Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and there are signs of a lover’s quarrel between House and Senate Republicans over who gets to be first to move forward with the budget reconciliation process. There is certainly no love lost between President Trump and congressional Democrats! What does this week hold in DC? Let’s get into it. Welcome to the Week Ahead!
The Administration
Elon Musk and his “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” have turned their attention to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed in a February 5 statement that “two agency veterans” are working with DOGE staff to find “opportunities for more effective and efficient use of resources in line with meeting the goals of President Trump.” Democratic leaders of the congressional committees with jurisdiction over CMS have called for an investigation highlighting their concerns about DOGE having access to Americans’ personal health information. While the big dollars of waste, fraud, and abuse come from Medicare and Medicaid, you know DOGE will be digging into the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration soon enough.
The administration is also looking to trim the federal government by buying out federal employees. The deadline for federal workers to take deals was February 6, but a federal judge extended that deadline to February 10, when a hearing is scheduled to consider the legality of the buyout. Regardless of what happens with the buyout and DOGE, the administration’s actions related to federal agencies and the federal workforce have already led to massive disruption at the agencies, including their unwillingness to hold meetings and respond to normal government requests.
The Senate
Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has released a Fiscal Year 2025 budget resolution to advance Trump Administration priorities on defense, border security, and energy. Although health care isn’t the focus, the resolution does call on the Senate Finance Committee to produce at least $1 billion in savings. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) sees this as a sign that Republicans will look to make cuts to public health programs to pay for their priorities. However, President Trump has communicated that he does not want to see cuts made to Medicare and Medicaid. Of course, what is and what is not a “cut” is in the eye of the beholder. The Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to consider the budget resolution on February 12 and February 13.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has filed for cloture on several cabinet nominees, including RFK Jr. to be Secretary of HHS. A vote on his nomination could come as soon as February 14. Trump’s nominee to lead CMS, Dr. Mehmet Oz, is still working on getting his paperwork in order, but his committee hearing is in the offing. Dr. Oz has recently met with Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a critical step in the confirmation process.
The House
House Republicans had reportedly been close to unveiling a budget resolution for markup ahead of the Senate Budget Committee’s hearings on February 12 and 13. Accomplishing this would’ve been a nice win for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and would’ve sent a message to his caucus that he can move on to the President’s agenda. However, Speaker Johnson called a time out at the Super Bowl last night when he said that markup may need to be postponed in order to get the details right.
The House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee has scheduled the first hearing of the 119th Congress for February 11 to “examine ways to promote healthy living with more options, greater flexibility, and better incentives for patients.” This hearing will focus on employer-sponsored health plans and chronic care, highlighting Buchanan’s recently introduced a bill to allow for employers who offer high-deductible health plans the option of including pre-deductible coverage for certain chronic disease treatments. This bill has also been a priority for Senate Majority Leader Thune, boosting its chances of becoming law this session.
There You Have It
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