Manchin: Democrats would be blamed for shutdown

Former Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) said Wednesday the blame for a potential government shutdown would likely fall on Democrats.

“They’re going to be blamed for shutting it down,” Manchin told Semafor. “Why would they want to put themselves in that position? They don’t have leverage on those types of things."

He added, "You’ve got to understand the position you’re in — you play the hand that you’re given.”

Government funding is set to lapse Sept. 30 if law...

The pandemic is over — let Biden’s health insurance handouts expire

Ronald Reagan once quipped that “nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program.”

He could have been talking about the effort to extend — for a second time — former President Joe Biden’s Affordable Care Act-enhanced tax credits, a set of extremely generous federal health insurance subsidies intended to help Americans get through the COVID-19 crisis.

That crisis ended two years ago. Biden’s extra help, enacted by a Democratic-majority Congress in 2021 and ex...

Live updates: Trump jabs at Kimmel as his suspension sets off uproar

President Trump, along with allies, lauded Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC, even as it has sparked a firestorm over free speech. 

The late-night host was taken off the air Wednesday over comments he made Monday about the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk. 

Some Democrats have gone so far as to call for Federal Communications Commission chief Brendan Carr to resign, citing his pressure on stations to act. 

“Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired becau...

Stacy Sanders: Chief health adviser, Senate Finance Committee Democrats

Stacy Sanders, the health chief for Senate Finance Committee Democrats, joined the committee while Democrats were in the majority in fall 2024 but has quickly adjusted to being in the minority.

She said the day-to-day work dealing with the Trump administration’s "relentlessness” is a constant balancing act. 

“Finding that balance between advancing our proactive agenda and appropriately reacting to and meeting the moment of this administration and this majority is a c...

Senate GOP strategy emerges in shutdown fight: ‘Let Schumer be Schumer’

Senate Republicans are looking to heap pressure on Democrats amid their fight over government funding — and they believe Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) talkative nature is giving them a key advantage.

While the party remains committed to moving ahead on a “clean” stopgap spending bill, four Senate GOP sources told The Hill they openly want the Democratic leader to continue beating the drums about a potential shutdown, believing that his doing so gives Repub...

Democrats face dwindling options to counter GOP on redistricting

Democrats face dwindling options to counter the GOP on redistricting as more and more red states signal they will move forward with rewriting their maps.

California could pass a new House map this fall, giving Democrats an opportunity to largely nix many of the likely gains Republicans will make in Texas. The party is also likely to pick up a seat in Utah if GOP lawmakers are forced to redraw their House map.

But they see few good options remaining after those sta...

Matt Gallivan: Staff director, Senate HELP Committee

The only person who could bring Matt Gallivan back to Capitol Hill was his former — and now current — boss, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.). 

Gallivan is the staff director for Republicans on Cassidy’s HELP Committee.  

“I want to make sure that I'm having an impact while being here. And that helps when you work for a boss that you're so aligned with,” Gallivan said, describing it as a relationship where t...

Democrats want government funding stopgap to reverse nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts

Senate Democrats on Wednesday evening unveiled an ambitious proposal to fund the government past Sept. 30 that would restore the nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid made by President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which could cause scores of rural and smaller hospitals around the country to close.

The 68-page proposal would also permanently extend the enhanced health insurance premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that are due to expire at the end of the y...