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Congressional Democrats on Thursday pivoted away from questions of impeachment by saying they are going to “own” the upcoming August recess on issues like health care and prescription drug costs. “We will own August, make it too hot to handle for the Senate” to ignore Democratic legislative goals to streamline government and lower the cost of health care and prescription drugs, Pelosi said. Other Democrats gathered on the House steps under brilliant sunshine echoed that phrasing in a likely preview of the party’s message during the many town halls they’ve scheduled over the next six weeks. (Kellman, 7/25)

A divided House on Thursday passed a two-year budget deal that would raise spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over existing caps and allow the government to keep borrowing to cover its debts, amid grumbling from fiscal conservatives over the measure’s effect on the federal deficit. (Cochrane, 7/25)

Members of both parties have celebrated the end of the sequestration threat, while some conservatives have bemoaned that federal spending could balloon without it. Those cuts would have reduced overall federal spending by 10% early next year, trimming $71 billion in military spending and $55 billion in domestic spending, compared with current levels. “I think it’s marvelous. It allows Congress to do what Congress should do, and that’s legislate on an annual basis,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R., N.D.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee. “The Budget Control Act, while it was a disciplinary tool, it was far too draconian.” (Duehren and Davidson, 7/25)

Non-defense appropriations would increase by $56.5 billion over two years, giving domestic programs 4% increases on average in the first year of the pact. Defense appropriations would increase by $46.5 billion over those two years, with the defense budget hitting $738 billion next year, a 3% hike, followed by only a further $2.5 billion increase in 2021. Tough decisions are still ahead. Because the agreement provides only a broad spending outline, appropriators will have to decide this fall how much money to allocate to individual programs, a contentious process that often touches off intense partisan squabbles. (Lalljee, 7/25)

Trump had to be called upon to help. "House Republicans should support the TWO YEAR BUDGET AGREEMENT which greatly helps our Military and our Vets. I am totally with you!," Trump tweeted seven hours before the vote. The president also joined in on a conference call Thursday morning to make a hard sell to several House Republicans who remained wary of voting for the bill, assuring that he would remain supportive of the deal and vowing to back them up if they walked the proverbial plank, according to a source who was on the call. (Bresnahan, Scholtes and Emma, 7/25)

But even some close Trump allies shrugged off the president’s views, especially as it became evident the legislation was going to pass with or without their votes. “We don’t believe we should bankrupt America,” said House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.). “We have a difference of opinion on this particular issue, one that’s not going to change.” Unlike in some past budget battles, where Meadows and other conservatives lobbied Trump until the end to oppose bipartisan compromise, Meadows said that after making his views known, he had not tried to change the president’s mind. (Werner and Paletta, 7/25)

House lawmakers want government agencies to team up to manage needs like food, housing and transportation for certain groups in Medicaid, in what stands as the first federal proposal on social determinants of health. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Reps. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) introduced the bill to launch a multi-agency council and fund $25 million in grants for "Social Determinants Accelerator Plans." (Luthi, 7/25)