GOP tees up for 'chaotic 2-week sprint' as infighting imperils 'deeply fractious majority'

Sen. John Thune with House Speaker Mike Johnson on November 14, 2024 (House Speaker Johnson's Office/X.com)

There have been disagreements within the GOP in recent weeks as Congress has debated and struggled to pass a number of key pieces of legislation. According to Politico, House Republicans are heading into yet another “chaotic 2-week sprint” as they try to bridge the legislative divide before the fast-approaching recess, “and prove that their narrow and deeply fractious majority can still get something done.”

At the moment, they are grappling with internal revolts over three key votes.

First, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). GOP leadership wants to pass a clean extension of FISA’s Section 702, which allows the government to spy on noncitizens abroad without a warrant. Some conservatives, however, want to impose additional guardrails to bolster privacy.

The numbers are close, so if Republicans lose more than a single vote, the extension would fail. Unfortunately for Speaker Mike Johnson, at least two Republicans have expressed opposition to passing a “clean” FISA so far. With a two-week recess looming, this makes it increasingly unlikely that it will pass before the April 20^th deadline.

At the same time, the House is struggling with the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a piece of bicameral legislation designed to support affordable housing that has already passed in the Senate. Co-sponsored by Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Republican Tim Scott, the bill would prevent investment firms from buying single-family homes en masse, bolster new home construction efforts, and streamline inspection processes.

GOP holdouts in the House, however, oppose the bill because it doesn’t include what are for them make-or-break policies, like a permanent ban on a central bank digital currency. They are pushing for a bicameral conference to negotiate the addition of these points, and the removal of what they call “socialist” provisions added by Warren, which Politico says is “an unrealistic demand that would serve as a de facto death knell for the entire effort.”

Finally, there is the ongoing fight over the SAVE America Act, the Trump-backed election reform bill that Democratic opponents argue is an attempt to disenfranchise voters. The Senate GOP is currently arguing over the best way to approach the bill, as slim margins mean it does not have the votes to pass without running into a legislative filibuster. While Trump and his allies have tried to push Majority Leader John Thune to nuke the filibuster and force Democrats into a talking filibuster — a situation that would allow Republicans to pass the legislation by a simple majority vote once the floor was ceded — Thune has repeatedly dismissed such approaches.

“The votes aren’t there, one, to nuke the filibuster and the votes aren’t there for a talking filibuster. It’s just a reality,” said Thune. “I’m the person who has to deliver sometimes the not-so-good news that the math doesn’t add up, but those are the facts and there’s no getting around it.”

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