Five Points

I had the pleasure of speaking with budget expert Kevin McNellis this week. He has been doing outstanding work tracking the policy and political dynamics of the rapidly changing budget and appropriations process. We talk about the rise of discretionary spending in reconciliation bills, associated problems of congressional oversight, and the role of the Byrd rule in the current funding politics for CBP, ICE, and the Trump ballroom. A full transcript is available.

Some of Kevin’s writing that we mention in the conversation:

How Has Funding for Federal Agencies Changed Over the Last Decade? Original analysis showing how Congress has started appropriating trillions of dollars outside of the annual appropriations process since 2020.

The Army Clause: A Forgotten Constitutional Check on ICE, CBP and the Pentagon Essay arguing for Congress to enforce the Constitution’s Army Clause through a new point of order, which would allow members of Congress to object to appropriations that violate the Army Clause. Co-authored with Scott Levy

My essay on the dawn of partisan appropriations also comes up.

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In this episode, I discuss expulsion in the House. The authorities, the procedures, and two analytic questions: does the House do enough disciplining of Members? And why do Members resign in politics, even in cases where fighting would probably allow them to survive and beat an expulsion?

Some links to things that are discussed:

Swalwell's formal resignation

Gonzales's formal resignation

List of expelled Members, House and Senate

Josh Chafetz's Congress's Constitution

Trafficant's Ethics report and resolution

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Philip Wallach, Senior Fellow at AEI and all-around super smart Congress guy, like to take walks together and talk about all things legislative politics. Today, we did it on camera instead. Topics we discuss include: Iran, IEEPA, Appropriations, Secret Congress, and the Talking Filibuster.

Here are some links to thinks we mention:

Philip on the IEEPA decision.

Philip on the better-than-expected appropriations process.

Philip’s book, Why Congress? and a short-form version of the argument, Congress Indispensable.

Kevin Kosar on Secret Congress.

Kevin McNellis on discretionary appropriations in reconciliation bills.

Me on the Talking Filibuster.

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I’ve been toying with the idea of doing some video on my Substack, and when the “talking filibuster” became all the rage this week, I figured that was square enough in my wheelhouse that I’d give it a shot. Much of this is based on a blog post and a Twitter thread I did earlier this week.

Here are the show notes and helpful links:

What’s going on in Congress

The text of the SAVE Act.

Rep. Luna’s twitter feed.

Senator Lee’s twitter feed.

A breakdown of the rule vote on the CR.

Majority Leader Thune’s cool reaction to the talking filibuster.

Big Picture Takeaways

The Senate standing rules.

The procedural history of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Senate Procedural Basics

The Senate standing rules.

The Rules of the House of Representatives.

Roberts’ Rules of Order.

Senate Rule XIX.

The @ringwiss twitter account.

Why the Talking Filibuster isn’t used

James Wallner’s approach to the talking filibuster.

Other Ways of Ending Debate

CRS overview of Senate filibusters and cloture.

Contemporary Senate problems

My old blog post on filibusters and cloture and why it’s hard to count them.

Changes that could be made

Molly Reynolds and her great book.

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In this episode, I touch on everything from the English Civil War to what happens when you tell your friend to get a good variety of beer and liquor and they show up with three cases of Utica Club. And then we link it all to the current controversies with the Trump administration, appropriations, personnel, and programs in the executive agencies.

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On Wednesday, I wrote this on Twitter:

"Biden's 28th amdmt, the TikTok saga, morning pardons, noon pardons, Trump pardons, EOs, Trump TikTok "deal," impoundment threats, I have a gut sensation the presidency came unmoored this week in some maybe durable way. I tried to write about it. Failed. Might try podcasting Friday. DM me if you want to join, might put a show together."

Two people took me up on it, and we recorded a podcast today. Philip Wallach is a Senior Fellow at AEI who focuses on separation of powers, and the author of Why Congress. You can find him on Twitter. Jonathan Bernstein is an expert on party politics; he co-writes the Good Politics / Bad Politics Substack and can be found on BlueSky.

We cover a lot of territory in this podcast. Some of the articles mentioned include:

* Philip’s piece on the emotive presidency.

* Ezra Klein’s audio essay on the Biden-Trump transition.

* Jonathan’s podcast this week with his brother David and Julia Azari.

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In this episode, I discuss the congressional politics of the court vacancy. Here are the relevant links from each point. Point #1- There’s no chance a Justice won’t be confirmed if there are 50 votes for the justice. You almost certainly can’t stop this procedurally if you are the Democrats. James Wallner discussing the procedures for confirming […]

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In this episode, I discuss the politics of impeachment. Here are the relevant links from each point. Point #1- The Constitution is clear about impeachment, but not specific. My review of Josh Chafetz’s book, Congress’s Constitution. James Wallner discussing conflict on Ezra Klein’s podcast. CRS report on impeachment and removal. Bob Bauer on whether there […]

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It’s August recess! In this episode, I discuss the congressional agenda for the 116th Congress, and what has been accomplished so far, and what we should expect between now and the 2020 elections. Some relevant links to things I discuss in the episode: CRS primer on the BCA caps. House and Senate roll call votes […]

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So I’m starting a podcast, as a companion to my newsletter. I’m not really sure how this is going to go, but here’s what I’m envisioning: something that is between 10 and 20 minutes long, and gives you a bunch of short, informed takes at the intersection of political science and current politics. You know, […]

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit fivepoints.mattglassman.net