Congressman Anthony Brown (D-Md.) Said that Democratic leaders must work “cautiously” to keep their members together on the floor, especially in what he called “message” projects that have little chance in the 50-50 Senate and have already generate internal divisive results.
“It’s weird, you know, when you control both chambers and the White House and are still doing message counts. This will kill us in the middle of the semester, ”said Brown. But he added: “the speaker is a master at it”.
Democrats are moving legislation at a rapid pace for now, bills that passed the last Congress. They are eager to show their base the kind of progress that can come from electing Democrats to take complete control of Washington. But making big swings can mean taking big risks.
And unit tests are approaching, as many Democrats admit they are still struggling to navigate a political landscape reshaped by the January 6 uprising. His lingering distrust of colleagues in the Republican Party who were opposed to certifying President Joe Biden’s victory spread through the House floor after weeks of emotional talks in private – threatening to undermine any chance of cross-cutting in the House.
It all started when lawmakers from both sides packed the Capitol steps on Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil marking half a million deaths in the United States from the coronavirus. Behind closed doors, Pelosi’s team struggled to avoid an embarrassing defeat in Congress’ most mundane business: a bill to name a post office.
Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) Angered Democratic leaders by forcing a roll-call vote on the bill, wanting to send a message that Democrats would not work with Republicans who refused to report the January 6 pro-Trump rioters. leading Democrats feared the action would have unforeseen ramifications, effectively torpedoing the House’s current practice of allowing swift consideration of non-controversial bipartisan projects by all members. The project ended up being easily approved.
“There must be serious consequences for trying to overturn the results of our election. I think there is only one specter in the caucus now about how it looks, ”said MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was one of 15 Democrats who supported Casten in the postal vote.
Now, Pelosi and his leadership team must turn their attention to intraparty fissures as they take on several high-profile bills. Some will be easier than others, such as a lengthy reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act. Other projects on the agenda involve complicated politics, be it the immigration status of agricultural workers or the public funding of elections.
Only in the second month of Democrats’ unified power over the government are the limits of control becoming clear. For many Democrats, passing legislation during the last Congress that would likely run aground in the Republican Senate was one thing. Now that bills passed by the House have a real chance of becoming law, Democrats are suddenly looking more closely at their own decisions.
“I know we will have a lot of political comings and goings, but I think this will be a very productive Congress,” said the majority leader in the Chamber, Steny Hoyer.
This dynamic is complicating the approval, next week, of a broad bill on voting rights and government reform, one of the Democrats’ top priorities at the last Congress.
The most senior Democrats are confident they will pass the bill, which carries a high priority rating of HR 1. But an influential group of Black Caucus Congressional leaders, several from the south, are raising objections to a clause that would require that states give control of their redistricting decisions to independent commissions. CBC members fear that such a massive revision could be turned into a weapon by legislatures controlled by the Republican Party to undermine black voters, but supporters of the bill say protections already exist in law.
Congressman Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Who is likely to oppose HR 1 without changing the language of redistricting, said he had the same qualms when the project was approved in 2019. But it is simply more difficult to support the expansive project now, he explained, since the provision he opposes could actually become law in this Congress.
“Last year, RH 1 was more ambitious,” Johnson said in an interview. “You have to be more careful with what goes to the Senate.”
Leading Democrats, including representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) And John Sarbanes (D-Md.), Have been meeting privately with CBC members to hear their concerns. Some members of the CBC have also heard of former Attorney General Eric Holder, who is leading the Democrats’ national redistricting reform effort. Lofgren and Sarbanes met with Pelosi, Hoyer and the Whip of most Jim Clyburn on Wednesday on the matter.
CBC Chair representative Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) said these discussions are helping to reduce the number of members who oppose the project – what she called a “good sign”, although she declined to say whether she was prepared to support legislation.
“I think there are a lot of good things about the project, but obviously I want to make sure that we don’t dilute minority representation,” said Beatty, noting that there is still talk of amending the newsroom.
This project is expected to reach the plenary next week, along with another widely popular project from the last Congress that faced new headwinds this year.
In the Democrats’ broad policing reform project, a group of moderates is trying to reverse the language which aims to hold police officers legally accountable for alleged lack of conduct, changing the doctrine known as qualified immunity. All centrists defending this issue supported the policing bill last summer.
They argue that maintaining the qualified immunity clause as written would hinder negotiations with the 10 or so Republicans who would need to support the bill in the Senate. Most Democrats, however, argue that language is a crucial part of holding officials accountable for any crimes committed at work.
In the next two years, a group of just five House Democrats will have the power to reject any bill they don’t like, by voting no in plenary. So far, none have shown a desire to blow it up. In particular, some members believe that such an impressive moment may happen soon, but recognize that they face intense pressure to be together.
Meanwhile, the bad feelings in the wake of Jan. 6 remain unsolved for many Democrats.
There is persistent anger within the caucus over what several Democrats in particular described as their leadership’s failure to start a “family conversation” until this week about interacting with Republicans in a post-January period. 6 world. Senior Democrats contend that there is no way to institute any kind of general policy on the matter and claim that they addressed it in several conversations before this week.
Casten defended himself in a mid-week private summons, saying he did not want to be ostracized as “left-wing Thomas Massie”, according to several people listening – referring to a Kentucky House Republican who alienated many in his conference But Casten is one of several Democrats who have drawn up their own type of “black list”, refusing to work with any member of the Republican Party who supports Trump’s efforts to annul the election.
House Financial Services President Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) Said on the call that she does not plan to present bills on her committee that are co-sponsored by those Republicans, according to two Democrats.
On the call, Pelosi and other Democratic leaders advised each member to do what is right for their districts, while emphasizing that they would not allow the complete institutional collapse that would result if Democrats stopped working with Republicans immediately.
“In the context of interacting with those who continue to provide help and comfort to a violent uprising,” said Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.), Caucus Mayor, “everyone will have to make individual decisions.”
Ally Mutnick contributed.