What’s New?

Congress has one week to approve a budget to keep the government operating past Friday. Word initially was to expect a continuing resolution that lasts through March, to give the Trump Administration time to set its priorities before the second half of the year was funded. Then Defense Secretary Ash Carter blasted Congress for a plan to extend funding through May, an assertion that had many on Capitol Hill scratching their heads. Uncertain are the prospects for riders on the resolution that could address Flint water, medical research, and JASTA. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.6% last month from 4.9% in October, a decline that President-Elect Trump might look upon favorably even though he denigrated the Labor Department’s statistics during the campaign. The decline is probably enough to ...

Expect more tea-leaf reading about the effects of the election as Congress returns to work this week and President-Elect Trump continues to fill out his cabinet. On Tuesday, the Washington Post hosts a discussion with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy on the Republican-led Congress’ agenda for the Trump Administration’s first year. And on Thursday, the National Press Club discusses “The Trump Victory and the 2016 Election – What the Media Got Right and Wrong.” Despite Republican victories in the race for the White House and control of Congress – and soon, the Supreme Court – Conservatives are wringing their hands about the future of their movement. On Tuesday, the American Enterprise Institute hosts “Conservatism: What Now?” and on Thursday AEI mulls “Conservatism in the 115th Congress. ...

Let the swamp-draining begin! Congress comes back to town this week after an extended absence, seeking to piece together a budget or, at least, another short-term spending extension by Dec. 9. There’s a full slate of hearings, think-tank seminars and conferences, including at the Bipartisan Policy Center on Tuesday, which begins “Analyzing the 2016 Election.” And the guessing game continues on who will fill which positions in the Trump Administration. Everybody wants to know, of course, what the new administration is thinking, and there are plenty of events that will mull it over. Economists for Peace and Security kicks things off on Monday with “Policy Challenges for the New U.S. President.” The Wilson Center on Tuesday conducts a discussion of “What Does the World Expect of the New Presi ...

It’s here! Election Day is Tuesday, and if there remain any undecided voters out there, well, we can’t help you. With both the Republican and Democratic candidates claiming they are winning, there is certain to be plenty of weeping and gnashing of teeth among the supporters of one of those come Wednesday morning. With the election over, think tanks and interest groups continue their look at how things change under the new administration – but this time with the advantage of knowing who will be in the White House (presumably, unless there is a repeat of 2000’s Florida recount). The Brookings Institution kicks things off on Wednesday with a discussion, “Election 2016: Results and Implications.” The University of Maryland School of Public Policy hosts a Wednesday discussion on “Election 2016: ...

Two weeks (+1 day) to the election, and everyone wants to know what the new president is going to do – whoever he or she is. On Monday, the Middle East Institute hosts a noon discussion on “Middle East and Regional Transition, Terrorism and CVE: What the Next President Will Face,” and in the afternoon the Henry L. Stimson Center and the Center for American Progress discusses “Coping with the Refugee Crisis and Violent Conflict: Bold Ideas for the Next U.S. President and U.N. Secretary General.” International relations is also the focus of two other forward-looking events. On Wednesday, the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations begins its 25th annual Arab-U.S. Policymakers Conference, looking at “The Next U.S. Presidency and U.S. Arab Relations: Probabilities, Possibilities and Potential ...