Both the House and Senate are in session today, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) expected to finally put foreign aid legislation on the floor — a move that is taking on increased importance after Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend, and one that still comes with a number of political pitfalls as Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) threatens to force a vote on ousting the Speaker. Speaker Johnson said on Sunday the House would “try again” on passing Israel aid this week after previous attempts failed in the lower chamber and floundered in the Senate. But he did not say how he plans to handle long-stalled aid for Ukraine, a looming question that has significant implications for the fate of foreign assistance in the House and Johnson’s tenure atop the GOP conference. The House will begin the week by taking up five bills related to Iran.
Also this week, the House is set to send the Senate the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after Speaker Johnson delayed the process at the urging of Senate conservatives. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), however, is still expected to move quickly to dismiss the charges. The House may also cast one more vote pertaining to the U.S.’s warrantless surveillance authority after conservatives launched a last-minute procedural gambit in protest of the legislation which passed on Friday. The legislation did not include an amendment that would add a warrant requirement to Section 702 after the House voted down that provision in a 212-212 vote. In the House, a tie fails. In a major turnaround, the House on Friday passed a two-year reauthorization of an expiring warrantless surveillance law that had stalled amid Republican resistance stoked by former President Donald J. Trump. The bill would extend a provision known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, that is set to lapse Friday. Desperate to salvage the measure before the law expires, Speaker Johnson put forward a shorter extension than its originally envisioned five years, persuading hard-right Republicans who had blocked the bill to allow it to move forward. The final vote was 273 to 147, with both parties split. One hundred and twenty-six Republicans joined 147 Democrats in favor, while 88 Republicans and 59 Democrats were opposed.
For today, the House is expected to convene at 2:00 P.M. for legislative business and at 6:30 P.M. will hold a series of votes on legislation related to Iran, including H.R. 5921 – No U.S. Financing for Iran Act of 2023, H.R. 5923 – Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act of 2023, H.R. 6245 – Holding Iranian Leaders Accountable Act of 2023, H.R. 6015 – Iran Sanctions Accountability Act of 2023, and H.R. 6408 – To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to terminate the tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting organizations.
The Senate will convene at 3:00 P.M. and is expected to take up a Motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Ramona Villagomez Manglona, of the Northern Mariana Islands, to be Judge for the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands for a term of ten years
