BUDGET/DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Presidential budgets are by tradition declared dead on arrival even before the details reach Capitol Hill, and President Trump’s $4.75 trillion budget for the 2020 fiscal year received that greeting in spades on Monday [3-11-19]. But with a new Democratic majority in the House, the release of Mr. Trump’s budget blueprints marked the start of a consequential budget season. House Democrats must now work out a blueprint for governing that will define the party’s vision in clear terms — and answer burning questions on health care, taxation, climate change and other policy matters that have dogged the new majority since it took control. In short, it is time for the Democrats to show their cards…The budget is a nonbinding document, and with Republicans controlling the Senate, it may be impossible for the two chambers to work out their differences. Faced with that prospect, Democratic leadership on Monday discussed not holding a vote on the budget, according to a leadership aide. The meeting, first reported by Politico, did not end with a decision.”
–Emily Cochrane, “With Trump’s Budget Out, Democrats Must Now Show Their Cards,” The New York Times online, March 11, 2019