Congress stumbles toward weekend shutdown
Menendez to address fellow Senate Democrats today
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for September 28, 2023:
House Republicans scramble to save defense bill.
GOP holds first Hunter Biden impeachment hearing.
My Spidey Senses wonder about the Senate CR.
SHUTDOWN. The signs don't look good in Congress, as lawmakers seem to be heading for a government shutdown starting on Saturday night. The Senate will try today to take another procedural step forward on a temporary funding plan negotiated by both parties - but there's no guarantee that will be approved by either the House or Senate.
STATUS. "Everything has to be done bipartisan," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. But that doesn’t mean it will happen fast. The Senate's first procedural vote will be at lunch time to start debate on a bill which keeps the government open through November 17.
GOP. The House-Senate divide among Republicans remains very clear, as Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell again denounced the idea of a shutdown. "Keeping the government open is the only way to keep making progress on our nation’s most pressing issues," McConnell said.
BORDER. But there are some signs of possible trouble - as a number of GOP Senators want to add extra money for the border. "Don't pretend that this is just a Republican priority," said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). We should get a better idea today if immigration is going to be a sticking point.
HOUSE. While the Senate was in a holding pattern, the House plowed ahead with debate and votes on four government funding bills for next year. It was exactly what conservatives said they wanted. "We are working faster and better than I've seen the House of Representatives work in my seven years here," said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL).
DEBATE. But GOP leaders were scrambling behind the scenes. Last night, Republicans suddenly moved to strip $300 million in aid to Ukraine out of a Pentagon spending plan - and put it in a separate bill. Why? Because the GOP didn't have enough votes to pass the defense bill with Ukraine money in it.
UKRAINE. The odd procedural move came a few hours after the House voted 330-104 *against* cutting out the $300 million in security assistance for Ukraine. Democrats blasted the late night GOP change. "This is not how regular order works," said Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO). That new (and separate) $300 million Ukraine bill will likely get a House vote this afternoon.
DETOUR. That wasn't the only spending hiccup in the House. It’s still not clear if Republicans can approve a funding plan for agriculture programs. That bill is caught up in a GOP dispute over a ban on mail order abortion pills. A number of GOP moderates have said they will vote 'no.’
STOPGAP. Meanwhile, there is still no House bill to keep the government open past Saturday night - and Republicans made clear they won't accept what the Senate wants to pass. "That thing is dead over here," said Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL). At the same time, Speaker McCarthy clearly doesn’t have enough GOP votes to avoid a shutdown.
ONE DOLLAR. During Wednesday’s spending debate, the House voted to reduce the salaries of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to $1. What was interesting is that Democrats let those amendments win on a voice vote.
NOT GOOD. But in other cases, Democrats forced votes on those $1 amendments - and the House easily defeated them. Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) tried to cut salaries to $1 for six different officials at the Food and Drug Administration, but all six failed by wide margins.
DHS. Just before midnight, the House easily defeated eight more of those GOP amendments which would have defunded - or reduced salaries to $1 - a series of officials in the Department of Homeland Security.
MENENDEZ. A day after pleading not guilty to federal corruption charges, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) will make his return to the U.S. Senate, where he may not get the nicest of receptions in a closed door meeting with fellow Democrats. "He will address our caucus and we'll see what happens from there," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
SCHUMER. As he spoke to reporters, it was clear that Schumer was not pleased with the stories of gold bars and over $400,000 in cash that the feds found at the home of Menendez. "I was just deeply disappointed - disturbed - when I read the indictment," Schumer said.
RESIGN. Wednesday brought more calls for Menendez to resign, most notably from Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. "I believe he should step down and focus on his legal defense," Murray said, as she called on the Senate Ethics Committee to launch its own probe.
LEADERSHIP. While over half of Senate Democrats have called for Menendez to resign, Schumer has stayed on the fence. Will that end today after Menendez gets a chance to speak to his colleagues behind closed doors? Stay tuned.
FOREIGN RELATIONS. Because of the charges against him, Menendez has already been shoved aside as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He'll be replaced by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), who is retiring after the 2024 elections.
GOP. It should be noted that not a single GOP Senator has publicly called on Menendez to resign.
IMPEACHMENT. The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing today which is being billed by Republicans as the first big step in an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. "We're going to kind of go over all of the evidence that we've accumulated thus far," said Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who heads the Oversight panel.
TESTIMONY. Today's witnesses aren't going to offer any new information about the GOP probe. For example, one of those testifying is law professor Jonathan Turley, who is a familiar face on Fox News. The hearing is titled, "The Basis for an Impeachment Inquiry of President Joseph R. Biden, Jr."
REAL HOUSEWIVES. Democrats are doing all they can to undermine and mock the GOP effort as a big waste of time. "The worst drama on TV just got renewed!" tweeted Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). "Real House Republicans of Oversight premiere @ Thursday 10am EST."
MONEY. As I've discussed before, the evidence of influence peddling by Hunter Biden is very clear. It smells bad. But just because Hunter Biden was making coin does not translate into something impeachable for Joe Biden.
TRUMP. It took almost three weeks for Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) to respond to a letter from Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis, as Republicans again demanded documents and evidence about her investigation and prosecution of former President Donald Trump. In his reply, Jordan - who ignored a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee - gives Willis until October 11 to respond.
LETTER. "Accordingly, your refusal to cooperate with our oversight due to an ongoing prosecution is unpersuasive," Jordan wrote to Willis, as he rejected the idea that Congress cannot ask questions of local prosecutors. You can read the full GOP letter at this link, which features 50 footnotes.
MORE. "The Committee is also examining whether legislative reforms are necessary to insulate former and current Presidents from politically motivated prosecutions by state and local officials," Jordan wrote. (That would be an interesting situation to say the least.)
QRM. This is another example of how GOP lawmakers in Congress are actively running interference for Trump, heckling federal and local prosecutors from afar, and making them think about something other than their case against the former President.
NO COMMENT. Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-SC) broke his silence and tweeted out a 'no comment' yesterday about his wife filing for divorce last week. Melody Duncan claimed in court documents that Duncan had multiple affairs, and most recently had shacked up with a female lobbyist in D.C.
DUNCAN. "My family is dealing with a difficult and private moment and I'm not going to comment on a deeply personal matter," Duncan wrote. Duncan then went on to complain about 'liberal extremists.'
TIMING. It wasn't immediately clear why Duncan decided to make that social media statement, given that he had been silent about his wife's accusations for nearly five days.
DRESS CODE. After an outcry over a move to loosen the Senate dress code, the Senate last night approved a resolution to formalize those rules. “As Senators, we should demonstrate reverence for the institution in which we serve - and our attire is one of the most basic expressions of that respect,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
MANCHINATOR. The move was spearheaded by Romney and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). "For 234 years, every Senator that has had the honor of serving in the Senate has assumed there were some basic written rules of decorum, conduct and civility," Manchin said.
SCHUMER. "Though we've never had an official dress code, the events over the past week have made us all feel as though formalizing one is the right path forward," said Majority Leader Schumer. The new rules only apply to men.
FETTERMAN. All of this was sparked by Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who prefers to wear hoodies and shorts during the day. His time presiding in the Chair - in a jacket, but no tie - did not sit well with some Senators, who pressed to formally require 'business attire.’ (The new rules only apply to men.)
KEYSTONE. Fetterman has evidently agreed to wear a jacket and tie when he goes on the Senate floor. He seemed a bit perturbed yesterday when asked questions about the dress code, again saying there are bigger issues to deal with.
PROCEDURAL NERD NOTE. I've had a number of questions about the procedure involved with this Senate stopgap funding bill, which basically boils down to one thing - how can the Senate start work on its own CR? Doesn't a spending bill have to originate in the House as specified in the Constitution? Yes.
RIDDICK. This bill did originate in the House. H.R. 3935 reauthorizes the FAA, and was passed by the House on July 20. The bill has tax provisions and also amends the Omnibus spending bill approved in 2022. So, it would seem to satisfy all of the requirements to be turned into a temporary funding bill.
JUST IN CASE. Today's date is September 28 - but in the Senate, it is still the legislative day of September 22, as the Senate has gone into recess instead of adjourning since last Friday. That would make it easier to take up legislation coming over from the House.
RAP SHEET. Two men who grabbed a metal bike rack and used it to attack police on Jan. 6 have been sentenced to prison. Craig Bingert of Pennsylvania received 8 years in jail, while Isaac Sturgeon of Montana was sentenced to 6 years. "Stay strong and it was a pleasure defending this nation," Bingert wrote on social media.
BADGER STATE. A Wisconsin man has been charged with destruction of government property on Jan. 6. Charles Waters - who was wearing a helmet and ballistic-style vest - was arrested this week. He is charged with damaging protective fencing that was put up for the Inauguration.
MUSE OF HISTORY. September 28, 1966. There was grumbling from various quarters in Congress on this date about efforts by the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to press schools and hospitals to end segregation. Rep. John Davis (D-GA) proposed the creation of a special committee to investigate; Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield meanwhile said he agreed with southern Senators who were worried that efforts at desegregation were going 'too fast.'
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House meets at 9 am.
The Senate convenes at 10 am.
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I know I'm in the minority on the dress code, but I see it as a hidden expense for a Senator. Someone larger/taller like Fetterman has a higher cost to comply. Men's' business wear has less acceptable options than women's. Whole I doubt anyone would try it, I'd enjoy seeing a man show up in a dress to point out the hypocrisy. That's not how it would be received of course.
Why do we talk so much about the dress code when there are much more important things going on? I think because it's NOT as important. Having said that, "business attire" is still a hugely broad category.