Watch: A conversation with Capitol Hill newsmakers on what’s driving the news in Washington

The big picture: On Tuesday, December 19, Axios senior politics reporter Eugene Scott and Capitol Hill reporter Juliegrace Brufke hosted virtual conversations looking at what's driving the news in Washington as the year comes to a close and the policy priorities that are top of mind heading into 2024.

• Guests included Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.).

Rep. Andy Kim discussed prioritizing constructive policymaking in the new year as an upcoming election year.

• "I do worry about our ability to actually be able to do the work that we've been sent to Congress to do, which is to legislate and be able to pass laws to try to solve problems for people. For instance, I've been trying to make progress on mental health issues, something that we've been hearing about, all over the country there is a mental health crisis right now, especially for our youth, for our kids, our students."

Rep. Jeff Duncan shared insight into how the GOP is thinking about the upcoming government funding deadline.

• "We all want to get back to the normal appropriations process. You've seen this play out really since June, and bringing those normal appropriations bills to the floor is important to conservatives because there are policy riders within those funding bills that really direct or deny funding in certain areas that are important to our constituents."

Thank you to Bank of America for sponsoring this event.