Shows / CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
This is CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics, formerly CQ on Congress, which has all of the audio content from the CQ Roll Call newsroom.
Episodes
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Call it the Most Not Invulnerable List
Jason Dick and Nathan Gonzales discuss House and Senate races that could be competitive, but aren't quite yet. Basically, what would it take for someone like…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Medicaid cuts in play
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has proposed Medicaid cuts to help pay for the GOP's budget reconciliation bill, though the cuts are less deep than…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Still vulnerable, even while batting .400
Jason Dick, Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire discuss the first Roll Call Most Vulnerable Incumbents list of the 2026 cycle, why House freshman…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Trump's budget ax
President Donald Trump's preliminary fiscal 2026 budget request, which takes a meat ax to domestic programs and foreign aid, is getting a frosty reception from…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: The Politics of the Catholic Church after Pope Francis
The personality and outreach of Pope Francis attracted worldwide admiration. Though he did not stray from Catholic doctrine, he connected those teachings to…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Six degrees of 100 days ...
How does Kevin Bacon fit into the first 100 days analysis of the Trump presidency? Jason Dick and John Bennett discuss, as well as the art of Gretchen…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Budget promises put to the test
Vague promises from GOP leaders to seek deep spending cuts put down a rebellion from conservative holdouts and secured the adoption of a budget resolution this…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Golden State meets ‘Golden Age’
Jason Dick and Christina Bellantoni discuss California political leaders' approach to President Donald Trump's second term, Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast and…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: How a post-World War II ‘Red Scare’ resonates in modern America
Fights over how American history is taught. Labels of “Communist” and “Socialist” used to smear. Civil rights gains seen as a loss for the “real” America…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Budget battle in the House
Speaker Mike Johnson faces a rebellion within GOP ranks over a budget blueprint that squeaked through the Senate. CQ Roll Call's Caitlin Reilly, Paul M…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Much ado about special elections
Jason Dick, Mary Ellen McIntire and Andrew Menezes discuss the election results this week in Florida and Wisconsin, whether vermouth will be more expensive…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Tough climate for appropriations
The upcoming appropriations cycle faces some rough headwinds, as the Trump administration tries to freeze funding, fire thousands of public employees and gut…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: The Thai popcorn does not detract
Sports is leading the way on diversity, equity and inclusion, but don't expect to hear those words at the game. Plus: Everyone get ready for National…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: At the Gridiron, laughter in the dark
Dressing up as a donkey for a skit lampooning politicians at a white tie dinner in Washington is silly. But during difficult times, when the most powerful…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Spending bill's political fallout
The six-month continuing resolution that avoided a partial government shutdown left Democrats deeply divided. CQ Roll Call's Mary Ellen McIntire and David…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Democrats at (in?) retreat
House Democrats are gathering for their annual policy retreat this week, and face a series of questions as they navigate the 119th Congress, including why they…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Leadership test on spending
House GOP leaders must rally their razor-thin majority to pass a stopgap funding measure this week, while Senate Democrats must decide whether to vote against…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: Fighting a disease and a health-care system
As America’s health-care system is not being spared in policy shake-ups from the very top, Equal Time takes a look at one case and what it says about…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Protest, retreat, hide? Congressional behavior, 2025-style
In the early days of the second Trump administration, congressional Republicans and Democrats face decisions about how to react to White House-led actions. For…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Stopgap spending decision time
A continuing resolution to head off a partial government shutdown is caught in the political crossfire of federal employee layoffs, funding freezes and a…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: ‘Yeah, I don’t love that,’ or how the House learned to start jamming the Senate
In recent days, the Senate and House have both passed versions of their own budget resolution, one of the key steps in constructing a so-called reconciliation…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: ‘Yeah, I don’t love that,’ or how the House learned to start jamming the Senate
In recent days, the Senate and House have both passed versions of their own budget resolution, one of the key steps in constructing a so-called reconciliation…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Pivotal test for House budget
A House vote this week will test the unity of Republicans for a budget blueprint that would pave the way for a sweeping package of tax cuts, border security…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: 'If I can get you to feel' -- politics, wrestling and connecting with people
For someone who has dominated politics for going on a decade, Donald Trump still controls the narrative in a way that leaves his opponents flat-footed. Trump's…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Budget reconciliation pressures mount
The Senate's plan for a slim budget blueprint focused on border security and defense could be upended by President Donald Trump's new endorsement of the House…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: Has the fringe gone mainstream?
In 2025, you don’t have to reach very far to reach those dark corners of the internet where fringe conspiracy theories and racist memes once hid. In…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: ‘Beauty never gets old’ -- Slava Leontyev in the ‘Porcelain War’
Is it possible to find beauty amid the horror of the Ukraine-Russia war? The Academy Award-nominated documentary "Porcelain War" argues that it is not only…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Budget reconciliation stalls
House leaders had to punt on plans for a Budget Committee markup early this week as Republicans continue to squabble over the size of a budget reconciliation…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Having a plan beats not having a plan
The early days of the 119th Congress and the second Trump administration have been a whirlwind, but here is one observation for those looking to make sense of…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: House GOP in a quandary
Republicans are struggling to come together on a budget resolution that would pave the way for a mammoth reconciliation bill encompassing much of President…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Instability as norm? Or test?
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…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Funding freeze turmoil
A Trump administration directive to freeze spending on federal grants and loans pending a policy review outraged Democrats and reignited a debate over who…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Pardon me? Tales of presidential pardons
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…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Budget reconciliation 'horse race'
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…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Appointed senators: The winners, seat-warmers, losers and weirdos
Appointed senators: They're a thing. Of the 206 individuals appointed to the Senate since 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment codified direct election of…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: So you say you want to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget
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…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: GOP's fragile majority
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…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: Why Lying in Politics Is a Danger to Democracy and Can It Be Fixed?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Political fallout over spending
A funding package that averted a partial government shutdown left Republicans bitterly divided and chastened. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Looking ahead to 2025's biggest political stories
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…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Revenge of the Senate
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…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Big tax-cut and spending agenda
Republicans are preparing to use the budget reconciliation process to push border security, tax cuts and more on party-line votes next year. CQ Roll Call's…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: Looking at Climate Futures with Imagination and Resolve
With a recently concluded global climate summit with challenging takeaways, an incoming president who vows to again remove the U.S. from international climate…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Home improvements for the House
It happens every December: We ask ourselves, is this the best Congress can do? And the answer is no. They can do better. And there are a number of ways the…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: The meaning of DOGE
President-elect Donald Trump's new Department of Government Efficiency isn't really a federal department, but it promises to take a meat ax to federal spending…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Disaster aid scrubbing
Lawmakers are torn over the size and shape of a disaster relief package headed for a vote next month. CQ Roll Call's Aidan Quigley and David Lerman discuss the…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: A very judgy lame duck
If you're paying attention to the Senate, you know they're voting on a lot of judges, as happens during lame duck congresses. There are also a lot of partisan…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Who are these guys? The Congress-to-Cabinet revue
President-elect Donald Trump has picked several current and former members of Congress for his Cabinet and senior staff. Here’s a quick and dirty on the…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Funding strategy unresolved
Congress returns for a lame-duck session with a major decision to make on fiscal 2025 spending: whether to pass an omnibus package by Christmas or punt…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: 5 big questions about this election with Nathan Gonzales
So, we have questions in the aftermath of this election. Who is the leader of the Democratic Party? What lessons do Republicans take from their victories? Do…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: The last Most Vulnerable Incumbents lists of the 2024 cycle
Roll Call looked under every nook, cranny and poll to round off the Most Vulnerable Incumbents lists for the 2024 cycle. Find out how and why who got where!…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: How a battle for locker-room access was about so much more
Sports and politics don’t mix. In truth, that has never been the case. Sports, in fact, reflect every issue, every conflict in society from civil rights to…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: But is it art? Unpacking ‘The Apprentice’
For many film buffs, October is Scary Movie Month, when we go to the vault to watch "Last House on the Left" or head to the theater to catch "Beetlejuice…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: What it means for an electoral race to be unstable
The 2024 campaign is in the home stretch, and there are several races that are defined by a high degree of instability. How do we mean? It starts with the…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: ‘War Game’: Rehearsing the uncomfortably plausible
What happens when a veterans organization conducting an unscripted role-playing simulation with real political figures about an attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2025…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: "Sleepy" but consequential term awaits Supreme Court
The Supreme Court starts its new term this coming Monday, October 7th, and while the docket does not include such high-profile cases as the last two years…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Equal Time: Has grift hijacked American conservatism?
In the middle of a contentious election season, it might be the perfect time to look back, to try to figure out how we got here. In “The Longest Con: How…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Post-election end game
Lawmakers will return to Washington after the elections with a heap of unfinished business and little time to get it done. Hurricane Helene may push disaster…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
Political Theater: Tales of the three-headed incumbent: Biden/Harris/Trump
The 2024 presidential race feels a bit "incumbenty." A former president, Donald Trump is running against first the current president, Joe Biden, and now the…
- CQ Roll Call Policy and Politics
CQ Budget: Finish line in sight
After weeks of partisan posturing, congressional leaders settled on a bipartisan bill to stave off a partial government shutdown next month. CQ Roll Call's…