Dem
47
GOP
53
The House has now passed a continuing resolution (CR) and sent it over to the Senate. Since Congress can't even do its most basic task—funding the government—except under the greatest of pressure, these CRs happen regularly. Normally, they just continue funding at the current levels and that's it. They are not supposed to contain new policy, although they are technically just bills, so they can contain anything.
This one is a little different. A few departments, agencies, and programs got extra money. These are the VA, HUD, FAA, TSA, FEMA, and SNAP. There is also a pay raise for wildland firefighters.
But one item snuck in under the radar. Donald Trump has declared a national emergency on account of fentanyl and undocumented immigrants entering the country and has used the resulting powers to justify his tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. The law that allows the president to announce national emergencies also allows members of Congress to introduce privileged resolutions to terminate such national emergencies. These resolutions must be voted on by the full House within 15 days.
Republicans do not want any such votes because in some cases, it would force them to choose between what Trump wants and what their district wants. They don't want a public vote on this. This is especially the case for representatives whose constituents are hurting on account of the tariffs and want them to go away. So how did they solve this problem? They sneakily added a provision to the CR that would ban members of Congress from introducing a resolution to end the emergency, which would force a vote on Trump's power and, indirectly, on the tariffs. In other words, the House just passed a bill voluntarily giving up some of its remaining power and codifying this in law. How's that for power politics?
The Constitution, of course, grants the power to levy tariffs only to Congress. By law, Congress has delegated this power to the president under certain conditions, but that is supposed to be only in-case-of-emergency-break-glass situations, not normal politics. It is also noteworthy that delegation of authority might not pass muster with the Supreme Court, which has been increasingly skeptical about federal agencies doing anything without explicit instructions from Congress. In other words, the law that says the FDA can approve drugs that it thinks are good for the public health might be unconstitutional because Congress didn't list all the drugs to be approved. Delegating a core congressional power—levying tariffs—might alarm the Court. That said, it seems unlikely it will be challenged, in part because who might have standing to sue?
But the CR is not a done deal in the Senate. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that Democrats could filibuster the bill if changes aren't made. In the end, the Democrats generally cave, but there is still time for a deal. Pumpkin time is midnight tomorrow. (V)