The GOP majority has much to accomplish before Democrats retake both chambers in January, but some Republicans fear there won't be enough time or attendance to enact President Donald Trump's priorities.
The lame-duck session, the period after the midterms and before the next Congress begins, is Republicans' last chance to pass measures such as the SAVE America Act and permitting reform, along with critical spending bills.
However, the many members swept out of office in Tuesday's elections are not guaranteed to attend votes before they depart. Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., also plans to force a vote to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth, using valuable floor time in the remaining 20 legislative days of the term.
"There's talk of a lame-duck reconciliation package, but that takes up a lot of floor time, especially in the Senate, and you're going to have huge attendance issues in the House, so it's just going to be absolutely insane the next couple of weeks," a GOP strategist said.
Here are five things Republicans want Congress to pass during the lame duck:
1. SAVE America Act
A White House official told the Daily Signal in August that Trump's voter ID bill, the SAVE America Act, would likely pass in the lame-duck session. After Tuesday's defeats, leadership will have to assess if there's still appetite for it, a GOP aide told the Daily Signal.
The bill, along with other Trump priorities, would have to pass the Senate through reconciliation, a process that requires only a simple majority vote but is reserved for budget-related measures.
Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., would love to see a reconciliation package in the lame duck, as well as pay-fors for any additional spending, but he's concerned about the political willpower following Tuesday's elections.
"I think we're just going to have to wait and see how cooperative Democrats are going to be, knowing that they're about to assume a big majority, and if Republicans are willing to stick together and all show up and do what we need to do over these next, you know, weeks that are ahead," Harris told the Daily Signal.
A fourth reconciliation bill would also be the GOP's last chance to use its majority to defund Planned Parenthood, which continues to be a priority for conservative House Freedom Caucus members, a caucus spokeswoman told the Daily Signal.
Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kan., supported a reconciliation bill but added that "the question right now is figuring out what all would you include in it, and how would you pull that together, particularly in the time frame that we've got over the next two months."
"People will show up for the next few weeks," he said. "If something gets played out into later, the third or even the fourth week of December, that'll be tougher for folks that have other plans."
Outgoing Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said Republicans should "codify some things" before Democrats take over and impeach the president. He said Trump will now have less influence over Congress.
"What do you think this election showed?" he said. "That was a bellwether."
2. Confirming Nominees
Trump has several judicial nominees that need to be confirmed before the Senate loses the majority.
Nine judicial nominees are awaiting committee action, while another 13 could reach the Senate floor before Christmas. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold two hearings and markups for nominations made during the August recess, and the chamber will spend a lot of its floor time on these nominations, a GOP aide said.
Trump has a handful of agency nominees as well, such as Nicole Saphier for surgeon general, Timothy Westlake for assistant secretary for mental health and substance use, Mary Lazare for assistant secretary for aging, and Loren Sweatt and Douglas Ralph for the National Mediation Board.
3. Permitting Reform
Permitting reform is expected to be the Senate's first order of business once it returns Nov. 9.
The White House has been very supportive of the bipartisan deal to lower energy costs, and it's the most likely priority to be passed and sent to the president's desk for a signature.
The bill updates several existing laws governing the permitting process, including the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act, in order to speed up the process while keeping important reviews in place.
Four bipartisan Senate negotiators, Republicans Mike Lee and Shelly Moore-Capito, and Democrats Martin Heinrich and Sheldon Whitehouse, are pushing to pass it before the next Congress.
4. Government Funding Bill
Congress has until Dec. 11 to pass a spending bill to fund the federal government. A clean continuing resolution with no additional spending for Iran or other agenda items is not expected to have difficulty getting the 60 votes to pass the Senate.
This will be a top priority because the government will shutdown if it is not passed.
"We all realize we're staring at a spending bill coming up Dec. 11 for the funding of the government, so we've got to get that done," Harris said. "I just think it's an opportunity: Republicans, we need to come together, and we need to be able to find some solutions here, and get something that we can do for the American people as we wrap up this 119th Congress."
5. National Defense Authorization Act
Congress also needs to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, providing appropriations and setting policy for the military, but it will have to overcome widespread opposition to the Iran War.
"What happened in midterms was a repudiation of the war in Iran," a GOP strategist said. "Well, if that's the case, how do you justify giving the Department of War more money? That is a question that's going to be happening in Congress without an exit point."
Harris said he'd love to see Trump wrap up the war before the end of the session.
"I'd love to see that get done over the next two months for sure," the conservative Republican said.
Estes expects amendments to the bill, but he hopes politics won't stop his colleagues from supporting it.
"It's one of those things that's so critical to supporting our servicemen and women, particularly around hazardous duty pay and other provisions for their protection," he said, "so I would hate to see it get caught in political crossfire."
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Daily Signal.]
Source link
