The early days of the second Trump administration have brought us an intense debate over constitutional authority and the role of government, which has been folded into the unstable and chaotic political era we are in. Is this destabilization something that will endure, or is it one of many similar, rough times in our history, say the 1960s, when politics and the government were tested and evolved, but overall held?

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A Trump administration directive to freeze spending on federal grants and loans pending a policy review outraged Democrats and reignited a debate over who controls the power of the purse. CQ Roll Call's Paul M. Krawzak and David Lerman outline the battle over presidential "impoundment" authority and what it may mean for appropriations.

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Presidential pardons are all over the place, thanks to outgoing President Joe Biden and newly sworn in President Donald Trump. Presidents’ power to pardon is pretty comprehensive, and has been used to pardon the likes of Confederates, Jimmy Hoffa, Richard Nixon, Defense secretaries, family members and dirty tricksters, and most recently the Jan. 6 crowd and even the founder of the black market drug marketplace Silk Road.

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Torn over strategy for passing Donald Trump's agenda, the House and Senate are on a collision course over how to use the budget reconciliation process to pass tax cuts, border security, defense funding and more. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman outline the dispute, the political dynamics involved, and whether a leadership timeline for action is realistic.

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Appointed senators: They're a thing. Of the 206 individuals appointed to the Senate since 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment codified direct election of senators and how to fill vacant seats, 11 of them are currently serving. Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales go through the highlights, lowlights and weirdlights of this category of senators.

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It's the most wonderful time of the year: When Washington says it will cut the federal deficit. Easier said than done! Just ask the 2011 super committee, which had a mandate and bipartisan support, and failed spectacularly. For this podcast, we combine the powers of the Political Theater podcast with sister podcast CQ Budget and its illustrious host, the Budget Tracker, as well as his long-suffering editor.

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The election of Speaker Mike Johnson for another term underscored how difficult it will be for Republicans to govern with a razor-thin majority. CQ Roll Call's Jim Saksa and David Lerman recount what it took for Johnson to win the gavel and explain what it may mean for the legislative battles to come.

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A funding package that averted a partial government shutdown left Republicans bitterly divided and chastened. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman examine the political fallout from a week of GOP infighting and what it means for President-elect Donald Trump's ambitious agenda next year.

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What's an "off year" in politics? There is no such thing, according to Nathan Gonzales, Roll Call's campaigns analyst and the publisher of Inside Elections. We run through the top developing political stories of 2025. 

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Is the United States Senate The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body, or is it the world's most inefficient waiting room, where senators kill time before a flurry of inefficient activity? Part 2 of our discussion with Brookings' Molly Reynolds about ways Congress could function better.

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