Both chambers are in session this week.
Late Sunday night, House Republicans successfully advanced their reconciliation proposal through the Budget Committee, following Friday’s failed vote when conservative members demanded deeper spending cuts and policy changes. In exchange for voting “present” to move the bill out of the Budget Committee, it is believed that House Republican leadership has agreed to speeding up the implementation of Medicaid work requirements and phasing out clean energy tax credits earlier than originally proposed. Next, the Rules Committee will meet on Wednesday, though the delicate dance of negotiating with different factions of the House GOP caucus will continue this week and additional policy changes are expected.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is sticking with his ambitious deadline of Memorial Day for passage of the bill in the lower chamber, although he must also still reconcile disagreements over the state and local tax deduction. At the same time, moderate Republicans have continued to express concerns about significant changes to the Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program programs that could impact beneficiaries.
On the floor, the House will vote on two Senate-passed resolutions that would roll back Biden-era rules, including one that tightened an Office of the Comptroller of the Currency review of bank mergers (S. J. Res. 13) and another that preserved pollution control requirements for such facilities as petrochemical plants (S. J. Res. 31).
The upper chamber will resume consideration of Charles Kushner’s nomination to be the ambassador to France. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has also slated a potential procedural vote on the GENIUS Act, which would establish a regulatory scheme for stablecoins. The bipartisan legislation was pulled from the calendar in previous weeks after Democrats sought specific revisions, including tightened restrictions on money laundering, foreign issuers, and technology companies.
Several of President Trump’s Cabinet secretaries will continue testifying before Congress this week regarding their agencies’ budgetary requests for FY 2026. President Trump recently released a “skinny budget” that called for a 23% reduction in domestic spending and a record-high funding level for defense agencies.
Separately, President Trump has announced that his Administration will set general tariff rates for U.S. trading partners in the coming weeks and forgo trade negotiations. Although the Administration is working on trade deals with specific larger nations, including China and India, it has stated it lacks the capacity to negotiate individual deals with all trading partners.
Finally, President Trump and his foreign policy envoys will speak with international leaders this week in pursuit of ceasefire agreements in both Ukraine and Gaza.
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