A House vote this week will test the unity of Republicans for a budget blueprint that would pave the way for a sweeping package of tax cuts, border security, defense funding, spending cuts and more. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman outline the competing pressures between GOP centrists and hardcore conservatives over a budget resolution critical to President Donald Trump's agenda.

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For someone who has dominated politics for going on a decade, Donald Trump still controls the narrative in a way that leaves his opponents flat-footed. Trump's connection to professional wrestling offers lessons on how he is able to do this and how to connect in the political arena.

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The Senate's plan for a slim budget blueprint focused on border security and defense could be upended by President Donald Trump's new endorsement of the House push for "one big, beautiful" reconciliation package enacting much of his agenda all at once. But the House plan faces political pressures of its own, as GOP moderates shy away from steep spending cuts to critical safety-net programs. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman discuss the latest state of play on the competing strategies for budget reconciliation.

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In 2025, you don’t have to reach very far to reach those dark corners of the internet where fringe conspiracy theories and racist memes once hid. In award-winning journalist Elle Reeve’s book, “Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics,” the CNN correspondent takes readers on a journey that leads to the violence of Charlottesville and January 6. You could say the Equal Time guest saw it coming; that doesn’t mean some things about today’s political scene don’t surprise her.

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Is it possible to find beauty amid the horror of the Ukraine-Russia war? The Academy Award-nominated documentary "Porcelain War" argues that it is not only possible, it is essential. Co-director Slava Leontyev discusses how ordinary people keep their culture, art and themselves alive, and how even in a time of fear "it's hard to forbid people to live."

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House leaders had to punt on plans for a Budget Committee markup early this week as Republicans continue to squabble over the size of a budget reconciliation package and how to pay for it. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly and David Lerman assess the status of budget negotiations, the timing for action, and how far Senate Republicans may get in their own alternative, slimmer reconciliation package that omits tax cuts.

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The early days of the 119th Congress and the second Trump administration have been a whirlwind, but here is one observation for those looking to make sense of things: Having a plan beats not having a plan. 

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Republicans are struggling to come together on a budget resolution that would pave the way for a mammoth reconciliation bill encompassing much of President Donald Trump's agenda, but there's no sign of a deal that would unite the conference. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman discuss the latest on a budget resolution, the fight over spending cuts, and whether leadership's timeline for action is becoming a pipe dream.

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The early days of the second Trump administration have brought us an intense debate over constitutional authority and the role of government, which has been folded into the unstable and chaotic political era we are in. Is this destabilization something that will endure, or is it one of many similar, rough times in our history, say the 1960s, when politics and the government were tested and evolved, but overall held?

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A Trump administration directive to freeze spending on federal grants and loans pending a policy review outraged Democrats and reignited a debate over who controls the power of the purse. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman outline the battle over presidential "impoundment" authority and what it may mean for appropriations.

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