Stephen Neukam

1 week ago | axios.com | Stef W. Kight |Stephen Neukam

Senate Majority Leader John Thune at the U.S. Capitol this month. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty ImagesPresident Trump's budget bill is about to meet the realities of the Senate, where the rules of reconciliation could help Democrats force changes to the bill. Why it matters: Senate Republicans have been quietly working to ensure Trump's budget bill gets a clean bill of health from the Senate parliamentarian.

1 week ago | axios.com | Stephen Neukam

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Student Borrower Protection CenterSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will spend the week away from D.C. campaigning against the GOP's "big, beautiful bill."Why it matters: Schumer is placing pressure on fractures that are already present among Senate Republicans, most prominently proposed cuts to programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

2 weeks ago | axios.com | Stephen Neukam

Sens. Jeff Merkley and Chuck Schumer in April. Photo: Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesTop Senate Democrats aren't relenting in their push to add guardrails for President Trump and others to landmark cryptocurrency legislation, Axios has learned. Why it matters: 18 Democrats voted earlier this week to advance the bill. But sources familiar with the discussions say some of that support could slip unless the bill adds basic protections against corruption by public officials.

2 weeks ago | axios.com | Stephen Neukam

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., leaves the Senate Democrats' lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) A group of Senate Democrats on Thursday will re-introduce a bill to ban stock trading by members of Congress and their families, Axios has learned. Why it matters: President Trump last month endorsed the idea, breathing new life into a push that has found only dead ends on Capitol Hill over the last few years. Sens.

2 weeks ago | axios.com | Stephen Neukam

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said Russian President Valdimir Putin is playing President Trump "like a fiddle," at an Axios event Wednesday. Why it matters: Bipartisan pressure is growing in the Senate for the White House to give lawmakers the green light to pass a new package of sanctions against Moscow.