Kevin Freking, Author at The Rapid City Post

The U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

August recess can’t hide tensions ahead for Congress on spending and Trump nominations

August 4, 2025

Lawmakers have left Washington for the annual August recess, but a few weeks of relative quiet at the U.S. Capitol can’t mask the partisan tensions that are brewing on government funding and President Donald Trump’s nominees. It could make for a momentous September. On government funding, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries sent their Republican counterparts a sharply-worded letter Monday calling for a meeting this week. They said it will take bipartisanship to avert a “painful, unnecessary shutdown.” On nominees, Republicans are considering changes to Senate rules to get more of Trump’s nominees confirmed.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., looks over notes as Senate Republicans work to cancel $9.4 billion in previously approved spending targeted by DOGE, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Government shutdown talk is starting early ahead of a difficult funding fight in Congress this fall

July 29, 2025

Congressional leaders are already starting to trade blame for a government shutdown, two months before the funding deadline. The posturing sends a signal the threat of a stoppage is more serious than usual. Democratic leadership from both chambers and the two panels responsible for drafting spending bills met behind closed doors recently to discuss the strategy ahead. The Democrats emerged asserting Republicans need to work with them. But the Democrats carefully avoided spelling out red lines if Republicans opt not to go that route. Republican lawmakers view the Democrats as itching for a shutdown after a series of political losses this year.

Trump signs bill to cancel $9 billion in foreign aid, public broadcasting funding

July 24, 2025

President Donald Trump has signed a bill to cancel about $9 billion that had been approved for public broadcasting and foreign aid. Republicans are working to lock in cuts to programs targeted by the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency. The White House had billed the legislation as a test case and said more such rescission packages would be on the way if Congress went along. The bulk of the spending being clawed back is for foreign assistance programs. About $1.1 billion was destined for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which finances NPR and PBS, though most of that money is distributed to more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country.

President Donald Trump holds his signed signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House, Friday, July 4, 2025, in Washington, as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., left, watches and Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., takes a photo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Budget office says Trump’s tax law will add $3.4 trillion to deficits, leave 10 million uninsured

July 21, 2025

President Donald Trump’s tax and spending cut bill will add $3.4 trillion to federal deficits through 2034. That’s a slight increase compared with a prior estimate from the Congressional Budget Office that had been made just before Republicans made final tweaks to get the legislation passed. Meanwhile, the picture for the number of people who would become uninsured improved. That estimate dropped to 10 million more uninsured in 2034, compared with 11.8 million in the prior projection. Republicans have insisted that economic growth will exceed the CBO’s projections for the next decade. But nonpartisan watchdogs have also said the bill would greatly increase future deficits.

FILE - Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., talks after a policy luncheon on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

A Senate vote this week will test the popularity of DOGE spending cuts

July 14, 2025

Senate Republicans are putting the popularity of Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts to the test this week. The GOP lawmakers are looking to pass President Donald Trump’s request to claw back $9.4 billion in spending on public media and foreign aid. Senate Democrats are looking to kill the measure. The House has already approved the rescissions package on a mostly party line 214-212 vote. The Senate has little time to spare to beat the 45-day deadline for the Republican president’s signature. If Congress fails to act by Friday, then the spending stands.

FILE - Josh Waldron, co-founder and CEO of SilencerCo, holds a 9mm handgun with a suppressor embedded into the barrel, Jan. 17, 2017, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Lisa Marie Pane, File)

Republicans hit major setback in their effort to ease regulations on gun silencers

June 27, 2025

Republican efforts to loosen regulations on gun silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns have been dealt a big setback. The Senate parliamentarian advised Friday that the proposal would need to clear a 60-vote threshold if included in President Donald Trump’s big tax and immigration bill. Lawmakers said the provision was deemed by the Senate parliamentarian to be in violation of the “Byrd Rule,” which stipulates that the budget changes sought in the legislation cannot be “merely incidental” to the policy changes. Gun-control groups celebrated the parliamentarian’s ruling, saying the items have been regulated for nearly 100 years because of the threat to first responders and communities.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center left, speaks to reporters along with members of the Republican leadership, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Meet the Senate parliamentarian, the official tying Republicans in knots over their tax bill

June 26, 2025

A few Republicans are reacting with indignation after the Senate parliamentarian advised that some of the measures in their tax and immigration bill could not be included in the legislation. The ruling from Elizabeth MacDonough was a blow to the GOP’s efforts to wring hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid over the next decade. Senate Republicans could opt to try to override her recommendations, but they are unlikely to do so. It’s hardly the first time the parliamentarian’s normally low-key and lawyerly role has drawn a blast of public criticism, sometimes from Democrats.

Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the rescissions package on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Senators challenge Trump’s proposed cuts to foreign aid and public media in contentious hearing

June 25, 2025

Republicans and Democrats on a key Senate panel are challenging the merits of cancelling billions of dollars in spending for foreign aid and public media, as requested by President Donald Trump. The objections came as part of a contentious hearing Wednesday examining the White House’s request for the cuts. The House has already voted to claw back the $9.4 billion in spending. Now, the Senate is preparing to take up the package with a July 18 deadline for action. If the Senate declines to approve a measure by then, the Trump administration must obligate and spend the funds in question.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., left, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, as he talks to reporters about Senate Republicans' efforts to pass President Donald Trump's tax cut and spending agenda with deeper Medicaid cuts, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Republican attempt to discourage Trump lawsuits has hit a big obstacle

June 23, 2025

Republicans have hit a roadblock in an effort that could deter nonprofits, individuals and others from filing lawsuits to block President Donald Trump’s executive actions. Republicans sought in their big tax bill to bar federal courts from issuing temporary restraining orders or preliminary injunctions against the federal government unless the plaintiffs post what in many cases would be a massive financial bond. The proposal was found to be in violation of the Senate’s rules, which means it is likely to be abandoned. Critics warned the proposal would have a chilling effect on potential litigants at a time when Trump is facing lawsuits nationwide.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters following closed-door party meetings at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

How Senate Republicans want to change the tax breaks in Trump’s big bill

June 20, 2025

House and Senate Republicans are taking different approaches when it comes to the tax cuts that lawmakers are looking to include in their massive tax bill. Republicans in the two chambers don’t agree on the size of a deduction for state and local taxes. They are also at odds on such things as allowing people to use their health savings accounts to help pay for their gym membership, or whether electric vehicle and hybrid owners should have to pay an annual fee. How they work out their differences in the coming weeks will help determine how successful they are at passing their marquee legislation.

Kevin Freking.