With important must-pass legislation up against intraparty fighting, the question is whether dysfunction or democracy will win
By Sean Lengell – Kiplinger Report
Congress can be summed up in two words: Busy, with some important must-pass items dominating an already crowded legislative calendar. And dysfunctional, as intraparty fighting escalates, particularly among House Republicans. The question is whether dysfunction will win.
Lawmakers must first fund the government. Several agencies will shut down on March 1. The rest will run out of money on March 8, unless Congress takes action. Lawmakers have already resorted to three temporary spending bills since the start of the 2024 fiscal year, which began on October 1. Expect Congress to avert a government shutdown, but not easily. They have little time left, and many members of both the House and Senate will be out of town on recess until later this month. That makes another stopgap funding bill more likely. Most lawmakers are eager to avoid a shutdown in an election year however, the political dynamics make even such a popular move a difficult prospect.
Keep an eye on Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), the speaker of the House, for now. Johnson has struggled to restore House Republican unity since taking the job last year, a difficulty compounded by the party’s razor-thin, two-vote cushion in the chamber. The speaker has frequently kept even top lieutenants in the dark about big decisions, and we may not know what course of action he’ll take until the last possible moment. Look for Johnson to do what he can to keep the GOP rank and file happy, as evidenced by the House’s recent impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of Homeland Security. The Senate is unlikely to convict Mayorkas and remove him from office, but the move won favor from many hard-line House Republicans.