GOVERNMENT Inside The Beltway


John Ariale, Husch Blackwell St rategies – OABA’s Government Relations Team Congress F


ngress Faces P cked P st-Labor Day Agenda Amid Election Y ar Pressur


As lawmakers returned from their summer recess, Congress faced a


daunting legislative agenda in the shadow of the upcoming 2024 elections. The post-Labor Day session was a whirlwind of activity impacted by the political realities of the push towards Election Day 2024.


Understanding the Situation


 Biden’s presidency, was remarkably productive, passing several landmark bipartisan bills. Key achievements included major legislation on infrastructure, gun safety, and semiconductor  response funding and substantial foreign aid packages following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Surprisingly, a same-sex marriage bill was enacted into law during this time. In stark contrast, the 118th Congress has been characterized


by legislative gridlock and minimal progress on addressing national challenges. The divided government, with Republicans controlling the House and Democrats holding the Senate, along with election year politics, has contributed to the gridlock.  branch’s ability to function. Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted for negotiating a debt limit and spending deal with President Biden. His successor, Speaker Mike Johnson, narrowly avoided a similar fate, saved only by Democratic intervention. House Republicans impeached Homeland Security Secretary


Alejandro Mayorkas — just the second impeachment of a 


dismissed the charge. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was convicted on a slew of bribery and corruption charges and resigned from the Senate. Multiple House members were indicted and one of them, former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), was expelled.


s Packed Post-Labor Day Agenda Amid Election Year Pressures The appropriations process appears broken with the House’s


decision to leave town without completing anything close to what they wanted to get done at the start of this session. At the beginning of the session, House Speaker Mike Johnson had pledged that the House would get all 12 appropriations done by the August recess. The House actually ended up only  punted on the farm bill before leaving town for the August recess. And former President Donald Trump and Speaker Johnson spoke against a bipartisan Senate immigration and border security deal they did not like earlier in the session  at the earliest.   announced they would not seek re-election in 2024 – a  toxic partisanship on the Hill. And the race for President may have had the most incredible twists and turns any modern-day race for the White House has witnessed.


The Summer of Political Upheavals With less than 100 days before the election, a series of


unprecedented developments turned what was thought to be a rather slow and uninteresting race into a whirlwind of activity that upended Presidential politics after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden’s sudden decision to step back from his reelection bid, injecting uncertainty into what had been a static matchup of the last two presidents. Harris’ insertion into the race as the Democratic nominee


brought a quick rebound for Democrats’ chances in November in the immediate aftermath – both for her and for the party’s chances of recapturing the House of Representatives. In just a few short days after Biden’s announcement, the campaign raised record amounts of income and she began polling better than Biden nationwide and in swing states. Perhaps most surprising was the fact that the enthusiasm gap to vote for each candidate was erased in a matter of days after the announcement. That shift had House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries


proclaiming that House Democrats were on the brink of taking back the majority, arguing the party is “inside the red zone” of snatching four seats from Republicans on Election Day. Overall, the 2024 battle for control of Congress centers on just a handful of Senate races and about two dozen House seats. Incumbents representing those states and congressional districts want to spend as much time as possible campaigning between now and Election Day – with Republicans hoping to do everything possible to increase their slim majority in the 


22 OABA ShowTime Magazine • OCTOBER 2024


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