Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) announced this morning she’ll act next week to force a vote on whether to oust Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), an extraordinary move highlighting the tremendous internal turmoil in the GOP. But the effort is all but certain to fail after Democratic leaders said they would vote to protect the Speaker from her coup attempt. Her decision to finally trigger a vote on the resolution came one day after the top three House Democrats announced that they would vote to table a motion to vacate if it came to the floor, joining a number of rank-and-file Democrats who have said for months that they’d shield Johnson from a conservative coup.
The Senate’s work to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will kick off in earnest today as members push to meet the May 10th funding deadline despite multiple looming battles, including over the push to add additional flights out of Reagan Washington National Airport. A compromise bill unveiled Monday morning includes a codification of the Department of Transportation’s recent rule requiring refunds to travelers of some domestic and international flights, funding to hire more air traffic controllers and other provisions to improve runway safety and avoid near-collisions. Cut from the final package was raising the retirement age of pilots from 65 to 67 and language introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) that would have allowed lawmakers and judges facing threats to receive special security escorts through airports. The must-pass bill was expected to be a prime opportunity to advance the ambitious bipartisan agenda Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) has laid out. But lawmakers indicate it would be a steep climb to attach any unrelated provisions to the bill. Republican senators have nearly 20 amendments on which they want votes, a number of them unrelated to the FAA blueprint.
For today, the Senate convened at 10:00 A.M. and is expected to vote on confirmation of the nomination of Georgia N. Alexakis to be United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois. The Senate will then take up the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R.3935, An act to amend title 49, United States Code, to reauthorize and improve the Federal Aviation Administration and other civil aviation programs.
The House convened at noon for legislative business and is expected to complete work on H. Res. 1112 – Denouncing the Biden administration’s immigration policies, H.R. 6090 – Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023, H.R. 2925 – Mining Regulatory Clarity Act of 2024 and H.R. 6285 – Alaska’s Right to Produce Act of 2023.
