Legislative Update
Senate. The Senate is not in session for the next two weeks and will reconvene July 8.
House. The House will be in session Tuesday through Friday and on Tuesday evening will swear in Republican Michael Rulli, winner of the June 11 special election to take the Ohio 6th District seat of Rep. Bill Johnson (R), who resigned in January to become president of Youngstown State University. With Rulli’s swearing in, there will be 219 Rs/213Ds, and 3 vacancies. The House will be in recess next week for the Independence Day holiday and will return July 8.
On Tuesday, the Rules Committee will wade through over 800 amendments that have been filed for three appropriations bills on the House schedule this week – Defense, Homeland Security, and State/Foreign Operations. On Wednesday, the House will vote on the rule for the three bills and then, if the rule is approved, move to debate and votes on amendments to the Homeland Security bill. Votes will also be held on amendments to the State/Foreign Operations bill, with the House staying in session until about 10:30 p.m.
Thursday will be another long day, going until 10:30 p.m., with continued consideration of the State/Foreign Operations bill as well as debate on amendments to the Defense spending measure. House leadership hopes to hold votes on passage of all three bills by 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
House Appropriations subcommittees, meanwhile, plan to quickly approve five more FY 2025 spending bills this week – Commerce/Justice/Science, Energy and Water, Interior/Environment, Labor/HHS/Education, and Transportation/HUD. Amendments to the measures will not be voted on until the bills are considered by the full Appropriations Committee.
In other House news, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) said today in a Dear Colleague letter that “in the next few days” she will call up her resolution “holding Attorney General Merrick Garland in inherent contempt of Congress.” Once Luna deems her resolution as privileged, House leadership will have to schedule action on the resolution within two legislative days. Under inherent contempt, Luna wrote, “the individual is brought before the bar of the House by the Sergeant at Arms, tried by the body, and can then be detained either in the Capitol or in D.C.” Inherent contempt hasn’t been used since 1934, and there are no House rules for next steps by the House nor is there a protocol for the arrest of a Cabinet official.
The House voted on June 12 to hold Garland in contempt of Congress over his refusal to provide lawmakers with the audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur regarding classified documents. On June 14, the Justice Department said it would not prosecute Garland.
Committee Action of Note
Tuesday, June 25
Wednesday, June 26
Thursday, June 27
Friday, June 28
Political Update
Presidential Debate. On Thursday, June 27, at 9 p.m. EDT, President Biden and former President Trump will debate at the CNN studio in Atlanta. The debate will be moderated by Dana Bash and Jake Tapper, and there will be no live audience. Each candidate’s microphone will be muted when it is not his turn to speak. The 90-minute debate will have two commercial breaks, for three and a half minutes each. Other networks can also broadcast the debate (as long as they display the CNN logo).
Tuesday Primaries. Three states will be holding primaries on Tuesday – New York, Colorado, and Utah – and South Carolina will be having a runoff race. The most expensive House primary ever is taking place in New York’s 16th Congressional District, where Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman is facing a strong challenge from Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Of the $24 million spent or allocated to be spent, over $14 million is from the super PAC of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which is supporting Latimer.
In Colorado’s 4th District, there are actually two primary elections. In one, voters will select their party candidate to run in a November special election to fill the unexpired term of Rep. Ken Buck (R), who resigned in March. The winner in November will only serve until January. In the other set of primaries, voters will select their party candidates to run in November for a full two-year term, beginning in January. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R), who currently represents the 3rd District, is a candidate for the GOP nomination in Buck’s 4th District.
With the retirement of Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Republican voters will choose a nominee among four candidates, including Rep. John Curtis, who is leaving his 3rd District seat, where five Republicans are vying for the nomination to succeed him.
In South Carolina’s 3rd District, Mark Burns and Sheri Biggs were the top vote-getters in the June 11 Republican primary and will face each other Tuesday in a runoff for their party’s nomination in the race to succeed Rep. Jeff Duncan (R), who is retiring.
The House Republican Steering Committee this week is recommending leaders to helm committees in 2025.
Read MoreThe House and Senate have limited legislative agendas this week as they move toward a target adjournment date of December 20. To fill two House vacancies, Florida will hold special elections on April 1.
Read MoreBoth chambers are in session this week, but action will pick up dramatically when they return in December from the Thanksgiving break.
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