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Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 192

November Surprises

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Trial Balloon · Ep. 192: November Surprises

Congress Is Actually Governing

January 14, 2026 · 6:12 am ET · Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “Something shocking is happening in Washington.”

“Since the record 43-day government shutdown ended in mid-November, congressional appropriators are trying to get their power back. And party leaders are pushing hard to give it to them.”

“Battered and bruised following the record-breaking shutdown, a flood of stopgap funding bills and rank-and-file members who refuse to vote for spending bills, House and Senate leaders are on the brink of reaching agreement on a full slate of FY2026 appropriations bills. They’ll still have to pass these bills — more accurately, funding packages — before the end of this month, though.”

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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