Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has a long to-do list in the coming weeks, from the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to lapsing surveillance authorities to foreign aid.
In a dear colleague letter released Friday, Schumer said senators will be sworn in as jurors for the Mayorkas trial on Wednesday. He added that “your presence next week is essential,” nodding to the possibility Democrats move to quickly dismiss the trial, which only requires a simple majority-threshold vote.
Schumer also said he’s spoken to Speaker Mike Johnson on foreign aid and “I believe that he understands the threat of further delaying” the Senate-passed package, which includes billions in funds for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as humanitarian assistance. Johnson has not committed to moving on the Senate bill and has floated alternative paths for foreign aid, and his timeline for any floor vote is unclear.
“It is a matter of the highest urgency that Speaker Johnson and House Leadership put the Senate’s bipartisan supplemental package on the House floor, because I am confident that if he puts it on the floor, it will pass,” the majority leader wrote.
Plus, the Senate leader said his chamber “must be ready to act quickly on a bipartisan basis” once the House passes legislation reauthorizing the controversial surveillance authority, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, ahead of an April 19 lapse. House GOP leaders have struggled to build consensus around a reauthorization bill, amid party infighting.
And Schumer floated possible action to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, though he noted quick movement would require “bipartisan cooperation.” Schumer also mentioned reauthorizing legislation on the Federal Aviation Administration before a May 10 deadline. Other possible activity includes expanding the Child Tax Credit, action on the House-passed TikTok legislation, rail safety legislation and cannabis banking, among other areas.
