Speaker’s Peril, FAA Needs Action

Key Takeaways
  • Reauthorizing the FAA will be on the agenda when Congress returns next week from its extended weekend.
  • Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has indicated she intends to attempt to have House Speaker Mike Johnson ousted from his post when the House goes back to work.
  • Johnson appears to be better positioned to survive an ouster attempt than his immediate predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was.

Congress had a short week, leaving on Thursday with return scheduled for next Tuesday. In the Senate an issue that is under the radar, no pun intended, is the need for Congress to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), as the current authorization expires next Friday, May 10.

The FAA has been operating under a temporary extension for several months as the House and Senate work to agree on a long-term extension.  The consensus expects that Congress will not let the FAA authorization expire. If no agreement is reached, Congress will likely pass a short-term extension.  However, like a government shutdown, Congress sometimes stumbles into a crisis through inaction.  No one fully understands the implications of the FAA operating with no authorization, but it is a situation best left untested.

Speaker vote

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) has insisted that when the House returns next week, she will offer a motion to vacate the Office of Speaker.  This was the vehicle used to oust Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership. However, this time it appears to be far short of the votes needed to pass.

When the motion to vacate was offered against McCarthy, Democrats took the traditional position of partisan voting in Speaker races and didn’t support McCarthy.  As Speaker, McCarthy hadn’t built any goodwill with Democrats and had lost the confidence of many Republicans, so he was ousted.

This time around, members of both parties are tired of the infighting among House Republicans, and only a handful of Republicans appear ready to join MTG in her motion to vacate.  Plus, many Democrats appear ready to break with tradition and vote to support the Speaker.  In several important votes, he has demonstrated a willingness to work with Democrats and has thus built a measure of goodwill on both sides of the aisle.  That may pay off next week.

Disclosures (show)

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