Mayorkas Impeachment Possible in the House This Week, Senate Border Security Deal Released
Jason Pye - Director, Rule of Law Initiatives
Point of Order is a (mostly) weekly preview of key congressional activity for those with more than a passing interest in federal policy.
Schedule and Suspensions: The House returns today at 2:00 pm for legislative business. Votes are postponed until 6:30 pm. Nine (9) bills are expected to be considered under suspension of the rules. The cost estimates for those bills can be found here. The House will also meet on Tuesday and Wednesday. Votes are expected on both of those days, with the last votes for the week expected no later than 3:00 pm on Wednesday.
H.R. 443, Enhancing Detection of Human Trafficking Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 1240, Winnebago Land Transfer Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 1727, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Commission Extension Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 2882, Udall Foundation Reauthorization Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 2997, Clifton Opportunities Now for Vibrant Economic Yields Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 3415, Pilot Butte Power Plant Conveyance Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 4051, SHARKED Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 4385, Drought Preparedness Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 4596, Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins Endangered Fish Recovery Programs Reauthorization Act (Natural Resources)
H.R. 5009, WILD Act (Natural Resources)
Rule bills: The House Rules Committee will meet today at 4:00 pm to markup the rule(s) providing for the consideration of a resolution impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors, H.Res. 863, and the Protecting Health Care for All Patients Act, H.R. 485. The committee met late last week and marked up the rule providing for the consideration of the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act, H.R. 7160, and a resolution denouncing the harmful, anti-American energy policies of the Biden administration, and for other purposes, H.Res. 987. Additional legislative items are possible.
Let’s talk about one of those additional legislative items: Sigh. The grifter from Georgia’s 14th Congressional District may force a vote on a resolution, H.Res. ___, to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN). The resolution accuses Omar of “openly admitting her efforts to advance Somalia’s interests using her position as a United States Representative.” It appears the resolution is based on a terrible misrepresentation of what Omar actually said during a January 27 speech. The translation of what Omar said can be found here.
Aid to Israel: The House will vote on legislation to provide aid to Israel, according to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who, in a letter, outlined his plans to bring the bill to the floor. “I am writing to let you know that this afternoon our colleague Ken Calvert will release legislative text to support our ally Israel. We will plan a vote on his bill next week,” Johnson wrote. “As you know, one of the first bills passed by the House after I became Speaker was a supplemental package of $14.3 billion to support Israel in its war against Hamas. We paid for that measure with an equal reduction in funding for the IRS. Sadly, the Democrats have refused to consider that offset to support Israel (even though they agreed to additional cuts to the IRS to pay for their domestic priorities in the final appropriations topline).” The text of the Israel aid bill can be found here. The cost is $17.6 billion.
House committee schedule: Below are some House committee hearings that may be of interest. The full House committee schedule for the week is here.
The State of American Aviation and the Federal Aviation Administration (Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Federal Science Agencies and the Promise of AI in Driving Scientific Discoveries (Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative Measures (Foreign Affairs, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Hearing (Weaponization of the Federal Government, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (Financial Services, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Under the Microscope: Reviewing the SBA’s Small Business Size Standards (Small Business, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Examining Chronic Drug Shortages in the United States (Ways and Means, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative (Oversight and Accountability, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Markup of Various Legislative (Budget, Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Politics Over People: How Biden’s LNG Export Ban Threatens America’s Energy and Economic Security (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security; Tuesday at 10:00 am)
Protecting Missing and Exploited Children (Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education; Tuesday at 10:15 am)
Protecting American Health Security: Oversight of Shortcomings in the FDA's Foreign Drug Inspection Program (Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, Tuesday at 10:30 am)
Advancing America's Interests at the World Trade Organization's 13th Ministerial Meeting (Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Wednesday at 9:00 am)
American Confidence in Elections: Confronting Zuckerbucks, Private Funding of Election Administration (House Administration, Wednesday at 10:30 am)
Biden’s Border Crisis: The Consequences of Failing to Secure Federal Border Lands (Natural Resources Subcommittee on Federal Lands; Field Hearing in Sierra Vista, Arizona; Thursday at 1:30 pm)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
Nominations kick off the week in the Senate: The Senate returns today at 3:00 pm to resume consideration of the nomination of Kurt Campbell to serve as Deputy Secretary of State. Around 5:30 pm, the Senate will vote on the confirmation of the nomination of Joseph Albert Laroski to serve as a judge on the United States Court of International Trade. Cloture has already been agreed to on the Laroski nomination. The Senate will also consider the nomination of Amy M. Baggio to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court of Oregon.
There’s more action in the Senate. Maybe. We’ll see.: The text of the Israel, Ukraine, and border security supplemental was released last night. Here’s the legislative text, section-by-section, and summary. The reaction is, well, about what you’d expect. In the Senate, the supplemental is a real test for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and he’s facing very loud opposition. In the House, Speaker Johnson, who’d previously indicated that the bill is dead on arrival in the House, said it’s “even worse than we thought.” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) definitively said, “Let me be clear: The Senate Border Bill will NOT receive a vote in the House.” In any event, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) plans to put the supplemental on the floor this week. Look, I have no idea if this is going to pass. It should pass, but we live in this weird world in which killing a bill that may do some good means more than passing that bill. Why? It’s all about messaging to the base of the Republican Party. Nothing else matters. All the incentives are perverse. This is the world grifters on the right have created.
Senate committee schedule: Below are some Senate committee hearings that may be of interest. The full Senate committee schedule for the week is here.
Foreign Influence in the United States: Reviewing Boston Consulting Group and Company, M. Klein and Company, and Teneo’s Compliance with Congressional Subpoenas (Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Tuesday at 3:30 pm)
The Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report to Congress (Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Thursday at 9:00 am)
Examine the Administration’s Pause on LNG Export Approvals and the Department of Energy’s Process for Assessing LNG Export Applications (Energy and Natural Resources, Thursday at 9:30 am)
Nominations Hearing (Foreign Relations, Thursday at 9:30 am)
To Receive Testimony on Global Security Challenges and U.S. Strategy (Armed Services, Thursday at 9:30 am)
Artificial Intelligence and Health Care: Promise and Pitfalls (Finance, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Nominations Hearing and Executive Business Meeting (Judiciary, Thursday at 10:00 am)
Why Does the United States Pay, by Far, the Highest Prices in the World for Prescription Drugs? (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; Thursday at 10:00 am)
If you’re interested in watching any of these hearings online, you can find committee websites here.
And I released a song: I told y’all a while back that I was working on music. Well, this morning I released the first song from my project, make (good) trouble. It’s called “Coming Apart.” It’s about the political environment we’re experiencing today. I’ve put it on Bandcamp and SoundCloud. I’ll probably put it on Spotify and Apple Music in the coming days.
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