What We’re Hearing on Capitol Hill
Author: Greg Valliere
February 21, 2025
WE’RE STILL A BIT GROGGY after a thrilling hockey game last night, so this is a good opportunity to revive an old favorite theme — what we’re hearing on Capitol Hill. The short answer: what we’re hearing in public isn’t what we’re hearing in private.
IN PUBLIC, Republicans are pleased to see an activist agenda, and they’re eager to support Donald Trump after Joe Biden’s limp finale.
IN PRIVATE, IT’S A DIFFERENT NARRATIVE: Most Republicans are stunned to see Trump’s polling numbers plunging this week, and they increasingly view Elon Musk as an albatross. Musk brought a chain saw to a conservative rally this week.
IN PUBLIC, KEY MEMBERS of both parties are pledging to pass budget legislation in March. In private, there’s a growing consensus that a government shutdown is looming next month, perhaps lasting well into the spring.
MEMBERS OF BOTH PARTIES are hearing from constituents who think the mass layoffs are too harsh, and these firings are beginning to affect economic activity in their home districts.
WHAT WE’RE HEARING MOST LOUDLY on Capitol Hill is fury from most Democrats and many Republicans over the apparent abandonment of Ukraine by the Trump Administration.
WE TALKED TO ONE REPUBLICAN WHO WAS scathing, comparing this to Neville Chamberlain’s abdication in 1938. In private, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is apprehensive about the message from Washington to U.S. allies and adversaries.
THANKFULLY, THE ECONOMY LOOKS SOLID — not great, because most Americans still have issues with inflation. The price of eggs is a metaphor for the country’s anxiety over the economy, and Republicans are getting an earful from constituents who want inflation subdued.
THIS BUMPY STRETCH is far from fatal for the Republicans who — in private — express relief that the Democrats still haven’t gotten their act together.
IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, Capitol Hill is addicted to the polls, because the next election is always just around the corner. In public, Republicans think they’re in strong shape; in private, they’re apprehensive about Ukraine and the looming budget crisis.
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