By a vote of 52-48, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s nominee for OMB Director, has cleared a procedural vote. This move would allow a final vote on Mulvaney Thursday evening.
News and updates
More Movement Seen on Senior Administration Officials Front
Late Monday, recently appointed White House National Security Advisor Michael Flynn resigned from his post. The resignation was prompted by what he shared with Vice President Pence about his call with the Russian ambassador to the United States almost immediately following the Presidential election in November.
Flynn had reportedly told Pence that he did not discuss with the ambassador the sanctions levied against Russia by the Obama Administration. The Vice President then publicly supported Flynn’s claim. It was revealed late last week that the subject of the sanctions may have been discussed during the call between Flynn and the ambassador.
On the Cabinet front, Steve Mnuchin, a long-time executive at Goldman Sachs, was confirmed by the Senate mostly along party lines on Monday as the Treasury Secretary. Also on Monday, David Shulkin was confirmed unanimously by the Senate to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. In 2015, Shulkin was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to head the Veterans Health Administration.
A number of other Cabinet confirmations remain, including those for Secretary of Department of Labor and Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget.
This Week in Congress, Feb. 13-17
Here is a selection of committee hearings that are taking place this week.
U.S. Senate
Senate Environment & Public Works
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT MODERNIZATION
Feb. 15, 10 a.m., 406 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing
Senate Appropriations
MENTAL HEALTH CARE
Feb. 15, 10:30 a.m., 138 Dirksen Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing
Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation
U.S. MULTIMODAL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
Feb. 15, 2:30 p.m., 253 Russell Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing
Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs
FEDERAL PROGRAM WASTE-FRAUD-MISMANAGEMENT
Feb. 15, 2:45 p.m., 342 Dirksen Bldg.
Full Committee Hearing
U.S. House of Representatives
House Science, Space & Technology
STRENGTHENING U.S. CYBERSECURITY
Feb. 14, 10 a.m., 2318 Rayburn Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing
House Appropriations
MEMBER’S DAY
Feb. 15, 2 p.m., HT-2, U.S. Capitol
Subcommittee Hearing
House Energy & Commerce
MODERNIZING ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
Feb. 15, 10 a.m., 2123 Rayburn Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing
House Ways & Means
THE GEOGRAPHY OF POVERTY
Feb. 15, 10 a.m., 1100 Longworth Bldg.
Subcommittee Hearing
House Appropriations
MEMBER’S DAY
Feb. 16, 9:30 a.m., HT-2, U.S. Capitol
Subcommittee Hearing
More Cabinet Positions, House Works on Reg Repeal
Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s nominee for Treasury Secretary, will get a vote around 7 p.m. tonight in what’s become a drawn-out process in the Senate. Following the final vote on Mnunchin there will a procedural vote on on David Shulkin to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
Mnunchin is expected to pass and once he does the Treasury Secretary is expected take on a big lift immediately as President Trump has promised to unveil a big tax-cutting plan in coming weeks. Whatever is reveals, it is sure to set off a partisan firestorm. It will fall to Mnuchin to translate the President’s campaign promises on tax relief for all individuals and corporations into legislation that might be approved by a politically polarized Congress.
As early as this week, the Senate is also likely to confirm Rep. Mick Mulvaney as the new White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director. Mulvaney, a founding member of the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, is also sure to rankle defense hawks worried about military spending.
Trump has promised to increase defense spending to boost a military force, so even if Mulvaney supports reining in all federal spending, the defense budget is likely to increase by tens of billions of dollars above current levels in each of the next few years. The Pentagon is expect to seek tens of billions of dollars from Congress to implement Trump’s vow to rebuild the military.
It is expected that the Senate will vote on at least on other nominee this week — either Perry, Pruitt, or Zinke — but no other nominees have not been scheduled for a vote thus far.
Meanwhile, the next big nomination fight over President Trump’s Cabinet nominees is moving from Betsy DeVos to Andrew Puzder, who will appear before the Senate HELP Committee on Thursday. The hearing has been delayed four times while the Office of Government Ethics awaited paperwork. It took some time to work out a plan to divest holdings in CKE Restaurants, the fast-food company (parent to the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s chains) of which Puzder is chairman.
On the other side of the Hill, the House convenes at noon to consider a bill on surveying the boundary along the Red River in Oklahoma and Texas. Later this week, the House is expected to take up five “disapproval resolutions” to roll back rules undertaken during the Obama Administration including two Labor Department rules on savings arrangements for non-governmental employees and a resolution that would disapprove the District of Columbia Council’s approving the Death with Dignity Act of 2016.
What We’re Reading This Week, February 6 -10
Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is reading this week.
Nominees – As Trump’s cabinet moves on through the Senate to be confirmed, it is confusing as to who has been confirmed when. Read about the status in The Washington Post.
Whither Funding? – The appropriations process this year will be a tough slog and there are many variables. There have been accounts of particular concern, like the EPA and NASA Earth Science. How will the House Appropriators handle some of these programs given the rhetoric coming from the Trump Administration? One senior Republican House Appropriator, Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), has committed support to NASA Earth Science. Read more in Science Policy.
No Mas Sanctuary – Cities refusing to help enforce US immigration law are already under pressure from the Trump Administration, which has threatened to pull federal funding. Now, some could lose state money as well. A Texas bill that would require local municipalities to comply with federal immigration authorities cleared a major hurdle Wednesday when it passed a final Senate vote on party lines…and this isn’t the only state legislature looking at bills like this. Read more in The Wall Street Journal.
Indivisible Rocking Republicans – Dubbed the liberal version of the Tea Party, the group called “Indivisible” is rocking Republicans through their highly organized tactics and efforts. The group is helping local protesters storm local Congressional offices through physical visits and clogging phone lines (both from constituents and out of state activists). Members are beefing up their physical protection from demonstrators. Founded by former Democratic staffers, who saw first-hand the impact of the Tea Party on the Obama agenda, they are organized, they are strategic, and they are getting Member’s attention. Read more in Politico.
Crashed – Following remarks by Trump Senior Advisor Kellyann Conway in support of Ivanka Trump’s clothing brand, the Government Ethics website was crashed and was down for several hours on Thursday after it reported a surge in contacts from members of the public. Read more in The Hill.
Republicans 4 Climate Change – A group of Republican elder statesmen are calling for a tax on carbon emissions to fight climate change. The group, led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, with former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Henry M. Paulson Jr., a former Secretary of the Treasury, says that taxing carbon pollution produced by burning fossil fuels is “a conservative climate solution” based on free-market principles. Mr. Baker is scheduled to meet on Wednesday with White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Jared Kushner , the senior adviser to the president, and Gary D. Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, as well as Ivanka Trump. Read more in The New York Times.
Fissures and Cracks – Congressional Republicans are divided over how best to repeal and replace Obamacare, a discussion that highlighted the vast divisions among the GOP rank-in-file as pressure mounts to develop repeal and replacement strategies and mechanisms. Read more in Politico.
Farm Bust – Soon there will be fewer than two million farms in America for the first time since pioneers moved westward after the Louisiana Purchase. Across the heartland, a multiyear slump in prices for corn, wheat and other farm commodities brought on by a glut of grain world-wide is pushing many farmers further into debt. Some are shutting down, raising concerns that the next few years could bring the biggest wave of farm closures since the 1980s. Read more in The Wall Street Journal.
DeVos on Higher Ed – As Education Secretary Betsy DeVos began her first full day on the job Wednesday, college leaders and analysts were watching for signs of where the Trump administration stands on student debt, for-profit regulations and other higher education issues. DeVos, whom the Senate narrowly confirmed Tuesday, has been somewhat vague about her vision for higher ed, although that sector accounts for a significant share of the work of the Education Department. Read more from in The Washington Post.
GOP Gets Bolder – Congressional Republicans are becoming more critical of President Trump amid the shaky rollout of his executive order on immigration and the lack of clear progress on his legislative agenda. Read more in The Hill.