The outgoing 118th Congress must fund U.S. discretionary spending by December 20. Issues in play in that effort include extension of authority and funding for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), delay of the Corporate Transparency Act’s (ACT’s) Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) rule, and possibly technical corrections to SECURE retirement savings law.
In 2025-2026, Republicans will control the White House (Trump/President), the Senate (53 to 47), and the House (220 to 215). But despite winning the trifecta, GOP lawmakers will confront significant challenges next year. They include a spiraling deficit that will make enactment of GOP priorities difficult, and deep divisions between ultra-conservative and more centrist Republicans.
A Texas district court has issued a temporary nationwide injunction blocking enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act’s (CTA) requirement (the Beneficial Ownership Information, or BOI rule) that forces U.S. businesses to report the names and identifying information of their beneficial owners. Legislation to delay the reporting requirement is pending before Congress.
Federal deficits projected to grow to almost $2 trillion next year have triggered creation, by President-Elect Trump, of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). DOGE’s goal is to cut federal spending by $2 trillion.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) on December 3 introduced a bill to increase the amount a Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA) owner can contribute to his/her FSA for dependent care expenses. While it is unlikely this bill will be enacted this year, its introduction tees up the issue for the incoming 119th Congress.
On November 15, the federal District Court in the Eastern District of Texas struck down the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) latest attempt to raise the salary threshold piece of the white-collar exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) overtime (OT) pay rules. The court ruled that DOL exceeded its statutory authority in promulgating a rule that addressed only the salary threshold piece of the white-collar exemption from FLSA’s OT rules.
Billionaire hedge fund manager and investor Scott Bessent is President-Elect Trump’s choice to head the Treasury Department. He says tariffs will be his top priority.
President-Elect Trump has announced he will nominate former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to be Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). Rep. Chavez-DeRemer lost her bid for reelection last month. She is viewed as a pro-labor Republican, one of only a handful of GOP House members who cosponsored the labor-friendly PRO Act
Former Securities and Exchange Commissioner (SEC) Paul Atkins will be nominated by President-Elect Trump to chair the SEC. Experienced at the SEC, Atkins served as one of the agency’s commissioners from 2002 to 2008 and worked as an SEC staffer during the 1990s.
Robert F Kennedy Jr. is President-Elect Trump’s choice to be Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A vaccines skeptic, Kennedy’s nomination is controversial, at least at this stage of the process.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, a tv personality who lost his bid for Pennsylvania’s Senate seat two years ago, is President-Elect Trump’s nominee as the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
President-Elect Trump has chosen Kevin Hassett, an economist currently working as a fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University, to head the National Economic Council (NEC). The NEC works closely with the Treasury Department as a hands-on policy-making team.
NAIFA State Government Relations Manager, Bianca Alonso Weiss, attended NCOIL’s Annual Fall Meeting on November 21-23, where she had the opportunity to strengthen NAIFA’s relationships with state legislators and industry trade partners, as well as advocate for key priorities affecting NAIFA members. Several NCOIL sessions discussed topics of interest to NAIFA.
NAIFA’s Policy Director Roger Moore attended NAIC’s Fall National Meeting, November 16-19. During the meeting, NAIC committees and working groups discussed multiple topics of interest to NAIFA members, including long-term care insurance, privacy protections, the use of artificial intelligence in insurance, producer licensing, and annuity standards. Additionally, a slate of new officers was elected for 2025, including Commissioner John Godfried (ND) as President; Commissioner Scott A. White (VA) as President-Elect; Director Elizabeth Dwyer (RI) as Vice President; and Commissioner John Pike (UT) as Secretary-Treasurer. The new officers will assume their duties beginning January 1, 2025.
CMS is proposing actions in the Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare Part D prescription drug programs to continue to strengthen protections and access to care for people with Medicare. The proposed rule aims to hold MA and Part D plans more accountable for delivering high-quality coverage so that people with Medicare are connected to the care they need when they need it.
Donald Trump’s victory was declared when, at just about 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 6, the media projected he had won swing state Wisconsin, taking him over the 270-vote electoral college count needed to win the presidency.
Republicans will control the Senate in the incoming 119th Congress (2025-2026). The GOP’s undisputed win of 53 of the Senate’s 100 seats means Democrats have lost control of the upper chamber in the 119th Congress.
Republicans won the 218 seats needed to control the House; it will give the GOP the “trifecta”—a clean sweep of all three levers of legislative power in Washington.
A number of key issues remain to be addressed by the outgoing 118th Congress. They include the need to fund the government past the December 20 dates on which current funding authority expires. The government funding issues include extension of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authority and funding.
If, as expected, the GOP controls both the House and Senate next year, the risks and challenges of the 2025 tax bill have become a bit clearer. Here is a run-down.
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