The White House is pumping the brakes on submitting its rescissions package, which is expected to include nearly $10 billion in cuts to public broadcasting, the State Department, and other federal agencies and programs.

Congress is still waiting on details following the release of the President's "skinny" budget request earlier this month, which called for a 22.6 percent cut in non-defense discretionary spending.

The FY26 appropriations process is in full swing, with agencies submitting budget justifications, committees conducting hearings, and subcommittees marking up legislation.

House appropriators are returning to Washington next week with an eye toward holding the first floor vote of the FY26 appropriations cycle.

The Senate is poised to achieve a key milestone in the appropriations process as Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) moves to assemble the first "minibus" package of the cycle.

Still Closed for Business. Washington's shutdown saga is less a ticking time bomb than a slow grind, with both political parties dug in deeper than ever. Polling shows neither side is bearing the brunt of public blame...

As Congress adjourns for the next two weeks, the Steptoe Appropriations Team will also take a brief pause.

The Department of Homeland Security enters its 70th day of shutdown as House Republicans refuse to support funding until reconciliation negotiations advance, while DHS Secretary warns the agency will run out of cash by early May. Political maneuvering intensifies as lawmakers debate attaching additional policy priorities to border security legislation, risking President Trump's June 1 deadline...

As the clock ticks down to the government funding deadline on March 14, topline discussions between Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked.

If FY26 appropriations were a marathon, yesterday's Senate vote on the Commerce‑Justice‑Science (CJS), Energy and Water, and Interior appropriations "minibus" package was another major mile marker — one that puts Congress halfway to the finish line.

Congress made notable progress this week on fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations, with the House overwhelmingly advancing a $180 billion three-bill "minibus" covering Commerce‑Justice‑Science (CJS), Interior...

Good news for all the scheduled CODELS! The continuing resolution (CR) is all but finished. This week, all eyes have been on government funding. Typical of this kind of brinkmanship, there has been a lot of drama.

On October 21, 2025, the US Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration (ITA) announced the launch of the American AI Exports Program ("the Program"),

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation ("OFSI") has published a new blog post highlighting a marked escalation in cross-government efforts to counter the misuse of cryptoassets for sanctions evasion.

The California Invasion of Privacy Act has spawned an assembly line of lawsuits targeting common website features like chatbots and cookies, with plaintiffs claiming statutory damages of $5,000 per violation even without actual harm. California's legislature has passed S.B. 690 to curb these claims, while new federal legislation seeks to provide broader relief by barring CIPA and similar state law claims related to digital commerce activities.

Consider a court case in which one side presents a chart, report, or a video reconstruction that was created entirely by artificial intelligence (AI).

California lawmakers recently approved legislation that would require companies to apply human oversight and notify workers when using AI tools to make employment decisions.

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, or "GENIUS" Act, a sweeping legal framework for stablecoins in the US, was signed into law by President Trump on July 18, 2025.

On March 21, 2025, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the delisting of Tornado Cash, a digital asset mixer, from the List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List).

On October 30, 2025, the Department of Transportation (the "Department") published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposing to revise certain procedures related...