It's a new year, and PULSE CHECK returns to look at what's ahead.

POLITICO's Adam Cancryn and Rachana Pradhan join Dan Diamond to discussif the partial government shutdown will end soon (starts at the 1:45mark), what's on Congress' to-do list (4:00) and how the Trumpadministration is putting its stamp on the states (16:45) — with a bonusconversation about the most influential Trump appointees (26:10).

REFERENCED ON THE SHOW

There’s no sign that the partial government shutdown will come to an endsoon. More.

Adam and Alice Miranda Ollstein’s POLITICO Pro story on House Democrats’new health strategy. (Behind the Pro firewall.) More.

Rachana’s story about thousands of Arkansas residents losing Medicaidcoverage every month. More.

Arkansas health chief Cindy Gillespie and ex-CMS Administrator AndySlavitt dueled on POLITICO's podcast about whether work requirementswould harm Medicaid beneficiaries. More.

Atul Gawande’s October 2017 New Yorker article on whether health careshould be a right. More.

Mississippi is quietly considering Medicaid expansion, POLITICO’s PaulDemko scooped. More.