News from the Hill: November 22, 2024
The November 5th elections occurred with relatively little drama but notable impact for the 119th Congress (which will be sworn in on January 3rd). Former President Donald Trump was elected President again but failed to bolster his prior tallies in the popular vote thus falling short of a mandate for dramatic change. The Senate shifted to Republican control with Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), an appropriator, Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), a member of the Finance Committee, and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the HELP Committee, loosing their bids for re-election. The House will stay in Republican control too. However, the majority will be nearly as slim in the lower chamber as it is right now and the same tension between conservative and moderate members will certainly persist into next year.
Lawmakers continue working to finalize the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills with no clear path forward and a deal yet to be announced. The government is currently operating under a Continuing Appropriations Resolution (CR) that is set to expire on December 20th. If no deal is reached and the CR is not extended, Congress will risk a government shutdown over the holidays. The House Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the National Institutes of Health to highlight partisan issues and to provide the new Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli with an opportunity to officially outline her vision for the agency. The White House requested $100 million for disaster relief and the Senate held a hearing on needs in this area. Most appropriators and party leadership have been calling to finalize the spending process and other key items during the lame duck session, and recent hearings seem to indicate there is still momentum on this front.
President-elect Trump began filling out his cabinet by nominating a mix of mainstream Republicans and close-but-problematic allies for Senate-confirmed positions. Fulfilling a campaign promise, he put forward Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services. Establishment Republican health policy leaders were quick to point out his lack of medical training and experience running large healthcare organizations. Dr. Mehmet Oz, a notable Republican donor and cardiothoracic surgeon by training and previous faculty at Columbia University has been put forward to lead CMS. While the media will scrutinize all candidates, the confirmation process itself has traditionally focused on competency over ideology, which may present a smoother path for Dr. Oz than RFK, Jr.
By: Dane Christiansen, Washington Representative