Eye on Congress

To kick off our Republican National Convention coverage, CQ Roll Call's Adriel Bettelheim and CQ Magazine Senior Editor Shawn Zeller consider where Donald Trump could pick up white-voter support to clinch the presidency. If Trump is able to increase the GOP share of the white vote by five percentage points more than Mitt Romney won in 2012, even while holding the strong minority vote for Obama that year steady, the mogul will win. Plus, some of the reasons why Trump picked Indiana Gov. Mike Pence as his running mate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress has been unable thus far to send the president any of the 12 spending bills to stave off a government shutdown Sept. 30 and lawmakers are preparing to punt yet again, says CQ Roll Call’s appropriations reporter Ryan McCrimmon. Andrew Siddons zeros in on the obstacles lawmakers face coming up with a plan to fight the prescription painkiller epidemic across the country. Jacob Fischler explains how a plan to make air traffic control a quasi-governmental outfit did not make it into legislation to extend FAA operations. He also lists the air carriers poised to fly to Cuba. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A slew of tough issues await lawmakers upon their return from Fourth of July recess. CQ Roll Call's editors and reporters break it down. Barring another Democratic sit-in, the House is expected to tackle a sweeping spending bill that GOP lawmakers hope will rein in financial regulators created in the aftermath of the 2008 economic crash, reports Doug Sword. Jonathan Miller explains what's ahead for Puerto Rico now that Congress has enacted a financial rescue package, and Rebecca Adams talks about a House-led overhaul of the mental health system that could intersect with gun-control votes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court decides high-profile cases on abortion and political corruption, reports CQ's Todd Ruger, while Kellie Mejdrich explains how partisan fights over gun control have nearly derailed the spending process for 2017. And The Economist's Washington Bureau Chief David Rennie joins CQ Roll Call's Chief Content Officer David Ellis and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim in a conversation on Brexit's impact on the U.S. @cqnow, @rollcall @DSORennie   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Efforts by Democrats to push through gun-control legislation will dominate the Senate next week and could throw yet another wrench into passage of spending bills, says CQ Roll Call’s Budget and Economy Editor Jane Norman. Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim and Magazine Deputy Editor Jason Dick discuss why voters could lose interest in Donald Trump’s rhetoric. And National Defense Reporter Megan Scully unpacks the Defense spending bill that includes debates over war funding, measures to keep the Guantanamo Bay prison open and why attempts to curtail unwarranted surveillance failed.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States spends close to $11 million a day bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria. But as CQ Roll Call’s Domestic Threats reporter Gopal Ratnam explains efforts to stop the ideology from spreading at home are embryonic, with a $10 million Homeland Security Office of Community Partnership task force aimed at countering violent extremism. President Barack Obama called the Orlando attack “an example of the kind of homegrown extremism that all of us have been concerned about for a very long time.” Meanwhile, Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim and Appropriations reporter Jennifer Shutt look at how Democrats in Congress plan to revive legislation to curtail gun purchases.       Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another busy week awaits Congress with a slew of issues likely to tie up lawmakers, including how much to spend to combat the Zika virus and whether the Justice Department risks a budget cut over the transgender restroom controversy. CQ Roll Call’s Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim, Appropriations reporter Ryan McCrimmon and Legal Affairs writer Todd Ruger spell out what’s at stake. Senior politics reporter Alex Roarty weighs in on how Bernie Sanders can use his new rock star status to sway the Democratic Party.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CQ Roll Call's Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim and CQ Magazine Deputy Editor Jason Dick break down how so-called ''poison pill'' amendments get the majority party in Congress to sink its own legislation. Yes, you read right. Though it's a time-honored tactic, such make-or-break amendments are flying with greater frequency in an election year with few viable pieces of legislation in either the House or Senate. And they are disrupting Republicans’ hopes of restoring regular order and transparency to the budgeting process.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress returns to face leftover debates over how much to spend to combat the Zika virus and whether aspects of Obamacare have legal standing. Also in the mix is how President Obama responds to Donald Trump.  CQ Roll Call’s budget reporter Jennifer Shutt, health care reporter Erin Mershon, White House correspondent John Bennett and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim set the stage for the week ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is wrestling with spending bills to fund the government by September 30, a goal likely to fall short. Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim and Budget Reporter Kellie Mejdrich explain why. Legal Affairs Writer Todd Ruger weighs in on the legal and cultural battles over transgender bathrooms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Congress is wrestling with a slew of tech issues from encryption to email privacy. Are lawmakers out of their league? CQ Roll Call’s Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim and reporters Alisha Green and Ryan Lucas discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As President Barack Obama heads to Japan for a summit of leaders of the Group of Seven, the world's biggest economic powers, CQ Roll Call's foreign policy reporter Rachel Oswald and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim dissect the significance of the visit, the president's stop in Hiroshima and why Japan worries more about Trump than China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Arizona Republican John McCain is expected to shake up the defense policy bill heading to the Senate floor with proposals likely to meet fierce opposition, says CQ Roll Call's defense reporters John M. Donnelly and Megan Scully. Trump does an about-face, reports Kate Ackley, and will take establishment campaign money. Puerto Rico hangs on to a life preserver waiting to be rescued by Washington, says Jonathan Miller. Tune in to hear CQ Roll Call experts break it down with host Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Both the House and the Senate are considering emergency bills to combat the Zika virus that the Obama administration says is the next big public health threat. CQ Roll Call's Budget and Economics Editor Jane Norman and Managing Editor Adriel Bettelheim explain how politics this time may force lawmakers to reach a compromise over how much to spend to address the mosquito-borne virus, expected to spread in the coming months.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A big defense bill including making women eligible for the draft and approving new weapons will dominate a week of action in Congress that also features movement on 2017 spending bills, CQ Roll Call’s Defense Reporter John M. Donnelly and Budget Tracker Editor David Lerman report. And political columnist Nathan Gonzales explains how Speaker Paul Ryan figures in the post-election GOP hierarchy.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s first face-to-face and likely awkward meeting on Capitol Hill with presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump could play a role in the remainder of the presidential campaign, says CQ Roll Call's Political Reporter Alex Roarty. Meanwhile, Congress looks like it's tackling the opioid epidemic with 18 different bills poised to pass in the House. Health Editor Rebecca Adams explains why this is just a modest effort.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lawmakers return from recess but Donald Trump will loom large in the halls of Congress. CQ Roll Call reporters Ryan McCrimmon and Andrew Siddons spell out the issues that will dominate the agenda, including spending bills, regulating e-cigarettes, funding to combat the Zika virus and displaying the Confederate battle flag. And political reporter Alex Roarty talks about why he’s getting thousands of press releases from Democrats about Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an unexpected move, lawmakers on a House committee backed a proposal to require women to register for the Selective Service, subjecting them to any future military draft. CQ Roll Call’s Jane Norman and National Security Reporter Megan Scully break it down and explain how likely this is to become law.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Political analyst Stuart Rothenberg explains why down-ballot Republican candidates could be in trouble because of Donald Trump's frontrunner status. Also, CQ Roll Call's budget reporter Kellie Mejdrich on inability of Republicans in Congress to make progress in funding the government on time and legal affairs writer Todd Ruger on the Supreme Court looking to define a line between political corruption and official duty.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Showdown looms over efforts to dip into a special war fund to bypass spending caps. CQ Roll Call's national security reporter Megan Scully has the scoop. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices