Faces To Watch On Sticky Votes
Yes, it’s a federal holiday, and we’ve already helped you get ready for the week ahead. So today is perfect for a deep-dive edition to highlight some smart details in recent coverage by our beat reporters.
First, check out the list Greg Giroux compiled of House members who had the least room to spare to win their seats. The ones who won by playing to the base will have a big incentive to please those partisans as they cast votes on incendiary bills or amendments, and the ones who showed crossover appeal could be motivated to cross party lines.
As the legislative decision-making unfolds on the federal budget and more, we’ll especially be watching the Democrats who ousted Republican incumbents and vice versa. Their seats will be in the bullseye as both parties prepare for 2026.
Case in point: Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), who ousted Democrat Matt Cartwright. On Friday he issued a statement about Republicans’ budget resolution, telling constituents, “If a bill is put in front of me that guts the benefits my neighbors rely on, I will not vote for it”
Read More: These House Members Won By Small Margins
Not Enough Umpires
One thing about working for the federal government — no matter who your bosses are, if they want to make big personnel changes there are regulations they’re supposed to follow.
Among them:
- Give at least 60 days notice before starting a lay-off
- Rank employees to be terminated based on factors such as tenure, veteran status, and performance ratings
- Offer “bumping” to move a targeted worker into the position of someone newer on the payroll
Following the rules means it can take months to tick off all the steps in the downsizing process. Bloomberg Law’s Parker Purifoy and Courtney Rozen examined the Trump administration’s process and found the system designed to protect employees essentially sends them into a round room and tells them to stand in the corner.
If they want to appeal firings to the Merit Systems Protection Board, who’s on that board and whether it has a quorum matters. The term for Ray Limon, the panel’s Democratic member, is set to expire at the end of the month. President Donald Trump fired another Democrat, Cathy A. Harris, and she’s suing over her termination.
Employment lawyers told our colleagues that fired federal workers could file an equal employment opportunity complaint, which offers the option to have an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission administrative judge hear their dispute. However, the EEOC doesn’t have enough members for a quorum after
And then there’s the Federal Labor Relations Authority. It’s deadlocked along partisan lines after the firing of former Chair Susan Grundmann. She’s suing, too.
Read More:
- Trump to Lay Off Federal Workers After Paralyzing Labor Panels
- Health Department Layoffs Expand to Medicare, FDA
- Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Fire US Agency Head
This Court Case Is Urgent
For the first time, the new administration has a case before the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump’s appeal, if successful, would let him fire the head of an independent agency that protects government whistleblowers.
The Supreme Court filing happened last night following a Saturday night order from a divided federal appeals court.
Read More:
- Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Fire US Agency Head
- What Happens If Trump Defies a Judge’s Order?: QuickTake
Reinforcements Aren’t On The Way
Bloomberg’s Olivia Raimonde spotted something that may surprise those riveted by the destruction of the recent California wildfires. Turns out it’s not yet fire season.
The union representing federal firefighters said job offers were withdrawn due to Trump’s hiring freeze.
About half of all federal firefighters are currently employed as full-time workers, according to Rachel Granberg, a firefighter who serves as representative for the National Federation of Federal Employees, while the other half are seasonal hires. Those seasonal contracts have to be renewed before the plus-ups can be positioned to respond to spring fires.
Read More: Trump’s Hiring Freeze Is Creating Chaos for Federal Firefighters
How Well Do You Know Washington?
Coming soon to a Senate floor near you: a budget vote-a-rama stacking multiple amendment decisions back to back to back. The upcoming action inspired BGOV’s Danielle Parnass to revisit the budget votes of 2021, in which senators said yes to 29 floor amendments.
Our quiz question: to get to those 29 changes, how many amendments were offered to the fiscal 2022 budget resolution?
A) 66
B) 166
C) 1,166
D) 2,266
The Latest From DOGE
Elon Musk’s DOGE team is trying to access a broad range of taxpayer data, including on individuals, according to a person familiar with the matter.
- Musk’s team is seeking the data but has not yet accessed it, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing the private matter. Read More
Plus, a draft memo from the IRS indicates that the agency is poised to give Gavin Kliger, a special adviser to the Office of Personnel Management, unlimited access to taxpayer data to provide software engineering expertise.
- These types of memos usually outline a specific purpose to access the data, which the draft doesn’t include, according one person familiar with the memo, drawing concern over the purpose and how broad Kliger’s access could be. Read More
SCOTUS Follow-Up
Our newsroom’s legal reporters and data divers took a close look at the impact of a Supreme Court decision that made it harder to bring certain cases under the Voting Rights Act.
Their analysis shows a sharp dropoff in cases brought under that law’s Section 2, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting practices.
Read More: Voting Rights Claims Plunge in Wake of Supreme Court Decision
Did You Ace The Quiz?
The correct response is C) 1,166 amendments were submitted ahead of the vote-a-rama for that budget resolution (S. Con. Res.14 of the 117th Congress), though only 47 ultimately were called up.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) was the tweak-proposing champion for that measure. He offered 309 amendments, none of which made it to the floor.
And a bonus bit of budgetary trivia: that resolution is noteworthy because it set up Democrats to move on their big tax and climate law dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act, though Republicans managed to strip the official title from what eventually was enacted (Public Law 117-169).
Editor’s Note
Friday’s newsletter was updated to correct the spelling of Lillianna Byington’s name.
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