Week Ahead in Washington: April 12

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Congress returns to Washington following a two-week recess with hopes of ending the nearly two-month-long shutdown of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Republican congressional leaders have agreed to a two-part plan. Part one would pass a bipartisan spending bill to fund most of DHS, excluding Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol. That measure is now in the House.

Part two hinges on budget reconciliation to fund those other two agencies. The process passes budgetary measures using a simple majority, allowing the GOP to bypass a potential Democratic-led Senate filibuster.

Also this week, Israeli and Lebanese officials are set to meet in Washington to discuss a potential ceasefire in Lebanon.

Israeli forces have been fighting Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Those military operations have become a major sticking point in ceasefire negotiations between the U.S. and Iran.

Thursday, White House Budget Chief Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, is set to testify in front of the Senate Budget Committee about President Donald Trump’s proposed budget.

It calls for major increases in defense spending while cutting spending on domestic programs.

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