menu_open Columnists
Mike Lillis

Mike Lillis

The Hill

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Health care fight hits critical juncture

The fierce fight over health care costs hits a crucial juncture this week, with a series of major developments that could make or break the future of...

yesterday 60

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries backs Trump’s pardon of Cuellar: ‘Exactly the right outcome’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday backed President Trump’s decision to provide a preemptive pardon for Rep. Henry Cuellar,...

04.12.2025 20

The Hill

Mike Lillis

House Dems say Trump administration is scapegoating an admiral

Top House Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of scapegoating a Navy admiral to deflect blame for potential war crimes. The Democrats...

03.12.2025 70

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries: ‘Real evidence’ of ‘extrajudicial killings’ is a stain on America

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday tore into Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over his role in a deadly “double-tap” strike...

02.12.2025 2

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Greene's abrupt departure could reshape 'America First' debate in Congress

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) abrupt decision to quit Congress could reshape the foreign policy debate among Capitol Hill Republicans as...

26.11.2025 30

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Trump’s emerging health care plan could put GOP leaders in a bind

President Trump’s germinal proposal to extend ObamaCare subsidies has created new headaches for GOP leaders on Capitol Hill. Since 2010, when the...

25.11.2025 30

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Democrats plan full-court press on DOJ to release Epstein files

Democrats won a huge victory this week in getting Republicans to enact legislation compelling the Trump administration to release the full files on...

23.11.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Following indictment, Florida Dem escapes expulsion vote — at least for a time

Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) has escaped an expulsion vote — for now. The Florida Democrat was indicted by the Justice Department on...

21.11.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries says he's open to censure reform

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that he's open to adopting new House rules making it tougher to censure lawmakers amid a...

21.11.2025 3

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Democrats win another discharge petition, this time to force vote on federal worker bargaining rights

Legislation to restore union rights for hundreds of thousands of federal workers is headed for a House vote. The bill is opposed by the GOP leaders...

20.11.2025 30

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Epstein accusers make 11th-hour push for Congress to release files

A group of Jeffrey Epstein accusers gathered on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to pressure Congress to pass legislation forcing the Trump administration to...

18.11.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffrey Epstein disclosures face hurdles even with House poised to approve release of files

House lawmakers are poised this week to approve legislation forcing the Trump administration to release the government files on Jeffrey Epstein, but...

18.11.2025 20

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Another shutdown in January? Some lawmakers are already bracing for it

The longest shutdown in American history is over, but another one might be just around the bend. Democrats are fuming that the bipartisan Senate deal...

14.11.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

House passes bill to end history-making shutdown, sending it to Trump

The House on Wednesday passed a sweeping spending package to reopen the government, setting the stage to end a marathon shutdown — the longest in...

13.11.2025 100

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries, Democrats will offer 3-year extension of ObamaCare subsidies

House Democratic leaders on Tuesday will propose a three-year extension of the soon-to-expire ObamaCare subsidies at the center of the shutdown fight....

12.11.2025 70

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries defends Schumer after shutdown deal: 'Waged a valiant fight'

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is defending Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) from liberals' criticism in the wake of a...

10.11.2025 2

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Hopeful week ends with deeper funding impasse

Last Tuesday’s off-year elections have altered the shutdown fight, just not in the way many on Capitol Hill had hoped. Heading into last week,...

09.11.2025 9

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Nancy Pelosi leaves a long legacy: 5 takeaways

The decision by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to leave Congress after almost four decades marks the end of an era for both the powerhouse Democrat and...

07.11.2025 20

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Democrats press DHS to reinstate oversight of ICE detention centers

A group of Virginia Democrats from both chambers is pressing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reinstall the federal workers who monitor...

06.11.2025 2

The Hill

Mike Lillis

How a perfect storm of partisan politics fueled a historic shutdown

Washington’s stubborn budget impasse found an ignominious place in history on Wednesday when it entered its 36th day, marking the longest government...

05.11.2025 8

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries blasts Trump, Johnson over Epstein files: 'Pedophile protection program'

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Monday went after President Trump and Republican leaders over the Jeffrey Epstein case, saying their...

04.11.2025 30

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Florida’s vaccine mandate rollback stirs fear for immunocompromised

Florida’s announcement that it would scrap public school vaccine mandates next year hit Elizabeth particularly hard. Her 11-year-old daughter...

03.11.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

How Democrats, GOP could end shutdown and save face

Voices in both parties say Democrats and Republicans alike are looking for a deal that would allow them to save face while ending a shutdown that’s...

03.11.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries says Trump nuclear tests would be 'massive breach' of international law

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Thursday hammered President Trump’s vow to reactivate America’s nuclear weapons testing, saying...

30.10.2025 2

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Shutdown pain spikes this weekend, upping pressure on Congress to strike deal

The shutdown pain is set to spiral. After four weeks when the real-world impacts of the budget impasse have been relatively limited, a series of...

29.10.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

SNAP funding expiration set to hit 40 million people

More than 40 million low-income food stamp beneficiaries are expected to receive less help with grocery bills — or no help at all — in the coming...

26.10.2025 200

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Dems bash administration for withholding SNAP funds: ‘Disgusting dereliction of duty’

Top House Democrats tore into the Trump administration on Friday night for withholding available food aid for millions of low-income Americans, saying...

25.10.2025 60

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries endorses Mamdani in New York City mayor's race

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Friday endorsed Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor, throwing his weight behind the Democratic...

24.10.2025 2

The Hill

Mike Lillis

SNAP emerges as flashpoint in shutdown fight

The battle over food stamps has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the fierce partisan clash over government spending. Republicans in Congress are...

24.10.2025 40

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries bashes GOP over new policy limiting Pentagon talks with Congress

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) hammered Republicans over the Trump administration’s new policy limiting Pentagon outreach to...

22.10.2025 5

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries blasts GOP for refusal to seat Grijalva: 'A disgrace'

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday went after GOP leaders for refusing to seat a newly elected Democrat, saying the delay is...

21.10.2025 3

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Live updates: Trump hosts Senate GOP lunch as shutdown strains increase

President Trump on Tuesday afternoon hosted Republican senators for a Rose Garden lunch as the government shutdown hits its three-week mark with no...

21.10.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Johnson condemns alleged death threat against Jeffries by Jan. 6 rioter

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday denounced the alleged death threat against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) by a man who was...

21.10.2025 30

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries urges Trump to jump into spending talks: ‘Get off the golf course’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday that President Trump’s hands-off approach to the congressional budget impasse has...

21.10.2025 20

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Defiant Democrats embrace ‘No Kings’ rallies: ‘As American as motherhood, baseball and apple pie’

Defiant Democrats are embracing this weekend’s “No Kings” rallies, bashing the GOP’s attacks on the anti-Trump protests as an assault on free...

18.10.2025 50

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries bashes Trump’s $40B pledge to Argentina: ‘Corruption in real time’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday hammered the Trump administration’s effort to provide $40 billion to help Argentina’s...

16.10.2025 100

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Speaker Johnson suggests House would return to fund DOD — but only if the government is reopened

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) suggested Wednesday that the House will not return to the Capitol to vote on an $852 billion Pentagon bill the...

15.10.2025 2

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Trump, GOP send diverging shutdown messages on value of federal workers

Republican leaders in Congress and the White House are sending very different signals regarding the value of federal workers amid the ongoing...

15.10.2025 3

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Pressure growing on Johnson to call House back amid shutdown fight

House GOP leaders are facing increasing pressure to bring the chamber back to Washington amid a shutdown fight with no end in sight. A growing number...

12.10.2025 50

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries says handshake deal to address health care is not enough to end shutdown

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Friday that a GOP commitment to address ObamaCare subsidies later in the year is not enough to end...

10.10.2025 4

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries endorses stand-alone military pay bill

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that he would support a stand-alone bill to pay military personnel amid the shutdown....

09.10.2025 3

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Democrats win momentum over GOP in shutdown fight

As the shutdown fight stretches into its second week, the winds have shifted in favor of the Democrats — at least for the moment. Early polls say...

09.10.2025 20

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Pressure Points: Five ways the shutdown could end

Congress on Wednesday enters the eighth day of the federal shutdown with neither party giving an inch and the path to a resolution nowhere in sight. ...

08.10.2025 10

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Speaker Johnson wants furloughed feds to receive back pay, but suggests they might not

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Tuesday that federal workers furloughed during the shutdown should receive back pay, but he also raised the prospect...

07.10.2025 50

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries: Trump is not talking to Democrats about health care, ending shutdown

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday that Democrats are involved in no talks with the Trump administration about ending the...

07.10.2025 20

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Deep distrust hinders path to shutdown deal

The stalemate over how to reopen the government is being inflamed by something no policy provision can fix: A deep-seeded distrust between the leaders...

04.10.2025 3

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Epstein victims will return to Capitol Hill next week

Victims of Jeffrey Epstein will return to Capitol Hill next week, when they will be hosted by a bipartisan group of lawmakers pushing the Trump...

03.10.2025 3

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Jeffries says public pressure will bring Trump back to the negotiating table on shutdown

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Thursday that public pressure will force Republicans back to the negotiating table in search of a...

03.10.2025 5

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Democrat presses Comer to have Vought testify on federal firings

A Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is pressing Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) to call President Trump’s budget director...

02.10.2025 5

The Hill

Mike Lillis

Speaker Johnson defends agencies blaming Democrats for shutdown

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Thursday defended the Trump administration for using official agency websites to politicize the government shutdown,...

02.10.2025 2

The Hill

Mike Lillis