The Senate convened at 10:00 A.M. and considered a motion to discharge the nomination of Julia Ruth Gordon to be an Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, from the Banking Committee. This afternoon, the Senate will take up the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to be Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from the Committee on the Judiciary. Yesterday, Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined a third Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, in lending their support to Judge Jackson, defying deep resistance in their party to the nominee. The Republican opposition was underscored anew on Monday when all 11 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee voted against the nomination. That prompted Democrats to use an unusual procedure to force the nomination out of the deadlocked panel with a vote of the full Senate, which agreed to the move by a vote of 53 to 47. Leader Schumer is expected to file cloture today, which would set up a procedural vote on Judge Jackson’s nomination for Thursday. Republicans could push a final confirmation vote to Friday if they chose to use all 30 hours of debate time.
Senate Democrats and Republicans have struck a deal to provide $10 billion for coronavirus vaccines and therapeutics after Democrats dropped a last-minute attempt to include global vaccination funds in the bill. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, who had been leading negotiations on the package, announced the agreement Monday. It meets GOP demands that any new Covid-19 funds be paid for with unspent funds from earlier pandemic relief packages. The accord would give the Biden administration $5 billion to buy Covid-19 therapeutics and antivirals and another $4.75 billion that could be used for a wider range of purchases, such as coronavirus tests and vaccines. It would also provide $750 million for research projects for future Covid vaccines and therapeutics. The deal would re-purpose unspent funds from a variety of pandemic relief efforts. Those include programs to protect aviation jobs and funnel money to music and theater venues. Funds will also be redirected from higher education relief and small business credit programs, along with Agriculture Department funds. Leaders in the Senate and House may attempt to hold votes on the package by the end of this week, before Congress embarks on a two-week holiday recess.
The House convened at 10 A.M. and is working on eight bills under suspension of the Rules from the Transportation and Infrastructure and Homeland Security Committees.
