What to Know in Washington: Strife, Attendance Slow Senate Work

Legislating in the Senate has slowed to a crawl so far this year as partisanship, absences, and other distractions have thwarted substantial floor action.

The chamber’s business has so far largely been confined to confirming President Joe Biden’s nominees and dispensing with Republican-led challenges to administration regulation.

While the Senate has always been the more deliberative chamber by design, the current sluggish pace underscores the difficulty in making laws with a recently divided Congress. Protracted negotiations over government spending during the debt limit stand-off stalled the appropriations process, and Republican objections to even routine nominations has prompted Democrats to expend more floor time considering judiciary and executive agency nominations.

Democrats, who hold a slim majority, also face the challenge of mustering votes as a result of illness and other absences.

Photographer: Ting Shen/Bloomberg

Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said attendance is a big factor in how much Senate gets done.

“Attendance drives a lot,” said Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). “We just don’t know any given day how we’re going to be doing. And it’s a reason why this has been been hit and miss.”

The pace may be about to pick up as Senate committees tee up high-impact, bipartisan bills that could hit the floor as soon as this summer and fall.

Even if the chamber increases its legislative activity, disputes between the parties that slowed action in the first half of year aren’t going away.

If the Senate agrees on certain must-pass appropriations and other bills, leaders still face difficult negotiations with House Republicans eager to plant their conservative mark on federal spending and policy. Zach C. Cohen outlines what’s on the agenda and where roadblocks might occur.

BIDEN’S AGENDA

• Biden returns to the White House from San Francisco at 6:20 p.m.
• The president and first lady welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the White House at 6:50 p.m. and host him for dinner at 7:15 p.m.

CONGRESS’ SCHEDULE

• The House returns at noon to vote on health insurance bills and a veto override.
• The Senate returns at 10 a.m. to vote on nominees and a veto override.

More From the Hill Today

Fed Picks Pledge to Cool Inflation in Senate Nomination Hearing

Three Federal Reserve nominees — two of them current central bank policymakers — said tackling inflation would be their top priority if confirmed to roles at the central bank.

US Could Lose Billions Under Global Minimum Tax

The US stands to lose billions of dollars in tax revenue if it joins the world in enacting a 15% global minimum tax, and could lose even more if it doesn’t enact the tax itself, according to a new analysis from the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Dobbs Abortion Lawyer Confirmed to US Appeals Court in Boston

Julie Rikelman, whose reproductive rights advocacy culminated in a Supreme Court loss that overturned Roe v. Wade, won bipartisan confirmation as a federal appellate judge.

Boebert Plans House Vote on Impeaching Biden

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) announced plans Tuesday to force a vote on impeaching Biden over his handling of immigration.

AI Faces Growing Scrutiny

Congress Needs ‘Humility’ to Forge AI Policies

Congress is preparing to face the unprecedented challenge of regulating artificial intelligence, but must “exercise humility” as it moves ahead, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to announce today.

• Biden said his administration wants to ensure that AI systems are safe before they reach the public as he met business leaders and experts to discuss new safeguards for the emerging technology. Read more.

ChatGPT Poses New Regulatory Questions for FDA, Medical Industry

Large language models popularized by ChatGPT show up in nearly all of FDA Commissioner Robert Califf’s speeches lately, as he makes clear he wants to get ahead of regulating the disruptive technology.

US Policy on China, India, and Ukraine

Modi Looks to Solidify India’s Tech Ambition

Narendra Modi arrives in the US on his first official state visit with India’s geopolitical clout higher than at any point since he took power in 2014. He’ll be looking to leverage that to become an indispensable partner for American tech ambitions.

• Tesla is likely to make a significant investment in India, CEO Elon Musk said after meeting with Modi. Read more.

Winning EV Battery Race Is 21st Century Moonshot

The US needs to make up ground lost to Chinese battery makers and dominate the next generation of the technology, a bipartisan group of lawmakers said after meeting the chief executives of Ford and General Motors in Detroit.

Chinese Official Blasts US Over Taiwan

China accused the US of tampering with its political promises on Taiwan, days after a high-level meeting brought hope of stabilizing ties, showing the limits to resolving fundamental differences between the world’s two largest economies.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping was unaware that the alleged spy balloon that floated over the US had blown off course until the matter became an international incident, Biden told donors at an event on Tuesday. Read more.

Pentagon Says $6 Billion Error Allows More Arms for Ukraine

The Pentagon said it will be able to spend $6 billion more than originally expected on arms for Ukraine thanks to what it called accounting errors. The Defense Department overstated the value of weapons sent from its stockpiles by $2.6 billion in fiscal 2022 and $3.6 billion in fiscal 2023, deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters Tuesday.

• While speaking in London at the Ukraine Recovery conference, Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledged an additional $1.3 billion in assistance to help Ukraine rebuild following the Russian invasion. Most of the funds will be directed to restoring the country’s battered energy grid and critical infrastructure ranging from ports to rail lines and border crossings. Read more.

Politics, Probes, and 2024

An Aggressive Supreme Court Reshapes US as Its Standing Erodes

The Supreme Court, in the midst of a run of decisions that have stress-tested the core principles of US democracy, has rarely been so aggressive in using its powers — or been viewed with more skepticism by Americans.

Alito Failed to Report Trip With Billionaire

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito failed to disclose a luxury fishing trip he took with billionaire Paul Singer and then declined to recuse himself from cases involving the hedge fund founder, ProPublica reported.

Trump Lawyer Stands Ethics Trial Over Election Plot

Conservative lawyer John C. Eastman defended telling state lawmakers that they had the authority to decertify election results if fraud was uncovered in the 2020 presidential election and pushed back when asked questions that he said violated attorney-client privilege.

Scott Tries to Distinguish Himself From GOP Rivals in Town Hall

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) used a Fox News town hall on Tuesday night to elevate his candidacy for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Blunt Rochester to Run for Senate

Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) has filed paperwork to run as a Senate candidate, according to a FEC filing.

5th Cir. Partially Upholds Religious Carveout to LGBT Rights

A federal appeals court in New Orleans partially affirmed a lower court order allowing religious for-profit employers to disregard anti-discrimination protections for LGBT workers enshrined in a recent watershed Supreme Court ruling.

What Else We’re Reading

Long Covid’s Mental Health Ills Draw Targeted Response From HHS

Long Covid patients’ mental health struggles are getting a sharper focus under a Biden administration initiative unveiled today.

Microsoft CEO to Defend $69 Billion Deal in Fight With FTC

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick will be in court this week to try to persuade a federal judge in California to reject the FTC’s effort to block their $69 billion deal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com