After a seven-week recess, Speaker Mike Johnson was optimistic about making progress on urgent priorities like government funding and rising health care costs. Instead, the House used hours of floor time to vote five times this week on measures rebuking other members.
“The only thing we can apparently do is condemn each other,” says Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.). “I’ve not seen the House hit this low of a point since I’ve been here.”
Once a rare tactic, censures have become commonplace partly for their use as a political rallying cry and a fundraising boon. Concerned lawmakers are now scrambling to stop the censure wars from escalating.
Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and Don Beyer (D-Va.) introduced bipartisan legislation Thursday that would require 60 percent of the House — rather than the current simple majority — to approve a censure of a member, disapprove their conduct or remove them from committee assignments.
“The institution needs some protection,” Bacon said in an interview.
House leaders seem open to curbing the personal brawling. Johnson called the general suggestion of a rule change “an intriguing idea” and said he’d be “open to having that conversation.” Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also said he is “open-minded about what the possibilities are in terms of getting the Congress out of this repeated effort by Republicans to censure members.”
President Donald Trump added fuel to the fire when he declared Thursday morning that six Democratic lawmakers are engaged in “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOUR, punishable by DEATH!” The Democrats — Sens. Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and Mark Kelly (Ariz.) and Reps. Jason Crow (Colo.), Chrissy Houlahan (Pa.), Maggie Goodlander (N.H.) and Chris Deluzio (Pa.) — shared a video Tuesday encouraging U.S. military members to disobey unlawful orders.
Johnson initially defended Trump, saying it was the Democrats who were acting “wildly inappropriate.” He later conceded “the words that the president chose are not the ones I would use.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said of Trump’s suggestion of executions: “I don’t agree with that.”
What else we’re watching:
— Russia sanctions action: Some Republicans are prepared to introduce a discharge petition as soon as Friday to force a vote on stalled Russia sanctions legislation if House leaders don’t take action. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) told POLITICO he huddled with Johnson on the House floor Wednesday night and that Johnson “shares the sense of urgency” but “doesn’t necessarily” agree with Thune’s assessment that the bill must start in the House.
— Another discharge petition threat: House Republicans interested in forcing a vote to ban congressional stock trading say they’re ready to kick off the process Friday if leaders continue to stall. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) told POLITICO she’s first waiting to see whether House Administration Chair Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) will mark up and offer an amendment process Friday on a potential separate bill related to stock trading.
Nicholas Wu, Meredith Lee Hill and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
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