Eye on Congress

President Donald Trump has backed Senate Republicans' plan for two more reconciliation bills, the first of which would focus solely on immigration enforcement funding. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and Aris Folley describe the prospects of the bill and the next steps for the fiscal 2027 spending process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If the line separating church and state in America has not yet disappeared, it is certainly fading fast. The evidence? A Supreme Court willing to rule in favor of faith-based lawsuits; a Secretary of Defense framing the war in Iran in apocalyptic terms; a president pushing a law restricting voting rights, exhorting legislators to pass it -- for “Jesus.” Is today’s elevation of a certain kind of Christianity at odds with the ideals of a diverse country where freedom of and from religion is guaranteed in the Constitution? David Gibson -- award-winning religion journalist, author, and filmmaker -- is director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, and the guest on this episode of Equal Time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Jessica Wehrman wonder what members of Congress are doing on their two-week recess, coming as it does while the Homeland Security Department isn't being funded by Congress, as well as what they did, and observed, on recent trips back home to Arizona and Ohio, respectively.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The House and Senate standoff over homeland security funding exposed a stunning disconnect between the top two Republican leaders. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman discuss the clash over funding strategies between the two chambers, the prospects for reaching a deal and whether a two-week recess will have to be cut short. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales talk about what we learned from March's congressional primaries in Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, as well as special elections and what to expect as the primary season takes a little break before revving back up in May.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump is preparing to send Congress a fiscal 2027 budget request, even as lawmakers try to find a deal on this year's Homeland Security funding and consider a potential supplemental funding package for the Iran war. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Aris Folley and David Lerman assess all the fiscal and political pressures shaping the upcoming budget cycle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Trump administration has sent mixed signals about plans for a supplemental war funding package, while providing Congress with little information about the costs of military operations against Iran. CQ Roll Call's John M. Donnelly and David Lerman assess the potential timing for a war funding bill, the options for passing it, and what else might get attached to it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Brody Mullins talk about the ongoing disruption of politics, business and journalism, how history repeats itself, Brody's book and podcast, "The Wolves of K Street" and his new podcast, "The Deciders," which focuses on the lobbying and influence world.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump threatened to block all legislation until Congress passes an expanded voter ID bill that Democrats oppose. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman assess what the president's stance means for long-stymied Homeland Security funding and a potential emergency military spending package for the Iran war. We also discuss the status of Trump's fiscal 2027 budget request. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Sean Carswell discuss Thomas Pynchon's 2013 novel "Bleeding Edge," and how its story about the dot-com bubble and 9/11 applies to the present day, with politics and society dominated by AI, technology and venture capitalism firms running wild and the national security apparatus pushing war here, there and everywhere. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The war against Iran gave Republicans a new line of attack in a push to end the partisan standoff over Homeland Security Department funding. CQ Roll Call's Aris Folley and David Lerman assess how the war might impact negotiations over an immigration enforcement overhaul compromise that could clear the way for full-year appropriations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just who is a “domestic terrorist,” and what is the danger when a protest is labeled “an act of domestic terrorism”? President Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, has announced a drawdown of troops in Minnesota, where immigration raids swept up many, including U.S. citizens, triggered protests and left two of those citizens dead. But the administration hasn’t ruled out future surges across the country. In analyzing federal actions – in the past and yet to come -- Rachel Levinson-Waldman, director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, does not deny the presence of domestic terrorists among us. But does the Trump administration’s expansive definition of the term clash with First Amendment rights? And do recent enforcement activities make us more or less safe? Levinson-Waldman explains on this episode of Equal Time.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Brandon Wetherbee discuss the artistic merits of the 2026 State of the Union, whether Hollywood or Washignton is the entertainment capital and the reasons for sitting through President Donald Trump’s one hour, 47-minute, 43-second event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As a partial Homeland Security Department shutdown enters its first full week, there's no sign of a bipartisan immigration deal that could unlock a full-year funding bill. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Savannah Behrmann and David Lerman assess the major sticking points to reaching a deal and the state of negotiations in the Senate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Mark Schoeff Jr. talk about Mark's new position as president of the National Press Club and the club's mission, press freedoms, how politicians and journalists interact and explain how legendary Purdue basketball coach Gene Keady fits into all this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawmakers are staring down a Friday deadline for Homeland Security funding, with little hope to avoid a partial shutdown. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Chris Johnson and Valerie Yurk examine the Democrats' demands for changes to immigration enforcement policies and the limited potential areas for compromise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Dick and Jessica Wehrman digest their experience at the Washington Press Club Foundation dinner, which came at a time of trauma for the national press and frayed nerves in the nation's capital.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House leaders face a difficult challenge to muster the votes for ending the second partial government shutdown of this fiscal year. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley, Aris Folley and David Lerman examine how mounting Democratic opposition and a fractious GOP conference put a $1.2 trillion spending package in jeopardy, and whether any compromise is in sight for a Homeland Security bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ongoing conflict in Minneapolis has increased the chances of a partial government shutdown, and the stress of finding a solution is only building, with talk of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem circulating, the public souring on the administration's immigration actions and a double-whammy winter storm in the mix.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices