Lawmakers are returning to Washington on Monday for a three-week sprint that will be headlined by the fight over government funding as this month’s shutdown deadline inches closer.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is poised to kick off the process this week by putting legislation on the floor that pairs a six-month continuing resolution (CR) with a bill to require proof of citizenship to register to vote — titled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act — a strategy favored by former President Trump and hard-line conservatives. Democrats, however, have deemed the effort a non-starter, and some House Republicans are expressing skepticism about the gambit.
Those dynamics are setting the stage for a showdown over funding for fiscal 2025, a battle that will play out against the backdrop of the November elections. Congress faces a Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.
Also this week, House lawmakers will be on the lookout to see if any Republicans move to force a vote on articles of impeachment against President Biden, after GOP investigators published their impeachment inquiry report. The report did not uncover a smoking gun or recommend articles, but some conservatives are pushing for a vote.
Additionally, the House will vote on a number of measures to crack down on China. Across the Capitol, senators are set to vote on confirming more of Biden’s judicial nominees.
Johnson to kick off government funding process
Johnson told members on a House GOP conference call last week that he wants to put the CR-plus-SAVE Act package — which would extend funding into March — on the floor “as soon as possible,” according to a source on the call, a signal that he plans to move quickly on his government funding plan. But it remains unclear whether the legislation will make it out of the House.
At least two Republicans — Reps. Matt Rosendale (Mont.) and Thomas Massie (Ky.) — have already announced they are opposed to the legislation, and a handful of others have expressed skepticism about the plan, a concerning sign for Johnson and his razor-thin majority. Johnson can afford to lose only four votes on the package if all Democrats vote no.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, slammed the funding plan last week, criticizing the six-month length. She argued that a CR ending in December “is better for our national security and military readiness, veterans and their families, victims recovering from natural disasters, and all hardworking American taxpayers,” as compared to his six-month measure.
There is, however, a sliver of hope for House Republicans as they seek to improve their negotiating position. Five House Democrats — Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) — voted for the SAVE Act when it cleared the lower chamber in June, and are now facing pressure from Republicans to once again back the measure, this time when it is attached to the six-month CR.
“Recall – the ‘SAVE’ Act (I introduced it – HR8281) passed with 5 Democrats voting for it (and others privately wanting to). If they vote ‘no’ with it attached to a funding bill that funds government to March – it’s pure politics,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who led the SAVE Act, wrote on the social platform X.
It remains unclear whether those Democrats will support the legislation. Any votes could buy Johnson and Republicans some breathing room as they try to move the package out of the House.
But even if the CR-plus-SAVE Act package does clear the lower chamber, it is doomed in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has slammed the legislation. In a statement last week, he and Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Johnson was making a “mistake” and called the effort a “highly partisan path.”
Schumer underscored that sentiment in a letter to colleagues Sunday night, urging bipartisan cooperation to fund the government.
“Democrats support a CR to keep the government open. As I have said before, the only way to get things done is in a bipartisan way,” Schumer wrote. “Despite Republican bluster, that is how we’ve handled every funding bill in the past, and this time should be no exception. We will not let poison pills or Republican extremism put funding for critical programs at risk.”
Impeachment watch in the House
The House’s return to session this week will mark the first time lawmakers are back in the Capitol since Republican investigators released their long-awaited impeachment inquiry report into President Biden, which accused him of impeachable conduct but did not not uncover a smoking gun against the president.
The report — which ran 291 pages and was the culmination of the House GOP’s months-long investigation — did not recommend articles of impeachment. Some Republicans, however, are pushing for a vote on charges against the president.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who has filed several articles of impeachment against Biden, wrote on X, “These crimes must not go unpunished” after the report’s release, adding “Joe Biden and his family must be held accountable. Joe Biden must be impeached.” Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) echoed that sentiment, writing on X: “…So @SpeakerJohnson….when are we voting to impeach Biden?”
House rules allow a single lawmaker to force a vote on legislation, a dynamic that has been on display several times this Congress. Neither Greene nor Steube, to be sure, have threatened to force a vote on articles of impeachment against Biden in the wake of the report.
But all eyes will be on those two GOP lawmakers — and other hard-line conservatives — to see if they move to force a vote on articles of impeachment against Biden, an effort that would have a good chance of failing amid skepticism among some Republican lawmakers.
House looks to crack down on China
Aside from government funding, the House floor this week will be focused on legislation to crack down on China.
One bill, titled the “Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act,” would move to ban foreign adversaries from purchasing agricultural lands in the U.S. Another measure, dubbed the “DHS Restrictions on Confucius Institutes and Chinese Entities of Concern Act,” would bar the Department of Homeland Security from giving funding to higher education institutions that have Confucius Institutes.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) said the Confucius Institutes are “one of the many reasons why higher ed is in such disarray right now.”
“We’re prohibiting that as well,” he said on Fox Business Network on Friday. “There’s a lot of really good bills. It’s going to be a really important debate. I want to see how everybody votes.”
Senate nominations
The Senate will churn through nomination votes this week as the chamber waits on the House to move on the CR-plus-SAVE Act package.
The week will kick off with a vote at 5:30 p.m. EDT Monday to invoke cloture on Adam B. Abelson’s nomination to the U.S. district judge for the district of Maryland. Schumer has also filed cloture on Jeannette A. Vargas’s nomination to be U.S. district judge for the Southern District of New York.
“Throughout the coming weeks, we will continue confirming the Biden-Harris administration’s well-qualified judges and nominees, and we must pass a continuing resolution to avoid a pointless and painful government shutdown,” Schumer wrote in his Sunday letter to colleagues.