Eye on Congress

Senator Bernie Sanders is the Democratic front-runner, leading the crowded field in both delegates and national polls. His populist message is resonating with voters, but does his legislative record in Congress indicate that he can make good on his lofty promises, such as "Medicare for All" and free college tuition? Plus, Congress’ response to the growing threat of coronavirus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump focused on getting the Senate to confirm his judges in 2019, taking few positions on policy votes in either the House or the Senate, CQ Roll Call found in its annual review of voting in Congress. Meanwhile, votes on judicial nominees -- all 105 of which were confirmed -- were more partisan than ever before. CQ on Congress host Shawn Zeller, and CQ Magazine editors Jonathan Miller and Mike Magner discuss the findings in the the latest installment of CQ Roll Call's 66-year-old vote studies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week CQ on Congress delves deep into whether the government is ready to manage a pandemic. Shawn Zeller speaks first to Rep. Anna G. Eshoo, the California Democrat who wrote a law last year to improve pandemic preparedness, then to Nikki Clowers, managing director of the health care team for the Government Accountability Office. She points out some of the shortcomings in U.S. preparedness that need to be shored up.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ on Congress host Shawn Zeller builds a case of how the acquittal of President Trump is yet another notch in this administration's move toward an imperial presidency leaving a sagging Congress and judiciary that will have implications for 21st century policies and policy making. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate voted 51-49 on Jan. 31 against calling witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial and will now move to closing arguments and votes, on Feb. 5, on the two articles of impeachment, accusing Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. CQ Roll Call White House reporter Niels Lesniewski explains why Republicans objected to witnesses and why they will vote to acquit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call takes listeners inside Congress to where the impeachment trial is happening and shares its insightful observations from reporters. Also, we compare and contrast the impeachment of President Clinton to President Trump. How have times changed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With elections looming, how politically perilous is the impeachment trial for senators — on both sides of the aisle — who are up for re-election in November? We turn to CQ Roll Call's elections analyst Nathan Gonzales to look at some key races and how impeachment will — or will not — play into them. Plus, congressional reporter Katherine Tully-McManus offers a view from inside the Senate chambers from day one of the impeachment proceedings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ on Congress begins 2020 by examining what's next after the targeted killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad. Host Shawn Zeller talks to two Iraq War veterans, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., to get their takes on a House resolution that has reignited the debate over Congress' authority over acts of war, and policy towards Iraq and Iran. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elissa Slotkin is one of 31 House Democrats who represents a district Trump won in 2016. Nearly all of them voted to impeach Trump this week. But Slotkin’s decision is not sitting well with some of her constituents, which republicans hope will hurt her in the next election. CQ Roll Call reporter Simone Pathe reports from Slotkin's district. Then, CQ Roll Call reporter Bridget Bowman, who covered the impeachment vote, joins the podcast to explain what comes next.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Many Americans have been to the hospital in an emergency, or for a procedure, only to get a huge bill after because a doctor treating them doesn’t take their insurance. Republicans and Democrats have reached agreement on legislation to ban so-called surprise billing. CQ Roll Call reporter Mary Ellen McIntire joins the podcast to explain the likely outcome of this bill. Claire McAndrew, Director of Campaigns and Partnerships at FamiliesUSA, which advocates for health care consumers, also joins the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Those pesky robocalls may be the one thing that this deeply divided Congress can agree on. A bill passed by the House this week by New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone aims to combat the billions of automated phone calls that flood this country's phone lines each month. A companion bill in the Senate by South Dakota Republican John Thune appears headed for passage. CQ Roll Call reporter Katherine Tully-McManus joins the podcast this week, along with lawyer Kevin Rupy who represents phone companies.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2016 by just 27,000 votes. Now, to beat him in 2020, it is crucial that Democrats win the state. A new poll from Marquette University Law School finds that Democrats face an uphill battle and, it seems, the impeachment hearings in Washington aren’t helping them. Charles Franklin, who runs the Marquette poll, joins the podcast today to talk about why Wisconsinites believe that the president pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, but they also don't think it was an impeachable offense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Democrats made the case for impeachment public this week. Three witnesses, Foreign Service officers in charge of U.S. relations with Ukraine, confirmed that President Trump pressured that country to investigate his political rival, Joe Biden. Republicans pushed back to discredit the testimony as hearsay, while painting Trump as a crusader against corruption who has increased the amount of aid Ukraine is receiving from the U.S. CQ legal affairs reporter Todd Ruger joins the podcast to fill us in on the highlights of what happened this week.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The defense authorization bill sets the nation’s defense priorities, spending limits for Pentagon programs and gives soldiers a pay raise. Despite differences in the past, Congress has always been able to pass the bill. This yearmay be different. Disagreements over the source of border wall funding has stalled the process. CQ Roll Call defense reporter Andrew Clevenger has been following the process and joins the podcast to explain what the hurdles are and what could happen if the bill fails to pass.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After weeks of frustration from House republicans, a majority of Democrats (and independent Justin Amash) voted to create rules for the ongoing impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. According to House Democrats, the rules will bring the impeachment inquiry into the open, allowing the public to follow along. According to the Republicans, the whole process has been a sham from the start. CQ Roll Call reporter Patrick Kelley joins the show to talk about what happened on the House floor during the vote and the direction the inquiry could be headed next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gary Abernathy, a former district representative for Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, assesses the impeachment inquiry from the GOP heartland and finds it wanting. And CQ Roll Call reporter Katherine Tully-McManus describes how House Republicans protested the inquiry in dramatic fashion this week. They find the closed door style of the inquiry unsavory.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Polls now show a majority of Americans favor impeaching Donald Trump and removing him from office. Democratic pollster Brad Bannon explains how people should read the rush of new surveys coming in. And we remember Rep. Elijah Cummings, the Baltimore Democrat who passed away this week by reprising his 2017 interview with CQ Roll Call. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With President Trump now facing an impeachment inquiry over his request that the president of Ukraine investigate his political foe, Joe Biden, White House staff now face a decision: Cooperate with Democrats or risk legal jeopardy themselves, says Justin Rood, director of the Congressional Oversight Initiative at the Project on Government Oversight. Still, it's not clear if a still-divided Democratic caucus in the House will have the votes to impeach, should it come to that, says Lindsey McPherson, CQ Roll Call's House reporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump has challenged the idea, pioneered in George W. Bush's administration, that the best, and most cost-effective way to end homelessness is to offer people living on the streets homes, no strings attached, and to service their needs in a home setting. A new report from the president's Council of Economic Advisers says that has neither reduced homelessness, nor lowered costs. Richard Cho, who served in top positions at the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness during the Obama administration and now heads the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness, joins the program this week to discuss how "Housing First" has worked and how it hasn't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around 400 people are suffering from respiratory illnesses and six have died after using electronic cigarettes, sparking a rare bipartisan response in Washington. After President Donald Trump announced that the FDA would ban the sale of flavorings for the devices, the spotlight is now on lawmakers of both parties who are considering legislation. Three guests join the show this week to explain the reasons behind this push and the challenges facing lawmakers moving forward: Dr. Jonathan Winickoff, a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School who was previously head of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ consortium trying to stop kids from using tobacco; Rep. Donna Shalala, the Florida Democrat and former secretary of Health and Human Services during Bill Clinton’s presidency; and CQ Roll Call reporter Andrew Siddons, who covers the issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices