like country-music legend […]
CQ senior writer Kate Ackley says Democrats agree on a few policy bills, from a lobbying and campaign finance overhaul to an increase in the minimum wage, but will likely have internal disagreements about whether to pursue more far-reaching goals, like Medicare for all, or restrictions on gun ownership. rollcall Â
In the middle of a singularly rough Supreme Court nomination fight, the business of the high court goes on. The fate of Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s second nominee to the court, is still up in the air. But the direction of the court, regardless of what happens with Kavanaugh, seems to be moving inexorably […]