Source: Politics<\/p>\n
House Democrats have stayed in lockstep on their $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill. Once they pass it, the real battle will begin.<\/p>\n
After they vote to pass the Covid aid package, expected as soon as Friday, Democrats will enter a three-week stretch packed with political minefields that will test the limits of their razor-thin majority and potentially determine the fate of the rest of President Joe Biden\u2019s agenda. <\/p>\n
They\u2019re teeing up challenging votes on highly charged issues from immigration to policing reform to labor rights \u2014 a legislative sprint set to expose ideological splits in the caucus that have only intensified since November\u2019s election sliced Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s majority to a five-vote margin.<\/p>\n
Rep. Anthony Brown (D-Md.) said Democratic leaders must work \u201cgingerly\u201d to keep their members together on the floor, particularly on what he termed “messaging” bills that have little chance in the 50-50 Senate and already generate internal divisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s odd, you know, when you’re controlling both chambers and the White House and you\u2019re still doing messaging bills. That\u2019s going to kill us in the midterms,\u201d Brown said. But he added, \u201cthe speaker\u2019s a master at this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Democrats are moving legislation at a rapid clip for now, fast-tracking bills that were passed in the last Congress. They’re eager to show their base the type of progress that can come from electing Democrats to take full control of Washington. But taking big swings can mean taking big risks.<\/p>\n
And unity tests are looming as many Democrats admit they\u2019re still struggling to navigate a political landscape reshaped by the Jan. 6 insurrection. Their lingering distrust of GOP colleagues who opposed certification of President Joe Biden\u2019s win spilled out onto the House floor after weeks of emotional conversations in private \u2014 threatening to hobble any chance of cross-aisle work in the House. <\/p>\n
It all started as lawmakers from both parties packed the steps of the Capitol on Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil marking a half-million U.S. deaths from the coronavirus. Behind closed doors, Pelosi’s team was hustling to avoid an embarrassing defeat on the most mundane of congressional business: a bill to name a post office. <\/p>\n
Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) angered Democratic leaders by forcing a roll call vote on the bill, wanting to send a message that Democrats wouldn\u2019t work with Republicans who have refused to denounce the pro-Trump rioters of Jan. 6. But top Democrats worried the move would have unforeseen ramifications, effectively torpedoing the House\u2019s current practice of allowing quick consideration of noncontroversial, bipartisan bills by all members. The bill ultimately passed easily.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere need to be serious consequences for trying to overturn the results of our election. I think there\u2019s just a spectrum in the caucus right now on what that looks like,\u201d said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was one of 15 Democrats who sided with Casten on the post office vote.<\/p>\n
Now Pelosi and her leadership team must turn their attention to the intra-party fissures ahead as they take up several high-profile bills. Some will be easier than others, such as a long-delayed reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Other bills on the docket involve tricky politics, whether the immigration status of farm workers or public funding of elections. <\/p>\n
In only the second month of Democrats’ unified power over government, the limits of control are becoming clear. For many Democrats, passing legislation during the last Congress that was likely to run aground in a GOP Senate was one thing. Now that bills the House passes stand a real chance of becoming law, Democrats are suddenly looking harder at their own decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know we’re going to have a lot of political to-and-froing, but I think this is going to be a very productive Congress,\u201d House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said. <\/p>\n
That dynamic is complicating next week\u2019s passage of a sweeping voting rights and government reform bill, one of the Democrats\u2019 highest priorities from last Congress. <\/p>\n
Senior Democrats are confident they will pass the bill, which carries the high-priority ranking of H.R. 1. But an influential group of Congressional Black Caucus leaders, several of them from the south, are raising objections to a provision that would require states to cede control of their redistricting decisions to independent commissions. The CBC members fear such a massive overhaul could be weaponized by GOP-controlled legislatures to undermine Black voters, but the bill’s supporters say there are protections already in place under law.<\/p>\n
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), who will likely oppose H.R. 1 without a change to the redistricting language, said he had the same qualms when the bill passed in 2019. But it\u2019s simply tougher to support the expansive bill now, he explained, since the provision he objects to could actually become law this Congress.<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, H.R. 1 was more aspirational,\u201d Johnson said in an interview. \u201cYou have to be more careful about what you let go to the Senate.\u201d <\/p>\n
Top Democrats, including Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and John Sarbanes (D-Md.), have been privately meeting with CBC members to hear their concerns. Some CBC members have also heard from former Attorney General Eric Holder, who is leading Democrats\u2019 national redistricting overhaul effort. Lofgren and Sarbanes huddled with Pelosi, Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn Wednesday on the issue. <\/p>\n
CBC Chair Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said those discussions are helping to whittle down the number of her members who oppose the bill \u2014 which she called a \u201cgood sign,\u201d though she declined to say whether she was prepared to support the legislation. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of great stuff in the bill, but obviously I want to make sure we don\u2019t dilute minority representation,\u201d Beatty said, noting there is still some talk of amending the language. <\/p>\n
That bill is expected to reach the floor next week, along with another broadly popular bill from last Congress that\u2019s run into new headwinds this year. <\/p>\n