Rep. Matt Gaetz leads the fight to oust his own party’s speaker, Kevin McCarthy
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) led a handful of Republicans to join Democrats in voting to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), marking the first time in U.S. history such a motion has succeeded. Currently, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) is acting speaker until a new speaker is elected, which could happen as early as next week. Possibilities discussed include current Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and even former President Donald Trump. The House is in recess the rest of this week and plans to host a candidate forum Oct. 10 with a potential vote Oct. 11. Until a speaker is chosen, no other legislative business can come to the floor, including bills to keep the government funded past the mid-November deadline established by Congress during the past weekend.
Congress shutdown averted for a few weeks despite serious drama
On Sept. 30, Congress passed and President Biden signed legislation to fund the government for 45 days along with funding for disaster relief. This passage was chaotic, and the Capitol was bustling with activity until the last gavel hit Saturday evening.
The House had canceled its October recess and planned to vote this week regarding two appropriations bills for fiscal 2024 covering energy and water and legislative branch funding. If these two bills were passed as intended, the House would have completed 50% of its annual funding bills. This plan is delayed until the House chooses a new speaker and the concessions on funding that may be required to have an individual reach the 218 votes needed to be elected speaker. Meanwhile, the Senate is hoping to pass legislation that combines several individual funding bills, but arguments regarding amendments to the bill have so far delayed its consideration.
Sen. Feinstein dies, successor sworn in this week
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) died late last week at the age of 90. Feinstein was praised for her long career in public service and was known as a trailblazer for women. In the Senate, she was one of California’s first two female senators, the first woman to lead the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to serve as the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat. Feinstein’s bipartisan efforts helped her gain legislative wins during her career, but this problem-solving attitude proved to be a liability in her later years in Congress as California became more liberal and the electorate became increasingly polarized. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) appointed Laphonza Butler to fill the Senate vacancy, and Butler was sworn in Oct. 3. Since 2001, Butler has been the president of EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights. She previously worked at Airbnb and for political campaigns, including as an adviser for Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential race. Much of Butler's background is in the labor movement, serving as a union president in California.
House Committee holds hearing regarding OSHA policy
On Sept. 27, the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing, “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.” Department of Labor Assistant Secretary for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Doug Parker was the sole witness and provided an update regarding numerous agency initiatives, including a potential new standard to protect employees from heat illness and a recently proposed rule related to employee representation during workplace safety inspections. Parker was criticized by subcommittee Republicans and defended by Democrats. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.), chair of the subcommittee, said Parker was focusing on “political goals that could not win support through the democratic channels of our government.” Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the full committee, asked Parker whether OSHA would grant an extension of the comment period for the proposed rule on workplace inspections to give affected industries more time to prepare comments, and a 14-day extension was granted by the agency Sept. 29.
