Big Week Ahead: Debate and Congress

L . Thomas Block

Next week will be a big week in politics and policy. On Tuesday, former President Trump and Vice President Harris are scheduled to meet in their first debate. The debate will follow the rules and procedures established by the Trump and Biden campaigns when they first agreed on two debates. It was the first debate in July that led to the collapse of Biden’s candidacy.

Both candidates have a great deal riding on the debate. For the Vice President, it will be her first introduction to many Americans in a truly Presidential context. She will be sharing the stage with the former President and will need to find the right balance between attacks on her rival and defending the Administration in which she has served for the last three and a half years. President Trump, on the other hand, will need to walk a fine line between attacking the policies of the Biden/Harris administration without getting into personal attacks that polling has shown hurts his candidacy.

Not only will there likely be a high viewership, but highlights of the debate will be played on newscasts in the days following the debate. Bottom line – this is slated to be a major moment for both candidates.

Congress returns

On Monday, Congress returns for the final legislative push before they adjourn for the election. Their top priority will be passing a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government past the end of the current fiscal year, which runs through September 30th. Failure to pass a CR by midnight on the 30th would lead to a government shutdown, something that leaders of both parties would like to avoid on the eve of a national election. In addition to the White House, a third of the Senate and the entire House will be contested on Election Day.

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