Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told Senate Republicans on Wednesday he won’t be able to get a national security package with aid for Ukraine, Israel and border security through the House. Johnson said it would be nearly impossible to pass the entire package in the House, where Republicans hold an extremely narrow majority with too many disparate GOP factions. The Senate is now expected to take up the White House’s full $105 billion aid request as soon as next week, but a small bipartisan group of senators is still negotiating a border policy deal that would unlock support for passing Ukraine aid with the group still working out a combination of policies to get a bill to President Joe Biden’s desk. Senate leaders on both sides of the aisle have said the president’s request should move as a single package, but House Republicans led by Johnson earlier this month passed a standalone bill that would send Israel money as it defends itself against Hamas terrorists. That legislation, however, is a nonstarter in the Senate because it’s offset by IRS cuts to benefit wealthy taxpayers and doesn’t include any funding for Ukraine to continue defending itself against Russia.
While talks on government funding continue, tempers exploded at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting this morning before Democrats voted to subpoena a major conservative donor and a prominent conservative activist linked to the Supreme Court’s ethics scandals. The Republican members of the committee stormed out of the hearing room shortly before Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) called a vote on authorizing the subpoenas. The motion passed with 11 Democratic votes with not a single Republican left in the room by the time the roll call ended. Durbin went ahead with the vote shortly before noon to prevent Republicans from delaying it until next week by invoking a rule to limit committee meetings to two hours. Senate Republicans filed 177 amendments in an effort to slow down the subpoenas.
For today, the Senate will work on judicial nominations including Confirmation of Shanlyn A.S. Park to be United States District Judge for the District of Hawaii and the Motion to invoke cloture on Irma Carrillo Ramirez to be United States Circuit Judge for the Fifth Circuit.
The House is expected to take up H.R. 5961 – No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, which states “that the terrorist-funding, human rights-violating Iranian regime should receive no additional funds but that basic humanitarian assistance for the people of Iran is important.” It also adds a five-year sunset provision requirement. The House is also expected to complete consideration of H.R. 5283 – Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023. The full list of amendments made in order con be found HERE.
The House may also begin work on H. Res. 878 – Providing for the expulsion of Representative George Santos from the United States House of Representatives and H. Res. __ – Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors. The House is expected to hold a final vote on the Santos resolution Friday from Ethics Committee Chair Michael Guest (R-Mississippi) to finally remove Santos from office. It will mark the third vote to expel the New York Republican this year, but the Guest motion seems likely to pass — with dozens of Republicans who previously opposed the step expected to flip their votes.
