Congressional Democrats, still smarting from their perceived capitulation in May to President Bush on ending the war on Iraq, are serving notice that their next stand will come during the debate next month on H.R. 1585, the half-a-trillion-dollar Defense Department FY 2008 reauthorization bill. According to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) H.R. 1585 will feature "timelines, parameters, accountability, and a pathway" to remove U.S. fighting men and women from Iraq.

Senate Budget Committee chair Kent Conrad (D-ND) issued an unorthodox statement yesterday regarding the expected nomination of Jim Nussle to succeed Rob Portman as OMB Director: Representative Nussle and I had a very frank discussion today. While I understand the President's desire to appoint an OMB Director of his choice, a number of Members have spoken with me about their very real concerns about his nomination. Members expressed serious reservations about Mr. Nussle's reputation for confrontation.

An article in The Hill this morning quotes GOP Sen. Larry Craig (ID), responding to a question about whether President Bush was being hypocritical for requesting hundreds of earmarks even while criticizing them and vowing to cut the number of earmarks in half this year: "Hypocrisy? No, but one might call that duplicity."

Sen. Conrad says he wants to play hardball on the budget. He says he's going to hold off on holding the Senate's confirmation hearings for Jim Nussle, President Bush's nominee for OMB director, until they find common ground on discretionary spending. From the Washington Post: