Eye on Congress:The Big Story

Last weekend’s bloody Virginia demonstrations incited by white supremacists will focus new attention on how the Trump administration is altering the Justice Department’s approach to hate crimes and other civil rights issues, CQ legal affairs reporter Todd Ruger explains. It’s a big test for Attorney General Jeff Sessions, already under fire from the president and because of his own record on race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Republicans competing for Jeff Sessions’ Senate seat in Alabama are striving to tell primary voters just how much they support President Donald Trump and, perhaps surprisingly, are using Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as a punching bag.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senators are heading home for summer break, after a health care implosion highlighted the partisan ill will that’s festered all year. Ed Pesce, who edits CQ’s Senate coverage, explains how hardline GOP procedural tactics have taken the chamber to a new low, and what could get civil deliberations back on track.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Democratic Party rolled out a new platform to win back voters, but is the reboot going to work? Roll Call Columnist Jonathan Allen, Senior Reporter Bridget Bowman and Leadership Editor Jason Dick assess the strategy.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call columnist Walter Shapiro and senior editor David Hawkings consider the Watergate scandal and what its rhythms reveal about why today’s GOP lawmakers are still taking a wait-and-see approach to the sprawling, sometimes confusing connections between the Russians and President Donald Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate will stick around Washington a little longer in August, shortening its recess to focus on an ambitious agenda. The list of things to do could include confirming the new FBI director. CQ Roll Call Senior Senate Reporter Niels Lesniewski and Leadership Editor Jason Dick break down what is doable.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell likened his search for 50 senators willing to vote for the same repeal-and-replace legislation to solving a Rubik’s Cube, a task not helped by many GOP skeptics getting besieged back home this July 4 recess. Roll Call reporters Bridget Bowman and Niels Lesniewski see no reason to predict the health care impasse is about to be broken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate majority leader hasn’t abandoned hope of finding 50 votes for the year’s top GOP priority. But postponement over the July Fourth break won’t make it easier to bridge the gap between those focused on Obamacare’s repeal and those worried about too stingy a replacement, Roll Call's Niels Lesniewski and David Hawkings explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special election season is over, yielding an expensive status quo in the House’s partisan balance. But there are lessons to learn from these contests, including how they will affect the congressional agenda and what it means for the 2018 elections. Roll Call’s Simone Pathe and Jason Dick discuss the fallout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roll Call political correspondent Simone Pathè explains how the most expensive House race in history, next week's contest to fill an open seat in suburban Atlanta, has already revealed plenty about the new congressional electoral landscape in the age of Trump.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a series of fits and starts, the Senate is starting to clear a path so it can consider legislation dismantling Obamacare, say CQ Roll Call's Jason Dick and Ed Pesce. They review how the Senate got there and what's next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even with the first all-Republican government in a decade, Congress has yet to send any meaningful legislation to President Donald Trump, say CQ Roll Call congressional leadership reporters Niels Lesniewski and Lindsey McPherson. They explain why health care, taxes, the budget and confirmations will likely remain stuck at least through the summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Democrats heading into the 2018 midterm elections should pay attention to the party hubris that likely contributed to Hillary Clinton's presidential loss, says Jonathan Allen, CQ Roll Call columnist and co-author of the best-selling book "Shattered." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Special elections are coming up in Montana, Georgia and South Carolina and candidates are trying to work around the seemingly endless White House drama, says CQ Roll Call’s @jasonjdick ‏and @Simone Pathé. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Republican effort to replace Obamacare has put some electorally vulnerable House Republicans on the defensive, CQ Roll Call political reporter Bridget Bowman says. And, health editor Rebecca Adams explains some members haven’t been accurate back home in explaining what would change. Meanwhile, the Senate debate looks to be long and complex, senior editor David Hawkings predicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress struck a deal on a long-overdue spending bill to keep the government running, and all hell broke loose. CQ Roll Call’s Jason Dick, Niels Lesniewski and Walter Shapiro discuss how Washington’s dynamics prevent even a small victory party from breaking out.      Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first 100 days of an administration have been used as a benchmark to gauge the progress made by a sitting president. Donald Trump’s first 100 days are punctuated by successes such as confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee and self-inflicted wounds such as the travel ban, says CQ Roll Call’s White House correspondent John T. Bennett. But what is most striking about Trump thus far, adds Bennett, is the difference between candidate Trump and President Trump.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump is moving on several fronts to deregulate environmental protection, prompting some states to intervene. But deep EPA budget cuts will get tamed by Congress, and the U.S. might stay with the Paris climate accord; even business leaders and conservative voters worry the anti-green push has gone too far, CQ Roll Call’s Mike Magner and Jeremy Dillon explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump has a blasé approach to the long list of complaints about his ethical conflicts and quandaries, and his GOP base hardly seems to mind, CQ Roll Call’s lobbying reporter Kate Ackley says. But all the questionable behavior by the president, his senior aides and his family are already giving Democrats on the Hill plenty of talking points for the midterm campaign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Senate is waiting for hundreds of high-profile nominations to lead the federal government and the U.S. court system, but it might be a long time before any of those people settle into their new jobs, says CQ Roll Call’s Senior Legislative Analyst Ed Pesce. Many must wade through the Senate’s approval process and that could turn the chamber into a "full-time confirmation machine,'' squeezing time needed for legislation.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices