What is a Senate vote-a-rama?
Democrats are working quickly to move a sprawling tax, health care and climate plan through the Senate in the coming days using a complex procedure known as budget reconciliation that could allow passage without any Republican votes. If Democrats remain unified in the critical stretch between now and when they bring the bill to a floor vote, reconciliation will allow them to pass a mammoth bill that Republicans would have likely been able to block in the Senate under normal operating rules. But to use the procedure, Democrats must jump through a series of hoo
Read MoreInflation Reduction Act drops most of Biden's proposals to tax the rich
The deal struck last week by Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), a slimmed-down version of the Build Back Better Act, leaves out most of President Biden's proposals to pull in greater government revenues from rich taxpayers. Increases in individual income tax rates for high earners, increases in the estate tax, increased taxes on capital gains like stock and property holdings, a tax on billionaires, a plan to build out the net investment income tax and a surtax on high-income households are plans that have been scrapped from the Inflation Reductio
Read MorePrimary results reinforce Trump's power over GOP
Talk of former President Trump’s loosening grip on the GOP may be overstated, as evidenced by Tuesday’s primary results in states like Arizona and Michigan. Trump-backed candidates have picked up wins in the Senate primary in Arizona, the GOP governor’s race in Michigan, as well as House and secretary of state primaries. Overall, the results show that Trump is still a powerful force within the GOP, even as questions about his viability as a presidential candidate in 2024 linger. “I do think it should put to rest this idea that I think certain people in the part
Read More'Paxlovid rebound' raises questions over how long antiviral COVID treatment should last
President Biden testing positive for COVID-19 again days after completing a course of Paxlovid has raised the question of whether the length of the antiviral treatment should be reconsidered. Just days after he completed a five-day round of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Biden's physician Kevin O’Connor said in a letter on Saturday that the president had tested positive once again. As of Wednesday, Biden is
Read MoreThe Memo: How abortion could transform the midterms
The Washington consensus might have been proven wrong once again — this time on abortion. The Supreme Court’s decision on June 24 striking down Roe v. Wade was always going to be huge news. But Beltway strategists in both parties questioned the degree to which it would have a real electoral impact. The popular view was that people for whom abortion is a pivotal issue already vote in every election — and that the economy would dominate November’s midterms. Now, that idea looks far more questionable. On Tuesday, voters in Kansas de
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