President Trump has signed into law a two-week continuing resolution (CR). The most recent CR pushes back the deadline for an agreement on the unsigned FY2019 spending bills to December 21.
News and updates
Two-Week CR Expected Today
Congress is expected to take up today a two-week continuing resolution to keep the entire federal government operating through December 21.
The negotiations between the different sides during this additional two-week window will determine what happens after the new shutdown deadline.
Two-Week Extension of Federal Funding Expected
Another continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government funded past midnight on Saturday was released yesterday. This version of the CR would keep the parts of the government funded by spending bills not yet signed into law for another two weeks, pushing the deadline to reach a deal to December 21.
With the original December 7 deadline approaching, many had been expecting a partisan showdown this week over issues like funding for a border wall. However, with Washington paying tribute to President George H.W. Bush for much of this week, it appears that the two sides will resume discussions at a future date.
Pelosi Wins Democratic Nomination for Speaker
Yesterday, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) officially won the nod as the Democratic nominee for Speaker for the 116th Congress. The vote among Democrats was 203 to 32, with three abstentions.
With no other candidate running against her, even after a number of Democrats pledging not to back her as Speaker, her status as the Democratic nominee was not in question. However, as the Speaker must be elected by the entire House and not just the majority party, Pelosi must still go before the entire House when it convenes in January. It remains to be seen as to how many votes she’ll ultimately be able to garner in the chamber.
In addition to Pelosi’s nomination as Speaker, the House Democrats chose Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Jim Clyburn (D-SC) as the Majority Leader and Majority Whip, respectively.
Congress Returns To Try To Address Unresolved Issues
Both chambers of Congress return this week in an attempt to address several unresolved issues.
With respect to policy, the current continuing resolution (CR) that is funding programs and agencies supported by the seven unsigned appropriations bill runs out at midnight on December 8. Congress and the White House must come to an agreement on how to address their differences in order to prevent a partial shutdown of the government. The most high profile of these issues are the White House’s insistence on $5 billion for a border wall along the Southern border and the Congressional Democrats’ recent push on including provisions that would protect Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller in the final spending package. A host of other disagreements on lower profile must also be ironed out.
While another CR is possible, the 116th Congress, one in which Democrats will control the House, convenes on January 3. This fact may drive some of the negotiations during the lame duck session.
In preparation for the 116th Congress, the House Democrats are scheduled to elect their leadership team this Wednesday. The only remaining question about the elections is whether Nancy Pelosi will have enough support from her colleagues to return to the Speaker position. While there is no Member who has announced their candidacy in opposition to her, there seems to be some question as to how many Democrats will oppose her in the end.