Exclusive: Senate’s post-election drama escalates quickly
Senate Republican leadership elections are scheduled to take place Tuesday morning. Congress’ lame-duck session starts with a bang on Monday, as Senate Republicans debate their future after last week’s shellacking and Democrats face their first vote on a permitting reform bill that is cleaving them. On the first front, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is expected to deliver Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a letter on Monday with the requisite five signatures needed to force a special conference meeting. That won’t delay Majority Leader John Thune’s leadership election, nor will it block Thune’s bid to helm the conference in the minority, but it will force a debate about party leadership — and there may eventually be a vote on whether to delay the leadership election. Meanwhile, the Senate will take a procedural vote on the permitting reform bill this evening, and it’s looking likely to advance despite opposition from some environmental groups. Democrats are seeking more changes to the bill, but many in the party think it’s the right time to move permitting legislation that has now stalled for multiple Congresses. Two climate hawks, Sens. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and
Senate Republican leadership elections are scheduled to take place Tuesday morning. Congress’ lame-duck session starts with a bang on Monday, as Senate Republicans debate their future after last week’s shellacking and Democrats face their first vote on a permitting reform bill that is cleaving them. On the first front, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is expected to deliver Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a letter on Monday with the requisite five signatures needed to force a special conference meeting.
That won’t delay Majority Leader John Thune’s leadership election, nor will it block Thune’s bid to helm the conference in the minority, but it will force a debate about party leadership — and there may eventually be a vote on whether to delay the leadership election. Meanwhile, the Senate will take a procedural vote on the permitting reform bill this evening, and it’s looking likely to advance despite opposition from some environmental groups. Democrats are seeking more changes to the bill, but many in the party think it’s the right time to move permitting legislation that has now stalled for multiple Congresses. Two climate hawks, Sens.
Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., are both publicly pushing to pass the bill in the lame duck, and Democrats often trust their ranking members to cut a good deal. The bill will take probably a couple weeks to pass in the Senate if it advances. Barring a delay, Senate Republican leadership elections are scheduled to take place at 9 am on Tuesday; in 2022, Republicans squashed a similar delay tactic. This time around, some Republicans, like Utah Sen.
Mike Lee, say they need a plan on how the lame duck will play out before deciding on their leadership votes. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who has run twice for leader, wants a commitment to pass the GOP’s voter ID legislation. Even swing-state Sen.
David McCormick, R-Pa., endorsed a pause to digest and debate what happened. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s day in the spotlight will come, but not for a few weeks: Democratic leadership elections will happen in early December.