The House of Representatives is back in town after not voting since July 23.
But the House is only back for less than a week. And the Senate doesn’t even return until Monday, September 14.
The first day of school, this is not.
House members descending on the Capitol this week – then abandoning Washington for Labor Day is kind of like the third and final preseason game in the NFL.
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Lots of fans show up for the first game of the NFL preseason. It’s usually a nice – if sweltering – August night. Not some bone-shivering chill in Cleveland with a foot of snow on the ground in mid-December. There’s anticipation. The first look at the new team. The first tailgate. First-string players and highly touted draft picks even play a series or two.
But by the third preseason game, few want to be there.
The die is cast for the roster spots. Players are cut. Even the most robust fans only show up for a quarter or two.
In the NFL, everyone is waiting for the regular season to begin in a few weeks.
That’s kind of where things are now in the House. Congress has tackled most of its business for the year. The highly-touted GOP “Reconciliation 3.0” likely falls by the wayside. Lawmakers even tucked into bed the usual autumn drama surrounding a possible government shutdown. The chances of a repeat following last year’s 43-day shutdown saga dissipated in early August when the Senate approved an interim, bipartisan bill which will fund the government through December 11. The House votes on that bill Tuesday.
Everyone on Capitol Hill is now waiting for the regular season to begin. That’s what awaits the body politic following the midterm elections in November.
And most members don’t even want to linger in Washington right now. As fast as they came to Washington, they wanted to skate out of town to campaign. That’s why attendance might be sparse over the next few days.
The House had 384 members present for one non-controversial measure Monday night. A second vote recorded 388 members present. Those attendance figures could slide if the House returns to Washington in mid-September – as the schedule dictates. Especially among those who either lost their primaries or are retiring. In fact, Fox is told that some members in both camps have even considered resigning early.
Imagine what that could do to the narrow Republican majority.
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So, will the House stick it out this week, go home and come back in a few weeks?
“Are we going to be here the entire period?” yours truly asked House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “We’re going to be here this week and then we’re going to come back in a couple weeks?”
“Well, it’s on the schedule,” Johnson replied.
That’s a schedule which the House Republican leadership etched out last December – on the heels of that epic government shutdown.
Who could have anticipated that government funding could work out so easily this time around.
So what’s on the agenda?
Republicans plan a vote on a resolution to get Democrats on the record of either supporting socialism or democracy. In other words, the GOP wants Democrats to put their voting cards where their policies are.
“They want to abolish things like the U.S. Supreme Court. The United States Senate,” said Rep. Jeff Crank R-Colo.
Republicans hope to compel Democrats to either accept or reject progressive, left-wing ideologies.
“We need to see where Democrats stand on this because the American people are rejecting it,” said Rep. Tom Tiffany R-Wis., on Fox.
“They’re going to try to distance themselves as much as they can,” said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. “But the fact is that’s where the Democratic Party is going. That’s where the energy of the Democratic Party is going.”
This is what’s described in Congress as a “gotcha” vote. Republicans will dare Democrats to vote no. And if they do, the GOP will deploy that vote against vulnerable Democrats in campaign ads this fall.
Some Democrats could vote to reject any relationship with socialism. In fact, the vote could give those Democrats a gift to say they’re opposed to socialists in the Democratic Party. But Republicans ensconced a measure in the resolution which could oblige Democrats to vote no.
The measure includes the SAVE America Act. That’s the hallmark of the GOP’s agenda. It requires proof of citizenship for voting. Most Democrats view the SAVE America Act as a poison pill. So Democrats could vote nay. And some Republicans will still say “gotcha” if they oppose it.
“The resolution elevates the so-called Save America Act, which is just the ‘suppress the vote act,’ said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries D-N.Y. “I’m not clear how many Democrats are actually going to support a resolution whose focus is on trying to rig the midterm election by elevating this voter suppression legislation that Donald Trump has been trying to jam down the throats of the American people for the last year.”
The House could also wrestle with a resolution to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C. He admitted to inappropriate conduct around female aides and dropped his reelection bid. There could be an effort to expel Rep. Cory Mills R-Fla. He faces allegations of financial misconduct and alleged assault of a woman at his apartment last year. But Mills lost his primary.
Then there is Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio. The Ohio Republican faces allegations of spousal and child abuse. Republicans implored Miller to drop his reelection bid. But Miller doubled down, saying the allegations are false.
Johnson says he supports Miller’s “reelection.” He contends the House shouldn’t take action until the Ethics Committee completes its inquiry.
“He has been a great Member of Congress,” said Johnson of Miller. “He has some personal issues he’s still working through.”
But it’s possible Democrats – and even some Republicans – could engineer a special resolution to expel or otherwise punish Miller. Johnson and the GOP leadership want nothing to do with that. So the solution? Get lawmakers off Capitol Hill and back into their districts. Fast.
Yes, it’s unclear what the Senate may address when it returns in a few weeks. But House Republicans are more concerned with clinging to their narrow majority in November. So recessing until after the election could prove to be the safest political tactic for Republicans.
Don’t be surprised if the House leaves Washington until November in the next few days.
Think it’s not possible? Get right out of town.