The Week Ahead: February 10 - 14, 2025

Driving the Week​

Government Funding
Lawmakers are once again facing a government funding deadline in just over a month. The current continuing resolution (CR) expires on March 14, and lawmakers must pass another CR or complete action on the FY 2025 appropriations bills to avoid a government shutdown.  In addition, spending caps will take effect under the Fiscal Responsibility Act on April 30.

Last Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), along with members of his leadership team and other lawmakers, met with President Trump and Vice President Vance for several hours to discuss a framework for advancing the President’s priorities.

On Friday, House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) noted the growing support among Republicans for a stopgap funding measure.  However, the specifics of a potential CR remain unclear. Chair Cole also mentioned that bipartisan negotiations are ongoing in an effort to agree on a top-line funding number for FY 2025. Speaker Johnson, on Friday, stated that Democrats have been largely unresponsive, a notion Democrats strongly pushed back on.

Reconciliation
Senate Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released the text of his budget resolution on Friday, ahead of a two-day markup scheduled for this week. This strategy involves two bills that include key priorities in border security, defense, and energy policy. The proposed legislation allocates more than $340 billion in new funding for border security and the Pentagon over the next four years.

Meanwhile, the House was set to hold a Budget Committee markup this week on a potential budget resolution. However, on Sunday, Speaker Johnson indicated that this might be postponed.

Nominations
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote to report Kash Patel’s nomination to be FBI Director to the full Senate. Meanwhile, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will conduct hearings on Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination to be Secretary of Labor and Linda McMahon’s nomination to be Secretary of Education.

On Friday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed cloture on several pending nominations, including Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to serve as Director of National Intelligence, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to be Secretary of Health and Human Services, Brooke Rollins’ nomination to be Secretary of Agriculture, Howard Lutnick’s nomination to be Secretary of Commerce, and Kelly Loeffler’s nomination to be Small Business Administrator. Tonight, the Senate will hold a cloture vote on Gabbard’s nomination.

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Congress
House
The House meets at noon for morning hour and 2:00 pm for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. The suspension calendar is linked here.

Senate
The Senate meets at 3:00 pm to resume consideration of Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination to serve as Director of National Intelligence. A cloture vote is expected at 5:30 pm.


Key Events
Monday

• House Rules Committee Meeting on The Midnight Rules Relief Act 

Tuesday

• Senate Finance Committee Open Executive Session to Consider Jamieson Greer’s Nomination to be US Trade Representative
• Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Hearing on The Semiannual Monetary Report to Congress 
• House Agriculture Committee Hearing on Examining the Economic Crisis in Farm Country 
• House Transportation and Infrastructure Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee Hearing on America

Wednesday

• Senate Budget Committee Markup of The Fiscal 2025 Budget Resolution – Day 1
• Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Hearing on Advancing Carbon Capture: Utilization and Sequestration Technologies and Ensuring Effective Implementation of the USE IT Act
• House Financial Services Committee Hearing on The Federal Reserve’s Semi-Annual Monetary Policy Report
• House Energy and Commerce Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee Hearing on AI In Manufacturing: Securing American Leadership in Manufacturing and the Next Generation of Technologies

Thursday

• Senate Budget Committee Markup of The Fiscal 2025 Budget Resolution – Day 2
• Senate Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition Committee Hearing on Perspectives from the Field: Farmer and Rancher Views on the Agricultural Economy – Part 2
• House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing on USAID Betrayal

White House/Administration

• Late on Sunday, the President directed the Treasury Department to cease minting pennies. 
• The President plans to impose 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum today and to announce reciprocal tariffs on Tuesday or Wednesday. 
• Vice President Vance is in Paris to participate in a two-day AI summit and will attend the annual Munich Security Conference in Germany. 
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Department of State this morning. 
• Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and special envoy Keith Kellog are also headed to Europe this week to discuss the war in Ukraine.

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ICYMI

• On Sunday, a federal judge blocked DOGE Chair Elon Musk’s access to a Treasury Department payment system. 
• At the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s (NRSC) winter retreat this weekend Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) identified six battleground states in 2026: Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Maine, North Carolina, and Ohio to get Senate Republicans to 55 seats.
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) staffers have been told the agency will remain closed today and throughout this week.