The lame-duck session (the time between Election Day, and the end the Congressional term), is still raging. Here are the top priorities of lawmakers in the 118th Congress.
Nominations to the Judicial Council
Senate Democrats’ top priority is to get as many judicial nominees from President Biden approved before their party loses majority. Democrats and Republicans are reportedly in agreement that seven district court judge nominations will be considered after Thanksgiving, while six additional nominees will appear on the December calendar. Donald Trump confirmed 234 judges in total during his first tenure, while Biden has so far had 221 of the nominees he made approved.
Budget
In September, lawmakers passed a temporary extension to fund the federal government until Dec. 20, 2018. The lawmakers must now either pass another extension or a complete fiscal year budget bill. A full spending bill is unlikely to be negotiated in the coming weeks given the Republican party’s newly found power.
What is the recess appointments scheme?
Rumors are circulating that Trump is considering recess appointments — which involve trying to forcibly adjourn Congress — to get some of his cabinet picks through. The practice — used by former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — has been made more difficult by recent Supreme Court interpretation, which allows Congress to block recess appointments.
There are rumors that Trump may use constitutional power to force Senate members to take a break while Trump agrees with the House. Although it may sound a little farfetched, we’ll be watching the situation.
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