McConnell said Republicans would prevent the replacement of Feinstein on the Judiciary panel

The House Judiciary Committee can’t deal with the debt limit crisis without throwing a baby in the bath, but they will return in the Capitol after a two-week recess

Lawmakers face a lengthy to-do list as they return to the Capitol after a two-week recess to confront a series of critical issues ranging from a looming debt limit crisis to the fallout from a leak of highly classified Pentagon documents.

Republicans are threatening to pass their own debt ceiling increase with spending cuts if the issue of raising the debt ceiling is not resolved in a matter of months.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will deliver a speech on the economy at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday, where he will address the looming crisis. A major challenge for House Republicans is whether they will be able to coalesce behind a detailed list of cuts.

There is a plan for raising the debt ceiling that would involve cuts and revenue raisers and it is currently being worked on by the House Republican leadership.

The debt limit issue should be addressed immediately, without brinksmanship or hostage taking, as Republicans did three times in the last administration and as Presidents Trump and Reagan argued for in office, according to a statement by the White House before McCarthy’s speech.

Senate Democrats have broadly supported Feinstein’s request to give her more time to recover. There will be new pressure on Feinstein with no GOP support to replace her.

There is a reason that the Senate Judiciary Committee has to keep postponing votes on judges. The committee is tied without Feinstein. The power-sharing agreement of the last Congress allowed for a nominee to be discharged from the committee and put on the floor if they were tied. The rule is no longer in effect according to an aide for the committee.

McConnell, who has been out recovering from a fall, said he will be back in the Senate on Monday. He will be back in the Senate after the recess period, after treatment for clinical depression, says Fetterman’s office.

The Mueller investigation of the Pentagon leak, and the veto of a House bill to overturn the DC policing bill, as reported by a White House official

Concern and frustration from lawmakers over highly classified Pentagon documents leaked online in recent weeks will also be center stage as congressional leaders press the administration for information and details about how the damaging leak happened and what the consequences will be for allies and adversaries of the US now that sensitive intelligence has been revealed.

McCarthy said on Friday that House committees will investigate the leak. A Senate Democratic aide said that all the senators would get a briefing on the leaked documents on Wednesday. CNN has been told that there will be a classified briefings for all House members on Wednesday.

Key lawmakers are continuing to look at classified documents at the homes of Biden, Trump, and Pence as they assess the potential ramifications from those improper storage of materials.

Congress was not in session when Trump made history as he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records in a Manhattan criminal court. Lawmakers, and in particular Republicans, are sure to be pressed by reporters for their reaction to those developments back on Capitol Hill.

Among other legislative items, the House as early as Monday plans to vote on a bipartisan measure “condemning recent actions taken by the Russian military to down a United States Air Force drone.”

The House is expected to pass a resolution against the DC policing bill. If the resolution passes the House, it would next go to the Senate.

The decision to overturn the controversial DC crime bill was made by both houses of Congress, and angered some Democrats who argued that the federal government should not have a say in the district’s affairs.

Biden would veto the GOP legislation to overturn police reform in Washington DC if it made it to his desk, according to a White House official.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/17/politics/congress-returns-recess/index.html

The Senate Judiciary Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee on the Biden Nomination: The Case for Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court, Russia, and Ukraine

The Republicans want to change the law to allow athletes of the same sex to participate in women’s and girls sports, a measure the Democrats denounced as an attack on trans youth.

A key Biden nominee, Julie Su to be labor secretary, will also face scrutiny in the weeks ahead as Republicans paint her as too liberal to head that department. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a hearing on the nomination on Thursday. The performance of the nominee during the hearing will be crucial to see if she can be confirmed.

The House Judiciary Committee will be in New York on Monday for a field hearing with Republicans expected to highlight violent crime in New York City as part of the GOP effort to discredit Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg amid the criminal case against Trump. A spokesperson for the DA’s office called the hearing “a political stunt.”

A high-profile legal battle over medication abortion has sparked anxiety among Democrats, who are likely to put a spotlight on the issue when they return to Washington. The Senate Judiciary Committee has announced plans to hold a hearing during the upcoming work period on the consequences and aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The Senate Judiciary committee will be holding a hearing about the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethics standards. That comes in the wake of a ProPublica report that conservative Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose that he and his wife have gone on several luxury trips involving travel subsidized by and stays at properties owned by a GOP megadonor.

The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan with Republicans expected to criticize fallout from the move.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing about Russian war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine the same day. The prosecutor general of Ukraine is set to testify.

Reply to Senator Susan Collins’ Call for Rigorous Reform of the Judiciary System under Donald Trump and Speaker Pelosi: Sen. McConnell’s Remarks

GOP sources said Sunday it was unlikely the leader would agree to this but that there was still a final decision to be made on how to proceed.

That could cause a blowback from the right if McConnell agrees to the demands of the Democrats.

“I don’t think Republicans can or should help President Biden’s most controversial nominees,” the Texas Republican said. “I support having Sen. Feinstein come back as soon as she can. But this effort to confirm controversial and in many instances largely unqualified nominees, I don’t think you can expect any Republican cooperation.”

Tensions came to a head last week when two Democratic House members – Ro Khanna of California and Dean Phillips of Minnesota – called on Feinstein to resign, an unusual breach in precedent. Hours later, Feinstein issued a public statement and requested to be pulled, albeit temporarily, from a committee where she cemented a decades-long legacy.

The Senate will be working without Feinstein during the leadership meeting on Monday evening, so how long can the Senate operate without her? When will pressure build for her to just resign?

Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, praised Feinstein, saying she was a good friend and that she had been an extraordinary senator. During the past two years, there’s been a concerted campaign to force her off of the Judiciary committee and I will have no part of that.”

McConnell was the central architect of the Republican Party’s judicial gain in this country and he was a tactician in the Senate. No one gets the importance of building the courts more than McConnell. The Kentucky senator isn’t afraid of stonewalling Supreme Court vacancies, ending the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees, or changing the judicial system under Donald Trump. In other words, don’t assume he’ll make this easy for Democrats to replace Feinstein.

The Good News: Dianne and Dick McConnell will be with us for the rest of the next two years, but we’ll have to wait for her return

The good news is that Dianne will be here for two more years, that is very positive news for Elaine and me, and we were sad to lose Dick recently, but it is good news for both of us.

Through their service, the two forged a bipartisan relationship that transcends some of the bitter discourse that has emerged in the last decade. McConnell fractured a rib and suffered a concussion after tripping and falling at an event in Washington.

When Schumer will ask the Senate to change it is subject to tedious negotiations on the front end to see what can be done before he brings it to the floor.

“So let’s be clear: Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporary absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees,” McConnell said Tuesday.

McConnell characterized the request to replace Feinstein on one committee as “unusual”, and said Feinstein was a dear friend.

The GOP leadership team member told the reporters that she would not support a replacement. We’re not going to help the Democrats with that.”

“I think that she is anxious to come back and so we’ll have to wait,” Stabenow said. I want her to be treated like everyone else, and I think she has been such a force over the years that I just want her to be respected. She’ll make the right decision.”

Lindsey Graham, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. John Cornyn, an adviser to McConnell

Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, objected to the request and praised the California Democrat. He thinks Schumer wants to get more judges confirmed.

“She’s a dear friend and we hope for her speedy recovery and return back to the Senate. Graham said this is about a handful of judges that they can’t get the votes for.

Schumer said he hopes she will return soon, and if she can’t return by May, he should consider resigning.

He told CNN he had talked with Schumer about becoming the temporary replacement for Feinstein but didn’t discuss it with her.

“I recognize the importance of the numbers on the committee, and this way we can be able to conduct business. I look at it as a way to deal with a current situation.

Many congressional Democrats have remained largely supportive of her decision to remain in office while absent from the Capitol as she recovers from shingles.

The Illinois Democrat said that the absence of her will affect the Democrats ability to confirm nominees, pointing to the lengthy process of getting nominees scheduled for votes during floor time.

Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a senior member on the Judiciary Committee and close adviser to McConnell, told CNN that he opposes the effort to replace Feinstein on the panel.