Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

In the next Congress, Republican lawmakers, who now control the White House and Capitol Hill, will attempt to pass a majority of their agenda through the reconciliation process. Navigating thin majorities in the House and Senate, legislators will look for funding sources to pay for new policies, including tax relief for millions of Americans and their businesses. In this conversation, Brownstein Shareholders Russ Sullivan and Rosemary Becchi talk about where members of Congress may look to off-set their revenue reduction plans.

All 50 state legislatures convene in 2025, including biennial legislatures. Notably, while last November’s general election saw Republicans outperform Democrats in the presidential race and other critical national contests, those results did not impact down-ballot elections—particularly those in state legislatures—as significantly as past cycles would have suggested.

On Jan. 17, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia heard oral argument in KalshiEx v. CFTC. At issue is KalshiEx LLC’s ability to list political event contracts for trading. Previously, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order disapproving of Kalshi’s attempts to offer such contracts.

Just before the holidays, incoming Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) released a new report, “Restoring Freedom’s Forge,” along with a comprehensive new piece of legislation, the “Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense Act.” Together they present the chairman’s case for reforming the Department of Defense acquisition system.

While on the campaign trail, President-elect Trump didn’t just promise to extend the tax cuts he passed with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017, he promised additional tax breaks for Americans. Ranging from the removal of taxes on tips and overtime for workers to reductions in corporate rates for businesses, tax legislation in the next administration will have wide-reaching effects. Our tax policy team breaks down these proposals and discusses their likelihood of inclusion in reconciliation legislation.

President Donald Trump issued an “American First Trade Policy Memorandum” as part of wide-ranging executive actions on Jan. 20, his first day in office. The memorandum calls for a series of reviews of U.S. trade policy and investigations of trade imbalances and unfair trade practices.

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report in tandem with a new initiative aimed at pushing an increased number and widening the scope of state-level consumer finance laws. This likely comes in response to perceived changes the incoming Trump administration will make to the agency, serving as a signal from the current CFPB for states—particularly those with Democratic attorneys general—to pick up where the Biden administration CFPB is leaving off.

President Trump is expected to shake up “business as usual” in Washington. His plans include the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he will work to provide veterans with more health care options and clean up the staffing bureaucracy.

Adding to our team of veterans of Trump 45, which includes: Brian McGuire (assistant secretary of Legislative Affairs, Department of the Treasury), Geoffrey Burr (chief of staff, Department of Transportation), Emily Felder (director, Office of Legislation, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), Lauren Flynn (deputy assistant secretary, Legislative Affairs, Department of the Treasury), Brady Howell (senior advisor, Legislative Affairs, Department of the Treasury) and Preston Rutledge (assistant secretary, Department of Labor), former Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt will provide strategic counsel in our Washington, D.C., office. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gWsuub7t.

The second Trump administration is underway, and the newly inaugurated president is expected to swiftly issue dozens of executive orders (EOs). The EOs were drafted during the transition process and will carry the full force and effect of law once issued.