Sarah Binder

🤔

Family of four 🤗

Now this is a great speech for a POTUS to deliver when he visits the Federal Reserve (in 1937). Watch FDR live! (starts at .22)

sarahbinder.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/...

Or read the whole speech here 🤓

www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ad...

What to expect while you're expecting (Massie's discharge petition ...)

Massie introduced rule on July15 to discharge unrelated bill. Rule has to be pending in Rules panel for 7 *legislative* days before he can file discharge petition. So it'll be Sept before he can file petition. At that point, any MC can sign it at Clerk's desk. www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c...

I think these institutional consequences deserve far more attention than they've received-- especially with respect to the reputation and relevance of the Senate's neutral expert parliamentarian going forward. This issue matters regardless of one's views about reforming the filibuster!

Three big takeaways from that “One Big Beautiful Bill.“ Republican tactics seem likely to weaken the Senate – and make fiscal crisis more likely.

Senate GOP tactics to make 2017 tax cuts "permanent" required nuclear move on Senate floor-- weakening authority of the parliamentarian, blowing hole in Byrd Rule, & possibly making future debt crisis more likely. New @goodauth.bsky.social post on fallout from OBBB

goodauthority.org/news/three-b...

No kings 🤣

Correct. That’s listed at very end of Budget Committee memo from minority staff:

“Still Under Review

Support for Artificial Intelligence. This provision provides federal aid to states under the condition that states agree not to regulate AI. (Section 0012)”

And yes, this assumes GOP majority continues to follow past practice in how Senate handles points of order under budget law /reconciliation. That process protects the “3/5th discipline” senators baked into Byrd rule to place some limitations on what majorities can stuff into reconciliation.

Reminder on Byrd process:

Parliamentarian has identified OBBB text that violates Byrd rule. Her advice doesn’t block text. She’s saying: If GOP still keep Byrd-offending text in OBBB & send it to floor, a senator can cry fowl (😉). Supporters would then need 60 votes to keep each proposal in bill.

Several Additional Provisions in Republicans’ “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Are Subject to 60-Vote Threshold, According to Senate Parliamentarian | U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget The Official U.S. Senate Committee On The Budget

Senate parliamentarian never sleeps! More Byrd droppings! These Ag panel droppings will get most 👀:

Mandating ⬆️ state $$ contributions to fund SNAP & banning undocumented from food benefits

These Byrd calls very slightly shift OBBB to center. Likely angers hawks, but might help Thune.

Full list ⬇️

'Tis the (Byrd bath) season!

Byrd droppings piling up from S Banking text. GOP-sought savings from Fed/CFPB are good reminder of Fed's *structural* independence. Guessing Byrd rule blocks zero'ing out of CFPB & Fed staff salary cuts, since Fed is self-funded & not reliant on Congress for appropriations.

Just adding: a procedural move can be “out of order” (meaning it is arguably *not* in accordance with established Senate procedure), but that doesn’t stop a majority from doing it. Turning routine Byrd challenge into question chair turns over to Senate *might* not be in order but chair could do it

Trump wants Congress to vote for his rescissions. Are Republicans willing to own the cuts? President Trump has sent a “rescission” package to Capitol Hill, proposing $9.4 billion in cuts to international aid and public broadcasting.

Why did Trump send such a narrow and small rescission request to Congress? New @Brookings.edu FixGov post on the politics and rules of rescinding appropriations spending under federal budget law— and what’s at stake.

www.brookings.edu/articles/tru...

Time flies 🥲

Yes: you can see (one metric) of impact of SALT cap repeal by state partisanship below. Dems hold all the seats where taxpayers have most to gain from repeal (green oval). But a set of both blue & red states would be hard hit by Medicaid ✂️. Those red state votes of course matter for fate of OB,BB.

Suggests speed bumps ahead in Senate (assuming swing district GOP walk the plank to ensure House passage, which seems historically reasonable bet). Recalling unpopularity of 2017 tax cuts, this year’s version (even if ✂️✂️ pared back in Senate) seems eventually ripe 🎯 for Dems come 2026 midterms.

House GOP pay-fors more draconian for tax cuts this year compared to 2017 TCJA. Primary 2017 revenue raiser was🧂🧢 (after "border tax" killed). This time, slimmer GOP seeks more costly tax cuts & more politically salient revenue raisers (Medicaid/SNAP/ACA/Pell✂️). Pulls bill much farther to the right.

Congress was hiding in plain sight 🤓. Join me & @johnsides.bsky.social for Episode 2 of @goodauth.bsky.social's Where's Congress? We consider the big (yes), beautiful (eye of beholder) bill House GOP are trying to pass thru House --Senate GOP views be damned (for now)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvfR...

All of the news accounts I can find and even the CRS report about Chere Rexroat's elevation to acting AOC are frustratingly in the passive tense! Congress took back the appointment power in 2023

Scroll down past the Jay-Z story 🤣....
www.archpaper.com/2023/05/dail...

sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R41...

Would Democrats take advantage of GOP-proposed tax-free "MAGA savings accounts" for their kids? Would be a good test of "partisanship is a powerful drug." Pre-register your survey experiment(s) now 🤓

Re-appointed [Faculty] Senate parliamentarian. Unanimous consent, no objections 🤣

🤞🏻🤞🏻I don’t get ignored or fired 😳

Much better answer from @americalabs.org

bsky.app/profile/amer...

Point well taken. Does raise question why Congress's recent change to appt rules for LoC requires POTUS appt. Library does have some very limited rule making authority & Library Trust Fund includes the Sec. Treasury (and Virginia Thomas...). So perhaps not fully legislative? A bit opaque to me.

Protection from removal when Congress fails to stipulate "for cause" removal protection) has essentially been a matter of norms, not legal rule. And depending on how SCOTUS decides pending Humphrey's Executor cases, court could strike down "for cause" removal protection (maybe even for Fed chairs 😳)

House GOP struggles to identify politically-palatable cuts to Medicaid shouldn't surprise (esp given slim majority). Figure shows % district enrolled in M'caid/CHIP vs Trump vote (2024). Significant cuts would hit across red states, esp in those that expanded M'caid (comprising 60% of House GOP).

OMG (literally) You beat me to it!

Pope’s Butler Sentenced to 18 Months in Theft Case (Published 2012)

Oh that's Pope Benedict's butler ... convicted of leaking confidential peepal papers. He's up there spying on the Peepabiles :)

www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/w...