This episode of Congress in Context explores the high-stakes legislative activity of April 21, 2026, as the 119th Congress grapples with a record-breaking 67-day shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security and the introduction of a transformative $2.2 trillion budget request. The narrative centers on the fierce clash over the FIRE Act (H.R. 6387), weighing the urgency of proactive wildfire mitigation through prescribed burns against concerns that the bill would dangerously weaken Clean Air Act protections. We also analyze the Senate’s shift toward budget reconciliation, a partisan effort to allocate up to $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol that critics argue doubles down on a "secret police" force while supporters frame it as a necessary defense of national borders. Beyon ...