Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday provided a detailed list of things to be done in the upper chamber in the coming months, including various bipartisan matters, crucial bills, and appointments to executive and judicial branches.
Schumer stated in a message to his Democratic colleagues that the chamber will have a packed schedule ahead. The first order of business, however, is anticipated to be addressing the impeachment charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
“All Senators will be sworn in as jurors the day after the articles are presented, with Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray presiding,” he said. “I remind Senators that your presence next week is essential.”
The Democratic leader did not specify his plan for the potential trial, but it has been widely anticipated that Schumer will address the articles of impeachment in some way. This could involve voting to dismiss them outright on the floor, or referring them to a special committee and essentially delaying action until after the election, thus sparing his members from a tough vote that opponents could exploit during the campaign.
“Leader Schumer has not been specific in how he intends to handle this,” Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) told reporters on Capitol Hill earlier this week. “But let’s be clear — this was an impeachment in search of a problem, and I hope we can quickly dismiss it and focus on the business of the American people.”
“We need to fulfill our responsibilities and move forward as expeditiously as possible, by whatever means necessary,” she added when asked about the significance of Schumer's approach to sidestepping the articles.
Also on the immediate agenda are renewals of section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) later this month and the extension of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) authority in May. Schumer also mentioned anticipates bipartisan efforts to begin promptly on a supplemental to help rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge after it collapsed, causing significant disruption at the Port of Baltimore.
Schumer also emphasized the ongoing push for more aid to Ukraine in its conflict against Russia, and again called on Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to bring the upper chamber’s national security supplementary bill to the floor in the coming weeks. Johnson has been exploring different avenues to pass a bill, including converting the funding into a loan to appease some conservatives. However, delving into this package could pose challenges and potentially cause Democrats to separate due to the situation in Gaza.
Also on the list of priorities for the New York Democrat in the coming months are bipartisan bills related to online safety for children, expansion of the Child Tax Credit, the potential banning of TikTok, and rail safety.
“There are numerous important bipartisan issues that this Congress could address this year, and I hope our Senate Republican colleagues won’t allow the far-right faction of their party to obstruct progress on these bipartisan bills,” he wrote.
All of this effort will support the November election and efforts to defend those Democratic current officeholders running in conservative and swing states. Seats held by Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) are the main targets of Republicans going into the autumn.
