Stephen Boyd’s Capitol Hill briefing for Alabama’s business, financial, defense and government affairs executives.
Congress Tries to Stay on Track As it Pivots from Foreign Priorities to Domestic
Today starts a busy stretch on Capitol Hill that will keep both the House of Representatives and the Senate in legislative session for five of the next six weeks. Attention now pivots from recently passed foreign aid spending to a number of domestic legislative priorities.
The only scheduled break is a planned recess the week of Memorial Day. And speaking of memorials, mark your calendars: the 80th anniversary of D-Day is one month from today. 16.4 million Americans served during World War II; less than one percent are still with us.
The Big-Ticket Items, Speaker Johnson, and the Representative from Georgia…
Despite a steep learning curve, a doubt-inspiring start, and a slim margin of error, back-bencher-turned Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has put on a strong demonstration of political prowess this spring.
For now, Johnson is gaining admirers in Washington as he strings together a series of unlikely victories, all with a bit of panache—seemingly thrusting the responsibilities of office ahead of his own career with little regard for the consequences. It’s a refreshing concept.
It’s not perfect—personal views on the policies will vary; legislative beauty, of course, is always in the eye of the beholder. Also, relying on minority votes to offset opposition in his own party is not a sustainable approach to running the party-first House.
But let’s step back to put his accomplishments in perspective: Coming into the 118th Congress, House Republicans wanted to dramatically cut federal spending, impeach Joe Biden, and force the Senate to accept tougher border security and immigration policies. The conference’s own infighting, a foolish ousting of their chosen Speaker, and a rash of resignations doomed any chance of success on those fronts. Into the void stepped Johnson, a virtual unknown from Louisiana tasked with restoring order and dealing with a small number of critical issues with national and international implications. With just a handful of votes to spare and without years of banked political capital to spend, the new Speaker guided passage of:
- The Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills by a vote of 286-101. Passage of the omnibus bill finally moved the federal government away from the paralysis of continuing resolutions and onto a slightly less aggressive spending trajectory. Cutting spending, even a little, with Democrats running the White House and the Senate is no small thing.
- A FISA Sec. 702 bill that authorizes government surveillance on non-U.S. persons believed to be overseas. (273-147) The bill, controversial in some corners but critical to U.S. national security, kept the important spy tool alive while imposing reforms.
- Critical support for Ukraine in its resistance to the Russian invasion. (311-112) Of the $61 billion approved, about 72 percent will actually be spent here in the U.S. Ultimately, the supplemental also included assistance for Israel ($14.1 billion, plus more for humanitarian aid in Gaza) and allies in the Indo-Pacific ($8.1 billion).
In mid-March, each of those priorities was in doubt. Today, they are each in law.
Johnson’s success—and, as we may soon see, his own speakership—is only possible because of Democratic support, which he seized upon to sidestep procedural steps that would have become legislative roadblocks. Moving the bills straight to the House floor for bipartisan passage infuriated some members and many activists on the Right.
Enter Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who this week will force a vote on her motion to oust Johnson—the same procedural move that undid his predecessor and ground government to a standstill last October. Greene’s angst apparently comes over general opposition to any Republican making any compromise with any Democratic president on any issue of consequence—a position antithetical to American government and preventative of any progress on conservative policies in an era of divided government.
The difference this time is that, despite conservatives’ concerns over those spending bills, the voting math doesn’t work in Greene’s favor: Few Republicans have committed to opposing Johnson, and Democrats have made clear that they will not sit on the sidelines as they did for McCarthy’s expulsion. Instead, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and friends will vote to table Greene’s motion, a remarkable detente in the House given that opposition leaders are almost always looking to exploit opportunities to strengthen their hand. Perhaps it’s a bit of foreshadowing: a willingness to quash Greene’s effort signals that Democrats see the “adults in the room” message as a winner in an upcoming election framed by Biden and Trump.
Greene said “Every member of Congress needs to take that vote” on Johnson. Fine—but the most likely outcome will only be further division in the Republican party between the activist base and those Republicans who support the Republican Speaker. In truth, most members recognize that the legislative heavy lifting for the year is mostly over and are thus content with riding out the status quo without stirring the pot of political chaos and conflict.
As November nears, each will be in abundance as it is.
In other news…
Coach Seeks to Limit Burdens on Business. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) will later this week introduce legislation to overturn the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a little-known law enacted in 2021 ostensibly intended to require more financial disclosures in an effort to crack down on shell companies used to commit crimes. A good intent, perhaps—but criminals rarely file paperwork. According to the Senator, the law really just puts more administrative burden on Americans that have interests in small businesses like LLCs, and then threatens criminal penalties for those failing to comply. Tuberville has been raising awareness on the issue, including a recent op-ed in Newsweek. His bill, the “Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act,” is the latest in a run of financial and business legislation from the Coach-turned-Senator. Other efforts include successfully limiting federal retirement plan investment in China, advocating for a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency, and successfully blocking the Biden Administration’s proposal to monitor bank transactions over $600.
AI Takes Air Force Officials for a Ride. If you’re tracking the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, here’s a milestone: an AI-powered jet fighter—not to be confused with a drone or a remotely operated vehicle—took Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall into a simulated dogfight last week. Per POLITICO, “The AI-controlled F-16 flew Kendall in lightning-fast maneuvers at more than 550 miles an hour,” subjecting the 75-year-old Secretary to five g’s. The AI-controlled aircraft went “nose to nose” with a human-piloted F-16 as “both aircraft raced within 1,000 feet of each other, twisting and looping to try to force their opponent” into a mistake. “At this point, we have to have it,” Kendall said after returning to Edwards Air Force Base. Defense-related AI is sure to play a big part in the next defense bill: the role of AI in future “kill-chain” decision making is a central and controversial policy question.
New AUKUS Rule. The Biden Administration last week released a draft of a landmark regulation to lift International Traffic in Arms Regulations licensing requirements for the UK and Australia. The proposed rule is central to the AUKUS agreement, a trilateral defense pact designed to counter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific by rapidly breaking down barriers to information sharing and collaboration between the allies. Pillar I of the agreement covers submarine technology. Pillar II—potentially far more consequential to industry—is meant to foster a wide range of tech development. Last week’s draft rule follows the inclusion of key provisions in the defense bill passed last December. The public comment period is scheduled to end May 31, allowing for a final rule to be published in August—a breakneck pace that underscores the perceived threat from China. The coming collaboration between the nations’ defense industries is something military leaders, policymakers, innovators, and local economic developers are watching closely.
FAA Reauthorization. The Senate appears to have reached agreement on the much-delayed FAA reauthorization legislation. The deal includes provisions designed to enhance air travel safety, expand cockpit voice recordings, and reset air traffic control staffing levels—but sadly does not require a minimum passenger seat size on U.S. airliners. As one of the last must-pass items to be considered before September, the bill is also a legislative vehicle on which to attach other proposals. One effort: imposing new rules on “big tech” to protect the personal safety and data privacy of children online. If added, that would follow recently passed legislation to force the divesture of TikTok from its Chinese parent company—or risk having the popular app banned outright. Expect votes this week.
Farm Bill. Work on the Farm Bill, also punted from last year, is starting to pick up. Selling the trillion-dollar agriculture legislation in the House will be tough, but House Ag Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA) has scheduled a key mark-up for May 23. In the Senate, Sen. Ag Chair Democrat Debbie Stabenow (MI) just released her version. There are significant differences between the two; the process is expected to drag on for several more months, at best.
FY25 NDAA. The House Committee on Armed Services plans to mark up the National Defense Authorization Act on May 22, with floor time planned for mid-June. Their Senate counterparts are eying the week of June 11 for the SASC mark.
Recommended Reading. David French’s recent essay on college speech aptly draws the distinction between protests (protected), civil disobedience (admirable when necessary) and simple lawlessness conducted under the cover of the other two.
Stephen E. Boyd is a Partner at Horizons Global Solutions. Previously, Boyd served as a Senate-confirmed Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, Chief of Staff for Alabama members in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives, and as a Communications Director of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. He resides in the Washington, D.C. area. Opinions expressed herein are his own. Contact Stephen at [email protected], via X at @SEBOYD79, or on LinkedIn.