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DC Download - February 26, 2025

The House is back in session this week to take up its version of a budget resolution to advance President Trump’s domestic agenda. The Senate, which has taken a two-phased approach and adopted their own budget blueprint on Friday, will now have to decide whether to support the House’s broader package, should it pass.

Meanwhile, time is running out for lawmakers to reach a deal to fund the government before a March 14 deadline, or risk a government shutdown. We break down what to watch this week below.

Table of Contents:

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House Floor

The House will vote on 10 suspension bills from the Committee on Natural Resources. Suspension bills require a ⅔ majority to pass. For a list of all suspension bills being considered, click here.

This week the House will also consider the following bills, subject to a rule:

H. Con. Res. 14 – This budget resolution directs House committees to produce a reconciliation bill to advance President Trump’s tax, border, energy, and defense priorities. The measure would also increase the debt limit by $4 trillion. (Sponsored by Rep. Arrington / Budget Committee)

H.J. Res. 35 – This resolution uses the Congressional Review Act to nullify an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulatory program that requires the EPA to impose and collect annual charges on methane emissions that exceed waste emissions thresholds outlined by Congress. (Sponsored by Rep. Pfluger / Energy and Commerce Committee)

H.J. Res. 20 – This resolution uses the Congressional Review Act to nullify a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) regulatory program that sets minimum energy efficiency standards for gas-powered tankless water heaters and mandates that new gas-fired water heaters must meet a certain level of efficiency to be sold in the market. (Sponsored by Rep. Palmer / Energy and Commerce Committee)

House Committee Highlights

A full list of this week’s hearings and markups can be found here. Notable hearings and markups include:

Monday Hearings

From Reset to Rollout: Can the VA EHRM Program Finally Deliver? (Committee on Veterans’ Affairs)

Tuesday Hearings

Markup of 119th Congress Oversight and Authorization Plan (Committee on House Administration)

American Trade Enforcement Priorities (Committee on Ways and Means)

Emerging Global Threats: Putting America’s National Security First (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)

Oversight Hearing: State of the Civil Works Program (Committee on Appropriations)

Entering the Golden Age: Ending the Weaponization of the Justice Department (Committee on the Judiciary)

'Subject to the Jurisdiction Thereof': Birthright Citizenship and the Fourteenth Amendment (Committee on the Judiciary)

Missed Milestones: Evaluating The Last Four Years in the EAP Region and Unseized Opportunities Under President Trump (Committee on Foreign Affairs)

Examining Policies to Counter China (Committee on Financial Services)

Wednesday Hearings

American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 2 (Committee on Appropriations)

Leading the Charge: Opportunities to Strengthen America’s Energy Reliability (Committee on Oversight and Government Reform)

The Future of American Capital: Strengthening Public and Private Markets by Increasing Investor Access and Facilitating Capital Formation (Committee on Financial Services)

Step by Step: The Artemis Program and NASA's Path To Human Exploration of the Moon, Mars, and Beyond (Committee on Science, Space, and Technology)

An Examination of How Reining in PBMs Will Drive Competition and Lower Costs for Patients (Committee on Energy and Commerce)

Thursday Hearings
American Indian and Alaska Native Public Witness Hearing Day 3 (Committee on Appropriations)

Protecting Victims of Human Trafficking and Online Exploitation (Committee on the Judiciary)

Nominations

The Senate this week has teed up votes on the following nominees:

Elise Stefanik, to be U.S. Ambassador to the UN
Daniel Driscoll, to be Secretary of the Army
Jamieson Greer, to be U.S. Trade Negotiator
Linda McMahon, to be Education Secretary

Senate Committee Highlights

Tuesday Hearings

Nominations of Troy Edgar and Dan Bishop to be Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Deputy Director, Office of Management and Budget (Homeland Security)

Nomination of Stephen Feinberg, to be Deputy Secretary of Defense (Armed Services)

Joint hearings with the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to examine the legislative presentation of Disabled American Veterans and multi VSOs: (Veterans’ Affairs)

Nominations of Michael Kratsios and Mark Meador to be Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and Federal Trade Commissioner (Commerce, Science, and Transportation)

Wednesday Hearings

Joint hearings with the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs to examine the legislative presentation of Disabled American Veterans and multi VSOs: (Veterans’ Affairs)

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Implementation and Case Studies (Environment and Public Works)

Perspectives From the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy, Part 2 (Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry)

Interdicting Illicit Drug Trafficking: A View from the Front Lines (Commerce, Science & Transportation)

Exploring Bipartisan Legislative Frameworks for Digital Assets (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs)

Hearing from Lenders: Managing Risk for the Long-Term in the 7(a) Loan Program (Small Business & Entrepreneurship)

Combating the Opioid Epidemic (Aging)

Thursday Hearings

Nominations of Troy Edgar and James Bishop to be Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security and Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (Homeland Security)

Nominations of Todd Blanche and Abigail Slater to be Deputy Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General (Judiciary)

Markup of S. 331– HALT Fentanyl Act

Nomination of Keith Sonderling to be Deputy Secretary of Labor (Health, Education, Labor & Pensions)

Nomination of John Phelan to be Secretary of the Navy (Armed Services)

Nominations of Stephen Miran, Jeffrey Kessler, William Pulte, and Jonathan McKernan to be Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs)

Grand Theft Cargo: Examining a Costly Threat to Consumers and the U.S. Supply Chain (Commerce, Science & Transportation)

Nomination of Steven Bradbury to be Deputy Secretary of Transportation

House Budget Resolution Plan

This week, the House is set to take up its budget resolution that will allow Congress to advance priorities championed by President Trump via the fast-track reconciliation process—including tax, border, energy, and defense policies—while also raising the debt limit by $4 trillion. Unlike the Senate’s narrower package, which passed Friday afternoon and primarily addresses border security and defense spending, the House version pursues a single-track approach that combines Trump’s priorities into a single package. Whether House Republicans will be able to pull this off is subject to debate—conservative lawmakers can only afford to lose one vote. Some Republican lawmakers have signaled they may withhold their support, demanding assurances that deep spending cuts will not severely impact social safety net programs like Medicaid. Over the weekend, multiple Republican lawmakers faced significant backlash at town halls, with constituents voicing strong opposition to proposed cuts in the budget resolution, in addition to the Administration’s handling of cuts to government programs and jobs across the country. Meanwhile, hardline conservatives are insisting that any debt limit increase be offset with massive spending cuts, further complicating Speaker Johnson’s efforts.

As Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries emphasized today in a Dear Colleague, Democratic attendance will be pivotal to defeating the package.

More on this:
House Republican Budget Takes Away Health Care, Food Aid to Pay for Expanded Tax Cuts for Wealthy (CBPP)

Looming Government Funding Deadline

Lawmakers are still searching for an agreement on top-line spending levels to fund agencies and critical government programs for the remainder of fiscal year 2025. If Congress fails to reach a deal before the March 14th deadline, the government will shut down. However, even if lawmakers attempt to pass another continuing resolution (CR) to temporarily extend funding, automatic spending cuts may be triggered under the terms of a previous congressional agreement, depending on the CR’s length. Relatedly, hard-line conservatives are threatening to revolt if their party moves forward with anything other than 12 individually negotiated spending bills, in hopes of taking advantage of their majority to pass conservative policy riders and deeper spending cuts than a CR would allow.

Democratic leadership is demanding assurances that the Trump Administration and DOGE will abide by congressional spending decisions, given the recent onslaught of illegal attempts to cut jobs and programs previously funded by Congress. House and Senate Appropriations Ranking Members Rosa DeLauro and Patty Murray have made it clear that without these guarantees, securing Democratic votes will be difficult.

Ultimately, Republicans will need Democratic votes to pass any funding measure, particularly in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to overcome the filibuster. This leaves top appropriators with little room to maneuver as negotiations stall.

More on this:
In Congress, what’s the difference between a budget resolution, reconciliation and spending bills? (CNN)
Congress’ Chances to Stymie the Trump/Musk Power Grab (CPCC)