Rule for debate on war supplemental heads to House floor

Table Of Content

• Colorado Rep. Boebert is in the mix as a potential "present" vote, sources say
• Members, 116th Congress
• H. Rept. 118-206
• Rep. Byron Donalds says it was "super humbling" to receive votes for House speaker
• Here's what's in the foreign aid package that House Republicans are debating
• How much of your tax dollars are going to Israel and Ukraine

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, set to be the highest-ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, criticized Kevin McCarthy for trading spending cuts in exchange for votes for his bid to become speaker. “It’s just not the job I think I want to do, but what I do respect is you know, my colleagues' view of me as a leader in this chamber. And so, you know, sometimes you have to step into that gap to try to either forge consensus or get something done. A majority of those present and voting is required to get the speakership, which is usually 218 lawmakers. But if enough people skip the vote or vote “present,” the number of votes required for a majority can drop. Embattled Rep.-elect George Santos, who said he spoke to Rep. Kevin McCarthy today, said there is “no need” to have conversations with the GOP leader about potentially not getting committee assignments.

Colorado Rep. Boebert is in the mix as a potential "present" vote, sources say

CNN has asked the congressman-elect dozens of questions over the past several days about the federal probe into his finances and the lies he's told, and he has not responded to those questions. McCarthy’s team believes they have the votes to win tonight and are already taking steps to organize the House soon after his expected victory, according to multiple GOP sources. GOP Rep. Kevin McCarthy gained more support in the 13th round of voting but ultimately failed to win the speakership. Moderate Republicans are beginning to balk at some of the terms in the package, and have threatened to vote against it. "Look, history judges us for what we do," he said, adding, "This is a critical time right now critical time on the world stage. I could make a you know I can make a selfish decision and do something that that's different. But I'm doing here what I believe to be the right thing."

Members, 116th Congress

In essence, so long as a majority of the House is willing to vote for a special rule, there is little that the Rules Committee cannot do. However, it was only partially successful; the Rules Committee continued to block legislation including civil rights and education bills. Gosar's announcement came shortly after a House vote to advance foreign aid bills to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel, which required Democrats' support to offset GOP defections. Democratic votes will also be needed on Friday to pass a procedural measure, known as a rule, to allow the aid package to be brought up, in what is expected to be yet another unorthodox vote in the face of Republican opposition.

H. Rept. 118-206

Several Republican members who switched their votes to support McCarthy on Friday said they are encouraged by a framework of an agreement, but provided no specifics about the deal and said talks are ongoing. But there’s now concern that McCarthy’s troubled bid for the speakership – a history-defying effort that has led to more than a dozen unsuccessful votes this week – could put further limitations on Ukraine aid. The Biden administration on Friday announced its largest drawdown yet in US military assistance to Ukraine, but there are lurking concerns that Republicans wielding newfound power in Washington could stand in the way of future aid – especially as chaos brews in the House. "If I operated out of fear over a motion to vacate, I would never be able to do my job," Johnson told reporters.

Rep. Byron Donalds says it was "super humbling" to receive votes for House speaker

A fourth bill tacked onto the package  would impose sanctions on Russia and Iran, on multinational criminal organizations for fentanyl trafficking, Iranian petroleum and missiles, among other matters. The legislation also targets the TikTok social media platform, and would give Chinese owner ByteDance Ltd. up to a year to divest the app. Still, Johnson faces an ouster threat from Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Massie and possibly others over his handling of the supplemental funding package. GOP Reps. Matt Rosendale and Eli Crane are also considered top targets of McCarthy allies in these final hours before returning to the floor, but it wasn't previously known Boebert is a possibility.

But a lot of the times, this is a decision that happens, and then you walk down that path,” he said. Donalds said he’s “probably not” open to the possibility of being speaker at some point in the future, but he respects being considered. Rep. Byron Donalds flipped his vote to Rep. Kevin McCarthy on Friday, but at one point during the ongoing speaker race, he received the support of 19 fellow members. Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s team believes they have the votes to win the speakership tonight and are already taking steps to organize the House soon after his expected victory, according to multiple GOP sources.

Home to more than 10% of the U.S. population, California usually sees one of its senators receive a seat on the Appropriations committee, which decides how the government appropriates money, or on the Armed Services committee. Padilla could opt to let go of his seat on the Environment and Public Works committee in exchange for more power on Appropriations, Schiller said. Soon after news broke Friday that Feinstein, 90, had died overnight, Republican leaders indicated that they would not attempt to block Democrats from filling her committee assignments, including on the powerful Judiciary and Appropriations committees. House Democrats played a key role in helping GOP leaders advance legislation to provide nearly $95 billion in stalled funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, teeing up a vote on final passage on Saturday. "I don't defend the performance of the speaker, I don't defend the actions that have been taken," Good told reporters after the Friday vote.

Rep. Tom Cole tapped to serve as House Appropriations Committee chair - Axios

Rep. Tom Cole tapped to serve as House Appropriations Committee chair.

Posted: Tue, 09 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

How much of your tax dollars are going to Israel and Ukraine

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, announced the proposal on Monday amid mounting pressure from members in both parties to hold a vote on a bipartisan Senate package that includes support for the U.S. allies. The $95 billion supplemental funding package that passed the Senate in February has stagnated for months in the House as Johnson has debated a path forward. Normally senators are assigned to committees by unanimous consent, but that motion can be filibustered. If a senator objects, Democrats would need 60 votes to appoint someone to fill Feinstein’s committee assignments. With an evenly divided Senate, they would need help from 10 senators to fill out the committees. Democrats also took the extremely rare step of voting to advance the Republican foreign aid bills out of the Rules Committee late Thursday night.

It failed to advance out of the Rules Committee, but the House will consider it under a suspension of the rules, which means it will require two-thirds support to pass. Democrats, who stepped in late Thursday to save a resolution paving the way for the foreign aid package to be considered, will have to do so again on Friday in a critical vote on the House floor. The Rules panel vote came after a lengthy recess behind closed doors as party leaders negotiated which amendments would be allowed as part of the rule.

Following through would be a departure from their refusal in the spring to appoint a temporary replacement to the Judiciary committee while Feinstein was out for months to recover from a shingles infection. Feinstein’s absence meant Democrats didn’t have enough votes to get judicial nominees out of committee without Republican support. "If Mike Johnson is removed simply because he put aid to our allies on the floor, No. 1, it'll cause another prolonged amount of chaos. And No. 2, it will make it that much harder for the next speaker to do the right thing at the right time." Progress on the aid package came amid reports of Israeli missile strikes on targets in Iran, a response to Iranian drone and missile attacks against Israeli targets on Saturday. The third bill, totaling $8.1 billion, would provide nearly $4 billion in security assistance to Taiwan and other regional allies along with money to replenish depleted U.S. stocks, $3.3 billion for submarine infrastructure and more.

The House has reconvened to vote for a speaker after lawmakers voted earlier Friday to adjourn until 10 p.m. Some on the far right have threatened to oust Johnson from the speakership over additional funding to Ukraine, which they oppose. The effort, led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, so far has two other backers — Massie and Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona. In particular, it would allow the sale of frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to help fund future aid to Ukraine, potentially force the sale of TikTok and authorize stricter sanctions on Russia, China and Iran.

In the 1890s and 1900s, Reed and his successor, Joseph Gurney Cannon (R-Illinois) used the Rules Committee to centralize the power of the Speakership. Although their power to place members in committees and perform other functions was limited by a forced rule change in 1910, the Rules Committee retained its power. However, it ceased to function as the personal project of the Speaker, as it had originally; instead, as the seniority system took root, it was captured by a coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans. As for Feinstein’s position on the Senate Appropriations committee, such a seat rarely would go to a freshman senator, particularly one not planning to run for a full term, as would likely be the case with whomever Newsom appoints as Feinstein’s successor. It might be a logical move for Padilla, though, Schiller said, who ran for and won a full term after initially being appointed to his Senate seat. California was in the unusual position of having two senators on the Judiciary committee.

In the 1970s, however, the Rules Committee was firmly under the command of the Speaker once again. As before, its primary role is to come up with special rules, to help or obstruct the chances of legislation reported to it. For the first fifty years of its existence, it accomplished little beyond simply reaffirming these rules, and its role was very noncontroversial. On June 16, 1841, it made a major policy change, reducing from 2⁄3 to 1⁄2 the fraction of votes needed in the House to close debate and vote on a bill. When a bill is reported out of one of the other committees, it does not go straight to the House floor, because the House, unlike the United States Senate, does not have unlimited debate and discussion on a bill. Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond.

After the procedural vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he was "happy the rule passed," and said if it hadn't, the House would have been forced by a discharge petition to pass the Senate version of the bill, which he referred to as a "blank check for foreign aid." The Committee has the authority to do virtually anything during the course of consideration of a measure, including deeming it passed. The Committee can also include a self- executed amendment which could rewrite just parts of a bill, or the entire measure.