THIS WEEK:

  • Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, and Jared Kushner are being called to the Hill this week to talk about the 2016 election and their now infamous meeting. Trump Jr. and Manafort will be speaking privately with the Senate Judiciary Committee, while Kushner is scheduled for closed hearings with the Senate Intelligence Committee on Monday and the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday.

  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is expected to hold a vote to repeal (and replace) Obamacare despite the fact that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) won’t be back in Washington over the short term and the vote count remains uncertain.

  • The House is expected to vote on the Russia Sanctions bill as early as Tuesday. The House's bill is similar to the one the Senate passed except it removes a key provision for U.S. oil and gas companies. It also added North Korean sanctions to the bill, which will now have to go back through Senate before reaching the president's desk.

  • President Trump has sent his Special Representative for International Negotiations, Jason Greenblatt, to Israel in the wake of Friday’s terror attack.

MONDAY, JULY 24:

  • President Trump is meeting with victims of Obamacare before giving a statement on health care reform in the afternoon. He tweeted Sunday morning, “If Republicans don’t Repeal and Replace the disastrous Obamacare, the repercussions will be far greater than any of them understand!”

  • President Trump is expected to spend time with Senator Shelley Capito (R-WV) in West Virginia. She is a key vote to passing health care reform.

  • The House Committee on Rules has a hearing to examine Congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) relating to ‘‘Arbitration Agreements’’ at 5pm ET. Both chambers have introduced measures through the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to eliminate the CFPB’s rule.

TUESDAY, JULY 25:

  • The Senate Appropriations Committee will begin markups on their 12 spending bills. They are months behind in the spending process, but following the House’s movement last week - they are pushing to move bills out of committee swiftly. Markup for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development is at 11am ET and at 2:30pm ET for Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies.

  • The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has a hearing to examine President Trump’s FY 2018 budget proposal for Europe and Eurasia at 2pm ET.

  • The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works: Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety has a hearing to examine developing and deploying advanced clean energy technologies at 10am ET.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 26:

  • Months behind, the Senate Committee on Appropriations: Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government has a hearing to examine proposed budget estimates and justification for FY 2018 for the Department of the Treasury at 10am ET. The House is expected to vote on their FY 2018 budget this week - which was scheduled to be submitted in April.

  • The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has an oversight hearing to examine the Foreign Agents Registration Act and attempts to influence U.S. elections at 10 am ET. This hearing will be highly visible as Senators probe Russia’s influence and possible collusion over the 2016 presidential election.

  • The House Committee on Agriculture has a hearing to discuss renegotiating NAFTA and the opportunities available for agriculture in the new agreement at 10am ET. Their goals will likely influence the Administration's modernization effort expected to start August 16th.

  • The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has a hearing to assess the U.S. / Qatar relationship at 2pm ET. Tensions between the Gulf countries have been high, and the U.S. is working to balance all sides.

THURSDAY, JULY 27:

  • The House Committee on Financial Services has a hearing dedicated to the annual testimony of the Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, on the state of the international financial system at 10am ET.

  • The House Committee on the Judiciary has a hearing to discuss the need for the balanced budget amendment at 10am ET; later in the day, moving to antitrust concerns and the FDA approval process, holding a hearing at 1pm ET.

FRIDAY, JULY 28:

  • The House breaks for August recess. The Senate was expected to recess as well, but extended to August 11 - the expected health care vote this week could impact that date.

OUR HIGHLIGHTS FROM LAST WEEK:

REPLAY | QUARTERLY POLICY THEMES CALL: We had roundtable conversation with our policy team on major policy issues developing in Washington. Watch a teaser here, or watch the full replay here.

REPLAY | DRUG PRICING AND APPROVAL POLICY - IT'S A NEW DAY: Our Senior Health Policy Analyst Emily Evans gave a rundown of all the major drug pricing and policy trends at the state and federal level including 340B and generics approval. Listen to the replay here.

VENEZUELA POLITICAL UPDATE AND POTENTIAL U.S. ENERGY SANCTIONS: Our Senior Energy Analyst Joe McMonigle wrote about what the Trump Administration might do in Venezuela here and hosted a flash call with Dr. Francisco Monaldi, a Fellow in the Latin American Initiative & Energy Economics at the Baker Institute at Rice University, listen to the replay here.

SENATE APPROPRIATORS THROW COLD WATER ON DEFENSE LARGESSE: Our Senior Defense Analyst Emo Gardner writes that the Senate Appropriators intend to mark PresBud 18 to BCA levels = FY17, $61B less than the three other Congressional committees. To find out more, read the entire piece here.