This week, President Trump will go before Congress for his first State of the Union address. Will it be olive branches or brickbats? The next deadline for a government-funding bill is February 8th, a week from Thursday. Will the President discuss a path forward on immigration, specifically DACA, and spending that could present a breakthrough for negotiators? Congress still needs to fund several important health care programs, but they are unlikely to get resolved by February 8th without larger issues being resolved first. Both parties will head off to their respective party retreats later this week, setting up for a chaotic next week as yet another deadline looms.

Today, Alex Azar will be sworn in as the 12th Secretary of Health and Human Services. Former Secretary Price arrived on the job with an expected bias based on his career as a physician. It was widely expected that Secretary Price would focus on administrative simplification for physicians. As Azar takes the reins, health care stakeholders await directional signals from the new Secretary. We will closely watch directional signals he sends towards PhRMA, noting his previous role as former pharmaceutical executive and industry lobbyist.