The Senate convened at 10:00 A.M. and is working on the judicial nominations of Margaret R. Guzman to be United States District Judge for the District of Massachusetts, Colleen R. Lawless to be United States District Judge for the Central District of Illinois, Jonathan James Canada Grey to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Michigan, and James Edward Simmons, Jr. to be United States District Judge for the Southern District of California. The Senate is also expected to take up H.J.Res.30, ESG CRA, which is sponsored by Senator Mike Braun (R-Indiana) and would roll back the Department of Labor’s rulemaking to allow fiduciaries to take environmental, social and governance, or ESG, factors into consideration when choosing retirement investments. House Republicans cleared their version on Tuesday with help from a single Democrat, Representative Jared Golden of Maine. The law allows passage of the measure with simple majorities in both chambers and permits the Senate minority to force a vote if they have sufficient backing. Senator Braun has stated that he has secured the support of every Republican Senator and Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia). He is looking to get one more vote from Democrats for passage, specifically either Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) or Angus King (I-Maine).
The House convened at 9:00 A.M. and passed H.R. 347 – REIN IN Act, which would require the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to prepare a report including the inflationary effects for any executive action with an estimated impact of at least $1 billion. The White House would then have to report these findings to Congress each year to increase transparency and accountability over executive actions. Following passage of the REIN IN Act, the House is now in recess until next week as House Democrats travel to Baltimore for their issues retreat. During the three-day issues retreat at a hotel in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, President Joe Biden will huddle with House Democrats on Wednesday as they work to develop a messaging strategy to help them hold the White House and flip the five seats needed to take back the House in 2024. House Democrats also will hear from Vice President Kamala Harris and top administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and Biden’s new infrastructure czar, Mitch Landrieu. Wes Moore, Maryland’s new Democratic governor and a rising star in the party, will also address the group.
