Two big votes are hitting the House floor Tuesday afternoon, with each party caught between unity and accountability.
ON THE GOP SIDE — The House is expected to easily pass a resolution calling on the DOJ to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein after a monthslong battle by President Donald Trump and GOP leaders to block the vote.
Trump said Monday he would sign the bill if it lands on his desk, giving political cover for Republicans to vote for the measure. The House will vote under suspension of the rules Tuesday, limiting debate and requiring a two-thirds majority.
What we’re really watching is the Senate. Last night, Republicans advanced rule language that effectively forces Speaker Mike Johnson to send the bill across the Rotunda. If he doesn’t, the original discharge petition remains in force, triggering another House vote.
Senate GOP leaders haven’t committed to putting a vote on the floor, but Trump’s new endorsement has changed the dynamic.
Johnson said he wants the Senate to amend the measure to include more protections for victims and whistleblowers. But that would require another House vote, further extending a saga most Hill Republicans want to move past as quickly as possible.
ON THE DEM SIDE — The House is also expected to vote at Tuesday’s 2 p.m. series on a resolution condemning Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.) for a move in which he retired and functionally guaranteed his chief of staff would succeed him.
The resolution, triggered by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.), forces Democrats to choose between sticking by a longtime colleague and condemning a hardball move many find difficult to stomach.
García defended himself on the floor Monday night, saying he chose to put family first by retiring and suggesting that what goes around might come around: “One day you might be the one making that choice, and you shouldn’t have to debate it on the House floor.”
But one House Democrat, granted anonymity to speak candidly, estimated to POLITICO that “a not insignificant number of Democrats” will support the disapproval measure after only Gluesenkamp Perez and Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) opposed a motion to table Monday. Keep an eye on more moderate Democrats like Nevada Rep. Susie Lee, who told POLITICO “it was questionable, the timing,” while many others in the caucus hold their nose.
“It’s an unpleasant one,” said Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who said he will vote against it Tuesday. “Chuy García is a friend and a great guy. But I don’t like the optics of this.”
What else we’re watching:
— ACA latest: House GOP leaders will lead a high-level discussion in their conference meeting Tuesday morning on how to address rising health care costs. It comes as Senate Republicans are quickly developing their own legislative proposals and some House Republicans fret they could get jammed by the upper chamber.
— CBO hearing: Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel is set to testify Tuesday morning before the House Budget Committee. The oversight hearing will be the first chance GOP lawmakers have to air their grievances over the agency’s analysis of their party’s megabill since the legislation was enacted in July.
— NDAA crunch time: House and Senate lawmakers have a critical week ahead to reach a compromise on major defense policy legislation if they want to have a deal ready to hit the floor after the Thanksgiving break for an early December vote.
Meredith Lee Hill, Jordain Carney, Nicholas Wu, Shia Kapos, Calen Razor, Benjamin Guggenheim, Katherine Tully-McManus and Connor O’Brien contributed to this report.
