House Republicans were able to navigate past internal divisions on several issues earlier in the week and pass the Senate's FY2026 budget resolution paving the way for a slim reconciliation bill to fund the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Department of Homeland Security agencies. Passing the resolution came after conservatives, along with some Committee chairs, argued that the reconciliation bill to follow must be expanded to address affordability concerns. However, the resolution does not include reconciliation instructions to either the Senate Finance or House Ways and Means Committees with jurisdiction over tax, trade, and healthcare, precluding those items from being added.

The April 29 vote was 215-211 after being held open for hours while leadership and members negotiated issues related to the farm bill that was passed separately April 30 and faces challenges in the Senate. The House and Senate also cleared a temporary 45-day Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reauthorization extension. The House additionally passed the Senate bill to fund the rest of DHS, aside from ICE and CBP, ending a more than two-month shutdown during which DHS funding was covered by money set aside in the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" (OBBBA), which was running out.

The flurry of activity came ahead of a scheduled House and Senate recess next week, after which the reconciliation process will continue. Punchbowl News reported last night: "When the Senate comes back from its weeklong recess, there's going to be a big rush to pass the GOP's reconciliation bill. [Senate Majority Leader] Thune told reporters he plans to move forward with initial plans the week of May 11. Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has said the Judiciary panel will hold a markup for its portion of the bill, which is a required part of the reconciliation process. Thune said he's hoping to have a floor vote the week of May 18."

Consideration of a reconciliation bill in the Senate will be capped by another vote-a-rama of unlimited amendment votes, just as during consideration of the budget resolution.

Thune's resolve on the reconciliation package was matched by his House counterpart. "We passed the resolution first. That was critically important for us to ensure that we're going to protect the homeland, even though the Democrats were unwilling to do it," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said April 30. "So now that that box is checked, we are allowed then to proceed and go through with the rest of it."

Retirement — Following up on a proposal from the February 24 State of the Union Address, President Trump April 30 signed an executive order, "Promoting Retirement-Savings Access for American Workers by Establishing Trumpira.Gov," to "establish a website (TrumpIRA.gov) that provides individuals, with a particular focus on independent contractors, self-employed individuals, and other workers who do not have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, with information about high-quality, low-cost IRAs" and provide eligible individuals a Federal Saver's Match contribution of up to $1,000.

"I'm thrilled to sign a historic executive order expanding access to high-quality retirement savings accounts for millions of Americans. In my State of the Union earlier this year, I promised to make the same types of retirement accounts enjoyed by the federal employees available to all Americans. So that's what we're doing. It only seemed fair," the President said. "Beginning at the start of next year, every American will be able to go to TrumpIRA.gov and open a new, low-cost IRA account. You'll then be able to access the same type of retirement accounts that federal employees enjoy through the Thrift Savings Plans."

Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) and Committee member Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) attended the signing, along with others, including Education and the Workforce Committee member Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA). Both committees have jurisdiction over retirement savings issues.

"The executive order doesn't create new retirement accounts, but [it] would direct individuals to 'low cost' I.R.A.s offered by private companies … " the News York Times reported April 30. "But details on how exactly it would all work, or what companies would be included, have not yet been released."

White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said during the signing that he had discussed with Chairman Smith and Rep. Smucker plans to expand the program being created for low-income Americans to "middle-income people, and maybe above as well," to provide access to a retirement account with a match. "What you've done here is you've given the match to low-income people with incomes below $35,000, but we think that there are a lot of people even who make more than that, that don't have many assets for retirement," he said. "And so, we're working with Congress to significantly expand this program, and are looking forward for legislation this year to expand this."

Trade — On April 28-29, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) held a public hearing on its Section 301 "investigations into 60 economies' acts, policies, and practices related to the failure to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor." Bloomberg Law reported April 30: "US trade officials heard from dozens of businesses, industries, and governments this week as they mull whether to impose a new round of tariffs on more than 80 jurisdictions. During a two-day hearing convened by the US Trade Representative's office, companies and trade groups disagreed over the need for tariffs to respond to other countries' failures to effectively ban imports made with forced labor."

On April 30, the Office of the USTR released its 2026 Special 301 Report on the adequacy and effectiveness of US trading partners' protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights. The report identifies Vietnam as a Priority Foreign Country.

Energy tax — On April 28, Senate Finance Committee member Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced a bill (S. 4408) to extend biodiesel and renewable diesel incentives. The House version (H.R. 8497) was earlier introduced by Ways and Means Committee member Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH).

Elections - In a special session, Florida lawmakers April 29 approved a redistricting plan by Governor Ron DeSantis that could help Republicans in the midterm elections gain as many as four additional House seats representing the state, where they currently hold 20 Florida seats compared to eight held by Democrats. Both Republican and Democratic led states have pursued redistricting efforts this year, separate from the usual decennial US census-based effort to adjust maps for member districts.

Also on April 29, the Supreme Court issued a decision concerning aspects of the Voting Rights Act, likely opening the door to additional redistricting efforts ahead of the 2028 elections and perhaps the possibility of changes for this year's midterms. The Wall Street Journal reported April 30: "On Thursday, Louisiana, the subject of the Supreme Court case, suspended congressional primaries that had been scheduled for May 16. The state's Republican Gov. Jeff Landry said in an executive order that using the current map was a nonstarter after the high court rejected it."

President Trump posted on social media April 30, "I had a very good conversation with Governor Bill Lee, of Tennessee, this morning, wherein he stated that he would work hard to correct the unconstitutional flaw in the Congressional Maps of the Great State of Tennessee. Likewise, all of the other Political Representatives of Tennessee have promised to do so. This should give us one extra seat … "

With Congress scheduled to be out of session next week, What to Expect in Washington will not be published, though other WCEY Alerts will be issued as events warrant.