There’s a lot on Congress’s plate this week, including a looming partial government shutdown, upcoming testimony from Hunter Biden regarding his business ventures in Ukraine as well as funding aid to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
According to a report from Reuters, spending is one of the top issues Congress is facing.
“Congress has been characterized by Republican brinkmanship and muddled priorities over the past year, more so since Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump undermined a bipartisan border deal in the Senate and now wants aid to U.S. allies extended as loans,” Reuters reported.
“Almost two months have passed since Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed on a $1.59 trillion discretionary spending level for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.”
“Since then, Congress has failed to follow through with the detailed legislation that would put that agreement into effect,” according to Reuters.
The result is chaos.
“It’s becoming more chaotic,” said Brian Riedl, senior fellow at the right-leaning Manhattan Institute. “The longer Congress is dysfunctional, the further they fall behind on very time-sensitive, high-priority legislation.”
That on top of feuding between Republicans and Democrats has taken its toll financially.
“Major ratings agencies say the repeated brinkmanship is taking a toll on the creditworthiness of a nation whose debt has surpassed $34 trillion,” Reuters reported.
In particular, some are leaning toward ousting Speaker Mike Johnson “if the Christian conservative allows a vote on the $95 billion foreign aid bill,” according to Reuters.
The White House is also upping its game against Johnson for his role in blocking bills with Biden’s support.
A meeting is set for Tuesday with Biden and congressional leaders.
Congress is also grappling with a partial government shutdown that could come on Friday.
“Lawmakers currently do not have a plan to prevent that from happening. (Rep. Chuck) Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Sunday that Republicans need more time to ‘sort themselves out,’ while Johnson accused Democrats of imposing new demands,” according to Reuters.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) said there is an urgency to preventing a shutdown.
“We cannot let unrealistic policy expectations get in the way of effective governing. We must get these bills across the finish line,” Simpson said in a statement.
Others are less optimistic.
“It’s going to be difficult to get it done on time,” said Sen. John Boozman, a senior Republican appropriator, via Reuters. “Hopefully, we won’t have a government shutdown. But if we do, just a few days as we’re working in good faith to get it passed, that really wouldn’t mean much.”
Another item on the congressional agenda is the impeachment trial of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who the House impeached on Feb. 13 on charges that “he has failed to enforce immigration law and made false statements to Congress,” Reuters reported.
That trial is stalled until the House the articles of impeachment; no date has been set.
