The Lobby Shop

On the first episode of 2024, hosts Liam Donovan, Caitlin Sickles, and Paul Nathanson welcome back President & Executive Director of bipartisan political organization FWD.US, Todd Schulte, five years since his first appearance on the show. They discuss the border crisis, the status of ongoing Congressional negotiations, and the complicated political dynamics at play. They also touch on the impact of worker shortages on the business community, and how immigration policy stands to factor into the upcoming presidential election. Make sure to tune in to this first episode of 2024!

With the calendar year coming to an end, Paul Nathanson and Liam Donovan get together to discuss the state of play of Congress and the legislative challenges that will be dealt with before the year ends and which will be left to deal with in the new year. They start with the never-ending appropriations negotiations, the role of the Speaker in these talks, and whether or not he is making an impact. They then question if any bills are going to make it through to a vote before the holiday recess and if the lack of a hard December deadline has anything to do with the tense gridlock. Finally, with the Iowa Caucus less than a month away, they chat about the upcoming presidential election and prepare for the chokehold it is going to have on most of the political focus for 2024.

Political analyst Sean Trende discusses how Trump may win future elections, analyzing polling data, Trump's visibility, and potential strategies for the Biden campaign. The podcast also explores the impact of Trump's trials and predicts outcomes for congressional elections.

Josh, Paul, and Liam discuss the accurate predictions made by bipartisan/nonpartisan election analysis site Split Ticket with partner Lakshya Jain. They explore race details, compare Republican and Democrat performance, and highlight the influence of abortion on voting patterns. They also analyze upcoming elections, candidate performance, and advocate for an unbiased approach to data analysis in election forecasting.

Josh, Paul, Caitlin, and Liam sit down with Mike Warren, Senior Editor of The Dispatch, to discuss Speaker Mike Johnson’s first two weeks, the return of Steve Bannon as a MAGA svengali, and the struggles of GOP primary challengers to break through against former President Trump.

Liam and Josh are once again joined by PRG Senior Counsel and Capitol Hill expert Joe Brazauskas to close out the democracy-induced chaos that was the process of electing a new Speaker of the House. They chat about how we came to the Johnson conclusion and what this new leader of the House should be looking out for in the short and long term.

Paul and Liam are joined by PRG Senior Counsel and Capitol Hill veteran Joe Brazauskas to discuss the ongoing dysfunction in the House as Republicans seek a path forward to elect a Speaker.

We tracked Liam down between media interviews to get his take on the historic vote last night that ousted Speaker McCarthy. Liam, Josh, and Paul discuss the tensions within the GOP and with Democrats leading up to the vote, who has put their hat in the ring to be the next Speaker, and what this all means for issues such as funding for Ukraine.

Josh Zive and Caitlin Sickles sit down with Lobby Shop co-host, Republican strategist, and political insider Liam Donovan to talk about how Congress narrowly avoided a shutdown disaster … for now. Liam previews what will happen next as Speaker McCarthy faces challenges to his leadership from his own party. And the group considers how the whole cycle is set to repeat when government funding is slated to run out again … in just 45 days.

With vacations coming to an end and kids going back to school, Paul Nathanson, Joe Brazauskas, and Liam Donovan take a look at what's on the House and Senate to do list when Congress returns from its summer recess.  Issue one will be trying to avoid a government shut down, and the team discusses the ongoing appropriations battles and House Freedom Caucus demands. Tune in to also hear some initial thoughts on the state of the 2024 race for the GOP  presidential nomination.