President Donald Trump makes his case to the nation this week for his trade and immigration policies, while Senate Republicans look to advance Anthony Wheeler’s nomination to be administrator of the EPA.
 
Also this week, House Democrats will launch a series of hearings intended to focus on their policy priorities, including addressing climate change.
 
Trump’s state of the union message is scheduled for Tuesday night after being delayed by one week because of the government shutdown and his border funding dispute with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
 
 
Another government shutdown is looming Feb. 15, if congressional negotiators can’t reach agreement with the president on his demands for funding a border wall. On Tuesday, Trump will be appealing to lawmakers for bipartisanship. He told reporters last week that the speech will cover “a lot of territory” and that “unity will be part of it.”
 
The White House also indicated that immigration, trade and infrastructure will be among the policy priorities that Trump addresses in the speech.
 
In an interview with CBS' Face the Nation that aired Sunday, Trump insisted that he is making progress in negotiations with China. "It looks like we're doing very well with making a deal with China. I can tell you this, no two leaders of this country and China have ever been closer than I am with President Xi. We have a good chance to make a deal," Trump said. 
 
Also on Tuesday, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to vote on the Wheeler nomination despite continuing criticism from Democrats. Wheeler has been serving as acting administrator of EPA since the resignation of Scott Pruitt last year.
 
Republicans control the committee and have the votes to send Wheeler’s nomination to the floor. The question is how hard and long Democrats will try to delay a floor vote. From the GOP perspective, Wheeler has been more accessible than Pruitt and more effective in implementing the president’s regulatory rollback.
 
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