The Washington Report

House and Senate pass a bill to keep the government funded through mid-December, just in time for a Christmas shutdown showdown … House and Senate have finally done all the damage they’re going to do before November, and Members have gone home to face the wrath of their constituents, also sometimes known as their bosses, in case the Members have forgotten … Biden gets sued over his student loan payoff scam … a House campaign update with a constitutional twist on gerrymandering … all this and more.

House and Senate gear up for a tough week — both houses have to pass a Continuing Resolution to keep the government funded beyond the midnight Friday deadline, and we still don’t know what’s in the bill … Kevin McCarthy releases the House GOP “Commitment to America” … the January 6 Committee schedules one more public hearing before the midterm elections, and it will take place Wednesday at 1 PM EST … new numbers on illegal immigration are out, and they’re scary … 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturns key portions of Judge Cannon’s ruling and DOJ lawyers are happy … plus, a Senate campaign update. All this and more.

50 Venezuelan migrants arrive on Martha's Vineyard, and the local Chamber of Commerce declares it a "humanitarian crisis" … House and Senate still haven't figured out what to do about the CR … that same-sex marriage bill in the Senate gets punted to the lame duck session … Judge Cannon appoints a special master in the case of the purloined documents at Mar-a-Lago … all this and more.

House and Senate have finally ended their ridiculously long summer breaks and are back in DC, so hold on to your wallets … Biden requests $47 billion in emergency supplemental spending, but Senate Republicans object … will the Senate pass a same-sex marriage bill? … Biden’s speech attempting to “unify” the country succeeds, but not the way he planned … in just a few days, the cost of that student loan scam doubles … is Ukraine turning the tables on Russia? … former President Trump gets a win in the latest news on the FBI raid at Mar-a-Lago … all this and more.

It’s the biggest student loan scam of all time, and it doesn’t involved Nigerian princes — instead, it involves the occupant of the Oval Office! — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reveals how Facebook made the decision to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story in the closing weeks of the 2020 presidential campaign (hint: you’ll be surprised, but not too much) … the judge releases a redacted version of the affidavit supporting the application for the search warrant on Mar-a-Lago, and even the redactions have redactions! … all this, plus our first campaign update of the election year.

Dr. Fauci announces resignation to come in December; conservatives ask, “Why wait?” … CDC chief Walensky acknowledges errors, says she will reorganize the CDC … Judge Reinhart orders DOJ to offer redactions on FBI affidavit re: Trump search warrant … Liz Cheney gets destroyed in her denomination bid, ponders 2024 run … all this and more.

House and Senate, after working for a couple of weeks following their Fourth of July recess, now take their August recess, and won’t return until September 13 — but only after the House returned from the beginning of its recess to pass Joe Biden’s monstrous $740 bill reckless tax-and-spend bill … that sound you heard last Monday evening was the sound of the world stopping spinning on its axis, as word of the FBI’s unprecedented raid on former President Trump’s home spread … all this and more.

The House enjoys its first week of summer break, but plans to come back for one day this week — why? … the Senate processes a ton of work: ratifies the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO, passes a bill providing healthcare and disability benefits to 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic burn pits; passes a CRA resolution of disapproval against a Biden Administration rule making permitting more complicated — and THEN takes up and passes, after a 15-hour-long Vote-a-Rama, the Democrats’ reckless tax-and-spend package. How’d they do it?

A GAO report reveals that over the last 25 years, the federal student loan program has cost $311 billion more than anticipated … Speaker Pelosi heads to Asia, but will she visit Taiwan? … Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley says FBI whistleblowers claim top executives downplayed Hunter Biden intelligence as “disinformation, and former AG Barr calls on current AG Garland to appoint a special counsel in the matter of investigating Hunter Biden … Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer announce an agreement on a reckless $740 billion tax-and-spend bill, and Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy introduces America to a Louisiana word, says “We got rinky-dooed,” which he explains is "a Louisiana word that means we got screwed.” … all this and more.

House and Senate are trying to get out of town for their August recess, but there’s a lot on the agenda that must be taken care of first … will Speaker Pelosi find the votes she needs to pass a so-called “assault weapons” ban? … Senate Majority Leader Schumer turns a $52 billion bill into a $280 billion bill with one magic 1,054-page amendment … will Senate Dems get the Build Back Manchin bill done before they leave town next week? … Speaker Pelosi wants to go to Taiwan, but the communist Chinese in Beijing don’t want her to do that. What does the president think? Who knows? … all this and more, plus your questions.