News: Senate GOP leaders are plotting a pre-inauguration floor strategy centering on two pieces of legislation that are likely to divide Democrats.
The bills have drawn bipartisan support but are politically difficult votes for Democrats. They’re among those that fell by the wayside under Democratic control last year and, in one case, caused an effective shutdown of a key Senate committee.
Republican leaders are planning to hold votes on two measures that then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blocked last year — a hot-button immigration bill followed by legislation to sanction the International Criminal Court for targeting Israel, according to multiple GOP senators and leadership sources.
As we reported, Senate Majority Leader John Thune took procedural steps on Monday to set up votes on the immigration bill, the Laken Riley Act. The legislation, which would give law enforcement more power to detain undocumented immigrants accused of crimes, could get a vote as soon as this week. The House is voting on the measure today.
Some news: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), along with 50 Senate Republicans, is cosponsoring the Laken Riley Act. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) are championing the now-bipartisan package.
The ICC sanctions bill, we’re told, is expected to hit the floor shortly thereafter. It’s unclear whether either could get the requisite 60 votes.
The strategy: The new Senate GOP majority can’t do that much on the floor until President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20. Until then, most of the action is off the floor. Trump’s Cabinet nominees are continuing their meetings with senators this week, and many are expected to sit for confirmation hearings next week.
The immigration and Israel bills in particular were highly contentious last year, although both drew modest Democratic support when they were considered in the GOP-controlled House. The Laken Riley Act is named after a Georgia student killed by an undocumented immigrant. Republicans introduced the bill to spotlight what they said were consequences of the Biden administration’s border policies.
Meanwhile, partisan tensions over the ICC sanctions bill threw the Senate Foreign Relations Committee into a state of unprecedented paralysis last year, as we scooped. Democrats’ refusal to take up the bill in committee prompted the panel’s now-chairman, Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), to block committee action on all nominations and legislation.
The dispute was never resolved, and the committee hasn’t held a markup since last April. Now that Republicans are in the majority, there are no such obstacles. But Risch told us Monday that he’s comfortable bypassing the committee process for the ICC bill:
Noms news: The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to hold a confirmation hearing for former Rep. Sean Duffy’s (R-Wis.) transportation secretary nomination on Wednesday, Jan. 15, per a senior Senate aide.
