President Biden’s announcement that he will no longer seek reelection to the White House is likely to resonate on Capitol Hill this week as lawmakers return to Washington amid a new political environment and a shaky presidential race.
The news – which shook the US, especially Washington – is already shaking the Democratic Party, with some lawmakers rushing to support Vice President Harris as a candidate, which Biden did immediately after his announcement, and others pushing for a open process.
Notably, top Democrats in Congress – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY) and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) – stopped short of endorsing Harris in the Sunday, raising questions about the way forward. convention next month.
Also this week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address a joint meeting of Congress, a highly anticipated speech that will highlight long-standing divisions in the Democratic Party over Israel. House lawmakers will also focus on the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Trump last weekend, which led to overwhelming scrutiny from the U.S. Secret Service.
On the Senate side, pressure will certainly increase on Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) to resign from office after being found guilty of bribery, acting as a foreign agent and other charges. The New Jersey Democrat remained defiant in saying he has no plans to abandon the upper chamber.
Biden gives up, storming the Capitol
Biden’s decision not to seek re-election in November will be the talk of the town on Capitol Hill this week, as Democrats chart their course through uncharted waters, Republicans call on Biden to resign from the White House, and members of both parties adjust to the new political environment that is taking shape less than four months before the November elections.
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers rallied around Harris after Biden’s announcement, which was immediately followed by his vice president’s endorsement. Schumer and Jeffries — the top Democrats in both chambers — however, stopped short of offering that support, a stance that raised some eyebrows.
Both Jeffries and Schumer spoke with Harris on Sunday.
The apprehension is not entirely unprecedented on the part of Jeffries, who typically avoids making significant decisions before meeting with the House Democratic Caucus and hearing the thoughts and concerns of all members. The group is scheduled to meet Tuesday morning for their weekly meeting.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told The Hill in a brief interview Sunday that he thinks some top Democrats may be holding off on endorsing Harris to downplay the image that the party is holding a coronation for the vice president. . Instead, he said, allow some kind of process that would inevitably end with Harris, as the nominee would make her stronger at the top of the ticket.
“There are those who believe that Kamala will be stronger and more legitimate if there is a little due process,” Huffman said. “But I don’t hear anyone suggesting that she won’t be the nominee at the end of this process. I just saw this inexorable consolidation happening in real time.”
Meanwhile, Harris is already moving to secure support on Capitol Hill. The vice president, who served four years in the Senate before moving to the White House, spoke with leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition, three key groups in the House that cover a diverse range of subjects. the Democratic Caucus.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said he heard from a member of Harris’ team, noting that his operation is officially underway.
“Her team is fully activated and the phones are ringing, the emails are blowing up, this thing is going on,” Huffman told The Hill in a brief interview Sunday. “It took off like a rocket.”
On the Republican side, lawmakers are calling on Biden to immediately resign from the presidency, arguing that he should not be allowed to finish his term – about six months – if he cannot run for re-election.
That sentiment comes from the top of the House GOP conference.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president. He must resign from office immediately,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote on Social Platform X. “November 5th can’t come soon enough.”
GOP lawmakers could translate their pleas into legislation. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), following Biden’s disastrous debate performance last month, introduced a resolution that calls on Harris to convene the Cabinet and declare Biden incapable of performing Oval Office duties. Harris, however, was unlikely to do so.
Representative Nancy Mace (RS.C.) announced on Sunday that she would introduce a similar resolution on Monday. And Representative Elise Stefanik (NY), chair of the House Republican Party conference, said that plans to present a resolution condemning Harris’ “role as Joe Biden’s ‘border czar,’ leading to the most catastrophic open border crisis in history,” a sign of the attacks Republicans could make on the likely new Democratic nominee.
Netanyahu will speak to Congress
Netanyahu is scheduled to give a speech to a joint meeting of Congress on Wednesday, a controversial appearance that will put Democratic disagreements over Israel in the spotlight.
The speech, scheduled for 2 p.m. in the House chamber, will be the latest flashpoint in long-running tensions between Israel’s staunchest allies in the Democratic Party and pro-Palestinian progressives who are up in arms over rising humanitarian deaths in Gaza Strip. .
Several liberals have already said they plan to boycott the speech, raising concerns about Netanyahu’s conservative government and its handling of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“I spoke to several members of the House and Senate, in fact, who went to the last speech, the last time he was here, even though they had a lot of questions about it, and they made it clear that they’re not planning on going this time,” he said. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told reporters last month.
She said she would not attend the speech.
The speech comes at an inopportune time for Democrats – including Biden – who are already dealing with the consequences of the president’s seismic decision not to run for re-election in November.
Biden is expected to meet with Netanyahu this week, although the timing of that meeting is not yet clear because the president is still recovering from COVID-19, a source familiar with Biden’s schedule said.The Associated Press.
Biden himself has had a difficult relationship with Netanyahu since the start of the war in the Middle East, while the Israeli prime minister has received criticism for his handling of the conflict. Biden told Time magazine, in an interview conducted at the end of May, that “there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion” that Netanyahu was prolonging the war in the region for his own political benefit.
Congress will focus on Trump assassination attempt
U.S. Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle, who faces widespread calls from Republicans to resign in the wake of the assassination attempt, is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight Committee in a 10 a.m. hearing on Monday.
Her appearance comes after Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) subpoenaed her to compel her presence, despite saying she had already agreed to appear, fearing she might withdraw from the hearing. In a rare bipartisan statement, Oversight Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) joined a statement with Comer encouraging her to attend.
While Cheatle testifies before the oversight panel, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) will lead a bipartisan group of panel members to visit the site of Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa. Monday. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), who was in the front row at the Trump rally during the shooting, will also attend.
Green scheduled his own hearing with the Homeland Security panel on Tuesday and invited Cheatle to testify along with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Chris Wray — although Wray and Mayorkas declined the invitation, saying according to a committee advisor.
The House is also scheduled to vote this week on creating a “task force,” as promised by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) last week, to investigate the assassination attempt. The resolution creating the task force makes it essentially function as a select committee, with 11 members in total, subject to approval by the President, including 5 appointed in “consultation” with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y. ).
Oresolutionthe creation of the task force is scheduled to be considered this week under suspension of the rules, requiring approval from two-thirds of the House.
The increased scrutiny on the Secret Service comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling on the agency’s director to resign from her position. Johnson, along with other Republicans, called on Cheatle to step aside, as did Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle (Pa.).
Menéndez highlighted in the Senate
The spotlight will be on Menendez when the Senate returns to session on Tuesday, which will mark the first time the upper chamber has returned to D.C. following the New Jersey Democrat’s criminal conviction.
Last week, a jury found Menéndez guilty of all 16 charges he faced, including charges of accepting lavish bribes in exchange for his political power and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt.
Several Senate Democrats, including Schumer, called on Menéndez to resign after his conviction or face expulsion. The New Jersey Democrat, however, likely won’t leave on his own terms. AfterNBC Newsreported that Menéndez was telling allies he would abandon Congress, the senator saidCBS New York“I can say that I have not resigned nor spoken to any of the so-called ‘allies’.”
“It seems to me that there is an effort to try to force me into a statement. Anyone who knows me knows that this is the worst way to achieve a goal with me,” she added.
Support for expulsion, however, will certainly pressure Schumer to come forward with punishing the senator. Senate sources say Schumer could hold a vote on the expulsion resolution, but note that recent House precedent says the matter would first be referred to the Senate Select Committee on Ethics, led by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) .
If Menéndez resigns or is expelled, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) would be tasked with naming the senator’s temporary replacement.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
