The Waiting Game
Washington, DC is a bizarre place in many ways, including the variable pace of work—from frenetic to idling. When Congress is in session, typically it’s a three-day week, because they fly in on Monday afternoon and leave Thursday afternoon, meaning Tuesday and Wednesday, and half of Thursday comprise their “work week”.
However, they also take lots of “recess” time throughout the year to celebrate holidays…or just because. Their aides usually remain in DC, but not much gets done, and those are tough times for Uber drivers, restaurants, hotels and other businesses that revolve around Congress’s presence and the lobbyists who want to meet with them.
And then there’s crunch time when, for example, the president signs a flurry of executive orders, some immediately taken to court; the House barely passes the Big Bold Beautiful Bill Act now being considered by the Senate; and all the negotiations that go into legislation which demand the attention of WineAmerica’s Michael Kaiser and industry colleagues.
Right now the legislative front is quiet, and we’re just waiting to see what happens in the areas of tariffs, the Farm Bill, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and other key issues. What we know will happen based on long DC tradition is that the decision-makers will fabricate a crisis by waiting until the last minute to do what they could have long ago.
Welcome to Washington!