Following the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States last Friday, the Senate this week will continue to move forward on the consideration of the President’s cabinet picks while congressional committees on both sides of the Capitol begin to conduct their formal organization proceedings for the 115th Congress. Members of both chambers are also likely to start responding to the initial executive decisions coming out of the new administration.
After a recess last week, the House is set to resume legislative business on Monday when members will take up 11 legislative measures under suspension of the rules, all within the jurisdiction of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which had reported them in the last Congress.
On Tuesday, the House will consider three additional bills under suspension of the rules before considering H.R. 7, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2017. Identical to a bill passed by the House early in the 114th Congress, the legislation would broaden the existing language of the Hyde Amendment and ban the use of any federal funds to pay for abortions. Consideration of H.R. 7 will be subject to a rule.
The House is not scheduled to be in session for votes for the remainder of the week, due to the annual Republican congressional retreat taking place at the end of the week.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate will resume legislative business on Monday when members will debate and vote on the nomination of Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The Senate floor schedule for the remainder of the week is unclear, but look for Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to schedule votes on other Cabinet nominees as they are reported by their respective Senate committees. Several committees have scheduled votes throughout the week. On Monday afternoon the Foreign Relations Committee will vote on the nomination of Rex Tillerson to serve as Secretary of State. On Tuesday, the Banking Committee will meet to consider on the nomination of Dr. Ben Carson to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. That same morning the Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to serve as Attorney General. A meeting of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to consider the nomination of Betsy DeVos scheduled for this week has been postponed.
Other Senate committees will continue to review the qualifications of President Trump’s cabinet appointees. The Finance Committee is scheduled to resume its consideration of Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Much of the first day of the Price hearing was given over to questions about the nominee’s strock trading. Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC), whom the President has tapped to serve as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, is scheduled to appear before two Senate committees on Tuesday; in the morning he will provide testimony to the Budget Committee before an afternoon appearance before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Rep. Mulvaney is dogged by questions over his failure to pay requisite taxes for a household employee from before he was elected to Congress, and some Democrats have called for his nomination to be withdrawn. The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship will hear testimony from Linda McMahon of Connecticut on her nomination to serve as the Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
Also on the schedule this week and In keeping with the Republican initiative currently underway to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, the House Budget Committee is set to host a Tuesday hearing regarding the “Failures of Obamacare.” The hearing will be the first under its new Chairman Diane Black (R-TN), who was named to succeed Rep. Price following his nomination to serve as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Also of note, the Senate Armed Services Committee is hosting a Tuesday hearing on the defense budget outlook for Fiscal year (FY) 2018. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is holding its first markup of the 115th Congress on Tuesday. Members will consider 17 legislative measures, a number of which were considered and reported by the committee during the previous session of Congress.
On both sides of the Capitol, a number of committees are meeting for the first time this week to organize for the 115th Congress and adopt the rules for official proceedings. The full schedule of events for the week ahead is detailed below:
Monday, January 23, 2017
Senate Committees
Secretary of State Nomination
Senate Foreign Relations
Full Committee Markup
4:30 p.m., SD-419
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
House Committees
Committee Organization
House Appropriations
Full Committee Business Meeting
11:30 a.m.
Committee Organization/ The Failures of Obamacare: Harmful Effects and Broken Promises
House Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10:15 a.m.
Committee Organization
House Education and the Workforce
Full Committee Business Meeting
11:15 a.m.
Committee Organization
House Foreign Affairs
Full Committee Business Meeting
10:30 a.m.
Committee Organization
House Judiciary
Full Committee Business Meeting
11 a.m.
Ongoing Intelligence Activities
House Select Intelligence
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m.
Committee Organization
House Energy and Commerce
Full Committee Business Meeting
1 p.m.
Committee Organization
House Oversight and Government Reform
Full Committee Business Meeting
1 p.m.
Subcommitteee Organization/Affordable Care Act Individual Mandate
House Ways and Means – Subcommittee on Oversight
Subcommittee Hearing
2 p.m.
Senate Committees
Defense Budget for FY2018 and Onwards
Senate Armed Services
Full Committee Hearing
9:30 a.m., SH-216
Committee Organization/Dr. Carson Nomination
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
Full Committee Business Meeting
10 a.m., SD-538
Director of the Office of Management and Budget Nomination
Senate Budget
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SD-608
Committee Organization/Pending Legislation
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m., SD-G50
Secretary of Health and Human Services Nomination
Senate Finance
Full Committee Hearing
10 a.m., SD-215
Attorney General Nomination/Committee Organization
Senate Judiciary
Full Committee Markup
10 a.m.
Committee Organization/Secretary of Education Nomination
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
Full Committee Business Meeting
2:30 p.m., SD-430
Administrator of the Small Business Administration Nomination
Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Full Committee Hearing
10:30 a.m., SR-428A
Director of the Office of Management and Budget Nomination
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Full Committee Hearing
2:30 p.m., SD-342
Committee Organization
Senate Veterans’ Affairs
Full Committee Business Meeting
3 p.m.