House Republicans are planning to push their Democratic colleagues into a corner ahead of the midterm elections, forcing a number of votes to put vulnerable incumbents on the record on some of the trickiest political issues.
The House will return from its five-week recess period on Monday, with a number of legislative items on the docket. There won’t be many items of consequence on the calendar during the abbreviated week except the Senate-passed government funding bill to avert a shutdown until after the midterm elections.
That is set to come to the floor on Tuesday, a source familiar with scheduling told the Deseret News, and it’s expected to pass with wide bipartisan support.
But Republican leaders want to apply some pressure to Democrats as the campaign season gets fully underway in September — especially as GOP leaders scramble to defend their slim majority next year.
Republicans will schedule a vote on a resolution denouncing socialism “in all its forms,” a symbolic messaging bill that doesn’t hold any weight of the law but will likely be used by GOP candidates in competitive races to attack their Democratic opponents.
The resolution mentions the Democratic Socialists of America, a left-wing political group that has seen a major rise in recent years. A number of DSA-aligned candidates have managed to oust long-term Democratic incumbents in this year’s primary elections, threatening a rift among the party, particularly on issues such as Israel and Palestine.
A handful of vocally pro-Israel Democrats have criticized those DSA stances, making it unclear how they will vote on the resolution. Republicans have made it a focus in this midterm cycle to accuse Democrats of supporting communism, pointing to the DSA specifically.
Republicans to hold vote on Supreme Court
Republican leaders will also force a vote on a constitutional amendment to solidify the Supreme Court as being composed of nine justices — a direct response to calls from prominent Democrats to expand the court to up to 13 seats.
Republicans have repeatedly pushed against those efforts, accusing their Democratic counterparts of wanting to “pack the court” with liberal judges.
Still, there could be some votes this week that put Republicans on the spot.
The House could vote this week on a measure to censure Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., after the Ethics Committee found the two-term congressman had violated rules on sexual harassment. Shortly after that report was released, Edwards dropped his reelection bid but has not stepped down from office.
Edwards has since defended himself to colleagues, maintaining he did not violate any rules and that the Ethics Committee made an “extraordinary leap” defining his behavior as sexual harassment. Edwards was accused of giving some young staffers special treatment, gifts and other attention that some described as uncomfortable.
That vote could come as soon as Tuesday evening.