Speaker frowns on Greene challenge
Texas Dem proclaims innocence after corruption indictment
Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for May 6, 2024:
GOP looks for Census change on migrants.
Each party gets a post office.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) balks on 2024 results.
THIS WEEK. The House may vote on Speaker Johnson’s future. Congress faces a deadline on a major aviation policy bill.
SPEAKER. The head-shaking GOP soap opera continues this week in the House. Instead of focusing on issues, House Republicans will battle again with each other, as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) will try to force a vote to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson. No one expects Greene to succeed, but the spat is again exposing fault lines and fissures inside the GOP.
JOHNSON. "I'm not concerned about it," Speaker Johnson said in a weekend interview with Fox News, as he rebuked Greene and other rebels. "It is not helpful to our cause to advance conservative policy in principle, to have any of the uprising in our own camp," Johnson added, noting the very thin GOP majority. "I don't think it goes anywhere."
DEMS. Asked about the likelihood that some Democrats will cross over this week to save him from being pushed out of his post, the Speaker said he has cut no deals with the other party in order to stay in power.
"I haven't asked anyone to do that. There's no you know, there's no exchange of anything here. They're doing that spontaneously. I think there are people of good faith and both parties who want the Congress to be functioning. Remember the last time the chair was vacated when it happened to Kevin McCarthy. We shut the Congress down for three weeks. I mean, imagine how dangerous that would be right now….We have to have a functioning Congress."
MRS. GREENE OF GEORGIA. Greene did not let up on the Speaker over the weekend. "Is Mike Johnson going to make a deal with House Democrats to save the very Speakership House Republicans gave him?" she asked, before twisting the knife one more time. "He's not our Speaker."
TIMING. It's still not clear when Greene is going to trigger a vote on the House floor about Johnson. Theoretically, it could be as early as this evening when the House has votes. Or it could be as late as Thursday when the House is slated to head home. Greene only has two known allies, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ).
SASSY. Massie ripped Johnson again last night. "If you’re happy with what he’s done this year and if you’re looking forward to what he will do the remainder of the year, you should join the Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries in supporting Mike Johnson," Massie tweeted.
GOP. Some of Greene's colleagues aren't even sure she will go through with her threat. "She doesn't lead anyone," Rep. Bob Good (R-VA) said on NewsNation. "She's pretty much operating on her own."
ANTISEMITISM. Greene has also been tangling with fellow Republicans over a bill approved last week by the House, which was designed to toughen the official definition in law of antisemitism. Greene argues it’s an abuse of the First Amendment that could get people in trouble for criticizing Israel.
PUSHBACK. "Moscow Marjorie has gone off the deep end - maybe the result of a space laser," said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), dredging up Greene's infamous 2018 social media post where she suggested that 'space lasers' were the cause of wildfires in California. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) echoed that, calling her ‘Laser Beam Greene.’
GOP DISARRAY. I just want to step back and remind everyone that this kind of intraparty warfare is not normal in Congress. You don’t win in sports when the players attack the coach every day of the week. This is not a winning message for November (though it might be for Democrats).
CUELLAR. The House returns to work today with a dark legal cloud over one Texas Democrat, as Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife were formally accused of accepting bribes and other illegal payments totaling nearly $600,000. The allegations, handed down Friday by a federal grand jury, involve an oil company in Azerbaijan, a bank in Mexico, and a bunch of shell companies which the feds say were used to launder money.
INDICTMENT. The indictment is 54 pages long - mainly because it is chock full of devastating financial details. There are tables showing how payments to the Cuellars started as early as 2014, with the money funneled through fake shell companies and an adult child. The details just go on and on.
STATEMENT. "I want to be clear that both my wife and I are innocent of these allegations," Cuellar said, calling the charges 'wrong and offensive.' The Texas Democrat said it would not change his plans for 2024. "Let me be clear, I'm running for re-election and will win this November."
TRAVEL. In an order released on Sunday, the judge in Cuellar's case restricted his travel, limiting it to 'Congressional purposes' in Washington and back home in Texas. "All other travel requires permission," the judge wrote. "International travel requires a motion to the Court."
COMMITTEE. Following their rules dealing with members who are under criminal investigation, House Democrats immediately moved Cuellar out of his spot as the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee. His trial is tentatively set for July 8.
FUTURE. Most lawmakers said nothing about the charges against Cuellar. But not everyone was silent. "I believe any elected official or candidate facing such charges should resign or end their campaign," said Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN). "That includes Sen. Menendez, Donald Trump, and Rep. Cuellar."
SCOREBOARD. Cuellar is the third lawmaker indicted in the 118th Congress, along with Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and ex-Rep. George Santos (R-NY). Santos was expelled from Congress, but still faces trial in September. Menendez's trial is scheduled to start one week from today.
RESIGN. Will we see broader calls for Cuellar to resign? Probably not. The most recent cases of corruption were allowed to run their course, as the lawmakers resigned after they were found guilty or pleaded guilty - like Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Chris Collins (R-NY).
VIVA DE LA SANTOS. Why did Santos get the boot while other lawmakers are allowed to stay on for their trial? It's a legitimate question to ask. I would say it's because members of both parties saw him as a complete fraud - and he had almost no friends or allies.
DEADLINE. The biggest legislative item which needs attention this week in the House and Senate is a bill to reauthorize operations at the Federal Aviation Administration. A temporary extension runs out on Friday. Another stopgap plan might be needed, since it could take some time for the Senate to finish work on the measure.
SENATE. Complicating matters is that the Senate is not back until Tuesday. There had been talk about adding all sorts of legislative extras to the FAA bill, but that now seems unlikely. The next big pressure point for lawmakers is May 24, when Congress leaves for a Memorial Day break.
CENSUS. The most controversial bill this week in the House is the 'Equal Representation Act.' The GOP plan would add a question on citizenship to the Census. It would also prohibit illegal immigrants from being included in a state's population for the purpose of Congressional district apportionment.
GOP. "We must ensure only legal American citizens are factored into the count for Congressional Districts and the Electoral College," said Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN).
HOUSE SEATS. Republicans say the counting of illegal immigrants tilts the House towards Democrats. But it sure seems to me that a state like Texas, which certainly sees a large number of migrants, could be hurt by such a change.
NUMBERS. A review by CATO found exactly that. "Eliminating the growth in the noncitizen population from 2019 to 2023 would have cost Republican states 1.2 million people, or about two seats in Congress." Read more at this link.
CONSTITUTION. I would say one thing about this proposal - I don’t think the Congress can change the phrase, ‘counting the whole number of persons in each state,’ without a constitutional amendment. That’s found in Section two of the Fourteenth Amendment. Just my two cents.
THIS WEEK. In terms of other legislation, it's a bit of a mishmash for House Republicans this week - as they try to pick up the pieces from some past legislative detours. The House Rules Committee will meet at 4 pm to plot a path forward.
APPLIANCE WEEK. Remember last month, when the GOP was going to do a series of bills about appliances and regulations on energy conservation? Republicans are planning to bring one of those bills to the floor this week - the Hands Off Our Home Appliances Act.
LEFT OUT. Left at the legislative altar for now are the Liberty in Laundry Act, the Clothes Dryers Reliability Act, the Refrigerator Freedom Act, the Affordable Air Conditioning Act, or the Stop Unaffordable Dishwasher Standards Act. Those will have to wait for another day.
RECOMMIT. Also making the schedule again is the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2024 - that was derailed last week by six members of the House Freedom Caucus, who used a simple 'Motion to Recommit' to stop the bill, the first time that had happened on the House floor since 1992.
POST OFFICE TRADE. There seems to be an obvious legislative trade on the House schedule today. One bill names a post office in Louisiana for the late husband of Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA). The other names a post office in Virginia for former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
BACKGROUND. Luke Letlow was elected to Congress in 2020, but he died of COVID-19 before he could be sworn into office. His wife Julia won a special election for the seat in 2021. Madeleine Albright made history in the Clinton Administration as the first woman Secretary of State.
VOTE. I want to see if both bills get approved by a voice vote, or if someone requests a recorded vote. It shouldn't be controversial, but the Albright post office might get some GOP 'No' votes. Stay tuned.
ELECTION RESULTS. One way to cause heartburn for Republicans in Congress is to ask them who won the 2020 election. Another notable question is to ask if they'll accept the results in 2024 - no matter what. We saw another contortionist routine about that on Sunday from Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
MEET THE PRESS. "Senator, will you commit to accepting the election results of 2024, bottom line?" asked Kirsten Welker on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' She tried six different times - and each time, the Palmetto State Republican never gave an answer.
SCOTT. "I look forward to President Trump being the 47th President," Scott said when asked for a Yes/No response. "Kristen, you can ask it multiple times," Scott added.
WHITE HOUSE. A man died on Saturday night near the White House when he crashed his car at high speed into an outer perimeter vehicle barrier at 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue just before 10:30 pm. "There is no threat or public safety implications," said Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.
BARRIERS. This kind of thing does happen a few times a year - and it often involves someone who has gone off the deep end, mentally or politically. The headline from May 23, 2023 says it all: "Man who wanted to seize power struck White House barrier."
BIDEN. There was no threat to the President, as the Bidens were spending the weekend at their home in Delaware.
RAP SHEET. Last week, Joseph Pastucci of Pennsylvania was found guilty of 11 criminal charges related to Jan. 6. The security videos released by House Republicans show us more about his story. After being flushed off the Senate floor, Pastucci was told to leave the Capitol. He refused. So, the police helped him to the door.
MUSE OF HISTORY. May 6, 1812. Heading towards war with Great Britain, Americans were chafing under a new embargo which kept U.S. vessels in port. "You cannot justify a measure which operates with such cruel severity on the State of New York," said Rep. Harmanus Bleecker, who put forward a petition against the embargo from 800 citizens of Albany. The House voted 57-31 to delay any action on the embargo until July 4.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:
The House convenes at 12 noon.
The Senate is back on Tuesday.
Check President Biden’s schedule.
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Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com
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It will be interesting to see if MTG really pulls the pin on that political grenade. Given her ongoing public statements, I’d wager yes. She seems eager to get folks on the record. If the Dems do save the speaker, that could set up quite a fascinating dynamic for the rest of the year. And given his tempered remarks on Fox News Sunday, the speaker has clearly learned from McCarthy’s fiery Face The Nation interview he gave the weekend prior to being voted out.
HOOHA Act.
Another name for Marge’s schtick?
COUNT ONLY CITIZENS! (does 3/5ths ring a bell?)