Congress is working quickly to avoid a shutdown of part of the government by the funding deadline on Friday. The possibility of a shutdown became more serious after leaders failed to announce a deal over the weekend.
Key lawmakers were hoping to announce their plan to prevent a shutdown on Sunday, but a last-minute problem delayed the process, causing Congress to start the week without a plan to keep the government running.
The plan involved five full-year spending bills due Friday and a temporary resolution to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until the end of the fiscal year. However, disagreements over the DHS temporary funding caused a delay, with Republicans attributing this to recent involvement from the White House in negotiations.
This week, the House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing as part of the GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden, and Hunter Biden, the key witness, will not be present after declining an invitation to testify.
The House will also discuss a number of energy-related bills this week as part of what a senior Republican referred to as “energy week.”
Government funding
Lawmakers are starting the week without a proposal to prevent a government shutdown after facing last-minute obstacles to announcing the legislative text on Sunday.
Congress is facing a deadline on Friday to approve the remaining six appropriations bills that fund several departments, including Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Education, State, IRS, general government, and foreign operations.
Top leaders intended to reveal their funding deal on Sunday, which included five appropriations bills and a temporary resolution to fund DHS until the end of the fiscal year. Disagreements over immigration and border security led to the need for a temporary solution for DHS.
But recent involvement from the White House disrupted that timeline, according to Republicans. Part of the delay is due to Democrats seeking more funding for pay equality for the Transportation Security Administration, while Republicans want more funds for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's detention and enforcement efforts.
A White House official said on Sunday that “Republicans want to underfund DHS,” which Speaker Mike Johnson's deputy chief of staff called “misleading and counterproductive to reaching a bipartisan agreement to avoid a government shutdown.” Politico A White House official mentioned on Sunday that Republicans aim to underfund DHS, a claim described as incorrect and unhelpful by Raj Shah, deputy chief of staff for communications for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
The funding deadline on Friday is the most recent instance where lawmakers in this Congress are racing against the clock to avoid a shutdown. Conservative House members have insisted on significant spending reductions and controversial policy provisions as part of the government funding process.
Members of the conservative faction reiterated this sentiment over the weekend, pledging to fight for their priorities this week, in what could be the final clash leading to a shutdown in fiscal year 2024.
“Republicans are about to give control of government spending to corrupt politicians. Saying ‘It's the best we can do’ is not honest or motivating for those struggling with rising prices, open borders, and legal battles from left-wing groups. For those fully committed to the November 2024 election – we have a duty to fight right now,” said Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X Sunday evening.
Oversight to conduct impeachment hearing — without Hunter Biden
The House Oversight Committee is planning a hearing this week as part of its impeachment investigation into President Biden without the GOP’s key witness, Hunter Biden, who declined an invitation.
The hearing — scheduled for Wednesday at 10 a.m. — is titled “Influence Peddling: Examining Joe Biden’s Misuse of Public Office.” Republicans invited Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business associate; Tony Bobulinski, a disgruntled associate of Biden’s who was briefly involved in his business dealings and later became involved with former President Trump’s campaign; and Jason Galanis, Archer’s former associate who is serving time in federal prison on charges related to defrauding a Native American tribe.
It is unclear who accepted invitations and plans to testify on Wednesday.
Notably absent from the list, however, will be Hunter Biden, who declined the GOP’s invitation to appear as a witness. In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) last week, Abbe Lowell, Hunter Biden’s lawyer, said his client
rejects the offer from the GOP and criticized the GOP’s impeachment investigation and plans for this week’s public hearing, calling it a “clearly pre-planned media event” and “an obvious attempt to make a desperate attempt after the game has ended.”
The request for Hunter Biden’s appearance in a public hearing comes after the first son appeared before lawmakers last month for a private interview that lasted nearly seven hours. Biden stated “I did not involve my father in my business.”
It is also the latest development in the long-standing controversy over Hunter Biden’s involvement in the House GOP’s impeachment investigation into his father.
Republicans issued Hunter Biden a subpoena last year, requesting he submit to a private interview. Biden declined, offering to participate in a public hearing rather than a private interview due to concerns that his testimony would be selectively leaked — which the committee rejected. Biden’s team has frequently highlighted that Comer previously stated he would “drop everything” if Hunter Biden wanted to testify publicly.
Instead of attending his interview, Hunter Biden made a statement at the Capitol affirming that his father was not involved in his business. Republicans then sought to hold him in contempt of Congress, but before the full House voted, Biden said he would participate in the private interview, which he did last month.
Now, as Hunter Biden refuses to participate in the hearing, Comer is emphasizing his initial request to testify publicly.
"It is surprising that Mr. Biden complained about having a 'closed-door' deposition about the Biden family's business dealings, considering that just a few months ago, Hunter Biden asked for a public hearing outside the United States Capitol where he would answer questions in front of the American people," Comer wrote in a letter to Lowell on Friday.
"After being questioned during a deposition, Mr. Biden changed his mind. The only conclusion one can draw is that Mr. Biden knows his public testimony would not stand up to scrutiny," he added.
House GOP starts “energy week“
House Republicans are focusing on energy policy this week, bringing several energy-related bills to the floor for consideration.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) lined up a few energy measures this week, including a bill to prevent a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing and resolutions stating that “a carbon tax would be harmful to the United States economy” and another denouncing “the harmful, anti-American energy policies of the Biden administration.”
Scalise outlined the chamber’s “energy week” during the GOP’s retreat in West Virginia last week.
“Next week on the House floor we’re devoting the week to what we’re gonna call energy week, bringing bills on the House floor next week that will promote American energy to lower costs for families who recognize this. They know there’s no reason they should be paying more for energy and benefiting countries like Russia,” Scalise said during a press conference.
House Republicans have made energy policy a central part of their platform this Congress. Last March, the conference passed an energy package, known as the Lower Energy Costs Act, that received the esteemed H.R. 1 label.
