Niels Lesniewski

I don't usually ask this directly, but if you're a reader of my Monday CQ Senate newsletter, please reach out. Would be great to hear from you all with the Senate being in session every week!

I don't usually ask this directly, but if you're a reader of my Monday CQ Senate newsletter, please reach out. Would be great to hear from you all with the Senate being in session every week!

Live look at my desk. Yes, the Senate's still in session.

Front page of Tuesday's Roll Call

Shutdown continues, so I'm back on the front page.

So I needed to start using this platform again now, too?

To put a finer point on it: it was such a small town that at one point he had lights and sirens on his dump truck.

He was the assistant fire chief and he ran the cemetery and renovated houses.
Most people encountered him at least once, often under less than ideal circumstances.

My father was one of those small town New England characters that everybody knew, and we were reminded of that when people got together to remember him this weekend.

Ironically, if FBOP were to reopen Alcatraz as a working prison, who's to say it wouldn't be a minimum security camp for white collar/Silicon Valley fraud offenders.

Peering into the future: senators may get to vote on terminating an international film production national emergency.

Yes, I am a member of the WHCA. No, I don't have strong views on the dinner.

As I have said publicly, privately, everywhere: I do think there should be more transparency about the costs associated with covering the White House (and how that may vary between types of outlets).

Happy Easter!

I just now got around to watching Sen. Warren on Squawk on the Street. Yeah, Congress could stop those national emergencies. May be not likely, would need a big majority. But ... they could.

The President is currently flying back to DC from Florida, so that's one whole potential news cycle we have not seen yet.

Plus any late night TRUTH posts. Plus whatever is said on morning TV.

Folks, at 9:20 pm ET on Sunday, it is way way too early to know what the White House guidance will be regarding tariffs as of the opening bell on Monday.

(And yes, that might be part of the problem)

Meanwhile, on Facebook ...

This week: Senate to vote on tariff ‘emergency’ ahead of possible budget vote-a-rama - Roll Call Senators are expected to take a vote this week designed to stop tariffs on imports from Canada, before the focus turns to the budget.

Fun week for the expedited procedures crowd*

rollcall.com/2025/03/31/t...
*I use the term "crowd" loosely

The situations are completely different, but that's two administrations in a row with rather wild "wait, what?" SecDef stories.

After midnight ET, the President of the United States is purporting to void the pardons of his predecessor.

I'm old enough to remember when one approach on votes like this one might be just to not filibuster.

Is there any further debate? Hearing none, then the question occurs on passage of the bill.

With mass layoffs, McMahon and Trump begin mission to end Education Department - Roll Call Education Secretary Linda McMahon said Tuesday that large-scale staffing cuts at her department are a step toward ending its operations.

Education Secretary McMahon is not hiding what she's trying to do.
rollcall.com/2025/03/12/e...

Warren asks SEC about insider trading in Trump’s Kodak pharmaceuticals announcement - Roll Call Sen. Elizabeth Warren is asking the SEC to look into possible insider trading related to the recent pharmaceutical move by Kodak.

Fox's Peter Doocy's question today at the White House about whether folks are shorting the Dow, reminds me of the old Kodak Pharmaceuticals story.

rollcall.com/2020/08/04/w...

President Trump, in a late night Truth post, says "I’m going to buy a brand new Tesla tomorrow morning as a show of confidence and support for Elon Musk, a truly great American."

Roll Call Factba.se - Speech: Donald Trump Addresses a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol - March 4, 2025 Full transcript of Donald J. Trump: Speech: Donald Trump Addresses a Joint Session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol - March 4, 2025

Our transcript of President Trump's speech tonight is here:
rollcall.com/factbase/tru...

Paul Lesniewski Obituary (2025) - Westerly, RI - Gaffney-Dolan Funeral Home - Westerly View Paul Lesniewski's obituary, send flowers and sign the guestbook.

Been a long week or so, but I wanted to share father's obituary
www.legacy.com/us/obituarie...

Anyway, a budget resolution is still not a bill.

And it still doesn't actually "do" the things that the eventual reconciliation bill might do.

From that OMB/OPM memo, on that point. Agencies need to submit lists with this info:

Reading the latest OMB and OPM guidance on RIFs, mark your calendar for March 13, the day before the current CR expires. Some sense of timing.

Oh, yeah, friendly reminder that you don't "pass a budget"

Oh no.