Dems’ filibuster about-face
Plus: What to expect during the lame-duck session in Congress.
First Things First
👋🏾 Hi, hey, hello! Welcome back to Once Upon a Hill. Today is the first day of the lame-duck session—the legislative window after an election but before the newly elected members are seated.
Congress has a little more than five weeks to fund the government. It also needs to approve the annual defense policy bill and pass the farm bill, among other end-of-year priorities. The main Hill intrigue this week is on the GOP side, where Republicans will elect their leaders. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) hopes to keep his gavel and there’s a race for the number-four spot to replace House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who President-elect Donald Trump has tapped to be his ambassador to the United Nations. On the Senate side, it’s the end of an era as Mitch McConnell will be replaced as Republican leader after leading his conference for 16 years, making him the longest-serving Senate party leader in US history.
House progressives view themselves as a bulwark against the most extreme policies Trump and his congressional allies hope to enact with their governing trifecta. (ICYMI: I wrote about the nine most dangerous words from Trump’s victory speech last week.) Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) said on Monday that Democrats are still figuring out their strategy for navigating what she describes will be a challenging time.
But she and her colleagues will benefit from the legislative tool many of them love to hate: the Senate filibuster. This device allows a single senator to threaten to block legislation they oppose unless 60 senators move to limit debate and vote on the measure.
Jayapal told me that had Democrats eliminated the 60-vote threshold to pass progressive priorities, such as a $15 minimum wage, paid sick leave and the enhanced Child Tax Credit, they would have had a stronger economic record to show voters on the campaign trail.
With the incoming Republican trifecta, Jayapal says she’s no longer championing filibuster reform since Republicans will hold just 53 seats next Congress and be unable to undo those laws without buy-in from more than half a dozen Democrats at minimum.
“No, but had we had the trifecta, I would have been because we have to show that government can deliver,” she told me. “And right now, even with people going to the ballot, they are bypassing their government because they don't feel like government, whether it's at the state level or the federal level, is actually going to get them the things that they need.”
Paid subscribers can read my full report on the politics of the filibuster ahead of the new Congress. You can upgrade your subscription if you’re on the free plan and want access to the post, plus the archive and additional subscriber benefits.
Here’s what’s happening today:
The House will meet at noon with first and last votes on several suspension bills scheduled at 6:30 p.m.
The Senate will meet at 3:00 p.m. and vote at 5:30 p.m. to confirm April Perry to be US District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois.
President Biden will receive his daily intelligence briefing this morning before meeting with President Isaac Herzog of Israel. The president will have lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris this afternoon and then hold a bilateral meeting with President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia.
Vice President Harris will also receive briefings and hold internal staff meetings.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden will host a reception at 5:30 p.m. to celebrate culinary arts in diplomacy featuring the foreign Diplomatic Corps, and chefs and culinary community members from across the country.
Do you have questions about the lame-duck session or the incoming Trump presidency? Drop me a line at michael@onceuponahill.com or send me a message below to get in touch and I’ll report back with answers.
In the Know
The Decision Desk projected last night that Republicans have won enough seats to control the House. Democrats had a slim path to flipping the chamber, which would have provided a check on the Trump administration and Senate in the next Congress.
A Texas federal judge ruled last Thursday against a Biden administration program that put hundreds of thousands of undocumented spouses who are married to US citizens on a pathway to citizenship and allow young adults without official authorization to cut through bureaucratic red tape to gain work approval. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus leadership said the decision would exacerbate the uncertainty and anxiety hundreds-of-thousands of immigrants in the US are experiencing and highlights the challenges that remain to keep American families together. The government could appeal the decision but it’s unlikely the incoming Trump administration would defend it. ICYMI: “Biden heeds calls from Hill Dems, announces new anti-deportation protections”
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (R-FL) said local law enforcement notified him last week of a potential assassination who was arrested close the congressman’s home. The individual allegedly had a rifle, suppressor and body armor and possessed a manifesto filled with antisemitic rhetoric with only Moskowitz’s name on the target list. “I am deeply worried about congressional member security and the significant lack thereof when we are in the district,” he said in a statement. “Regardless of our political affiliations or differences, we all have families we want to keep safe.”
Read All About It
”America got the father it wanted” by Gal Beckerman: “The appeal of Trump’s paternalism.”
”How to build political power when you have none” by Tessa Stuart: “Citizen-led ballot measures triumphed on Tuesday even as Democrats flopped—and could offer hope of progress in the next Trump era.”
”What the left keeps getting wrong” by Thomas Chatterton Williams: “Democrats should not dismiss Trump’s win as the result of sexism and racism alone.”
“Microplastics could be making the weather worse” by Miriam Freedman and Heidi Busse: “Microplastics cause clouds to form in places where they wouldn’t otherwise, which is likely to have knock-on effects on the weather and climate.
”A popular decongestant doesn’t work. The FDA is finally doing something about it” by Beth Mole: “Oral phenylephrine was shown to be ineffective for treating nasal congestion over a year ago. This week, the FDA took the first steps toward removing it from pharmacy shelves.”
”Forget screen time. We need to talk about screen real estate” by Angela Watercutter: “Spending many hours daily looking at screens feels like a foregone conclusion. The new challenge is paring down what feels them.”