This Week in Congress

This week, Congress returns to Washington with plans to advance a budget reconciliation bill extending Trump's 2017 tax cuts, funding immigration enforcement, and cutting spending. However, Republicans face ideological challenges and a slim House majority, needing to navigate complex Senate rules for controversial proposals. Urgency is added by the need to raise the debt ceiling by summer, and collaboration with Democrats will be necessary for appropriations, defense authorization, and the farm bill, with potential bipartisan efforts on artificial intelligence (AI), online safety, and energy permitting. The Senate considered the nominations of David Perdue as ambassador to China, Warren Stephens as ambassador to the United Kingdom, Thomas Barrack as ambassador to Turkey, and Tilman Fertitta as ambassador to Italy and San Marino.