DACA, the Debt Ceiling, and Hurricane Relief: This Week in Congress
Back in session after a long vacation, Congress passes $15 billion in disaster relief and ponders a fix on immigration in the wake of President Trump’s controversial decision to end DACA.
Trump Ends DACA But Gives Congress Window to Save It
Despite numerous warnings from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, President Trump on Tuesday announced his plans to officially terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, also known as DACA. The program, which was enacted through executive order by President Obama, strove to provide protections for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children; the Trump administration, however, has described the program as an inappropriate and untenable “overreach” of executive authority.
This Is Why Congress Will Have a Hard Time Legalizing DACA
President Trump’s decision on Tuesday to put an end to DACA came with a slight twist: the pronouncement of a six-month transitional phase-out of the program to precede its complete shutdown next March. In the interim, all eyes are now on Congress, which will take up the responsibility of legislating a replacement for DACA before its expiration next year. Yet, with GOP legislators plagued by deep divisions on immigration, finding a path toward “legalizing” DACA will be easier said than done.
Senate OKs Debt-Ceiling Suspension with Harvey Aid, Amid Conservative Angst
In light of hurricane-related devastation in Texas, the Senate moved on Thursday to set aside an additional $15 billion toward disaster relief, voting on the funds as part of a larger spending package that will also effect a suspension of the debt ceiling until early December. Though Democrats lauded the package as a clever way of tackling both hurricane relief and the looming debt ceiling, which would have otherwise expired September 30, a number of Republicans decried the spending bill as a dirty attempt to politicize disaster relief.
Trump Embraces Democrats Again on Debt Ceiling and Immigration
Behind Congress’s swift passage of disaster relief this week was one unlikely supporter: President Trump. Though the spending package passed the Senate on Thursday with the support of a number of Republican Senators, the Democrat-devised bill was condemned by top GOP leadership and was likewise expected to earn the President’s disapproval. President Trump’s surprising shift on the matter may signify a new phase in his often-protracted relationship with Congressional Democrats thus far.
Menendez Trial Set to Begin with Tensions High and Washington Watching
As members of Congress returned to the Capitol to resume session this week, a lonely Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) headed back home to New Jersey, where he is being tried on federal bribery charges. Menendez’s trial, the first of its kind to face a sitting United States senator in 36 years, is being closely watched by Democrats, who fear that a conviction may result in the loss of yet another crucial Democratic seat in the Senate.
Trump Jr. Says He Wanted Russian Dirt to Determine Clinton’s ‘Fitness’ for Office
In meetings with investigators for the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, President Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. offered a new reasoning behind his much-disputed June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer, purportedly set up to discuss indemnifying information about presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. According to Trump Jr., his goal in attending the meeting was merely to verify Clinton’s “fitness” for presidency, rather than to discuss adoption policy, as he has previously stated.
Warren Co-Sponsoring Sander’s “Medicare for All” Bill
In the wake of Congressional failure to introduce health care reform earlier in the summer, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) announced this week her intention to work with Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) to pass universal health care legislation. Warren will be serving as a cosponsor of Sander’s bill to that effect; meanwhile, more Senators on the left, including Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Jon Tester (D-MT), appear to be converging around a similar goal of medicare for all.
Over on IssueVoter, we’re back in action too! Two new bills are awaiting vote by Congress:
- H.R. 3314 would introduce a plan for the United States to transition away from fossil fuel use and implement full utilization of clean and renewable energy sources by the year 2050.
- H.R. 3354 would provide annual funding to many departments and represents a major decrease from past funding levels.
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