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The House of Representatives is now in recess until Tues, Sept. 8, 2026. The Senate will remain in session until Fri, Aug. 7, 2026, before recessing until Mon, Sept. 14, 2026.
(1) TRUMP’S IRAN WAR – Day 150:
Latest: After two weeks of military escalation, the U.S. and Iran had appeared to halt attacks over the weekend; however, on Monday, Iran launched drones against Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq.
Trump’s Iran war violates Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution that gives to Congress, alone, the power “to declare war.” The Founders made clear during ratification of our Constitution (Federalist No. 69) that a key difference between the rejected British monarchy and the new American republic was that “declaring of war” is given to the legislature so the country cannot be taken to war by the whims of a single person. Unfortunately, that is what Donald Trump has done.
President Trump’s military action also violates the 1973 War Powers law because there was no “attack upon the United States… or its armed forces” nor was there any evidence presented of an “imminent” attack.
Trump’s military campaign has failed to achieve the strategic objectives of regime change and “ensuring that the world’s number one sponsor of terror can never obtain a nuclear weapon.” Instead, this failed war has achieved the opposite: the Islamic revolutionary regime—having survived the war—may race towards deployment of nuclear weapons to deter future attacks. Moreover, the revolutionary regime is in a stronger negotiating position having secured tactical leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, imperiling the global economy. Drill down.
(2) MAJOR FISCAL (BUDGETARY) NEWS
FY 2027 APPROPRIATIONS: House Appropriations Committee has reported all 12 FY 2027 appropriation bills on a partisan basis (except Military Construction-Veterans which was bipartisan). The full House has passed 3 bills (Agriculture, Military Construction-Veterans, and State).
Senate Appropriations Committee has passed no bills, due to the absence of a bipartisan agreement on topline numbers and GOP reticence to open up bills to Democratic floor amendments close to the midterms.
President Trump’s budget request for FY 2027 called for a 44% increase in defense spending to $1.5 trillion (discretionary and mandatory), and a 10% decrease in nondefense discretionary spending. Drill down.
OCTOBER 1 SHUTDOWN WATCH: In order to avoid a shutdown when the new fiscal year begins on October 1, 2026, congressional attention has turned to a stopgap continuing resolution (“CR”). The House last Tuesday passed a CR through December 4, 2026 on a largely party line vote. Senate appropriators remain in bipartisan conversations on a CR, which requires 60 votes for passage. While it is in neither political party’s interest to shut down the government right before the election, President Trump’s obsession with enacting the SAVE Act (voter ID bill) is a wildcard. See daily updates of our appropriations tracker at Appropriations.Com.
BUDGET RECONCILIATION: “Budget Reconciliation” is a congressional budget procedure permitting budget-related legislation to move through Congress on a fast-track—immune from Senate filibuster—meaning it can pass the Senate without any bipartisan support and with only 51 votes. In the 1980s and 1990s reconciliation was used effectively to cut deficits. However, since 2001 it has been used to cut taxes and increase spending—resulting in increased annual deficits and the cumulative public debt.
Since the beginning of the 2d Trump Administration, reconciliation has been used to circumvent the annual bipartisan appropriations process—enacting large spending increases for defense and deportations. GOP leaders have enacted 2 party-line reconciliation bills and are now working on a 3rd bill and contemplating a 4th billTrump reconciliation 1.0. Summary: Expensive tax cuts disproportionately benefitting upper income taxpayers; big spending increases for deportations; large Medicaid, food stamps, and student aid cuts; net effect – major long-term debt increases with a big hit on healthcare, nutrition, and education; enacted July 4, 2025.
Trump reconciliation 2.0: Summary: 3-yr advance funding for ICE & CBP deportation operations; enacted June 10, 2026. As a filibuster-proof party-line bill, it avoided Democratic proposals for guardrails on ICE and CBP arrest procedures.
Trump reconciliation 3.0: House began the process last week on 7/22/26 by passing a budget resolution instructing committees to report reconciliation legislation enacting $73 billion in Iran-related defense and intelligence funding, $12 billion in farm aid to compensate for war-related fuel and fertilizer costs and tariff damage to export markets, and $10 billion to incentivize states to adopt elements of the Trump “SAVE Act” aimed at suppressing voter turnout through stringent voter registration policies. Learn more about the SAVE Act.
However, Senate GOP Leader Thune says the Senate lacks the votes to advance the budget resolution, and he may instead want to use the legislative vehicle for possible use to fast-track a stopgap continuing resolution, under budget reconciliation protections, to avoid a shutdown on October 1 when the 2027 budget year begins.
Trump reconciliation 4.0: The Hill reports that House GOP leaders are looking at a 4th post-election reconciliation bill focusing on fraud reduction and more spending cuts. Current talk of a 4th bill is intended to win over support of fiscal conservatives opposed to the deficit increases in reconciliation 3.0.
A MAJOR FISCAL STORY OF THIS ADMINISTRATION IS THE CONTINUING VIOLATIONS OF CONGRESS’ AUTHORITY OVER APPROPRIATIONS; these include: Keyword searches to kill grants; withholding Medicaid payments to States; killing health studies; illegally using carbon capture funds to prop up the coal industry; withholding disaster aid from states unless election changes are adopted; and, most concerning, the OMB plan to subject all federal grants to political review regardless of congressional directions and intent.
Commentary: Congress’ authority over spending is the bedrock of our constitutional checks and balances; that authority has repeatedly been surrendered by Congress’ current leadership.
DEFENSE SPENDING: Last Wednesday, the House passed the annual defense policy bill (called the National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA). The NDAA bill is normally negotiated and bipartisan. Not so this year. It passed by a slim margin of 216-222 and calls for the biggest defense spending increase in history and changing the name of the Department of Defense to “Department of War.” Drill down.
TRUST FUND SHORTFALLS:
The pending 5-year highway funding bill would boost Highway Trust Fund shortfalls to $100 billion over the next five years.
Under current policies, the Social Security retirement trust fund is expected to run short in 2032, and the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund will run short the next year, in 2033.
Since neither the Trump Administration nor Congress is showing any leadership in addressing the three shortfalls, the likely outcome is Congress covering the shortfalls from general revenues, in other words, more borrowing and more debt.
FOOD STAMP CUTS: Last year’s big budget bill has already stripped SNAP benefits from more than 3 million people.
(3) MAJOR ECONOMIC, TRADE, AND “AI” NEWS
TRADE: Following the Supreme Court’s ruling February 20 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” President Trump instructed his Administration to impose replacement tariffs under alternative statutes—injecting more inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty in the global economy.
On February 24, he imposed 10% global tariffs under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
On July 19, the administration announced additional 50% tariffs on certain Canadian sectors.
On July 24, the administration replaced the expiring 10% global tariffs with new tariffs of 10% and 12.5% on goods from 60 trading partners, including the EU and China, claiming forced-labor concerns.
HEALTH INSURANCE -- Affordable Care Act (Obamacare): There has been a large decline in 2026 ACA enrollments, and another big jump in premiums is forecast for 2027.
INFLATION: Investments in data centers is making chips and electricity more expensive, pushing up inflation. Drill down
SKY-HIGH DEFICITS AND THE BOND MARKET: Treasury is issuing record debt into a market increasingly unfriendly to profligate governments.
FACT-CHECKING: background on exaggerated claims about “Trump Accounts” for children.
ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE - Do we need AI regulation? We presented to an AI platform four of the widely discussed risks of AI:
Fatal military errors (e.g. missile attack on girls’ school in Iran).
Job losses.
Invasions of privacy.
Cheating in education.
We then asked the A.I. platform to identify additional risks. AI response:Declining trust in media and democracy due to deep fakes.
Empowering authoritarian regimes through mass surveillance.
Worsening economic inequality with AI gains accruing to a small elite.
Accelerating cyber- and financial crime.
Generative AI-creating harmful, fake imagery.
Massive consumption of electricity and water by data centers.
Psychological isolation of people dependent on AI companions.
Broad distrust over “what is real” leading to cynical disengagement.
Loss of human control when AI systems pursue their own goals. (Remember, this risk analysis is coming from an AI platform.)
(4) POLITICAL AND LEGAL NEWS
SAVE ACT: President Trump continues his insistence that the SAVE Act (voter ID) be attached to every major piece of legislation. Here’s what the bill does:
The SAVE America Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act) would require every voter to provide documentary proof (passport or original birth certificate) of U.S. citizenship when registering for federal elections and a government‑issued photo ID when voting. GOP supporters claim it is needed to prevent noncitizen voting. Critics say it would block or deter eligible Americans who lack ready access to passports and original birth certificates.
BLOCKING MAIL-IN BALLOTS: Trump’s Dept. of Justice asked the Supreme Court to permit blocks on mail-in ballots before the midterms. The appeal to the justices is part of a high stakes push by Trump to put fresh limits on voting ahead of the midterms.
PRESIDENTIAL PARDONS: President Trump is the first president in modern U.S. history to issue clemency to businesses, with nine so far in his second term.
MINTING COINS IN HIS OWN IMAGE: The Treasury is minting gold $1 coins with Trump’s image violating a prohibition against using the image of a living person. Why is it prohibited? Because this is what kings and dictators do. The U.S. Constitution states “no title of nobility shall be granted by the United States.” (The second half of that provision prohibits gifts from foreign kings—which Donald Trump has already clearly violated by accepting a 747 airplane from the Qatari royal family to be later transferred to Trump’s presidential library.)
(5) OTHER KEY DOMESTIC DEVELOPMENTS
CFPB - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: has pivoted from protecting consumers to protecting corporations, which may have already cost Americans $26.5 billion.
VETERANS BENEFITS bill is being held up due to continuing controversy over how it will be paid for.
GOOD HOUSING NEWS, FINALLY: Earlier in July a bipartisan housing bill aimed at boosting housing construction became law—even though Trump refused to sign it. (Bills passed by the House and Senate become law after 10 days without the President’s signature.) He refused to sign it because it did not contain his voter ID bill.
(6) OTHER KEY GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
EBOLA OUTBREAK: World Health Organization says the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congress is continuing to outpace the response, spreading more quickly than any previous outbreak of the deadly virus. More than 2,000 cases including 796 deaths. See also: CIDRAP | NYT | Bloomberg
SAUDI NUCLEAR DEAL: President Trump last week announced a major nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia which “could mean large profits for American companies but also raises concerns about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East.”
UKRAINE: Last week, Senate GOP Leader Thune took steps to set up a vote on House-passed legislation to provide a modest amount of security assistance to Ukraine and expand sanctions on Russia. The Administration has threatened to veto the legislation. Drill down.
TRUMP WHIPSAWS NATO: At this month’s NATO summit in Turkey, President Trump continued mixed messages on whether he would honor U.S. commitments to the strategic alliance and reiterated threats to Greenland. Drill down: NYTimes | Politico | WashPost | Bloomberg
(7) RECOMMENDED READ
John Fetterman: Now I see the truth about the filibuster. The 60-vote Senate rule forces compromise.
Speaking engagements and press interviews can be scheduled by calling: (301) 509-5688. Email comments, suggestions, and questions to: info@trillionsweekly.com.
About the author: Charles S. Konigsberg J.D. served as Assistant Director, White House Office of Management and Budget; General Counsel at the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, where he had principal responsibility for managing federal budget and debt limit legislation; Minority Chief Counsel at the U.S. Senate Rules & Administration Committee where he advised the ranking member on budget, appropriations, trade, and tax legislation; Staff Attorney at the U.S. Senate Budget Committee where he had responsibility for federal fiscal law issues including the Impoundment Control Act and drafted the Senate’s first explanation of the congressional budget process; Director of Congressional Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and AmeriCorps; and Staff Director of the only national bipartisan budget task force to agree on a unanimous long-term debt stabilization plan.
Charles S. Konigsberg is also author of the book, Trillions: A Primer on Federal Spending, Taxes, the U.S. Debt Ceiling, and Fiscal Law. Click here to purchase. The 2026-2027 edition will be released this fall on Amazon.
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