Hello, welcome to the Punchball News Readback Podcast. I'm your host, congressional reporter Max Cohen,

and this week I'm joined by Andrew Desiderio, our Senate expert. And we're actually recording this

right after a Senate pro forma session. And that's going to be the topic of this week's podcast,

how normally sleepy pro forma sessions have turned into very newsy affairs.

So, Andrew, I'll let you take it away.

Tell me about the pro forma session today and this weekend.

What's been going on?

Well, as you know, Max, obviously DHS has been shut down now for a very long time.

And after the house did not pass, that's unanimously passed agreement to fund all of DHS minus ICE and CBP.

And then both chambers went on the two-week recess.

Suddenly the pro forma's became, you know, number one, an opportunity to talk to live lawmakers

over a recess, which is what they are always in terms of the pro forma's.

But also it became a news event in the sense that, you know, each time they convene, even if

it's just for a pro forma session, which in the Senate, it's like, you know, usually lasts no longer

than 30 seconds.

It is an opportunity for them to do something legislatively, right?

Especially on an issue that is as urgent and pressing as a shutdown of DHS.

So on Monday, Senator John Hoven presided over the pro forma session, and Senator Chris Coons, Democrat from Delaware,

had taken the train down from Willington at the request of Senator Schumer because Democrats

wanted to be there to object on the floor just in case a Republican tried to go to the floor

and try to get unanimous consent to pass the House bill,

which of course was different from the Senate bill. It was a 60-day CR. There was no chance

...