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Category: 116th Congress

As Shutdown Reaches 21 Days, National Emergency Declaration Being Considered

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As the partial government reaches its 21st day, matching the longest shutdown, there is still no compromise between the White House and Congressional Democrats in sight.  With that as the current situation, President Trump has stated on numerous occasions that he has the legal authority to declare a “national emergency” to build a physical barrier along the Southern border.

The White House is considering several options with respect to finding funds for the wall, such as trying to use funds that had been designated to deal with other disasters, such as the California wildfires and the hurricanes along the East Coast in 2018, and using funds dedicated to military construction projects.

Even a declaration of a national emergency does not mean that the Administration would be able to build a wall quickly, or if at all.  A number of Republicans have publicly cautioned against such a move.  In addition, legal challenges will most likely be made to the declaration, with the outcomes uncertain at this point.

Additional information about the this fight is available here, here, and here.

While all of this is playing out politically, today is payday for those federal employees and contractors impacted by the shutdown.  The furloughed workers will not be paid today.  Read more about the situation impacting employees here.

With Pelosi as Speaker, New House Seeks to Open Government

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As expected, the 116th House of Representatives elected yesterday Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) as the new Speaker of the House. She returns to the past that she once held.

Also as expected, the Democratically-controlled House a package of measures that would reopen the government: the first combined six of the seven unsigned appropriations bills and would fund the agencies in those bills through the rest of the year, while the second measure would reopen the Department of Homeland Security, with no additional funding for the wall, through February 8.  The new House leadership has emphasized that the language approved by the House is the exact same language that was approved by the Republican-controlled Senate before the holidays in order to avoid the partial shutdown before President Trump announced that he would not sign it.

While the House was working on the funding package, both the White House and the Senate Majority Leader reiterated their opposition to the House bill.

With the shutdown now in its 14th day, leaders from both houses and both sides of the aisle are scheduled to meet with the President once again later today.

Read more about the situation here, here, here, and here.

116th Congress Comes to Town

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The transition from the 115th Congress to the 116th Congress takes place later today.

In the Senate, Republicans will remain in control, with a 53 to 47 advantage, and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will continue to serve as the Majority Leader and Charles Schumer (D-NY) will retain the position of Minority Leader.

On the other side of the Capitol building, the Democrats will regain control.  After initial questions about whether she had enough support, it appears that Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is poised to become the next Speaker of the House.

After the new Members are sworn in, a Speaker is elected, and the debate on a rules package starts, the House is expected to take up today a package of appropriations bills that would reopen the parts of the federal government currently closed.  It would keep all parts of the government funded through the end of the fiscal year except those funded by the Homeland Security Appropriations bill, which would be extended on a shot-term basis through February 8, with no new money for a border wall.  Currently, this plan is not supported by the Senate or the White House, which means that the partial shutdown will likely continue.

Members of Washington Delegation to Assume New Leadership Roles

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The Democratic Steering and Policy Committee in the House released yesterday its slate of recommendations for most committee chair positions for next Congress.  As expected, the committee has recommended that Rep. Adam Smith, representing the Ninth Congressional District of Washington and the current top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, take over the position of Chairman when the Democrats assume control of the chamber in January.

The Senate Democrats also released yesterday their committee leadership roster for next Congress. Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, currently the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, will give up that post to assume the top Democratic slot on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.  Sen. Patty Murray will remain as the Ranking Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.

 

Pelosi Wins Democratic Nomination for Speaker

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Yesterday, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) officially won the nod as the Democratic nominee for Speaker for the 116th Congress.  The vote among Democrats was 203 to 32, with three  abstentions.

With no other candidate running against her, even after a number of Democrats pledging not to back her as Speaker, her status as the Democratic nominee was not in question.  However, as the Speaker must be elected by the entire House and not just the majority party, Pelosi must still go before the entire House when it convenes in January.  It remains to be seen as to how many votes she’ll ultimately be able to garner in the chamber.

In addition to Pelosi’s nomination as Speaker, the House Democrats chose Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Jim Clyburn (D-SC) as the Majority Leader and Majority Whip, respectively.