Congress is off to a slow start this year, and Republicans are starting to get nervous.
The Senate is tied up with delays in confirming President Donald Trump’s cabinet, the House is spending most of its time undoing regulations from the end of the previous president’s term, and a promised swift repeal of Obamacare is stalled.
"Is there some concern? Yes. Is it a panic stage? No," said North Carolina Representative Mark Walker, chairman of the 170-member Republican Study Committee.
Less than a month into Barack Obama’s first term, he had already signed into law a measure extending health insurance to 4.1 million more U.S. children, a $787 billion economic stimulus package and legislation making it easier for employees to challenge wage discrimination. By contrast, Trump has signed legislation rolling back an Obama-era rule on energy companies’ disclosures, a law related to the Government Accountability Office’s ability to access certain records and a waiver allowing his defense secretary to be confirmed.
The slow start could end up delaying other Republican priorities, including an ambitious tax overhaul. Party leaders insist in public that they remain on target, but the legislative calendar is getting clogged enough to jeopardize significant chunks of the GOP’s agenda for the year. Read more at Bloomberg