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How much gets spent on the legislative branch?
The FirstBranch Forecast has done yeoman’s work to cull “all of the spending bills for the last quarter-century and lined up the spending items in a downloadable spreadsheet. Now… Read More
Precedents! Precedents! Get your FREE precedents!
As the Senate conducts its impeachment trial, there appears to be growing interest in Senate rules – particularly Senate precedents. Is the Chief Justice allowed to cast tie-breaking votes when presiding… Read More
The chief justice doesn’t rule the Senate
Source: ABCNews.com The Senate’s impeachment trial of President Trump has entered its second week. Some of the president’s critics have concerns with how it’s going—and they want Chief Justice… Read More
Congress rebuked but not reimagined
Source: CNN.com “If we break this contract, throw us out. We mean it.” So pronounced the bottom line of a Republican National Committee ad, which laid out the Contract… Read More
Making motions In impeachment trials
Now that the House managers have completed their presentation of the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, counsel for the president has up to 24 hours over three days… Read More
Can the vice president vote in a presidential impeachment trial?
Up to now, the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump has unfolded along party lines. All but one of the votes that senators cast earlier this… Read More
ICYMI: Senate leaders do not make the rules
After several weeks of uncertainty surrounding President Trump’s impeachment, the Senate is ready to proceed. This week, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, … Read More
What happened in the Senate on Monday night
Yesterday, President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial finally got underway in the Senate. Senators’ first order of business was to decide whether to adopt a package of supplementary rules (… Read More
McConnell’s impeachment rules advantage McConnell
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell released the Senate impeachment rules last night. He previously stated the impeachment rules for Trump will follow the Clinton rules. And in a strict… Read More
APSA congressional reform task force report
Download the report. Read More