Lame duck Congress still faces huge challenges
Washington — Lawmakers return to Washington today for Congress’s lame-duck session confronting a number of major problems but lacking clear signals from President Donald Trump — even as President-elect Joe Biden and his team are poised to begin engaging with congressional Democrats on their priorities.
Congress faces a government shutdown deadline and crucial economic relief negotiations at a moment of extraordinary national uncertainty, with Trump refusing to concede the presidential election and with coronavirus cases spiking nationwide.
Even before Biden takes office on Jan. 20, Congress must contend with a Dec. 11 government funding deadline. Failure to reach a deal would result in a government shutdown, and Trump has not signaled whether he would sign a new spending bill.
At the same time, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have both expressed the desire to pass new economic and health-care relief measures to address the surging coronavirus pandemic — something Congress has not been able to do since the spring. But it is uncertain whether they will be able to find common ground in the weeks ahead: McConnell is pushing for a narrow and targeted bill, while Pelosi continues to insist on a broader and bolder relief package.
Members of Biden’s transition team, meanwhile, are expected to begin conversations with congressional Democrats and aides this coming week to map out a strategy for the lame duck, with the aim of getting money for their priorities in spending legislation before the end of the year, two people familiar with the developments said Sunday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private.
Lame- duck sessions of Congress can be ceremonial affairs, particularly as one presidential administration begins its exit and a new one prepares to take control. But this transition is already shaping up to be much different, with the country facing severe economic uncertainty and the coronavirus pandemic entering a deadly new phase. Since Election Day on Tuesday, Trump has not publicly expressed much interest in changing course on the economy or coronavirus response.
Trump administration officials have indicated they are unlikely to play much of a role in any new round of stimulus talks, instead letting McConnell take the lead. Meanwhile, Biden allies predicted Sunday that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will press Congress to produce a compromise coronavirus relief bill that has eluded lawmakers and Trump administration officials for months.
“Joe is going to be able to pull together leaders in Congress to deliver the relief that we need and deserve, and one way that President Trump can show some graciousness in the next 73 days during the transition is to publicly support a significant pandemic relief bill,” Sen. Christopher A. Coons, D-Del., a top Biden surrogate, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, said that “the work starts right away,” with Biden preparing to announce a coronavirus task force today and begin the work of a presidential transition in earnest.
“He’ll be making calls. He’ll be making announcements to the American people about how he’s going to make good on these campaign promises,” Bedingfield said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Despite Biden’s victory, McConnell is likely to retain his role as majority leader in the new Congress, although that outcome depends on the results of two runoff Senate races in Georgia in early January. Pelosi will also continue as speaker, although she will be presiding over a smaller majority.
Lame-duck sessions of Congress can be ceremonial affairs, particularly as one presidential administration begins its exit and a new one prepares to take control. But this transition is already shaping up to be much different, with the country facing severe economic uncertainty and the coronavirus pandemic entering a deadly new phase.