House GOP faces growing legislative backlog ahead of midterms
House Republicans have only about a month of work days left before November,yet their agenda is bogged down by canceled votes,floor chaos,and internal divisions as they try to protect a slim majority ahead of the midterms. The chamber still faces major must-pass items-including government funding, the highway bill, the farm bill, and a $70 billion immigration enforcement measure already approved by the Senate-as well as an urgent need to extend FISA, which expires Friday. Republicans also suggest the Senate is the main bottleneck, pointing to stalling tactics there, while some House GOP members don’t view slow progress as politically harmful because they prefer getting home in their districts.
Democrats,meanwhile,argue the House’s limited activity is a campaign weakness and have sought to exploit the GOP’s razor-thin control by forcing votes during the days the chamber is in session. Last week, the minority pushed through three votes in two meeting days, including a successful measure limiting Trump’s war powers in Iran (with several Republicans joining Democrats), additional Ukraine aid plus Russia sanctions (advanced via a discharge petition), and a failed effort to block Trump from aiding Israel’s campaign in Lebanon.
Time is running out for House Republicans to push through their legislative agenda before the midterm elections.
The House has about one month of work days until November as legislative business mounts and Republicans try to protect their fragile majority.
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Canceled votes and chaos on the floor have stacked high the legislation that needs consideration, including government funding bills, the highway bill, the farm bill, and the $70 billion immigration enforcement bill passed by the Senate last week.
Congress also has to pass an extension of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a tool used to surveil foreign nationals overseas without a warrant, which expires Friday. President Donald Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence may imperil the FISA bill.
The deadline comes as House GOP leadership has cancelled nine of the past 17 scheduled voting days because of internal divisions and gridlock. Late last month, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) canceled both Tuesday and Friday for voting days, leaving only two days on which members voted on legislation.
But Republicans aren’t too worried about the slow pace of progress.
“The largest hurdle obstructing the House of Representatives from accomplishing success on behalf of the American people is the Senate,” one GOP staffer told the Washington Examiner. “If they were to pass the bills the House has sent over, like DHS funding or housing, we would not see the disruptions in schedule we do. Their deliberate stalling of legislation is hindering the productiveness of our seven-month-to-go trifecta.”
Nor do they see it as an electoral liability.
“I’m for less government, so the less we are there, the better,” one GOP member told the Washington Examiner. “Plus, the more opportunities to be home in our districts listening and being with our families and constituents, the better. We spend too much time in D.C. as it is.”
Democrats, however, have taken notice and could try to turn the House’s lack of productivity into a campaign argument.
“House Republicans continue to remind voters that they are a complete and total failure when it comes to delivering for the American people. [Last] week, Republicans in the Congress worked only two days in D.C.,” the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said in a press release Friday.
Democrats have also taken advantage of Johnson’s razor-thin majority to command the floor when they can.
Just last week, the minority party forced three votes during the two days the House was in session.
“They made life worse for the American people, and so that’s one of the reasons why I’m convinced that Republicans continue to cancel votes and do everything they can every week to get out of town before Sunday,” Jeffries said last week.
The House passed a resolution Wednesday to rein in Trump’s war powers in Iran, as four Republicans joined all Democrats to get the measure across the finish line.
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They also voted to send an additional $1.3 billion in aid to Ukraine and impose new sanctions on Russia, as 18 Republicans joined nearly every Democrat to pass the measure. This bill was brought to the floor through a discharge petition. The parliamentary procedure bypasses the committee process and forces legislation directly to a floor vote if 218 lawmakers sign on in support.
The other forced vote was a failed attempt to bar Trump from aiding Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
Hailey Bullis contributed to this article.
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