Loren Duggan They had a very long break from running for office and then getting the results, and that’s now what they’re digesting as they get back to working for the current Congress and, obviously, preparing for the Congress that will begin. next January.

Tom Temin And I had a first question regarding the incoming Trump administration which has chosen, at least so far, two Republican members of Congress for its administration, Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), at the United Nations and Tim Waltz (D- Neb.), responsible for national security. advise, this could put you in danger. How would it affect this slim margin of leadership if the Republicans found themselves like this?

Loren Duggan This would temporarily deprive them of this member if this member were to be confirmed in the case of Elise Stefanik, who is seeking a position subject to confirmation, or Michael Waltz (R-Fla.), national security adviser. This is not confirmation work. So he could leave at any time, there would be a vacancy in those two seats, and states would have to schedule elections before they had a member to replace them. This would therefore reduce the number of Republicans in this very small majority, the number of which is still being defined today. The Democrats have an inside chance, but it’s most likely the Republicans. But as you point out, less so. Now, if they are appointed senator, governors can replace him by appointment, sometimes with different rules depending on the state. But this is a fairly immediate replacement, as opposed to elections which can take months.

Tom Temin RIGHT. And if, say, Marco Rubio (Republican of Florida) became secretary of state, that’s a reliable Republican nomination.

Loren Duggan Yes it is. And senators generally receive deference when appointed. So one would assume he would be confirmed. Governor Ron DeSantis (Republican of Florida) would appoint someone, who could then be elected a little earlier in two years. But given the trends in this state, it’s a safe Republican spot at this point.

Tom Temin All right. In the meantime, apart from all this, they have an orientation to get through it. And what’s going on there and what, if anything, does it result in that could affect operations?

Loren Duggan A few things. This is where elected members coming to town for the first time learn about things like establishing a congressional office, meet their peers, meet K Street community lobbyists and receptions that will be hosted there, and also begin to understand how the next Congress will work through the leadership elections that must take place for the Senate Majority Leader, this is an important question. And then also a slot at the House which will be opened thanks to the choice of Elise Stefanik as UN ambassador.

Tom Temin All right. And yes, so it must be fun. Orientations are in Washington, although they don’t immediately go to resorts outside of Washington for that.

Loren Duggan No, it’s right here in town, because some of the people doing the orientation have their day jobs. Members of Capitol Hill voting on issues this week in the Senate, the House and a few committees. So it’s a sort of lame duck session that takes place, at the same time as this reflection on next year.

Tom Temin And in the lame duck, what will happen? Let’s talk about something really important, which is the National Defense Authorization Act. I never managed it before recess.

Loren Duggan That’s correct. The House passed a bill on a fairly partisan basis. It all started with a bipartisan committee. But because of the amendments passed in the room, the Senate didn’t pass his version, but he’s been working behind the scenes on a compromise that I think he’s going to try to continue to refine and move this forward before the end of the year. Over six consecutive decades of doing so on an annual basis. Nobody wants to break this streak. So that’s one of the things I would look to do during this time, if not November, maybe December when they come back after Thanksgiving.

Tom Temin But could this be potentially more controversial, simply because Republicans know they have a so-called trifecta just beyond concluding this? And then, but it could be policies inherited from the previous Congress.

Loren Duggan This bill, because of its bipartisan nature, I could imagine there being agreement less affected by that than by something like spending, which we might be able to come back to. But because of the troop pay that has to be authorized because of the contractual elements that have to be implemented in the NDAA, December 31st is kind of the touch point to get that done. And I think they’re going to try to get it. And if this bill is to be one of the few things that moves forward, it will become an attractive vehicle for other things that could increase its chances of succeeding.

Tom Temin We speak with Loren Duggan, deputy chief information officer at Bloomberg Government. And then of course, there is the budget. And there are actually two budgets now. One is the 2025 credits to replace the CR, and you can remind us of one that’s expiring. And then, of course, the 26 submissions are at the voting trigger point.

Loren Duggan That’s correct. So, until 2025, we have government funding until December 20, a date that was chosen in September before they left for vacation. This is the compromise that was reached before we knew what would happen with the election results, which could be a game-changer. There are basically a few options. One of them is government funding for a full year if they want to pull it off. But there appears to be growing interest in perhaps kicking the Trump administration in March, or even next year. If you recall, this was the initial position of the House Republicans, back in September, and we may come back to it now. It’s not clear whether that will be accepted, but that’s certainly the dynamic that’s emerging there. In 2026, the agencies actually begin their work. We tend to focus on the budget release whenever it happens in February, March, April, whenever. But beneath the surface there is all this work in the agencies, in the old backs, and some of this work will continue. But it is likely that Donald Trump and his administration will want to put their own stamp on it. So this could delay the release of the budget until later in the spring, once they take office.

Tom Temin In other words, the possibility of a full annual appropriation in the middle of the year, which has happened several times in recent years, could once again be déjà vu.

Loren Duggan That could really be the case, if that’s the choice they make now and give themselves some leeway to start negotiating on that once the trio, if that’s indeed what materializes, has the chance to begin to imprint his will on this document.

Tom Temin And when the Senate chooses its majority leader, it will likely be quite quickly. On the surface, the three contenders are Kumbaya. And I think as long as it’s not Mitch McConnell (R-Ala.), then everyone will be happy with the outcome.

Loren Duggan As we saw at the end of the weekend, there was some discussion. And Rick Scott (R-Florida), who is probably the most Trump-aligned of the three candidates, has garnered some public support, including from people like Elon Musk. So he has this little wind at his back. But John Thune (RS.D.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Thune, the number two now, John Cornyn, a former number two in the Republican Party, are sort of the more established choices, have a long history. history and supported their colleagues with a lot of money. We’ll see what dynamic really pushes him here. But these elections should be fairly quick. Once they’re in the back room, take their vote, and we’ll see what comes out of it, as well as what rule changes might result. Because Donald Trump is asking the Senate to do things a certain way, and we’ll see how he responds.

Tom Temin Yeah, that’s something we don’t see as much with the new administration sending task orders, if you will, to Congress that the president will receive. It seems that the Trump administration is more active at this point than the first time.

Loren Duggan I think they had more groundwork on this, and some people in the lead, members of the transition team. And he got his chief of staff pretty quickly. So things are progressing quickly and we will continue on this path. Congress is its own branch and they can say: Wait, wait, wait, we’ll make our own decision here. But he’s certainly already speaking out about some of the things he’d like to see. And I’m sure this is just the beginning of how the dynamics will play out over the next few years.