Welcome to the Federal Tap
February 6, 2021
Good morning! Find the most notable events of the week below, and tap the button to see a more comprehensive look at the week in politics.
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U.S. Senate organizes under power-sharing agreement based off 2001 precedent
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- The U.S. Senate passed a new organizing resolution for the 117th Congress by unanimous consent Feb. 3.
- An organizing resolution is a measure specifying how the Senate should be structured in the upcoming session of Congress, including which members are assigned to which committees. This year’s organizing resolution was delayed as both parties’ leaders negotiated a power-sharing agreement after the Georgia U.S. Senate runoffs led to a 50-50 split in control of the chamber. In the meantime, the Senate continued to operate under the organizing resolution it had adopted in the 116th Congress, meaning Republicans continued to chair the Senate’s committees.
- The power-sharing agreement agreed to by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was based on the agreement reached in 2001, the last time the Senate was evenly split.
- McConnell and Schumer had differed on the fate of the filibuster—a procedural measure that can be used to halt consideration of a bill and can only be overridden by a 60-vote majority. McConnell had sought a commitment from Schumer that Democrats would not move to eliminate the filibuster, which some Senate Democrats have advocated for. McConnell agreed to not seek such a commitment after Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) stated their support for the filibuster, leaving Democrats short of the simple majority needed to change Senate rules.
Tenney certified as winner in New York’s 22nd Congressional District
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- Justice Scott DelConte of the Oswego County Supreme Court ordered certification of the results of the election in New York’s 22nd Congressional District on Feb. 4. Claudia Tenney (R) and incumbent Anthony Brindisi (D) had been involved in a legal challenge to the validity of certain absentee and affidavit ballots. Following Justice DelConte’s order, Tenney led in the certified results by 109 votes over Brindisi. This could mean Tenney will be officially seated in the House of Representatives, or possibly provisionally seated.
- Brindisi’s legal team, which has previously requested a recount in the race, has the option to file an appeal to one of DelConte’s decisions. If an appeal is successful and finds a different result in the election, DelConte said the opinion could be presented as part of an election review by the House of Representatives under the Federal Contested Elections Act. Under the Act, Brindisi could also request a recount through the House when his state-level options are exhausted.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene removed from committee assignments in U.S. House
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- The House of Representatives voted 230-199 on Feb. 4 to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene (R) from her assignments on the Budget and Education and the Labor committees. The vote was a response to multiple controversial remarks made by the first-term lawmaker, including a claim that school shootings are staged events. The House Rules Committee voted to advance the resolution on Feb. 3.
- Before the vote, Greene addressed the House floor. “These were words of the past and these things do not represent me, they do not represent my district, and they do not represent my values,” she said. Greene also apologized to her Republican colleagues during a closed-door meeting the previous day.
U.S. Senate confirms Buttigieg, Mayorkas as Cabinet secretaries
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- The Senate confirmed Pete Buttigieg for secretary of transportation on Feb. 2 by a vote of 86-13. Thirteen Republicans voted against his nomination. Buttigieg is the only nominee to President Joe Biden’s (D) Cabinet, out of six so far, that Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) has supported. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) has opposed all six confirmations so far. Buttigieg is the first openly gay person to be confirmed as a Cabinet secretary.
- The Senate also confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas for secretary of homeland security by a vote of 56-43. Six Republicans supported his confirmation: Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska).
Vice President Harris casts first two Senate tie-breaking votes on budget reconciliation
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- The U.S. Senate voted 50-50 on a budget resolution related to the economic response to the coronavirus, with Vice President Kamala Harris (D) casting the tie-breaking vote in favor of passing the measure. She also cast a tie-breaking vote to adopt an amendment to the resolution proposed by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) These were Harris’ first two tie-breaking votes since she was inaugurated.
- In his or her constitutional role as President of the Senate, the vice president may cast tie-breaking votes in the event the chamber is evenly divided on a measure. Vice President John Adams (Federalist) cast the first tie-breaking vote on July 18, 1789. Thirty-seven vice presidents have cast a combined total of 270 tie-breaking votes.
- No vice president has cast more tie-breaking votes than John C. Calhoun (D), who served as vice president from 1825 to 1832 under Presidents John Quincy Adams (D) and Andrew Jackson (D) and cast 31 tie-breaking votes. John Adams’ total of 29 votes follows, while James Polk’s vice president George Dallas (D) cast 19.
- Twelve vice presidents did not cast any tie-breaking votes, including six who served in the past century: Calvin Coolidge (R), Lyndon B. Johnson (D), Gerald Ford (R), Nelson Rockefeller (R), Dan Quayle (R), and Joe Biden (D). Biden is the only vice president who served more than one term and did not cast any tie-breaking votes.
- Vice President Harris’ first tie-breaking vote comes at approximately the same point in her term as Vice President Mike Pence’s (R). Pence’s first tie-breaking vote was on Feb. 7, 2017, which was in favor of confirming Betsy DeVos as U.S. Secretary of Education. The vote marked the first time in U.S. history that a vice president broke a tied vote related to a Cabinet nomination. Pence’s term-wide total of 13 tie-breaking votes was the most of any vice president since Schuyler Colfax (R) in the 1870s.
Supreme Court issues rulings involving the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
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- The U.S. Supreme Court issued opinions on Feb. 3 in three cases argued during its 2020-2021 term:
- Salinas v. United States Railroad Retirement Board concerned judicial review in administrative agency actions. In a 5-4 opinion, the Supreme Court reversed the 5th Circuit's ruling and remanded the case, holding that the Board’s refusal to reopen the prior benefits determination is subject to judicial review. Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered the majority opinion of the court.
- Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp and Republic of Hungary v. Simon are cases that concerned international comity and the expropriation exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).
- In Germany v. Phillipp, the court ruled unanimously that the FSIA’s expropriation exception includes the domestic takings rule, meaning that a foreign sovereign taking its own nationals' property is not unlawful under the international law of expropriation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s judgment was vacated and the case was remanded for further proceedings. Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the opinion of the court.
- In Hungary v. Simon, the court issued a per curiam opinion vacating the D.C. Circuit’s ruling and remanding the case for further proceedings consistent with the Germany v. Philipp ruling. A per curiam decision is issued collectively by the court. The authorship is not indicated.
- This year, the court has issued opinions in 15 cases.
- Additionally, the court granted review in one case, PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey, to be scheduled for argument during the 2020-2021 term, and removed two cases from its February argument calendar: Trump v. Sierra Club and Wolf v. Innovation Law Lab.
- The U.S. Supreme Court issued opinions on Feb. 3 in three cases argued during its 2020-2021 term:
U.S. Senate scheduled to confirm Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs
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- The U.S. Senate will hold a vote on the confirmation of Denis McDonough as U.S. Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs Monday.
- McDonough, a native of Minnesota, worked as a staffer with the House International Relations Committee and as a foreign policy advisor to Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) before joining Barack Obama’s (D) 2008 presidential campaign. McDonough worked on the staff of the National Security Council during President Obama’s first term and as White House Chief of Staff during his second.
- Joe Biden (D) announced he would nominate McDonough as Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs on Dec. 10, 2020. McDonough advanced from a Jan. 27 confirmation hearing before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee with a favorable recommendation.
- The Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs, which President George H.W. Bush (R) established as a Cabinet-level post in 1989, is responsible for heading the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
- The department, which includes the National Cemetery Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration, and Veterans Health Administration, is responsible for overseeing and administering benefits granted to veterans of the U.S. armed forces.
- As of Feb. 5, the Senate had confirmed six members of Joe Biden’s Cabinet, with 10 other nominees having had confirmation hearings. Seven other nominees have not yet received confirmation hearings.
Trump names attorneys David Schoen, Bruce Castor to impeachment defense team
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- Former President Donald Trump (R) announced Jan. 31 that he had hired David Schoen and Bruce Castor to lead his impeachment defense.
- Schoen has represented Trump advisor Roger Stone in the past, while Castor is a former district attorney from Pennsylvania. Trump had initially hired a five-person team of attorneys led by Butch Bowers, who represented South Carolina Govs. Nikki Haley (R) and Mark Sanford (R) in the past. President Trump and that team parted ways Jan. 30 over disagreements in strategy.
- The Senate will hold the impeachment trial beginning the week of Feb. 8. A team of nine House Democrats led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) will serve as impeachment managers, who are the equivalent to prosecutors in a courtroom trial.
- President Trump was impeached on a single charge of incitement of insurrection on Jan. 13, by a House vote of 232-197. All 222 House Democrats and 10 House Republicans voted in favor, while 197 Republicans voted against and four did not vote. President Trump was earlier impeached and acquitted on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Supreme Court announces its March oral argument calendar
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- The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) released its March argument calendar on Feb. 1 for the 2020-2021 term. The court will hear seven hours of oral argument in nine cases between March 22 and March 31.
- Week of March 22-24:
- Week of March 29-31:
- Azar v. Gresham (Consolidated with Arkansas v. Gresham)
- Goldman Sachs Group v. Arkansas Teacher Retirement System
- TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez
- NCAA v. Alston (Consolidated with AAC v. Alston)
- So far, the court has agreed to hear 63 cases during its 2020-2021 term.
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