We have a Republican Speaker, but no Republican plan to speak of

Republicans have vehemently complained that President Biden and Democrats are taking the country and the economy in the wrong direction. But now that Republicans control the House of Representatives, what specifically do they intend to do instead? Your guess is as good as mine, because Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) never laid out a detailed plan.

It’s not a new problem for Republicans.

Remember when Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, in March...

We have a Republican Speaker, but no Republican plan to speak of

Republicans have vehemently complained that President Biden and Democrats are taking the country and the economy in the wrong direction. But now that Republicans control the House of Representatives, what specifically do they intend to do instead? Your guess is as good as mine, because Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) never laid out a detailed plan.

It’s not a new problem for Republicans.

Remember when Democrats passed the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, in March...

Five Senate Democrats who could retire ahead of 2024

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Messy new Congress and coming gridlock: Founders intended governing to be difficult

With Democrats holding the narrowest possible majority in the Senate (one seat) and Republicans holding a slim majority in the House of Representatives (nine seats out of 435), you would expect to see the two parties working together. More likely, we will see even greater polarization in Congress, with conservatives wielding greater influence among Republicans and a more assertive progressive left in the Democratic Party.

That’s because more and more states and districts are d...

Joe Biden, welfare king

The derogatory term “welfare queen” was so 1980s and ‘90s, when Republicans and even some Democrats were looking to reform welfare programs. President Biden, by contrast, is doing all he can to expand the number of people receiving means-tested welfare. That makes him the welfare king.

The irony is that historically politicians liked to boast that their leadership had created jobs and grown the economy, thereby reducing the number of people on welfare. Biden also says he’s gro...

The left’s 5 biggest unknowns for 2023

Progressives are leaving 2022 riding high. This year, liberals pushed President Biden to the left, passed legislation in line with their philosophy and expanded their united bargaining power in Congress.

In Washington’s ever-changing expectations game, however, 2023 is sure to bring a fair amount of uncertainty to the Democratic Party’s left flank.

While Biden has shown a desire to embrace much of what drives liberals, the new year will test how far he is willing to ...

Black Americans shaping a new America

Story at a glance
  • A number of Black Americans made history in 2022 by breaking through glass ceilings.
  • Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, while Hakeem Jeffries is the first Black person to lead House Democrats. 
  • Brittney Griner made history of a different sort as her imprisonment in Russia awakened a political movement.

Black politi...

The Hill’s Morning Report — Santos faces growing criticism after revelations

Rep.-elect George Santos (R-N.Y.) continues to face controversy after admitting Monday to fabricating pieces of his work and education background. 

In his campaign to represent Long Island in the House, Santos falsely claimed that he earned a college degree and worked directly with Goldman Sachs. Additionally, after he claimed on the campaign trail to have Jewish heritage and be “a proud American Jew,” Santos clarified Monday that he “never claimed to be Jewish....

Official budget scores concealed lame duck bills’ effect on inequality

Modern legislative debates are often defined by the total “price tag”— the $550 billion infrastructure bill, $1.9 trillion Trump tax cut, or $938 billion Affordable Care Act. And the major “lame duck” session bill that worked its way through Congress before the holidays — a $1.7 trillion omnibus — was no different. 

The sheer size of this bill meant the stakes were incredibly high for Americans’ wallets — but the amount of new government spending alone doesn’t tell us the full...