🗓️ What’s Up Next
Congress
The House remains in recess. The Supreme Court is arguing today. The Senate is in a state work period this week.
The PA General Assembly
The House will reconvene on October 27th for a voting session. The Senate will reconvene on October 20th.
Want a deeper dive?
If there’s a topic you’re interested in our analysis of, feel free to drop us a line. We’ll be doing deeper dives on the big stuff as it happens, but we’re always happy to hear what you want to know.
The Congressional Breakdown
The shutdown is heading into its fourth week—we’re at 22 days, rapidly closing in on the 35-day mark of the longest shutdown in history—and everyone is feeling the pressure. While international relations news remains in bold on the front pages, the country is starting to feel the major economic impact of only some of its government being operational as senators weigh piecemeal funding bills.
What They’re Talking About
After the GOP stopgap funding bill was rejected for an 11th time on Monday, the shutdown heads into its fourth week. Thirteen Republican Representatives—including Pennsylvania’s Brian Fitzpatrick and Ryan McKenzie—sent Speaker Johnson a letter laying out their case, reminding the Speaker that millions of Americans face skyrocketing health insurance premiums as a result of the expiration of the subsidies at the end of the year. Since last week, discussions have been underway about modifying the tax credit structure, including the introduction of new out-of-pocket minimums and income caps. The conversations, while not showing any immediate movement, are starting to heat up.
Open enrollment begins November 1st, and market exchange CEOs are warning that Congress has missed the opportunity to make a decision about ACA subsidies early enough to reset the markets for open enrollment. Rates will be sky-high, and sticker shock is bound to drive away some young and healthy enrollees, which worsens the risk pool—driving up costs even more.
Speaking of the Speaker: Johnson let slip in an interview on Tuesday morning that he would allow a floor vote on a bipartisan bill compelling the full release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The only thing standing in the way? The shutdown. The House has been out of session since the shutdown began, and Johnson has been adamant that they will not return until the government is reopened.
In the midst of RIF plans and talk that some federal workers won’t receive backpay during their furlough, a Republican bill coming to the floor seeks to only pay some federal workers during the continuing shutdown. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats are drafting an alternative to a GOP bill that would only pay some federal workers during the shutdown. Senate Democrats disagree on the principle that it would allow President Trump to pick and choose who gets paid. Even with good-faith pay-on-time intentions, the back pay owed to furloughed workers is likely tied up in the discussions—discussions that aren’t really happening.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries reached out to the president to request a meeting, urging him to sit down and “resolve the health care crisis, address it and end the government shutdown”. Trump, meanwhile, has said that he will not meet with any Democratic leadership until the shutdown is over. As Politico puts it: “There are no signs that the conversations are anywhere close to generating a solution to what is now the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history.”
Pennsylvania Update: Pennsylvania—still dealing with its own budget impasse, now at 16 weeks—is getting impatient to see movement at the federal level. Representative Brendan Boyle (D-02) reiterated on Tuesday in a press briefing his demand that House Speaker Mike Johnson “reopen the people’s house immediately.” Members of the House Budget Committee provided an update on the shutdown, discussed the impact of HR1, Trump’s tax cuts, and how healthcare subsidies will rise 102% in the state.
In response to partisan postings on official White House websites that continue to place blame for the shutdown solely on Democrats, some states with Democratic governors are taking a similar approach in the opposite direction—including Pennsylvania. On the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services website, notable because it’s the department that distributes the state’s SNAP benefits, now has a banner that informs that November benefits will not be paid “because Republicans in Washington D.C., failed to pass a federal budget, causing the federal government shutdown.” The Pennsylvania Republican Party demanded an apology from Gov. Josh Shapiro for the banner. In response, the Department reminded them that “Republicans control the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House, and the White House and have failed to pass a federal budget, leading to this federal shutdown.”
Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) told reporters on Tuesday that he supports Republicans potentially nuking the filibuster option to pass a bill that would reopen the government, with SNAP running out of money as the shutdown drags on. Fetterman is one of only three Democrats who continuously vote for the Republican-backed resolution to fund the government through November 21, saying, “I follow country, then party.”
🔥 What We’re Watching
Paul Ingrassia, the nominee of President Donald Trump to lead Office of Special Counsel (OSC), was forced to withdrawal without enough Republican votes to pass. This comes after the emergence of a series of offensive text messages that he allegedly sent.
Vice President Vance, during this week’s trip to Israel, says that the Gaza ceasefire agreement is "going better than expected" and the truce can hold.
At Tuesday’s Rose Garden Luncheon, President Trump made remarks about his newest idea: buying beef from Argentina. GOP Senators went ballistic, calling it a blatant disregard of “America First” policies, which Trump won on.
Speaking of the Rose Garden lunch, Rand Paul (R-KY), a frequent Trump critic, wasn’t invited. Trump still made a point to mention him.
Construction has begun on the East Wing of the White House to make room for the president’s personally-funded ballroom, an addition that will be “completed and ready for use” in 2029. The decision to add the ballroom is controversial, to say the least—as every other addition to the building has been.
The New York Times has an exposé on the real impact of Medicaid and Medicare cuts on rural America.
Did You Know? The City Hotel in Sunbury, PA was the first hotel in the nation to have electricity run by Thomas Edison’s three-wire system. Later renamed Hotel Edison in his honor, the hotel became the first commercial building to use the three-wire system for electric lighting, a major step in the commercialization of electricity.
Till next time,